Raising & Breeding Feeder Insects-



This page is about the raising and breeding of feeder insects, in hope that more animals out there will get a healthier, more nutritous diet.

Crickets-

Housing: The container in which you house your crickets is really up to you. I have seen/used everything. You can use margarine containers, glass aquariums, plastic critter keepers, gallon mason jars, just about anything that has a lid. Even in an emergency, I have used plastic disposable cups with screen rubberbanded to the top for a lid. As far as substrate(ground covering), it is best to keep the floor bare. It not only eases cleaning, but helps eliminate odors.

Care & Feeding: The care that crickets need, is very little on your part. You just need to check them every couple of days to make sure that they have food and water & remove the dead crickets. Then once a week, you need to clean out the cricket cage, with soap and water. Depending on the container, you could probably throw it in the dishwasher. If not, use your hose in your backyard to spray it out, add a couple drops of soap, and rinse until suds are gone.

Food & Water: For food, you can either make your own, or buy some already made up at your local petstore. Offer fresh fruits, vegetables, and hard boiled eggs. Also, commercially prepared GutLoadTM, makes a nice additive. Offer mixed with food or in a seperate dish.
To make your own, simply combine: (this will make quite a bit)

Serve to crickets, uncooked, and add an orange slice for water and additional vitamins/minerals.

Then, for water, either use orange slices, or both orange slices and a shallow dish of water. (The lids to empty fishfood containers work very well as food and water dishes.)

Breeding: Breeding crickets is extremely simple. All you need to do is get a male and a female, place them in a margarine container with a lid(put small airholes in lid), keep moist soil or vermiculite in it. Keep container at 80°F-85°F, and place in a warm, dark area. To tell the difference between a male & female crickets, is also easy. Males have only two spike looking "hairs" sticking out of the rear area. Females have three, two pointing out at an angle and a straight one in the middle(ovipositor or egg tube). Place the male and female crickets in the container overnight, and remove the next day. Place them back into your cricket cage, and store the breeding container as mentioned above. In a matter of 3-4 weeks, you should be able to see maggots. In another couple of weeks, you should see "pinheads" or baby crickets. Place a small amount of cricket food or high protein baby cereal in with the pinheads, and allow to grow to the desired size. Then feed to your reptile or amphibian.

Mealworms(Tenebrio Molitor):

(Note: I am not speaking of King Mealworms, just regular mealworms)

Housing: Housing your mealworms, is very similar to housing crickets, the only difference is: Do not use margarine containers or thin plastic containers! The reason for this is because I had a bad experience with mealworms and a margarine container. I had 2 dozen mealworms in a margarine container for my collared lizard. One day I went to go get a mealy for him(which he would't eat anyways), and I discovered that they had eaten a hole in the lid! There were two mealies on their way out, and my mom, dad and I caught like 6 more later that night. We thought we had gotten them all, but around 11:00 at night the next day, my cat caught and ate 6 more! That is why I do not recommend margarine or thin plastic containers for mealies. Other than that, it is really personal preference.

Care & Feeding: Care and feeding of mealies is similar to crickets, but instead of a bare floor, you can use wood chips, pine is recommended.

Food & Water: Use commercially prepared cricket food, or the recipe above. Also, offer fresh fruits, vegetables, hard boiled eggs, and orange slices(for water). Commercial GutLoadTM is a nice additive, can be mixed with food or offered in a seperate dish. Water can be offered in a dish or supplied via fresh fruits and vegetables.

Breeding: To breed mealies, simply put 6-8 mealies in a container, wait until mealies metamorphose into beetles(darkling beetles). Once they have become beetles, offer moist soil or vermiculite for them to lay eggs in. Once beetles have laid, it will be a couple months before larvae are big enough to be seen. Once you can see them, offer mini-portions of the food you feed the adults. Water is best offered in fresh fruits and vegetables.

Baby Pinkies(hairless, domestic, baby mice):


Since you don't really raise pinkies, I will tell you how to keep your supply replenished. Since baby pinkies are pretty expensive around here, 1.00/pinky, it is much more economical to raise your own. Adult mice are around $1.00/mouse. Start out with a pair of mice, 1 male & 1 female. Put them in a 10 gallon aquarium, with a set-up like you would if you were keeping them as pets. Toys, wood chips, food and water should be accessible. Mice should mate after getting used to their new surroundings. After male has mated female, he should be removed. Mice have a 21 day gestation(pregnancy), and then will have a litter of around 4-12 pups. After they have been born, start feeding them to your herp or amphibian. If they need to be bigger, then leave them with their mother until desired size is achieved. Parents should be fed high protein seed mix, fresh fruits and vegetables, and hard boiled eggs. A vitamin supplement should also be added to food. Word of caution: Do not use water-soluble vitamins, they encourage bacteria growth and can kill parents and babies.

Waxworms(Bee Moth):


Housing: Waxies can be kept in the container they are in when you buy them. Food can be mixed right in with the wood chips that are in there. Water can be offered by fresh fruits and vegetables.
Breeding: I have not heard of breeding being achieved in captivity, because female waxies lay eggs in the discarded nests of wasps. I am sure that if you moved a number of waxies into a large container, like a margarine dish, and put a discarded wasp nest in, that they would breed.

Spikes(spike-tailed maggots):


Spike tailed maggots are offered at bait shops. Care and feeding is the same as the above insects. Breeding is a topic I have not heard discussed, nor have done it.
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