I gotta revise my I'm pleased with crickets statement

[Peter Williams]

OK well I'm NOT pleased with crickets anymore. For one, I thought my gecko was enjoying them, because I saw him chasing them and munchin' on them right after I would put them in. But then a day later I checked and there was a ton of uneaten ones in the tank (I checked him for little nibble marks, nothing). And THEN when I got to check on my supply of crickets I find about 80% of them dead. I have to admit I didn't have any food or water in there, and I was going to get some the next day but come on, in ONE day a bunch would die like that? They were in a perfectly ventilated container. So screw that. The pet store that I frequent also sells silkworms. These seem like much better choice, what are your thoughts?

[dr del]

Hi,


I would say silkworms are too rich a diet if they comprise the largest part of it.

The temperature also affects the crickets lifespan but not having any source of water ( or a nice moist food item) will kill em fairly quick.

Best trick is to find out what day the store gets them in so you always pick up a fresh box, feed and treat them well from day 1. I used peices of carrot for water (occasionally tried wet cotton wool but never had much luck with it) and had a small tub of fish food then supplemented with whatever veg I was eating myself.

When I was doing that then they nearly all lasted till they got eaten - you can also select the size down and grow them up yourself.

Oh and don't put more into the tank than your gecko will eat in one sitting.

It should be admited that the temps over here are cooler though.


dr del

[mlededee]

how many crickets are you giving your leo at one time? you should only give him as many as he can eat in 10-15 minutes and not leave any in the enclosure for over 24 hours. if there are a bunch hopping around after he has eaten what he wants they will become an annoyance and he will mostly just want to get away from them. heat and no water will kill crickets really fast. you need to keep a source of fresh food and water in with them at all times, not only to keep them alive, but to keep them gutloaded for your leo.

[frankykeno]

Emily what do you think of this product. I saw it at PetCo today and was interested in whether it is a good thing for crickets or not. It's supposed to be food, water and nutrients all in these easy gel cubes.


http://www.petco.com/product/11817/F...cket-Diet.aspx

Would this be the right thing to keep crickets in?

http://www.petco.com/product/12060/L...t-Keepers.aspx

Just a bit of info. Our local store has this 30 cricket one for $9.99, online it's on sale for $5.67. The orange feeding stuff above is online on sale for $4.97, it was $7.99 at the store! Makes me wonder how much their shipping is.

[Peter Williams]

That kricket keeper is what I keep mine in, and those cubes looks awesome, just drop a couple in, and once consumed...drop a couple more, I bet they work like a charm.

[chris B]

Depends on how your going about the crickets, prolly be better off *cheaper* to buy from an online source. Alot of times they'll also include a starting kit for around 10 bucks. If you buy 1,000 at a time then your best bet would be a 10 gallon tank, but if your gonna buy under 50 I say that keeper will do just fine.

[JLC]

I've used those cubes before and they spoil fast. It helps to keep them in the fridge after they've been opened, but it's not a product I'd "stock up" on or anything. They stink after they spoil.

[Mina]

Jo, are you talking about the orange cubes that are supposed to be both food and water?

Just a hint to anyone out there, I assume most of you know that I have around 60 tarantulas, so I keep crickets. I tried that orange cube stuff and the crickets wouldn't touch it. Someone else might get different results, but that is what happened here.

[mlededee]

those cricket keepers or any other kritter keeper type enclosure work great.

the orange cubes do spoil kinda fast and smell a little funky. i find them to be overall a little messy and they don't totally evaporate if not eaten. i prefer to use this for a water source (or any other water crystal/gel type cube): http://www.flukerfarms.com/index.asp...PROD&ProdID=23 in conjunction with this http://www.flukerfarms.com/index.asp...PROD&ProdID=21 as a food source.

[Riktasi]

I used to keep crickets for my frog, but also found it to be a bit of a hassle. I feed earthworms/nightcrawlers (found in outdoor fishing supply section) instead.

When I did keep crickets, I found that those hydration gel cubes/orange cubes would dry up pretty quickly, but they ARE easy to use. There are also little cricket pillows, which are basically cloth/plastic packets that have diaper gel inside; you soak it in water, and it puffs up, holding water.
For food, plain dry oatmeal worked really well - it doesn't spoil, rot, or grow fungus, plus you can dust it with extra calcium/vitamin supplements to gut load. You can get big oats in cylinders, which last a good amount of time.
For the housing, a small glass aquarium with screen top works really well for large numbers. Sand works well for substrate - it's easy to clean for dead crickets (use a litter scooper), and bacteria/mold can't grow on it. Make sure you have fairly deep dishes for the water source since it can clump sand.
That's pretty much my experience with crickets.
Oh, and also, white crickets are ones that shed recently - try to feed those off quickly; they're easier to digest.