Breeding crickets.

[Pckerfreak44]

So i have two fire bellied toads and i like them alot but going to petsmart every other day is kind of a hastle. I was wondering if any one has had any success breeding crickets and how they went along doing it? My cousin has a tank thats already set up for crickets and has all the food you need, that he said he would give to me. So i was just wondering how i would start and how long it would take them to breed?

 

[tamtam]

I don't know anything about breeding them but I know my friend just bought a large amount for her lizards and kept them in their own small tank. She only picked them up every 2 weeks I think and they always did fine for that length of time.

 

[Pckerfreak44]

hmmm i see. How much did she buy at a time?

 

[tamtam]

hmmm i see. How much did she buy at a time?

hmm, it's been a while. Maybe 10 or so. She just kept small lizards and they didn't need to eat often so she didn't buy a boat load. I do know they were stinky things though.

 

[bud29]

+1 to that. Buy quite a few at a time so then you don't have to take so many trips.

I would love to have firebelly toads, but I would have to buy about 6 months' worth of crickets at a time.

 

[Pckerfreak44]

I feed them 24 crickets every other day. Is that too much for the two of them?

 

[bud29]

I think you are feeding too much. JMO. I personally think 6-8 crickets every other day would be fine.

 

[tamtam]

I feed them 24 crickets every other day. Is that too much for the two of them?

wow! I didn't realize they could eat that much at once. lol. I know they are big eaters. I think the recommendation is that you feed them every other day like you are and enough that they can eat in a few hours. I'm guessing you probably do that.

Do you offer them anything else other than crickets? I know they can eat certain types of worms and even guppy fry/feeder guppies I believe. You'd probably have more luck breeding guppies.

 

[Pckerfreak44]

Omg... That's a great idea. And I sometimes catch bugs or worms from outside and them those. My neighbors have a surplus of guppies so maybe they can give me some

 

[bud29]

Sounds good. Just don't feed them anything bigger than their head.

 

[Pckerfreak44]

Got it, thanks alot

 

[M1k3y_gumi]

To breed crickets you need to provide a substrate where they can lay eggs. A small tubberware in their housing unit is fine. Keep the soil moist and granted that the crickets are adults, you can remove tubberware in about a week and place it in another cricket housing unit(large steralite or Rubbermaid bins are best) and if you keep the soil moist and it's not too cold then they should hatch in a week or two. Breeding crickets however is usually mor trouble than they're worth. Dubias don't smell jump climb or chip and are more nutritious and easier to breed than crickets. If you can feed baby Dubias to you toads that would be best

 

[Pckerfreak44]

What are dubias? And thanks for the info

 

[bud29]

They are a type of roach. Other names for them are the Guyana Cockroach or Orange Spotted Cockroach.

Another idea for live food would be adult brine shrimp.

 

[Pckerfreak44]

I see. Where would I find adult brine shrimp or the cockroaches?

 

[M1k3y_gumi]

You could probably order online for pretty cheap.