Nice video. Haven't read through the comments, so this might have already been shared, but here are a few things I find that help. First, I put a screen lid on my soil containers so the crickets can lay the eggs, but can't dig them up and eat them (and make a mess scattering dirt everywhere). Second, I find that my pinheads LOVE to eat fish food flakes. They devour it! I also look for flakes high in spirulina as this will help bring out colors in the pets I am feeding (in my case, mostly some colorful tarantulas).
@@maxie1199 I'm currently running my own superworm farm for this precise reason. Just bought my startup kit of mealworms today. Looking into also starting with Crickets, which brought me to this video.
I know this is older but I worked at a reptile breeding place and we did crickets. I was in charge of the cricket breeding. I bred millions of crickets a week in a long cardboard box and lined the boxes in a plastic bag and they couldn't jump out just in case someone doesnt wanna mess with lid making. Our water dishes had the foam stuff from under carpets cut in the shape of the dish. It allows water but not drowning. We fed them crushed puppy chow. Crickets were so easy.
We have big forested area near our small town and after long hot days of summer, just before the rainy season kick in when the soil is moist due to a few showers of rain, the forest crickets are out on the street everywhere. I used to catch 'em with friends under lamp posts when I was young. It was so fun and painful at the same time, the little crawlers bite pretty hard, especially the big females and their spiky legs are so damn sharp and scratch the skin pretty deep. You gotta get a good grip on their thorax area with two fingers (thumb and index) otherwise it's a nightmare for the fingers. We would catch 'em the whole night and keep 'em in a bottle and our aunt would make a delicious fried cricket breakfast the next day =D They came out to breed but ended up being our breakfast haha...man.. miss those days..
im going to start breeding crickets because I have a Leopard Gecko and several other Cricket eating reptiles and it's gotten to the point where I'm spending 15 dollars a week on crickets so hopefully this helps thanks for the video
I once used cosmetic sponges for the crickets to drink from and they laid their eggs in it! I kept re wetting the sponge so I guess it kept the eggs wet and I only found out the eggs were in there when I tried to squeeze the sponge and felt all these little grains in them....kinda gross but I put the sponge in a separate tub and they hatched out.
I am responding to you guys right now sorry for the delay! If you keep the temperature high enough with a closed lid the earth should remain moist enough until hatch time. Same principle as plants when germinate them. So I don't see the need to mist unless you notive the earth drying out.
+william waddell There is not enough ventilation in the container and it is being sprayed too often and/or with too much water. You can either poke holes in the lid or create a small screen ventilation, a tinier version of the ventilation shown for the main lid of the bins in the video. I've done this with window screen and glue. It's enough to let the air circulate but small enough to keep the moisture and humidity inside. The substrate you use should not be saturated or drenched. It should be lightly damp on the top, immediately soak in, and no water should be pooling. Also watch out for mold. Heat and humidity will quickly grow mold which will also kill them.
Crickets can only jump about 5 inches. As long as the container is tall and made from something that they can't climb, like a trash can, you don't even need a lid. It helps keep it ventilated a little better too.
Thank you I have a leopard gecko and several pet jumping spiders. My son had pet crickets many years ago (as an introduction pet) I must have been lucky as they had many crops of babies and their own cycle going in a 10 gallon aquarium. Always had about 50 of all different ages. Had to let the loose outside when we moved! Time to suit up and go to HomeDepot for the supplies, thank you! I watched several videos and like yours the best!
Thx for the very informative video. I'd say one of the best ones I've seen so far. I've had my 2 baby beardies for almost 2 months & already getting tired of going to the store to purchase overpriced crickets! After, seeing how easy it is to breed them, I will definitely be putting together my own "cricket farm", tomorrow. It seems silly NOT to. Its inexpensive , your saving a TON of $$$ (I'm paying 11-13cents a piece here in Phoenix) in addition you can customize the diet of the crickets to ensure a heathy meal for your reptiles, amphibians etc. *Bonus* if you end up w too many, selling them at a low cost is a great way to earn some extra cash on the side. I'm actually excited to get started. I know I've got at least 4-6 females ready to lay eggs. QUESTION (This maybe a stupid one, but I'm asking anyway) , If you don't provide a place for the females to lay their eggs what what will the female do? will she still lay her eggs somewhere in the enclosure, the eggs will die and/or become food for the adult crickets? Thanks again! I'll update ya in a few weeks w/ my progress.
may I recommend using soils without fertilizers? I have panther chameleons and they are very sensitive to these chemicals. you may want to try a soil that is organic or fertilizer and pesticide free.
This was actually vary useful, cause soon I will be getting a bearded dragon, and I've been looking for ways to keep up a food source for my soon-to-be pet I have about 2-3 weeks before I get the bearded dragon, so in that time I'm looking for a cheap tank and ways for food and taking care of it, my friend owns Australian bearded dragons who have just laid their eggs and he's ganna give me one of them, I'm extremely excited lol
i just started in florida, bought about 50 of them, put them in the garage, brought them home put in potting soil,my garage is 89 degrees F 1 hour later they are chirping like crazy, the mating containers are like the maternaty ward, put in potato slices, wet sponges, here we go!
Awesome video & setup. I'm definitely going to have to start a cricket farm for my alb. bullfrogs. Having to buy crickets every week is becoming tedious. Thank you for tips!
The adults will eat the eggs so you must seperate them. Once you get the routine down I hardly ever have deadloss. There will be alot of shedding which may look like dead crickets but totally natural when they grow. Within a month of age they will start breeding
Well the adults will eat the eggs that's why some people use mesh on the egg laying boxes to keep the adults from eating the eggs. Of coarse some of the crickets will die because there crickets. Hope I helped :)
hey buddy, quick question. I'm using your method, and i'm having huge succes. First breed gave me about 1500 crickets, but i only had about 20 adults. So all is well, got more adults now, but here's the question. Can i use the dirt again after all the eggs have hatched, or is it better to renew it and throw those boxes away? Thx for your tutorial, greetings from Belgium!
Hey buddy! Im glad it's working out for you! You are better off to change the dirt every month or so because mold may set in. Humidity in a closed box is a recipe for mold... and Mold = death... Just keep your eye out for it and you should be good!
@@Twofinbluna2020 question, could you recycle the dirt each month by baking it? i.e. when you change the dirt, the dirt you remove you bake at a high temperature to kill nasties in it and then swap it with the used dirt the next month which then gets baked for the next cycle....?
Awesome video and love your sense of humor! Thanks for sharing! I've had a few scale over the packing tape and manage to grow up and then climb on the walls in the house. Made me laugh, scared the crap out of my mother. "WHAT KIND OF SPIDER IS THIS...A CRICKET? REALLY?" Haha. Thanks again for the video and the ideas!
+NickBrew98 1 year ago, still unanswered. I guess you only have to change the egg cartons now and then. If you are breeding right now, please tell me your setup.
throw them away lol, if they are dirty enough you're worried about the crickets' wellbeing then get a new tank. otherwise just use gloves if you're grossed out they are bugs!
The egg cartons can be used for 2 or maybe 3 batches. After that, since they are covered in cricket poop, they make a great place to start seeds for your garden. Just fill with potting soil (you can use the old cricket egg-laying soil) and start your seeds. After that, the cartons can go into the compost bin. Nothing wasted. Hope this helps.
crickets chirp a lot. i have them in the room next to my bedroom, but with the door closed it's not that big of a deal. The type of crickets also matters, because i found out the black ones (field crickets) chirp more then common house crickets. having them in the back of a computer repair shop, (with the door closed) shouldn't be a problem though. plus, i dont find cricket chirping annoying :)
+flyhigh747 you can also chocolate them here is how: +Bubba Bedrock you freeze dry the crickets in to the shape you want, like standing up or laying on side whatever stick a toothpick into it about halfway melt your chocolate and it is best to put just a little wax like the gulf wax cakes i get at Walmart in baking isle this lets the chocolate harden faster so less melting and dripping take toothpick dip the bug into the chocolate to get a good cover then hold out of the chocolate for a few seconds for chocolate to stop dripping then get a piece of Styrofoam to stick the toothpick"s in to hold bug in place you may want to set them back in freezer a couple minutes for them to set good. Oh and if your chocolate starts getting to thick you can add a little hot water or reheat but keep adding just enough wax to keep chocolate a little shiny. "this can be done with any kind of bug you would like to try"
*smile* true, I wouldn't need as many but you know what your video was better than anyone else I've seen. I took notes and am greatly appreciative of your effort. Thank you so much.
Hi, Loved the video and viewed multiple times. Like your tell it like it is matter of fact style and willingness to call out those expensive and overpriced additions as crap that some you tubers push out to try and make it a must have product to make money on. You are on my wavelength with your cheap or free mentality - way to go man. I too am a lapsed (multi tank) Aquarist returning via this route as a hobby to pass the time in my old age (79). I am also much more frugal (cheap skate) than your good self, and bearing that in mind, it strikes me that you are almost too successful. I would like to have a go at producing much less, and I wonder if I could get away with no artificial heat (saving costs plus the hassle of putting it together (though quite capable of rewiring a complete house). It may work, take longer ( I don't mind ) but in my opinion those little buggers look as though they would produce in the north pole, as they are such randy little sods. Would appreciate your thoughts. Good luck and Regards from Jim across the pond (UK).
Hey Jim! The optimum temperature range for adult crickets should be 70°-75°F during the day and at night. This is necessary for the crickets' metabolisms and immune systems to function properly. However in the egg stage, giving them that extra 5-10 degrees can make all the difference. The only way to compare is if you see crickets outside then that would be the ideal temperature for your location. Most houses stay within that range so added heat isnt a necessity. I am a grow up therefore want to up my yield as much as possible. For a home grow you should be fine
@@Twofinbluna2020 Appreciate you taking the time to reply and I hear what you say. Will give them a go when I have a home/space set up for them. My (dedicated pet) shed gets quite warm, and I have had great success so far with my first residents (3 boxes of mealworms) from my local store and just completed the full life cycle. My second residents (3 boxes of Springtails) they are taking off like a rocket - I call that a success for a newbie - (thumbs up) :-) I had no idea these little critters could be so interesting to observe and look after - Now, on to the next acquisitions, Roaches and Crickets. Taking no chances with smell and already purchased some vermiculite for crickets as they do get a bad press with the odour - don't want to push my luck with the wife :-) Hilarious, informative, and enjoyable video as well as the comments that followed - bookmarked and viewed whenever I need a good laugh and mental lift. Well done man - way to go - Cheers, Jim (UK)
At the pet store I go to to get my crickets is $1.49 a dozen. And that is DANG good for crickets. We usually buy 2 dozen at a time. We have to buy crickets every week.
I learned this from a different video but if you put a screen over the containers used to lay eggs it will stop the bigger crickets from eating the eggs so you can have even more.
with the screens you choose to use keep in mind that adult crickets can chew through the plastic mosquito screen, so the metal works best. I found out the hard way.
Fried/Roasted crickets honestly aren't that bad. They are cheap and full of protein and other healthy benefits. You can spice them to and they taste just like meat, once you get past the thought of crickets.
They are extremely high in protein. Compare to the cost of raising cattle for protein...can't do that in a Rubbermaid container! Freeze the crickets, then dehydrate, then grind into flour and use in place of flour in most recipes.
you rock, im doing it. thanks, hope youre available for questions. i have experience with mushrooms, marijuana, snakes, lizards, exotic fish etc, i can maintain any micro climate. good job, you rock
Question: I tried to breed them a while ago, but for some reason my tubs always started to mold and attract mites, which you absolutely want to avoid, hence the reason why I had to dump everything in the dumpster. I think my mistake was to not provide them with any source of heat, only room temperature (approx 22°C). I would love get an answer on why this is happening to my breeding attempts, since I want to start breeding them again because it's getting pretty expensive to feed my reptiles. ^^ Cheers.
Yes, that is exactly why I am studying to learn to raise crickets - for my chickens, but also, one of my dogs likes to eat crickets and the wild crickets in the yard may contain parasites so home-raised is better.
For the geckos also look into breeding flightless fruit flies. My daughter raised the fruit flies to feed her geckos and saved a ton of money. If I had known how to raise crickets back then I would have.
I just bred my first batch from 10 adult I had leftover from my toads food. I ground eggshells into a powder and mixed in with peanut butter I spread that on a potato slice for easy cleaning.
Awesome video! Looks pretty simple! My 4 year old boy is super excited to raise our own crickets! (For our frog.) Something pet stores clearly make a killing on! Ha! Thanks for this!!!
Hi I like your video, even though it was a couple years ago. I am wondering if feeding a wild caught cricket to a gecko is a bad thing? I also want to breed crickets but on a smaller scale.
Nice video, good info. What do you use as substrate for the eggs? Looks like potting soil. On a side note, as an American I was kinda surprised to hear you say inches and degrees Fahrenheit. Or is that a Montreal thing?
I get water crystals from my local plant shop and get a 6 dollar container of them that lasts 3-4 years and I use them on crickets and dubia roaches for water so they do not kill themselves :)
I got a bunch of adult crickets and i waited for them to breed but they just laid a couple of eggs and then a lot of them died is this because they are full adult?
When it's time to transfer the egg laying bins into your pinhead container or homemade incubator container to have the eggs incubated or hatched, do you still spray or mist it with water once everyday? and do you use fan heater to heat those containers or just 24 hours with heating lamps on?
Good video! I need to do this for my poison dart frogs. The local pet stores simply dont carry pinheads, and my last shipment died from the heat. Guess I have to raise them myself. They seem to die so easily. 😒
I have many questionst. As far as the bin you use to allow the pin heads to grow; I have Cope's Tree Frogs so I need the crickets not too small and not too large. Can you give me an idea how long it takes the pinheads to reach about the size of 1/8th to 3/16 inch size or a bit larger, given the temps you recommend, and keeping them fed with quality food and adequate water. I have noticed you do not use the mesh over the soil filled egg laying boxes as many people say you need to keep the adult crickets from eating the eggs. You are obviously having success with the egg laying, so I am wondering if I need the screen over the soil or not. I would also like to try and support my hobbies by selling the excess crickets. Would like to know how you advertise and do you have any experience with selling the larger sized crickets? How much to charge, etc, for premium gut loaded crickets? I live in a rural area, so the internet is the only option except for the one pet store in the area that sells crickets, or the filthy bait shops that sell only adults. For internet sales, the price of the crickets is not that bad, but the shipping costs are outrageous. Many people also say you should use something like vermiculite on the floor of the breeding bins to help keep excess moisture, mold, smells, etc down. What say you ? How often do you do a complete scrub down of the bins? Sorry for the length of this, but I can tell from your video that I will get straight no non-sense answers from you. Many thanks.
Whats up dude! Sorry took so long to answer! Usually within 5-6 weeks they will be full grown So given you want 1/8th maybe a week or two most... You do not need the mesh screen, personnally if you give them enough food they will have no interest in cannibalism, and population has a large part as well. A couple dozen adults for your laying boxes and you will be fine, they will lay thousands of eggs given the proper conditions so even if a few are eaten no big deal. Your best bet for marketing is either through local ads or online sale websites such ebay or craigslist. heresay is best in the reptile community. Join forums and post adds. Sell quality product and they will tell friends who will tells friends. Give out a bussiness card to every client saying bring me a new client and you get 10% off next purchase. Different tricks like that. You jsut have to be motivated to put the time in. Its a bussiness and they are animals which need to be kept for regardless i mean you can use vermiculite and all that but if you plan on executing this cheaply it will come at a price (personal time/ patience) You have to be willing to put in the effort and time. After 2-3weeks I transfer them to a new clean bin to live out the rest of their time with me. I try to sell as young as possible so its a rather quick turnover. having the right size bin for your population is important in keeping condition clean and livaeble
Hi William, thank you very much for the kind words! Much appreciated I believe the best marketing tool in a (localized) reptile industry is word of mouth. Anyone can breed a cricket and make a website but a picture can only go so far. Theres is no sure way to know the quality of a product simply by reading what the manufacturer says about it. I started with craigslist, I was a 24 hour get crickets quick. Around here stores have funny hours and people just don't always have the time to pick up 30 -50 crickets. Leaving on a trip last minute and forgetting to buy food I was there to save the day lol. (it has happened many times) Or just graveyard shift guys who don't see the light of day... Having good customer service and a quality product will sell generally sell for themselves. People appreciated my service and slowly people started talking to their buddies in the area and all of the sudden I had a clientel. With my full time job I have slowed down on the cricket production as I am always looking for a new money making experience!
Definitely going to do this very soon. Buying crickets over and over in large quantities is getting rather expensive. I'm probably going to do this for my mealworms as well.... yay... beatles.... :/
Hi! I wanted to thank you for this video. I've been doing so much research that would make me take a second mortgage out! you made it so easy to understand and cheap which I love lol I started following you on Google+ but was wondering if there's another profile you have that I could ask questions? I'm getting ready to start my setup and want to do this right the first time! :-) Thank you!
Very interesting indeed! I was thinking about doing this if I have any spiders, tarantulas, or reptiles. I mean sure, i would eat them if it was a serious SHTF situation, but not now.
Just a thought dont call me stupid but would you think getting screen and lets say 3"-4" from the entire bottom of tub and fill it up with water right underneath the screen so while you have you tub closed up with the light on it will create moisture in the bin and help with moisture?
I am wanting to breed crickets in my garage and it can get cold here at night. Can you tell me more about temperature requirements for each of the three containers? Do I need to get heat lamps for each one and run them so the temp is consistent? Thanks! Great video
usually with a 60-100 watt light bulb the temperature remains quite stable... You will have to try out for yourself to see what it takes to maintain the right temps!
Just take eggshells wash this off let them dry and then ground them into powder and you'll have calcium to add to the the food.
Nice video. Haven't read through the comments, so this might have already been shared, but here are a few things I find that help.
First, I put a screen lid on my soil containers so the crickets can lay the eggs, but can't dig them up and eat them (and make a mess scattering dirt everywhere).
Second, I find that my pinheads LOVE to eat fish food flakes. They devour it! I also look for flakes high in spirulina as this will help bring out colors in the pets I am feeding (in my case, mostly some colorful tarantulas).
Thank you!
I use fish flakes for my crickets sometimes. Always disappears the next day they eat it so fast
I actually use several types of fish food and they eat all of it and love it
I’m just gonna hope you changed the title and aren’t a time traveler who predicted this pandemic
I thought there was a glitch, not title change.. 😬😂
Yeah uhh idk
yeah i was like holy shit... but really though is it possible to change a title from a video 6 years ago?
@@raves_r3177 you can
I thought the same thing!!!!😂😂😂
"For your reptiles or maybe for yourself i dont know what kind of person you are" 😂😂
crunchy bois. get em while they're fresh
Crickets and mealworms are actually pretty good for you, better protein then most meat
@@maxie1199 I'm currently running my own superworm farm for this precise reason. Just bought my startup kit of mealworms today. Looking into also starting with Crickets, which brought me to this video.
No meat is good for you. Look up the health affects of animal protein and animal fat. Good luck. I raise these for my leppard gecko.
A very intelligent person. If you freeze them & try them on your ice cream, or use pudding,
"maybe for yourself I don't know what kind of person you are" lolol
super helpful video ty
I'm in 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic breeding crickets for my leopard gecko
same 💀
Omfg me too
Same
Me too, also a Betta Patoti.
Same for my tree frog
I know this is older but I worked at a reptile breeding place and we did crickets. I was in charge of the cricket breeding. I bred millions of crickets a week in a long cardboard box and lined the boxes in a plastic bag and they couldn't jump out just in case someone doesnt wanna mess with lid making. Our water dishes had the foam stuff from under carpets cut in the shape of the dish. It allows water but not drowning. We fed them crushed puppy chow. Crickets were so easy.
We have big forested area near our small town and after long hot days of summer, just before the rainy season kick in when the soil is moist due to a few showers of rain, the forest crickets are out on the street everywhere. I used to catch 'em with friends under lamp posts when I was young. It was so fun and painful at the same time, the little crawlers bite pretty hard, especially the big females and their spiky legs are so damn sharp and scratch the skin pretty deep. You gotta get a good grip on their thorax area with two fingers (thumb and index) otherwise it's a nightmare for the fingers. We would catch 'em the whole night and keep 'em in a bottle and our aunt would make a delicious fried cricket breakfast the next day =D They came out to breed but ended up being our breakfast haha...man.. miss those days..
im going to start breeding crickets because I have a Leopard Gecko and several other Cricket eating reptiles and it's gotten to the point where I'm spending 15 dollars a week on crickets so hopefully this helps thanks for the video
$7 for 50 here in Australia. Time to start breeding, thanks for the video!!
My family is gonna kill me for the chirping
Every time someone tells a bad joke bring out the cricket bin.
Shoto Todoroki you can order silent brown crickets online or at petsmart
I get silent crickets for my gecko. All of my pet stores near me only sell silent crickets.
when i hear chirping i hunt them down and immediately feed it to my geckos
My family likes it
3:01 "Leg ayeing success". I think you're my dyslexic spirit animal, lol!
Yay at least I'm not the only one that first was into aquariums then switched to reptiles!! ;D
now i just bought a boat... What am I getting myself into lol
flyhigh747 and a truck... oh my god
I'm watching this to learn about raising crickets to feed myself lol... what kind of person am I?
Kevin Ethridge a person that eats crickets?
Kevin Ethridge A smart person.
Kevin Ethridge a normal one!
Some one that's wants good protein
I once used cosmetic sponges for the crickets to drink from and they laid their eggs in it! I kept re wetting the sponge so I guess it kept the eggs wet and I only found out the eggs were in there when I tried to squeeze the sponge and felt all these little grains in them....kinda gross but I put the sponge in a separate tub and they hatched out.
Since COVID-19 iv started breeding my own crickets
This method works great I have way more crickets then I thought I would thanks for posting this.
awesome man im happy to hear that
I am responding to you guys right now sorry for the delay! If you keep the temperature high enough with a closed lid the earth should remain moist enough until hatch time. Same principle as plants when germinate them. So I don't see the need to mist unless you notive the earth drying out.
flyhigh747 when I ever keep the lid on moister builds and kill the babies
+william waddell There is not enough ventilation in the container and it is being sprayed too often and/or with too much water.
You can either poke holes in the lid or create a small screen ventilation, a tinier version of the ventilation shown for the main lid of the bins in the video. I've done this with window screen and glue. It's enough to let the air circulate but small enough to keep the moisture and humidity inside.
The substrate you use should not be saturated or drenched. It should be lightly damp on the top, immediately soak in, and no water should be pooling. Also watch out for mold. Heat and humidity will quickly grow mold which will also kill them.
Meagen H I poked holes in a small contaner
Crickets can only jump about 5 inches. As long as the container is tall and made from something that they can't climb, like a trash can, you don't even need a lid. It helps keep it ventilated a little better too.
Thank you I have a leopard gecko and several pet jumping spiders.
My son had pet crickets many years ago (as an introduction pet) I must have been lucky as they had many crops of babies and their own cycle going in a 10 gallon aquarium. Always had about 50 of all different ages. Had to let the loose outside when we moved!
Time to suit up and go to HomeDepot for the supplies, thank you! I watched several videos and like yours the best!
Sorry guys but I won't be able to take orders for the forseable future, if you would like to help Please support my fight with leukemia
gf.me/u/zb7af6
Thx for the very informative video. I'd say one of the best ones I've seen so far.
I've had my 2 baby beardies for almost 2 months & already getting tired of going to the store to purchase overpriced crickets! After, seeing how easy it is to breed them, I will definitely be putting together my own "cricket farm", tomorrow. It seems silly NOT to.
Its inexpensive , your saving a TON of $$$ (I'm paying 11-13cents a piece here in Phoenix) in addition you can customize the diet of the crickets to ensure a heathy meal for your reptiles, amphibians etc.
*Bonus* if you end up w too many, selling them at a low cost is a great way to earn some extra cash on the side.
I'm actually excited to get started. I know I've got at least 4-6 females ready to lay eggs.
QUESTION (This maybe a stupid one, but I'm asking anyway) , If you don't provide a place for the females to lay their eggs what what will the female do? will she still lay her eggs somewhere in the enclosure, the eggs will die and/or become food for the adult crickets?
Thanks again! I'll update ya in a few weeks w/ my progress.
leg egging success
Erhm "Lay egging"
LensKimono "leg aying"
i thought i heard him say that lol best part of the vid!!
DannyWarlegs 🤣
I believe it was... legg ayying... lol
may I recommend using soils without fertilizers? I have panther chameleons and they are very sensitive to these chemicals. you may want to try a soil that is organic or fertilizer and pesticide free.
That's not fertilizer. It's perlite. That's not saying it doesn't also contain fertilizer. Idk.
egg shells are a wonderful, natural calcium source. just clean the shell very well and remove the inner skin on the shell and grind into a powder.
Very nice, my son tried raising crickets for a school project in Lachine. 100 cricket died within a month.
We will try again. Thank you for the video.
they only live 6 weeks. Were they growing?
This was actually vary useful, cause soon I will be getting a bearded dragon, and I've been looking for ways to keep up a food source for my soon-to-be pet I have about 2-3 weeks before I get the bearded dragon, so in that time I'm looking for a cheap tank and ways for food and taking care of it, my friend owns Australian bearded dragons who have just laid their eggs and he's ganna give me one of them, I'm extremely excited lol
Old video but adults will eat the eggs. Cover the egg boxes with mesh to get even more.
i just started in florida, bought about 50 of them, put them in the garage, brought them home put in potting soil,my garage is 89 degrees F
1 hour later they are chirping like crazy, the mating containers are like the maternaty ward, put in potato slices, wet sponges, here we go!
Hell yeah! let me know how it goes!
Our rooster eats more than 2000 in a day.. so this was much needed, thank you
Glad to be of help! Hows the rooster doing
A very good hobby. Place ads in Craigslist - it's free. Good way to make money.
Do you report the income for taxes?
Barbara Degelman Technically you should, but the IRS don't need to know. Unless you're really making bank, then you'll start looking suspicious.
I love eating crickets. Delicious !
Isabella Aguilar i had a locust before i didn't really like the taste of it
backtobasics 95 all of them are the same- small noisy legged things 😂😁
Isa that 8s nasty
I've had scorpion before and it was alright. Anything with visible eyes weirds me out to eat so I don't think I could do crickets.
Alex Reynolds hay my name is Brandon Reynolds
Awesome video & setup. I'm definitely going to have to start a cricket farm for my alb. bullfrogs. Having to buy crickets every week is becoming tedious. Thank you for tips!
HE KNEW IT!! SLAUGTHER HIM! GET THE FORKS!
Changed title
a few questions. Will the crickets eat the eggs? Do many of your crickets die? How old can they start to breed? cheers mate
The adults will eat the eggs so you must seperate them. Once you get the routine down I hardly ever have deadloss. There will be alot of shedding which may look like dead crickets but totally natural when they grow. Within a month of age they will start breeding
Well the adults will eat the eggs that's why some people use mesh on the egg laying boxes to keep the adults from eating the eggs. Of coarse some of the crickets will die because there crickets. Hope I helped :)
Oh and they need to be adults in order to breed about 1". Srry about that I'm doing this on my iPad :p
Thanks
hey buddy, quick question. I'm using your method, and i'm having huge succes. First breed gave me about 1500 crickets, but i only had about 20 adults. So all is well, got more adults now, but here's the question. Can i use the dirt again after all the eggs have hatched, or is it better to renew it and throw those boxes away? Thx for your tutorial, greetings from Belgium!
Hey buddy! Im glad it's working out for you! You are better off to change the dirt every month or so because mold may set in. Humidity in a closed box is a recipe for mold... and Mold = death... Just keep your eye out for it and you should be good!
@@Twofinbluna2020 question, could you recycle the dirt each month by baking it? i.e. when you change the dirt, the dirt you remove you bake at a high temperature to kill nasties in it and then swap it with the used dirt the next month which then gets baked for the next cycle....?
Awesome video and love your sense of humor! Thanks for sharing! I've had a few scale over the packing tape and manage to grow up and then climb on the walls in the house. Made me laugh, scared the crap out of my mother. "WHAT KIND OF SPIDER IS THIS...A CRICKET? REALLY?" Haha. Thanks again for the video and the ideas!
I laughed so hard when you said “For your own consumption, idk what kind of person you are..” 😂
lol!
So how do you clean out the cages?
+NickBrew98 1 year ago, still unanswered. I guess you only have to change the egg cartons now and then. If you are breeding right now, please tell me your setup.
throw them away lol, if they are dirty enough you're worried about the crickets' wellbeing then get a new tank. otherwise just use gloves if you're grossed out they are bugs!
The egg cartons can be used for 2 or maybe 3 batches. After that, since they are covered in cricket poop, they make a great place to start seeds for your garden. Just fill with potting soil (you can use the old cricket egg-laying soil) and start your seeds. After that, the cartons can go into the compost bin. Nothing wasted. Hope this helps.
I am wondering about the noise levels with raising crickets? Can you hear them chirping outside of your basement? Do they chirp 24/7? Thanks?
did you find that out? LOL.. Im interested in breeding these in the back of a computer repair shop LOL
crickets chirp a lot. i have them in the room next to my bedroom, but with the door closed it's not that big of a deal. The type of crickets also matters, because i found out the black ones (field crickets) chirp more then common house crickets. having them in the back of a computer repair shop, (with the door closed) shouldn't be a problem though.
plus, i dont find cricket chirping annoying :)
He said “or for yourself I don’t know what kind of person you are” 🤣🤣🤣
If you get too many crickets to feed to your pets, you can fry your crickets and eat them yourself :p
gross but whatever floats your boat hahah like I said in the video :P
+flyhigh747 you can also chocolate them here is how: +Bubba Bedrock you freeze dry the crickets in to the shape you want, like standing up or laying on side whatever stick a toothpick into it about halfway melt your chocolate and it is best to put just a little wax like the gulf wax cakes i get at Walmart in baking isle this lets the chocolate harden faster so less melting and dripping take toothpick dip the bug into the chocolate to get a good cover then hold out of the chocolate for a few seconds for chocolate to stop dripping then get a piece of Styrofoam to stick the toothpick"s in to hold bug in place you may want to set them back in freezer a couple minutes for them to set good. Oh and if your chocolate starts getting to thick you can add a little hot water or reheat but keep adding just enough wax to keep chocolate a little shiny. "this can be done with any kind of bug you would like to try"
Gwendolyn Lee apart from toxic ones :)
+flyhigh747 It's a good way to recycle your scrap veggies. They're pretty good if you fry them and healthy too.
I have Jughead crickets!My crickets are trained to kick ass.Im going to have my crickets take on your wimpy penheads.
How much u sell them for, I need some 😂I have a leopard gecko who eats them, can ungive me more info
Thank you for this video. Huge help in clearing up many questions. I'm sure I can scale a breeding down to the size I need. Thanks bunches.
Amber Lloyd definately you can do anything you want. All depends on the amount of time you allow crickets to lay eggs
*smile* true, I wouldn't need as many but you know what your video was better than anyone else I've seen. I took notes and am greatly appreciative of your effort. Thank you so much.
Hi, Loved the video and viewed multiple times. Like your tell it like it is matter of fact style and willingness to call out those expensive and overpriced additions as crap that some you tubers push out to try and make it a must have product to make money on. You are on my wavelength with your cheap or free mentality - way to go man.
I too am a lapsed (multi tank) Aquarist returning via this route as a hobby to pass the time in my old age (79). I am also much more frugal (cheap skate) than your good self, and bearing that in mind, it strikes me that you are almost too successful. I would like to have a go at producing much less, and I wonder if I could get away with no artificial heat (saving costs plus the hassle of putting it together (though quite capable of rewiring a complete house). It may work, take longer ( I don't mind ) but in my opinion those little buggers look as though they would produce in the north pole, as they are such randy little sods. Would appreciate your thoughts. Good luck and Regards from Jim across the pond (UK).
Hey Jim!
The optimum temperature range for adult crickets should be 70°-75°F during the day and at night. This is necessary for the crickets' metabolisms and immune systems to function properly. However in the egg stage, giving them that extra 5-10 degrees can make all the difference. The only way to compare is if you see crickets outside then that would be the ideal temperature for your location. Most houses stay within that range so added heat isnt a necessity. I am a grow up therefore want to up my yield as much as possible. For a home grow you should be fine
@@Twofinbluna2020 Appreciate you taking the time to reply and I hear what you say. Will give them a go when I have a home/space set up for them. My (dedicated pet) shed gets quite warm, and I have had great success so far with my first residents (3 boxes of mealworms) from my local store and just completed the full life cycle. My second residents (3 boxes of Springtails) they are taking off like a rocket - I call that a success for a newbie - (thumbs up) :-)
I had no idea these little critters could be so interesting to observe and look after - Now, on to the next acquisitions, Roaches and Crickets. Taking no chances with smell and already purchased some vermiculite for crickets as they do get a bad press with the odour - don't want to push my luck with the wife :-)
Hilarious, informative, and enjoyable video as well as the comments that followed - bookmarked and viewed whenever I need a good laugh and mental lift. Well done man - way to go - Cheers, Jim (UK)
im doing it for my lizards cause it cost to much :3
same
Same
At the pet store I go to to get my crickets is $1.49 a dozen. And that is DANG good for crickets. We usually buy 2 dozen at a time. We have to buy crickets every week.
@@RoseCadenza cost like 8 bucks for 30 for me lol
@@showery1376 Wow! That's a lot. My goodness!
Wow, the babies are so absolutely tiny. It's crazy how there are so many!
I saw this then looked at the date and at first, I thought you predicted COVID-19, but then realized you can edit is lol.
Thanks for this video mate. I live in Vancouver and I gotta try this out. For my own consumption, and perhaps even selling them to shops!
If anyone is interested in purchasing crickets, please send an email to flyhighcorp@live.cathanks!
Still in 2016?
+flyhigh747 i need some im going to start breeding my own need a couple hundred
+Julio Castro that's what I want to do (eat crickets as part of a raw diet) did you get them if so how do they taste?
I learned this from a different video but if you put a screen over the containers used to lay eggs it will stop the bigger crickets from eating the eggs so you can have even more.
flyhigh747 do you ship to Japan??????? Lmfao
does your room/storage stink up the place due to fhe cricket's ?
Add vermiculite to the floor to keep smells down.
with the screens you choose to use keep in mind that adult crickets can chew through the plastic mosquito screen, so the metal works best. I found out the hard way.
LOL @ own consumption....I instantly thought "People are breeding crickets to eat?!" Thanks for the video! I think I'm going to try this!
Cricket flour should be in everything soon! I have my own grinder....
Look online for a recipe to make Chocolate Chirp Cookies. One ingredient is cricket flour.
We are raising our own crickets to eat!!!
awesome!!!
why do ppl eat them!!!!!
Fried/Roasted crickets honestly aren't that bad. They are cheap and full of protein and other healthy benefits. You can spice them to and they taste just like meat, once you get past the thought of crickets.
They are extremely high in protein. Compare to the cost of raising cattle for protein...can't do that in a Rubbermaid container! Freeze the crickets, then dehydrate, then grind into flour and use in place of flour in most recipes.
If anyone is interested in purchasing crickets, please send an email to flyhighcorp@live.ca thanks
flyhigh747 nice guy, you teach and sell
you rock, im doing it. thanks, hope youre available for questions. i have experience with mushrooms, marijuana, snakes, lizards, exotic fish etc, i can maintain any micro climate. good job, you rock
Right on dude! Jack of all trades are ya. hit me up!
Thanks for all the great info. ^_^ Are you heating all of the bins with the light or just the one with the hatching eggs?
Guys please share donate and share my gofundme page far and wide. i need all the help I can get! Much love gofund.me/2e5b8e1b
Question: I tried to breed them a while ago, but for some reason my tubs always started to mold and attract mites, which you absolutely want to avoid, hence the reason why I had to dump everything in the dumpster. I think my mistake was to not provide them with any source of heat, only room temperature (approx 22°C). I would love get an answer on why this is happening to my breeding attempts, since I want to start breeding them again because it's getting pretty expensive to feed my reptiles. ^^
Cheers.
I would have to say your humidity is to high, 22c is a good temp!
22 is too low. You need to be at 26-30.
I am thinking about going into chicken farming and I think I can grow crickets to provide source of protein for my layers
awesome!
Yes, that is exactly why I am studying to learn to raise crickets - for my chickens, but also, one of my dogs likes to eat crickets and the wild crickets in the yard may contain parasites so home-raised is better.
I am going to get into breeding my own crickets for my gecko's. This video help a lot thanks
For the geckos also look into breeding flightless fruit flies. My daughter raised the fruit flies to feed her geckos and saved a ton of money. If I had known how to raise crickets back then I would have.
I just bred my first batch from 10 adult I had leftover from my toads food. I ground eggshells into a powder and mixed in with peanut butter I spread that on a potato slice for easy cleaning.
Great idea!
Can I just get adult crickets from the pet store and breed them like this?
absolutely thats how I started
Awesome video! Looks pretty simple! My 4 year old boy is super excited to raise our own crickets! (For our frog.) Something pet stores clearly make a killing on! Ha! Thanks for this!!!
"for your own consumption" lmao great video, and thank you for the info
I agree, If the "stuff" hits the fan in the world, we are going to need to know how to feed ourselves. Toast them them little bad boys up I say!!
ey Good vid man , it helped me a lot there!!!
Glad I can help! Don't be shy if you have any questions
Cuttlebone works to I do that too...and egg 🥚 shells make them into power...
Hi I like your video, even though it was a couple years ago. I am wondering if feeding a wild caught cricket to a gecko is a bad thing? I also want to breed crickets but on a smaller scale.
You can breed as many as you'd like. The rest just let go. Sure wild crickets are just fine! That's what most reptiles in the wild do? lol
Awesome video, thanks for the tips, might have to try crickets now 🤣🤣😂😂😂 please make more videos
Ill get on it
Nice video, good info. What do you use as substrate for the eggs? Looks like potting soil. On a side note, as an American I was kinda surprised to hear you say inches and degrees Fahrenheit. Or is that a Montreal thing?
Sorry guys but I won't be able to take orders for the forseable future, Please support my fight with leukemia
gf.me/u/zb7af6
I get water crystals from my local plant shop and get a 6 dollar container of them that lasts 3-4 years and I use them on crickets and dubia roaches for water so they do not kill themselves :)
Jeremy Madison right on. I dont like spending money... so yeah
I got a bunch of adult crickets and i waited for them to breed but they just laid a couple of eggs and then a lot of them died is this because they are full adult?
great post!! love the ideas and i will definatly be taking your advice.
When it's time to transfer the egg laying bins into your pinhead container or homemade incubator container to have the eggs incubated or hatched, do you still spray or mist it with water once everyday? and do you use fan heater to heat those containers or just 24 hours with heating lamps on?
Good video! I need to do this for my poison dart frogs. The local pet stores simply dont carry pinheads, and my last shipment died from the heat.
Guess I have to raise them myself.
They seem to die so easily. 😒
They do, just keep the parameters simple. The easiest thig to do is to start a reproduction in july and copy the outside temps for a month...
Thanks so much for this video i got one of the bins and put it in with dirt and a minute later the females are laying eggs thanks :) :D.
How long is their breeding cycle? My dubia take 6 months to mature to breeding age. How long does it take for crickets?
Same here, but I still have saltwater aquarium.
Sorry guys but I won't be able to take orders for the forseable future, Please support my fight with leukemia
gf.me/u/zb7af6
am i too late lol this video was made 4 years ago and this is the best cricket breeding video
How deep are the plastic boxes with dirt for eggs?
3:03 "leg aying success"
Speckh levl 100
I like this video man u sugar coat shit yo u keep it 100!! Thanks for the tips bro and keep it up good work.
Thanks man much appreciated... ps: cricket poo is one of the best fertilizers for plants such as your avatar ;)
I have many questionst. As far as the bin you use to allow the pin heads to grow;
I have Cope's Tree Frogs so I need the crickets not too small and not too large.
Can you give me an idea how long it takes the pinheads to reach about the size of
1/8th to 3/16 inch size or a bit larger, given the temps you recommend,
and keeping them fed with quality food and adequate water.
I have noticed you do not use the mesh over the soil filled egg laying boxes
as many people say you need to keep the adult crickets from eating the eggs.
You are obviously having success with the egg laying, so I am wondering if I
need the screen over the soil or not.
I would also like to try and support my hobbies by selling the excess crickets.
Would like to know how you advertise and do you have any experience with selling the
larger sized crickets? How much to charge, etc, for premium gut loaded crickets?
I live in a rural area, so the internet is the only option except for the one pet store in the area that sells
crickets, or the filthy bait shops that sell only adults. For internet sales, the price of the crickets is not that bad,
but the shipping costs are outrageous.
Many people also say you should use something like vermiculite on the floor of the breeding bins
to help keep excess moisture, mold, smells, etc down. What say you ?
How often do you do a complete scrub down of the bins?
Sorry for the length of this, but I can tell from your video that I will get straight
no non-sense answers from you.
Many thanks.
Whats up dude! Sorry took so long to answer!
Usually within 5-6 weeks they will be full grown
So given you want 1/8th maybe a week or two most...
You do not need the mesh screen, personnally if you give them enough food they will have no interest in cannibalism, and population has a large part as well. A couple dozen adults for your laying boxes and you will be fine, they will lay thousands of eggs given the proper conditions so even if a few are eaten no big deal.
Your best bet for marketing is either through local ads or online sale websites such ebay or craigslist. heresay is best in the reptile community. Join forums and post adds. Sell quality product and they will tell friends who will tells friends. Give out a bussiness card to every client saying bring me a new client and you get 10% off next purchase. Different tricks like that. You jsut have to be motivated to put the time in. Its a bussiness and they are animals which need to be kept for regardless
i mean you can use vermiculite and all that but if you plan on executing this cheaply it will come at a price (personal time/ patience) You have to be willing to put in the effort and time. After 2-3weeks I transfer them to a new clean bin to live out the rest of their time with me. I try to sell as young as possible so its a rather quick turnover. having the right size bin for your population is important in keeping condition clean and livaeble
This helps a lot bro! Nice video
Very informative video. What method(s) do you use for marketing to sell your crickets? Thanks again for a well done segment!
Hi William, thank you very much for the kind words! Much appreciated
I believe the best marketing tool in a (localized) reptile industry is word of mouth. Anyone can breed a cricket and make a website but a picture can only go so far. Theres is no sure way to know the quality of a product simply by reading what the manufacturer says about it.
I started with craigslist, I was a 24 hour get crickets quick. Around here stores have funny hours and people just don't always have the time to pick up 30 -50 crickets. Leaving on a trip last minute and forgetting to buy food I was there to save the day lol. (it has happened many times) Or just graveyard shift guys who don't see the light of day... Having good customer service and a quality product will sell generally sell for themselves.
People appreciated my service and slowly people started talking to their buddies in the area and all of the sudden I had a clientel. With my full time job I have slowed down on the cricket production as I am always looking for a new money making experience!
Lol the video was made 6 years ago but the titles been edited to Corona virus apocalypse
Definitely going to do this very soon. Buying crickets over and over in large quantities is getting rather expensive. I'm probably going to do this for my mealworms as well.... yay... beatles.... :/
Hi! I wanted to thank you for this video. I've been doing so much research that would make me take a second mortgage out! you made it so easy to understand and cheap which I love lol I started following you on Google+ but was wondering if there's another profile you have that I could ask questions? I'm getting ready to start my setup and want to do this right the first time! :-) Thank you!
+Kelly Swickheimer dont be shy to drop me a line!
Thanks for keeping it simple and easy. I got my brearded dragon before I found out the cost of crickets.
+Elena Herzer I know that feeling! Get at it!
Same.
i live in nh and gonna start my own and need the crickets
Right on I got a few buddies in NH
Hey gr8 vid. How long does a cricket take from the day it’s born to be able to breed?
Very interesting indeed! I was thinking about doing this if I have any spiders, tarantulas, or reptiles. I mean sure, i would eat them if it was a serious SHTF situation, but not now.
Just a thought dont call me stupid but would you think getting screen and lets say 3"-4" from the entire bottom of tub and fill it up with water right underneath the screen so while you have you tub closed up with the light on it will create moisture in the bin and help with moisture?
Great! now i can feed my Arowana (Dragon fish)
"Make sure it's dry, keep it moist..."
Any suggestions or tips to make it easier to catch the crickets once they're big enough to harvest?
Very informative, Thankyou
I am wanting to breed crickets in my garage and it can get cold here at night. Can you tell me more about temperature requirements for each of the three containers? Do I need to get heat lamps for each one and run them so the temp is consistent? Thanks! Great video
usually with a 60-100 watt light bulb the temperature remains quite stable... You will have to try out for yourself to see what it takes to maintain the right temps!
haha calisse, keep up the great work buddy
Thank you i needed this to feed my ants