Common Name: Cave Cricket
Scientific Name: Phaeophilacris bredoides

Size: Adult/Sub-adult x 3
Status: Captive Bred

Food: Cereals, fruit & veg, fish flakes or (my regular cockroach mix: muesli, cat biscuits, fish pellets and bran - mixed together)

How I keep mine

I find Cave crickets easy to keep and breed. I house them  in a large, deep, fish tank (they do like to jump!). I have peat or coir on the base to a depth of approximately 6-8cm and have various pieces of bark and coconut shell 'caves' to hide in and twigs to climb. I have a heat mat on the back of the tank , covering about half the surface area. I spray the tank with tepid water about twice a week and feed once a week on my 'special' cockroach mix and a little fruit and vegetables. I sometimes put a small amount of extra food in mid-week, especially if I have a lot of crickets in the tank. The adult crickets lay eggs via a long ovipositor into the substrate. I'm not sure how long the eggs take to hatch as the colony just keeps itself going (I would guess only a few weeks).   It is always a good idea to have a drier area and damper area if possible.  I find the heat mat dries up the back of the tank but the front of the tank is always more moist. The eggs are mostly laid in the moist areas, especially under the bark and coconut shells. The nymphs need no special care and will mature in a few months.