How to keep crickets

[cba040608]

I have a Panther Chameleon and a Leopard Gecko. It feels like I'm constantly visiting the store to get crickets to feed them both. I know that the crickets die fairly soon after I get them home, if they aren't eaten. I'm wondering if anyone knows what kind of conditions I would need to keep crickets at my home so I can buy a crap load of them in one visit and keep them until those animals need to be fed.

[daniel1983]

How long do you plan to keep them for? And how many do you plan to keep?

They need food and water to survive. Some potato slices or some cricket feed/water gel will generally support them for a week without issue.

[dsirkle]

I would suggest making mealworms your primary food. It is very inexpensive to order 500,1000 or 2000 on line and they are easy to keep and breed. You can supplement their diet with small amounts of occasional crickets,.Crickets have a very short life span and to buy them affordably you need to buy a large amount which you can't use before they die with only a couple of geckos. Crickets also stink and poop all over your enclosure. You can buy 1000 mealworms for only $16 or so. You can keep them in a plastic tub and give them bran flakes as a bedding/food. Toss in a carrot or sliced potato for moisture each week and they will breed and keep you in mealworms. Just be sure to supplement your leo's diet with calcium powder.Edit- I didn't see the panther gecko and I don't know if that is suitable for those.

[wolfy-hound]

If you want to keep crickets, you get smaller than you need, and that way by the time they are full grown, you've used more. Armstrong's crickets has bins to keep them in as well as crickets and such.
Mealworms and superworms are easier to keep IMHO. But if you need crickets, best to buy in bulk, and feed them good food so your animals get the maximum nutrition.

[Clear]

Crickets life span is very short, I have a caresheet and guide on my page on how to breed them if you want to check it out. Also I have a few places where you can buy all sorts of feeders.