Worm farm, cricket farm, or convicts for a dovii treat?
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Question by ChrisWF: Worm farm, cricket farm, or convicts for a dovii treat?
Well, I’ve got extra tanks that I want to do something with.
I have convicts in 1, they’re the last batch of convicts I have, but they’re all very weird as they were inbred and probably have the worst outcomes out of any of my breedings I’ve seen. Not likely going to mate these, especially if their strange deformities could get worse.
I was thinking cricket or worm farm.
I’ve had a cricket farm before, it was quite simple. Had it for my turtle. I had hundreds of crickets in no time, and they were super easy to raise. I actually fed them damp pellets that the turtle also ate, as well as various other things they’d like (banana peels and such). Turtle was wild, after it healed I let it go, so I got rid of the crickets.
Years later, I’m thinking about crickets again for my Dovii.
Or maybe worms? But I hear worms can be difficult to maintain b/c you have to balance the PH in the dirt with products you have to buy, maintain moisture and temperature (this will be an indoor tank) and much more.
As strange as it sounded, the crickets NEVER chirped. They’re the brown ones you buy from a pet store (don’t think fish eat the black ones anyway, at least not for fishing).
Never chirped. The tank they were in at the time was a plexiglass tank, no roof to it. But the sides folded over, so I would heard it if they did, but they didn’t…
Hmm I thought you could feed worms rabbit poop (I have a rabbit).
What do you think? Answer below!
2 Responses to Worm farm, cricket farm, or convicts for a dovii treat?
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Feeding: The Dovii is an opportunistic eater and should be feed extra large pellets , worms, bloodworms, tubfex works, beefheart, insects, krill, and due to the size it is very common to feed goldfish. If goldfish are used due to the fish size and nutritional requirements use a separate quarantine tank to prevent spreading disease. The above information I got off the web. How can you stand the sound of crickets? I can hear on a mile a way. Anyway, sounds like you were successful with crickets, so I say go for it. Worms are tricky indoors, I always had an area in the yard where I would cultivate the soil and it did draw the worms and night crawlers. Always had plenty for my fishing trips with one shovel full. Have fun and enjoy your bugs!!!!
John B
February 16, 2012 at 6:14 am
Edit:
Yes you can feed them rabbit poop.
Sorry, by poop earlier, I had meant like cat or dog (or people) poops
It’s just the male full sized crickets that chirp, maybe you were lucky and ended up with all females. Or you just never got one of those “obnoxious” crickets that likes to keep everyone up at night. The brown ones from the pet shops do chirp.
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Worm farming is quite easy. I breed Red Wrigglers and European Nightcrawlers as food for my fish and other exotic pets. I use Vermicomposting worms, which are not the worms that you would find outside in the yard.
I keep my bins inside at room temperature in Rubbermaid tubs
They need a carbon source (shredded paper, cardboard, etc…) and a nitrogen source (food scraps, veggies, fruits, bread, etc…
You also need to have some crushed egg shells in there. These help neutralize the acids in the food that may burn the worms. There are other products you can use too, but I prefer using something edible since the worms will be used as a food source.
Just don’t put stuff in the bin that they can’t eat, and you really shouldn’t have a problem with them. No meat, dairy, sauce, fats/oil/butter/margarine, no salt, no poop, etc…, and avoid adding citrus fruits and onions as much as possible.
I’ve never had an issue with not enough moisture, the bins have always stayed really moist for me. Sometimes even too wet, and I just add a bunch of dry cardboard or shredded paper to help absorb the extra water that’s in their bin in that case.
I would have to say that the worms are much less work then breeding crickets, and you get more worms then you would crickets overall. You will also be doing something good for the environment and you will be getting the best all natural fertilizer (worm castings).
Another idea would be to breed feeder roaches, like Dubia Roach. This is a very easy to breed roach and great for beginners too. They are much hardier then crickets, and they don’t smell or make noise like the crickets do. They are also a much more meatier bug, and they get bigger then crickets do.
Best of luck with your Dovii! My buddy just got himself 5 of those, and I give him worms to feed his cichlids
Sandy
February 16, 2012 at 6:59 am