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Crickets as Pets

The first insect pets I had were crickets caught in my front yard.

Crickets can be purchased at pet stores, but these are small (house) crickets. I enjoyed the larger black field crickets. You can look on the internet for methods to bait and trap them. Often, they can be easily found along the foundation of a building.

My pets were obtained by listening for a calling male and locating him by following the sound. Then I waited until a female came into view and caught her by placing a clear plastic container over her and slipping a thin piece of cardboard under her. Then I did the same with the male in an empty container. I eventually had more of each sex in a container and a separate container with one of each sex named Ken and Barbie.

Observing them was quite interesting including general behavior, molting, a late night mating session, egg laying and the hatching and development of young crickets.

Below I have placed some good instructions for caring for pet crickets and aaa brief history of the subject.

Karl C. Priest

Housing - an aquarium with a ventilated tight-fitting wooden lid makes a good cage. The lid must be tight to stop the crickets jumping out and a fine wire mesh is ideal for ventilation. Crickets can be kept at room temperature but in colder climates they are more active and sing better if given some warmth. An electric light or a heat pad can be used to provide heat. Most species of cricket respond well to about 16 hours of daylight and eight hours of night, including the mostly nocturnal ones. Crickets need some sort of cover to hide in - crumpled cardboard, leaves, or wood bits are all good hideaways.

Water - fill a shallow bowl with water-soaked cotton wool. Change the cotton wool regularly, as it gets dirty.

Feeding - all crickets are omnivorous (eat both plants and animals) and some species in the wild are carnivorous by choice. If you don't feed your crickets, they will prey on one another. A combination of rolled oats with fresh fruit (eg apples) and vegetables (eg carrots) will keep them happy.

Breeding - the females will lay their eggs in damp cotton wool, which should be changed twice a week. This cotton wool should be placed in a well-ventilated plastic box, in a warm airing cupboard. The eggs should hatch in a week or two, depending on the temperature. The young and the adults can be kept together providing they have plenty of food.

http://www.amonline.net.au/insects/insects/pets.htm#crickets

For hundreds of years, people in parts of Asia have kept crickets as pets. Crickets are said to bring cheer and good luck to a home. They also provide lovely music.

The Chinese used to keep their pet crickets in small cages made of bamboo or wood. A cricket cage often contained tiny dishes for the insect’s food and water. Sometimes an owner would even give the cricket a little clay bed to sleep on. The owners might tickle the cricket with a rabbit’s whiskers to make it sing.

At one time, people in China walked around town with their pet crickets. Cricket owners often placed their pets in tiny containers, which they put in their pockets. People walking down a street in China could hear the cheery sound of crickets chirping.

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/cricket-info.htm