Livefood Hub
Black Cricket for Bearded Dragons
An active cricket feeder, but often noisier and more aggressive than other cricket options.
ActiveNoisyCan be aggressive
Quick verdict
Quick verdict
Feeding role
Rotation feeder
Care difficulty
Medium
Breeding difficulty
Medium
Nutrition
Nutrition snapshot
| Protein | varies |
|---|---|
| Fat | varies |
| Moisture | varies |
| Calcium : Phosphorus | varies |
Use cricket nutrition as a rough guide and always gut-load and dust appropriately.
Nutrition values vary depending on age, gut-loading, hydration and supplier. Use these figures as a practical guide, not a lab guarantee.
Benefits
- Active feeder
- Good movement response
- Useful rotation
Downsides
- Can be noisy
- Can be more aggressive
- May bite if left in enclosure
- Can smell
Care
How to keep them alive
Care is similar to other crickets: ventilation, egg crates, dry food and a safe moisture source.
- Do not leave in the vivarium
- Use good ventilation
- Remove dead insects
- Offer hydration safely
Breeding
How to breed them
Breed with warmth and an egg-laying container, but expect more work than keeping roaches.
- Use moist laying substrate
- Separate eggs
- Keep warm
- Avoid damp dirty conditions
More breeding details
Is it worth breeding Black Cricket?
Breeding Black Cricket is worth trying if you need many small feeders, but many keepers prefer buying crickets because smell, die-offs and egg management can become annoying.
Before you start
Black Cricket can be bred at home, but crickets are usually more work than roaches. They need strong ventilation, regular cleaning, safe hydration and a separate egg-laying setup.
What you need
- Well-ventilated cricket tub
- Egg crates for hiding and climbing
- Dry food or gut-load diet
- Water gel or vegetable moisture instead of open water
- Small container of moist egg-laying substrate
- Second tub for eggs and pinhead crickets
- Warm stable area
Step-by-step breeding setup
- Keep adult crickets in a dry, well-ventilated tub with egg crates.
- Provide dry food and safe moisture. Avoid open water because crickets drown easily.
- Place a shallow container of moist laying substrate inside the adult tub.
- Leave the laying container in for a few days so females can lay eggs.
- Remove the laying container and incubate it separately so adults do not eat the eggs.
- Keep the egg container warm and lightly moist, not soaking wet.
- When pinhead crickets hatch, raise them separately with tiny food, safe moisture and excellent ventilation.
- Move young crickets into larger tubs as they grow to avoid overcrowding and die-offs.
Life cycle timeline
Cricket eggs usually hatch faster in warm conditions, but the full process from egg to useful feeder size takes planning, space and separate containers.
Common breeding mistakes
- Poor ventilation
- Wet substrate or stale moisture food
- Leaving egg containers with adults too long
- Open water bowls
- Leaving dead crickets in the tub
- Overcrowding pinhead crickets
Feeding advice
Feeding note
Feed appropriately sized insects, no larger than the space between your bearded dragon's eyes. Gut-load livefood before feeding, dust with supplements as needed, and never treat one feeder as perfect. Variety, correct sizing and good husbandry matter more than chasing one “best” insect.
FAQ
Black Cricket FAQ
Can bearded dragons eat Black Cricket?
Yes, bearded dragons can eat Black Cricket when the feeder is healthy, gut-loaded and correctly sized. As with all livefood, the insect should be no larger than the space between the dragon's eyes. Black Cricket is best used as part of a varied feeder rotation rather than the only insect offered.
How often should I feed Black Cricket to a bearded dragon?
Black Cricket works best as a rotation feeder. Offer it alongside other suitable insects instead of relying on it every day. Babies and juveniles usually eat insects more often than adults, while adult bearded dragons should have a diet led more by safe greens and vegetables.
Is Black Cricket a good staple feeder?
Black Cricket is not the best single staple feeder for every dragon. It is better used for variety, enrichment or a specific feeding role rather than as the only feeder. No feeder insect is perfect, so variety and correct husbandry matter more than choosing one insect forever.
How do I keep Black Cricket alive for longer?
Care is similar to other crickets: ventilation, egg crates, dry food and a safe moisture source. Keep the container clean, remove dead insects or mouldy food quickly, and follow the supplier's storage advice. Crickets need strong ventilation and should not be left damp, as poor conditions quickly cause smell and die-offs.