crickets

[ADEE]

when buying them by the box (1000) do you often have lots and lots and lots of dead ones? I know FOR A FACT there were not 1,000 crickets in my box and there were at least 200+ dead. I got them at the expo from the guy we bought the dragons from and were already going to need more crickets this weekend.. weve only had these guys since sunday AND the dragons just started really eating today

also, do you find you get ants when you bring crickets in? I havnt had an ant problem in the almost 4yrs weve lived here and now all of a sudden we have lots and lots of ants around the dragon cage

[mlededee]

i have found that when buying crickets from some vendors, yes, there are a lot of dead crickets in the box and not nearly enough live ones to come close to the correct count.

this is one of the reasons why i always get crickets from www.armstrongcricket.com. the shipping is fast, crickets are fat and healthy and there are always more live crickets in the box than what you ordered. there will always be some casualties but with armstrong's it is minimal and they pack their boxes with plenty extra to make up for any crickets that die along the way.

maybe they have spoiled me, but i am always disappointed when i get crickets from anyone but them.

[Schlyne]

I usually shake the box so more of the crickets come to the screen before I buy them, so I get a better idea of how many are in there. My local supplier has had problems before where his crickets didn't come in time (problems at the airport) and half the box died.

I've never had a problem with ants, although I've found a wolf spider or two living in the box with the crickets when I opened it.

[ADEE]

eww wolf spiders?! i would FREAK OUT

off to take a look at that website, thanks for posting it!! maybe i can give the girls super worms or something other than crickets

[mlededee]

about the ants--they do eat dead crickets so you want to remove any that you find. they may also be attracted to something you are feeding your beardies.

[Schlyne]

If it is possible to take a larger dish and create a water moat (maybe with just a little dishsoap in the water) around the container that your crickets are in, you can probably stop the ants from invading your crickets.

You'll have drowned ants in your larger dish though.