HOW DO YOU KEEP CRICKETS TO STAY ALIVE !!??

I buy about 40 to 50 crickets every time... and they die within 2 days or so . WHAT DO I DO TO KEEP THEM ALIVE !?!?! HELP PLEASE ???

Where are you getting them? If they're not healthy in the first place, they won't survive, even if you pamper them. The crix should be crazy-jumping if they're healthy. Sick ones just crawl along, maybe jump a little. Pet shops are notorious for not taking care of their crix. I've had a whole batch of crix flip over on their backs with 6 legs up before I even got them home!

If you're getting them at a shop, how are you transporting them? If they're just in a plastic bag, they're not getting fresh oxygen, and they're probably crawling all over each other, scratching and getting stressed. The local PetSmart puts a piece of egg crate in the bag to increase surface area which helps, but I still try to get them home and into a container asap.

Finally, what is your set-up for keeping them? (lots of questions, here!) :lol:

Thanks for the advise.. wow I had no idea you had to do all that ot keep them alive.

If you're getting them at a shop, how are you transporting them? I get htem from a local mom n pops reptile shop and yes they're in a plastic bag. Theres an egg crate included.. but its about 15 min drive home.. and at home I do leave them in the bag for awhile until i transfer to a plastic container. ITs like a small ziploc container, i've poked holes on top for oxygen.

Finally, what is your set-up for keeping them? ehhh.. set up? I HAD NO IDEA I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A SET UP FOR CRICKETS lol... to be honest i've been keeping them in the plastic zip loc container.

I'm gonna buy one of those cricket keeper.. like a small tote from petsmart and I'm thinking on starting to buy crickets from there from now on.

What do you feed the crickets ??

15 minutes is fine for transport. Just don't forget about them. I've tucked a bag inside my purse so I could do other shopping and forgotten about them till the next day! They were actually okay - go figure.

I've moved away from crix to supers and roaches and hornworms, but I still get the occasional crickets for the tarantula. (He keeps the roaches as pets and won't eat them! :shock: ) Plus it's fun to watch the gecko chase crickets around the tank. (Invictus wouldn't move his lazy bum enough to catch crickets.)

There's nothing fancy about a cricket set-up. Just a plastic tote deep enough to keep them from jumping out... about 12 inches or more. Your Ziploc container is probably too shallow to keep the crix from exploding out when you open it! The big tubs work great for 500-1000 crix, but I keep 100 or so in an 18 quart storage box with a lid loosely on. You can put egg crate in with them for extra surface area and to help them regulate their humidity. I use empty paper towel rolls or toilet paper rolls - free and I don't feel guilty about throwing them out when they get cricket-stinky. Plus, the crix hide inside, and it's easy to shake them out of the rolls.

Those cricket keepers are great for keeping smaller numbers of crickets, but they can be a bit pricey. I love the way you can just pull out a tube and voila! Crix under control!

I've been using a commercial cricket food from Premium. One bag has lasted me a while. I throw in veggies for extra vitamins - they especially like peppers.

Some people have more elaborate set-ups and more specific info about recipes. Search this forum and you'll find lots of great examples and advice. You might even get interested in roaches. :wink:

So the tote you put them in.. did you poke holes for ventilation ? Because if that's the case I have one about your size like 18 quart, but I thought they need alot of air and the lid is too thick to poke holes =(
So let me know.. do you think they'll be ok ? because geez... going to the pet store every other day to buy crickets gets pretty pricey !!

Oh and what do you do about hte smell ?? THEY STINK !!!!!!!! lol ! Sometimes I dont even wanna open the container.. lol.

I bought a refirgerated can of baby mil worms... I thought htey'd be better than crickets.. but ehh.... im not a big fan of ANY types of worms. So yeahh.. once I opened the can to feed MJ... i looked in it.. and pretty much panicked. So I give up on worms... unless you have any suggestions on how to get over my fear of worms !! lol. HELP ??


Well ill stop by the store AGAIn today and try out the big tote I have.. and paper towel rolls, etc. But let me know on the ventilation part =)

Thanks

if you open the can of worms and panick, I'm assuming a tub of roaches is out of the question lol. for the crix, cut a big hole in the lid with an exacto knife or similar (you can get one for less than the price of a dozen crix at the store) and order them online by the 500 or 1000. You'll save a ton of money, but (much like me) they'll drive you INSANE lol. What we put up with for our pets, eh?

jargonchipmunk":a757c said:

if you open the can of worms and panick, I'm assuming a tub of roaches is out of the question lol. for the crix, cut a big hole in the lid with an exacto knife or similar (you can get one for less than the price of a dozen crix at the store) and order them online by the 500 or 1000. You'll save a ton of money, but (much like me) they'll drive you INSANE lol. What we put up with for our pets, eh?

Click to expand...

Yeah.. the things we do for our babies is unbelieavable !! Sometimes i wonder ! But yes.. the roaches.. worms... nope.. no can do !! lol. I've been checking online crickets.. do you think they're better ? And better quality ? hmmm I need to start looking into that. Any good website you can recommend =) ?

Oh and the big hole in the lid... do i Poke holes ?? or just cut a BIG CIRCLE ? Because.. wouldnt they jump out and escape ????

sorry I should have elaborated. cut a big hold in the lid. like... most of the lid. and hot glue some window screening over hole. You can get the window screening at the same hardware store you get the exacto knife at for $5 or so, and have plenty extra.

Ghann's is a great place to get the crickets. I get them locally from a feeder store that sells at about the same rate as online, but a lot of cities don't have these around.

ehh.. thaths alot of work !! But I will do it.. do you think home depot will have it ? I've never even been to a hardware store lol... not until my beardie came around !! ugghhh !! well I guess off to home depot i go later once off work !! FUN !! not. lol

yes home depot will certainly have it. make sure to get aluminum screening and not the fiberglass "cloth" screen. The crix will chew right through that.

I'm, uh, lazy, so I never ventilated the boxes. Just left the lid slightly open. I guess I'm lucky that none of the little monsters has escaped... wait... what's that chirping sound in the den? AHHHHH! :wink:

Just as well you chickened out on the meal worms. They're great for geckos and bluebirds, but not so great for beardies.

invictusrules":eab17 said:

I'm, uh, lazy, so I never ventilated the boxes. Just left the lid slightly open. I guess I'm lucky that none of the little monsters has escaped... wait... what's that chirping sound in the den? AHHHHH! :wink:

Just as well you chickened out on the meal worms. They're great for geckos and bluebirds, but not so great for beardies.

Click to expand...

hahahaha i didnt wanna be the first to say im lazy but now that you said it.. IM LAZY!! lol
Im just gonna go to Petsmart and buy the small cricket feeder home thingy.. and some crix food. It was on sale for $9.00 lol. Earlier 4 of the crix escaped and i uhh... killed them (stepped on them)... too lazy to catch

"it was on sale for $9.00"

the 18 gallon sterlite bin that most people would recommend for feeder bins to keep the 1000 crix in? $6 at Walmart
Then you have to mod it to have enough airflow, and that would break into your lazy time lol

jargonchipmunk":8d1a2 said:

"it was on sale for $9.00"

the 18 gallon sterlite bin that most people would recommend for feeder bins to keep the 1000 crix in? $6 at Walmart
Then you have to mod it to have enough airflow, and that would break into your lazy time lol

Click to expand...

oh... $6 ?? Not only im lazy... me cheap !! lol !! What does it look like ? do you have a pix by any chance ?

http://www.sterilite.com/Category.html?Section=Storage&ProductCategory=33#

product ID 1830 on that page is the tub everyone uses, if I'm not mistaken.