Raising Your Own Insects

Crickets:
1.container- 3-10 gallon aquariums or rubber -maid containers
2.Sand paper to sand around container so they can not climb but so high.
3.Drill for drilling holes in the lid .
4.Hot glue gun for gluing on screen.
5.Screen cut to what size you want.
6. Carpet cutter to cut out square for screen.
7. 1 inch of sand
8. crickets 100-200
9. Insects foods (wet & dry)
10. Egg cartons(card board)
11. Butter dish filled with damp potting soil(keep moist).For females to lay eggs in.

Move dish after 1 1/2 weeks to new container, keep warm. Baby crickets will hatch soon.

Dry foods:( recipe later)
Wet foods:(potatoes,oranges, apples, squash)

Mealworms


Mealworms are the larval stage of the beetle, Tenebrio molitor. They are one of the most widely used foods for reptiles. They are easy to grow and handle. Anyone can raise them with little effort. You can find mealworms at your local pet store and start your own culture from these. A faster way to start your own culture is to find an online source that you can order the adult beetles from. Which will begin laying eggs immediately. I keep my cultures at 50 to 80 F.
Adult beetle's lay white eggs about 1/20th of an inch long in the food in which they are living in. The eggs hatch in about 1 week. The larvae molt 5 times before they reach a length of about 1-inch. It may take 5-9 months to reach this size. Once the worms reach their final larval stage, refrigerate any worms that will not be used for food immediately. In the refrigerator, at normal temperatures, their metabolism slows down and they can be kept for several weeks this way. They normally hibernate in the fall. at this stage of life. If they are not refrigerated, they will progress onto the Pupae State. Adults will emerge from the pupae in 10-15 days. and live for about four months. Females start laying eggs about a week after they emerge. A female may lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime.
after a culture has been maintained for about six months, it will need to be reconditioned. Dead adults on or near the surface should be removed. Transfer the top two inches of the culture to a new container with fresh food & bedding.
You may occasionally see adult beetles and larvae chewing on pupae. This is not unusual. If this becomes common and threatens the culture, you may need to provide more moisture. Try moistening a paper towel until it is just damp to the touch. Lay on top of the culture, and remove it after a few hours. The adult beetles and larvae will be able to suck the extra moisture that they need from the towel. You may need to do this once a week, in addition to using slices of apple or potato.
Excess moisture will cause problems with mold in the culture. If mold occurs, cut back on moisture, and increase ventilation. Be careful not to contaminate other cultures with food or worms from a culture that has problems with mold.
If you are using mealworms to feed several animals, try to keep three or four cultures maintained at the same time. This will insure that one culture does not become over used and exhausted. Save your beetles. Theses are your breeders. Mealworms should usually be used in combination with other live foods such as crickets. Most reptiles and amphibians will benefit from some diversity in their diet. Also consider dusting mealworms with calcium and vitamin supplements. Consult guides specific to your pet on this.

Zophobus are often referred to as king mealworms or as superworms. Sometimes the name is spelled with a double O, (Zoophobus). Here we will use the name Zophobus.They closely resemble Tenebrio molitor larvae, but are larger and more active. They have softer bodies, with less chitin, and are easier for most animals to digest.
They can be fed and housed in the same manner as mealworms, but must be kept warmer, between 80 and 85 F. They should always have food available, even when stored or shipped in small containers. Never refrigerate zophobus.

Eat This Bug is a guide to Invertebrate Live Foods for Reptiles & Amphibians. Written by Lynn Davis. This guide is a must have for the hobby insect grower.Or if you have reptiles and want to raise your own insects.There are also currently alot of websites with good information on raising your own feeder insects. Wormwan is one grower who will give you information on growing your own cultures.His website is Wormman.com

Do you have my food & container ready yet?

Gut Load Recipe

4 cups Kitten chow
2 cups Dry powdered milk
4 Multi-vitamin tablets ground or 4tsp. powdered
8 oz. tropical fish food
1/4 cup cocktail seed
4 calcium tablets ground or 4tsp. of powdered

Mix all together . Keep in an air tight container.Add to cricket container as well as wet foods.Remove and refill as needed.


I use a different one for my mealworms and zophobus.