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Thread: Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

  1. #1
    100+ Post Member Larry Wardog's Avatar
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    Default Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    In the 75 Gallon I have, the 3 species has bred, I've seen the crickets actually breed, and I found baby Woodlice and Nightcrawlers tonight. I have found evasive stone centipedes have also bred in there. I hope they get eaten by the Amphibs or Crickets. Surprisingly the Crickets have not gone after the Woodlice. So I could save a load of money if the 3 can continue to produce. This is the most incredible thing I've witnessed. 3rd Generation Crickets, offspring of Nightcrawlers and Wiodlice!


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    Default Re: Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    I've been raising my own crickets for over three years. I only have two fbt's to feed so it's overkill, but it beats having to go down to the pet store or elsewhere and stand in line. Also I find the crickets just as interesting as my fbt's. However I've not witnessed my crickets eating maggots or any other insects. Though they are classed as omnivores and should eat just about anything, it seems that they prefer vegetables over the insect or animal when available.

    Are you just using one container for a continuous cycle? That must be messy and a pain to pick out appropriate size crickets for feeding. I use three sometimes four containers. The eggs are collected from one as they reach adult breeding status and then moved to a clean container to hatch. This makes it easier to select crickets of the correct size to feed. It also allows me to easily dispose of the older crickets that are not needed for breeding. And it keeps the containers from getting too filthy. The stench must be terrible if you are just using one.

    I would think if you want centipedes and anything else, you'd be better to breed them separate from the crickets and anything else. Gives you more control instead of relying on maintaining a "balanced" ecosystem favorable for all.

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    100+ Post Member monster's Avatar
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    Default Re: Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    Is it ok to let the crickets breed in the same tank as the frogs/toads? I only ask this because my brother in law lost a bearded dragon to crickets over takeing the tank. He had put a bunch in one time before going out of town for a week because his mom will fill water dishes but not touch crickets. Anyhow when he got back he removed the crickets that were left and thought every thing was ok. WEll they had babies in the tank and he didn't get them all and about 2 weeks later his dragon fell very ill and died. Because it seemed healthy he brought the dragon to a vet to figure out what happened. the small crickets got into every hole that dragon had on his head and bit the **** out of his nasal and ear cavities and he died from a serious infection from the bites. I know frogs aren't the same but I would be carefull, yes I know they live together in nature but the forest or the edge of creek or something is a lot bigger then terrarium. And again it could be ok frogs/toads.

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    Default Re: Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    I've never had them successfully breed in my viv. Though I do let the uneaten crickets stay in the viv. Possibly they get eaten before there is a male and female that reach breeding age.

    I've thought about this too. However I don't think it's a good plan to try to breed them in the viv. Crickets just don't produce an egg or two. During their breeding life cycle, a single pair can produce hundreds of eggs in a few days. This would quickly overwhelm the viv and produce a habitat fouled with their excrement and most live plant would eventually be destroyed as they'll feed on them. There just wouldn't be enough "nature" in the viv to let things occur in there as they do in the wild.

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    Default Re: Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    Ya i was thinking the same thing, and imo i know i wouldn't personally try it. I would be too worried of them biting the frogs/toads and ya I imagine the viv wouldn't smell the greatest if the clean up crew couldn't keep up with the waste created by the crickets. But again this is just my thoughts on this.

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    Default Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    I let the crickets breed in the tank. It's been a month now that they have been breeding. There are 2 American toads and a Northern Leopard Frog in there. They pick off a good bit. I think the centipede does too. I didn't want to have centipedes. They came in through a plant I got. The tank does not smell at all and I have a mallet spray in there that the baby's stay under all the time. The Woodlice and Nightcrawlers have dug tunnels and the crickets inheret them also. They run away from the frogs and toads. I have no bite marks on any plants or animals. They are feeding on the seeds and pther insects. I love this, I wanted this from the start. I have a separate bin for crickets and I throw a proportion in, some don't get eaten and they breed. 3 generations of crickets and under 25 are in the tank, as I said it all is balancing out.
    The Woodlice and Nightcrawlers are also breeding. I see no problem with it as long as it's maintained to a proportional level. This is a 75 Gallon with 7 inches deep of dirt also. I'm not worried at all about an abundance of crickets now because the Amphibs and evasive Centipedes will eat a lot of them.
    Besides, the name of the tank is
    75 Gallon PA Woods Vivarium. I looked into the best feeders for this enclosure. The insects don't bother the fescue grass, I think because it's in the pine family. They don't mess with the Dragon's Tail Ferns either, Nor the Myrtle/Perriwinkle. These are awesome comments guys, I love getting to share experiences with this stuff


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    Default Re: Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    Oh..... I misunderstood entirely. I didn't realize the tank was also your viv with the frogs and toads. If that works for you great, but for me, I still stand by my previous comments. It's a balancing act that might get out of kilter and be difficult to recover from.

    Still not sure what a mallet spray is. When you mentioned it in another post, I googled it and all I initially found was a brand of insecticide named that. Subsequent searches have come up with a flower... properly "Schefflera pueckleri" That from what I read, all parts are poisonous. If the crickets like to feed on it and subsequently are eaten by your frogs and toads, that might be a problem. So you might want to find out if its toxin will affect them, if that is what your mallet spray is.

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    Default Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    Mallet spray is a natural bird seed for birds. It is nutritious. It's like feeding them oatmeal basically. It could get out of control but I have whites tree frogs in an enclosure next them. So there is a lot of mouths to feed. If they breed like rabbits, it's ok. I respect your opinion. It is valid. I'll look at the name of it again and see if I might have messed up the name. The crickets have been eating this for months and the birds have been eating for 9 years.


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    Default Re: Crickets, Woodlice, & Nightcrawlers

    Me thinks the "a" and the "i' on your keyboard must be transposed. <<grin>>

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    Default Re: Crickets, Woodlice, &amp; Nightcrawlers

    I was just going to say that... lol. Big diff between Millet and Mallet
    Mom to these fine frogs!
    4.4.0 White's tree frogs (Litoria caerulea): Sir Honey Lime, Bok & Choi, Martha, Shirley, Leapin' Loo and Ping & Pong; 0.2.1 Amazon Milk Frogs (Trachycephalus resinifictrix): Otto & Echo and Pip-Squeak aka Tiny
    2.0.0 South American Bird Poo Frogs (Hyla marmorata): Ribbit & Rupert


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    Default Crickets, Woodlice, &amp; Nightcrawlers

    Sorry about the mix up, big difference though? Haha
    I also wanted to say that I have personally watched crickets devour wax worms and Butterworms. They will pick them up, carry them, and rip pieces of them off as they feed. I have noticed the Mealworms and beetles, along with Woodlice they don't try to eat. Fun fact I've found out

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