When you consider raising crickets inside your home to feed your reptile mates, you might think it is an easy thing to do. On the other hand, these little insects are delicate, and their chances of surviving from birth to adulthood within your home are slim to none. But don’t worry, we have prepared a list of helpful hints for keeping crickets alive for you.
How to keep crickets in a Cage?
The first thing to do for raising these little creatures is finding a nice box with some holes for them to live. If you want your feeder crickets to stay alive, you’ll need to keep both of the following factors under control: humidity level and temperature. Also, the airflow going through their habitat must be maintained at all times.
What does their natural habitat look like?
Crickets really like humidity and like to live in tropical climates. It also implies that they can develop and flourish in hot weather. Therefore, we recommend keeping them at a constant temperature of between 25 and 27 °C. Next, space is important! You should not put them into a small box and expect them to stay alive for very long. Indeed, your little friends will need enough space to fly around in order to survive. You’ll have to keep that in mind before choosing their habitat.
Another important thing you should know is that crickets prefer dark and damp environments during day time. As a result, you should pick a transparent box, while keeping the lighting level to a minimum. Egg cartons are quite good for providing hiding places for your crickets. Moreover, we recommend making a few holes (around 100 of them) in your box, as their habitat will need a good amount of ventilation.
Do crickets need a clean environment to grow?
Some people believe that since these insects are normally found in the wild, they don’t need to be cared for. It is completely untrue. The crickets will begin to die if you leave them in their box without cleaning it. The first step is to empty the box of any leftover food that the crickets haven’t consumed. If you don’t keep the habitat clean, it is likely that it will quickly catch fungus, which they will consume, obliterating their chances of survival. Furthermore, having them in the house requires clean water and hygiene. They will live for a long time if their cages are kept tidy and clean, and if they are fed good nutritious food. Also, don’t leave stale water in their habitat for too long; it needs to be changed on a regular basis.
What is the best food for crickets?
We’ve already mentioned how difficult it is to keep crickets alive, but they do have one advantage: their diet is very diverse, allowing you to feed them a wide variety of foods. However, you should always make sure it’s dry food, as something wet will quickly become infected with bacteria and kill them. Oatmeal, cornflakes, and small vegetables in mini bits are examples of dry foods.
Water is a source of life for crickets, and they need it for two distinct reasons. Like other living things, they must first replenish their bodies with it. The other reason is that they require a high-humidity environment. To achieve this condition, you may need to hold a few liters of water within the container. Besides, you can get functional food, also known as water bites, from specialized stores to quickly solve the feeding situation. This form of diet provides the crickets with all they need to live, thanks to a combination of dry food and water.
How to keep the feeder crickets in a healthy environment?
Since you’ve taken all the previous steps, all you have to do now is keep an eye on them and keep their surroundings as safe as possible. Chemical products should never be used during the cleaning process. Check on your insects regularly to ensure that they are in good health. If you notice any change in your crickets’ movement within the box, it might be a good time to replace it.
How to remove crickets out of the box?
To remove the crickets you can simply place a few toilet roll tubes or a tiny egg box on top of the egg cartons. These will be used by the crickets as a place to hide. Then, put a plastic bag in the box when you need some crickets, shake the toilet roll tubes in the plastic bag until you have the number of crickets you need. This will allow crickets to be easily removed without the risk of them getting out of the box. It also reduces the number of egg crates that you need in your box as the number of crickets decreases. Finally, the crickets will get used to hiding in your toilet roll tubes. When you’re done with the crickets, throw away the debris, disinfect the box, and rinse thoroughly before starting on the next batch.
