Is it worth it?

[itwasme]

I have 4 fire belly toads and was thinking about culturing my own crickets. I went to the pet store to talk to them about how to go about it and they said it was really not worth it. So I wanted to ask you what u think. Is it worth the time of effort or should I just keep buying them?
I’m currently culturing flightless fruit flies and isopods and so far it’s gone great. Are crickets much harder or do u think the pet shop just wants to sell me more stuff?

[emandkel]

I've just setup a breeding setup with adult crickets and hoping to breed them. My 3 FTB's are heavy eaters and I have easily fed an average of 3 - 4 dozen or more small crickets weekly to them alone, and I recently added 2 more FTBs and with all my frogs, am going through probably 2 - 3 dozen (closer to 3) small crickets a day. I can get them locally for $8.00 per 100 (usually there's more than that) but that still adds up quickly. I think mostly you need to keep them warm (at least mid to upper 70's, newly hatched to about 3/16" need to be kept even warmer, with food and a water source. Egg crate and/or paper towel rolls for hiding. Ideally have 3 - 4 containers to sort size of crickets -- I plan to use 3 containers -- one for the breeding group, one for the hatchery/tiny crickets, one for my feeder crickets small/medium in size).