Hi guys, after a long time planing finally I gonna get my very first Tarantula, and I have a question bout keeping crickets alive, impossible keep like just about 6 crickets in a proper place, without breeding ? how long they will survive? I don't wanna keep lots of crickets just for 1 tarantula, so my plan is go buy food about every 2 months.
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Keep crickets alive like this is possible?
- Thread starter Flafex
- Start date
Colorado Ts
Member
- Messages
- 41
- Location
- Johnstown Colorado
A cricket's life cycle is about 7 to 8 weeks in length, based upon average ambient room temperatures.
So if you buy small crickets, they will mature over a 5 to 6 week period. If you buy large crickets, you will have them about 14 to 20 days before they mature complete their life cycle.
I have a small plastic tub that I bought at WalMart for about $2.00 +/-. I took an egg crate for a dozen eggs and cut it into 3 sections to serve as habitat and provide surface area for the crickets, and I use water bottle caps for food and water containers. I use water crystals as a water source and for food I feed flake fishfood and milled non-medicated Chick Feed. I used to put carrots and lettuce in with the crickets, but I've never seen strong evidence that the crickets feed appreciably on fresh foods.
Along with my adults, I keep a small group of 5 GBB slings, an G. pulchripes sling and L. parahybana sling. I buy a couple dozen small crickets once a month. I feed the slings twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The slings are kept inside a wooden cabinet. I regulate the temperature of the cabinet to 79 degrees F; by maintaining this temperature, the slings metabolic rates are elevated allowing them to increase size at a faster rate. Once the slings get to the 2" to 2.5" range, they are moved into a larger enclosure and are moved from the cabinet into the general room.
So if you buy small crickets, they will mature over a 5 to 6 week period. If you buy large crickets, you will have them about 14 to 20 days before they mature complete their life cycle.
I have a small plastic tub that I bought at WalMart for about $2.00 +/-. I took an egg crate for a dozen eggs and cut it into 3 sections to serve as habitat and provide surface area for the crickets, and I use water bottle caps for food and water containers. I use water crystals as a water source and for food I feed flake fishfood and milled non-medicated Chick Feed. I used to put carrots and lettuce in with the crickets, but I've never seen strong evidence that the crickets feed appreciably on fresh foods.
Along with my adults, I keep a small group of 5 GBB slings, an G. pulchripes sling and L. parahybana sling. I buy a couple dozen small crickets once a month. I feed the slings twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The slings are kept inside a wooden cabinet. I regulate the temperature of the cabinet to 79 degrees F; by maintaining this temperature, the slings metabolic rates are elevated allowing them to increase size at a faster rate. Once the slings get to the 2" to 2.5" range, they are moved into a larger enclosure and are moved from the cabinet into the general room.
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Thank you, that helped a lot!
Colorado Ts
Member
- Messages
- 41
- Location
- Johnstown Colorado
Update: I've completely switched from crickets to raising B. lateralis roaches & B. dubia roaches. My collection of tarantulas has grown appreciably, and...let's face it...crickets do have an odor, a very noticeable ODOR.
I've found that roaches:
Are very easy to raise in colonies
Once the colony is established, they are very productive
Compared to breeding/keeping crickets, roaches are so simple and easy
There is a nice market for the excess roach production
The odor of roaches is much lower than the odor of crickets.
B. lateralis roaches have a larger range of sizes, from teeny tiny to adult, making them wonderful for tiny slings.
Sorting roaches by size is uber easy once you get a sieve system in place.
Bye, bye, crickets...hello roaches.
I've found that roaches:
Are very easy to raise in colonies
Once the colony is established, they are very productive
Compared to breeding/keeping crickets, roaches are so simple and easy
There is a nice market for the excess roach production
The odor of roaches is much lower than the odor of crickets.
B. lateralis roaches have a larger range of sizes, from teeny tiny to adult, making them wonderful for tiny slings.
Sorting roaches by size is uber easy once you get a sieve system in place.
Bye, bye, crickets...hello roaches.
