Cages
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3 types of cages are used. Breeding, Hatching, Rearing.
A couple of basics about crickets and cages (aka containers or boxes)
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Cricket maximum vertical jump height is 8”. However, an adult can jump 24” away from you (think long jump).
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Pinheads (baby crickets) are excellent climbers. They have nothing else to do. They cannot climb Sterilite plastic.
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If a lid is used, it is generally to keep other things out. Gnats and mice in particular. A lid helps to slow heat loss.
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Never totally enclose a cage with a solid lid. Crickets need some fresh air and to let humidity out.
Breeding Cage (#1)
This is setup to facilitate adult crickets in laying their eggs.
Items used-
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10 Gallon glass bottom aquarium.
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Wood base- See picture below for details. I make these myself.
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Aquarium heater- “Hang on the back”, Adjustable type (set at 100°f if possible), not a submersible type. Attach horizontally to a frame in the base to suspend the heating element.
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Paper for the bottom
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Egg carton - ½ of a 12 count egg carton, made of paper only- NOT Styrofoam.
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Place to lay eggs - referred to as an ELB (Egg Laying Box)
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Crickets ready to breed.
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Label the ELB and cage with the date. Use a dry erase maker on the cage. a plant marker is in the ELB itself.
A double boiler type cage (See Supplies section for details) will also work but is overkill and there may be issues keeping the ELB warm enough.
My breeding cage is a 10 gallon glass aquarium on a customized 3” wooden base and a suspended adjustable aquarium heater (Hang-on type, not submersible) as the heat source. The heater is not touching anything and if the tank and base form an enclosed area, the heater works well. VERY IMPORTANT- This is not a UL approved use. Use at your own risk. See the Alternative Heat Source Section for other heat sources. The heater may be hot to the touch when the tank is lifted from the base so be cautious. Do not allow moisture on the glass around the hot heater element else the glass will crack. Heaters have an internal overheating cutoff to prevent fires in case of a malfunction. See the picture of the base for details. The stepped edged is important to form a seal. The fact that the base and aquarium fit firmly (no air loss) is important to allow the heater to warm up the cavity and cycle so it does not run continuously.
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Use a screened lid on the tank to prevent small insects (soil/fungus gnats) from getting in and laying eggs along with the crickets. The lid is a wood frame with ¼” hardware cloth and mosquito netting hot glued to it in places, on the inside of the cage. The hardware cloth keeps the netting from being damaged by mice or cats.
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Cage #1 Construction-
On the bottom of the aquarium is a single sheet of paper. On that is the half egg carton and a container for laying eggs (ELB), food dish, and open water source. The ELB is positioned to be above the heater element to keep it warmer. Place an acrylic “roof” over the ELB to slow down the medium from being kicked out when the crickets burrow. The egg carton abuts the ELB so the crickets can easily access the ELB. Plug in the heater now.
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Hatching Cage (#2)
This is where the egg laden ELBs are incubated while the eggs hatch into pinheads. Most hatching occures between days 10 and 17 after being added to the cage. Some hatch immediately, some 20 days later. After 25 days the hatching rate is too low to be of concern and mites become more likely. These numbers are if the water base is kept at 87° or higher. Ideally 100° is better but the heaters may not go this high. Ambient air temperature will affect the hatching rate due to heat loss. It the temperature is too low hatching may take over 33 days.
Items Needed for hatching cage #2
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Standard “Double boiler” cricket cage. See Supplies section for details
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Paper on the bottom
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Food on the bottom (Fish food and/or fine ground kitten food). Not the food mixture..
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Open water supply Click here for details
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Snap on a lid with most of the top removed and replaced with mosquito netting. See Picture below. Never use a solid lid else mold forms quickly on the damp ELBs. Lack of a screened cover invites gnats.
#2 Cage Construction-
Check for heat on the bottom of the double boiler before adding this piece.
Place a sheet of paper on the bottom
Sprinkle some food on the paper
Add the source of water
Set the ELBs with eggs directly on the paper. IMPORTANT-See section on ELBs about water requirements.
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After a few days (3 to 5 depending on numbers hatching, restart the hatching cage and move the pinheads that have left the ELBs into the first type rearing cage (#3 cage). Be sure to check the water requirements on the ELB. A dry ELB is sterile. Details in the ELB section. Ir the temperature of the base is correct, 50+ cc of water is needed to bring the moisture level up to where it should be in each ELB.
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Rearing Cage (#3)
The pinhead crickets are removed (dumped, food and all) from the hatching cage into a prepared rearing cage (#3). After 14-21 days, the crickets are moved into a clean rearing cage (#4). After 10 days they may be transferred again to another clean cage (#5). The frequency depends on the number of crickets being raised and odor tolerance. Too much frass in the cage slows the transfer process. (See: Transfer Ideas).
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Items needed for rearing cage #3 ( #4 and #5)
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Standard “double boiler” cricket cage. See Supplies section for details
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Paper on the bottom
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Something for the crickets to hide under. This depends on age.
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Open water supply. Water capacity depends on age and number of crickets.
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Food dish is used in cages #4 and #5
For the initial rearing cage (#3) use a 12 count egg carton or a cut 5x6 egg tray in thirds. No lid is needed. Sprinkle a good helping of flake fish food and finely ground kitten food directly on the paper on the bottom of the cage. Add an open water supply before adding the pinheads. Put a date on the box for easier tracking.
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Rearing Cage (#4) (#5)
These are similar to cage #3 except for the place to hide and water supply capacity.
After 14 days, prepare a new cage (#4), using piece of a 5x6 egg carton cut in half (15 cells) for the crickets to hide under or climb on. A “second story” piece of a different material can be added now. One possibility for a 2nd tier is a paper beverage tray from a national fast food chain. For the water supply, I use a higher capacity unit. A large batch will consume a 16 dram bottle of water in 24 hours. See Supplies section for details. Add a tray for the food mixture. Then add the crickets. See Transferring section on how to quickly remove the very active sometime stubborn crickets from the frass, discarded exoskeletons, and uneaten food matter into a clean box. Box #5 is a clean version of #4 and is usually the last box needed.
After 5 weeks, you should start hearing mature adults chirping.
