Cricket feeders, important info. Please Read!

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ryuk

Member
Glad i read this post, i was wondering why the crickets i was buying would suddenly die :(
I will switch to mealworms now idk ill give my beardie crickets once in a while now :)
 

Kalyn876

Sub-Adult Member
Mealworms are not a good feeder for beardies. Repti/calci/Phoenix or butter worms are great alternatives.

Kalyn
 

jewl495

Juvie Member
Can anyone tell me if these look like the new crickets? I'm pretty disappointed.
0c46f721.jpg


Some look like the regular brown crickets and others look dark brown
7dcf0ac1.jpg
 

Kalyn876

Sub-Adult Member
Hmmm the ones with the vertical stripe I believe are Jamaican crickets the dark ones could be bc field crickets, I got the same mix from the petstore as my online order was late.

Kalyn
 

jewl495

Juvie Member
Have you had issues with them? I'm not sure if I want to feed them or not. I got these from Mulberry farms. :?
 

OWCham

Member
The dark black/brown ones are not the usual oriental house cricket that was usually sold in the past but the light brown ones sure look like what we are used to getting . Because they are immature you should have no trouble with either of them. You should consider roaches - I know some dragon owners are doing well with various kinds of roaches . the species you use is dependent on a number of variables not the least of which is your own preferences, You may want to try G. portentosa (the common Madagascar Hissing cockroach) look at this http://charleston.craigslist.org/for/2584434489.html on Craigslist in Charleston SC for a pretty good deal on the hissers at least . Its mainly for the G. oblongata variety but there are also the portentosa's available too. There are also some on ebay, I believe.
 

jewl495

Juvie Member
I do have roaches but I just want to offer other feeders as well. So far he really only likes crickets, Dubias, and supers. He will eat horn worms, reptiworm, and butters but most of the time he won't eat them.
I'm trying to get him used to eating in a separate tank, I don't want him to get bitten by the crickets in the process.
 

Halister

Juvie Member
I also looked into this, my breader buddy showed me a pic one that he was sent. The little ones to med have a light brown stripe running sideways at the base of the wings. Thats how I was told to watch for them. He didnt even know he had one last year and he was bit by one. He told me he called his cricket guy and told him he was going to release 100 mantis in his shop if he sent him just one more. He only has babies so I can see him being upset and knowing this guy and his business he would have. LOL
 

Kalyn876

Sub-Adult Member
Okay so I have been using these guys (striped ones) for about a month now with no issues at all, no biting (I don't leave unattended crix in the tank). The huge upside is they don't jump near as much therefore I don't have near as many escapees. They seem to have a "cruchier" shell than the regular borwn house cricket. However they are starting to die off on me and it seems they lose use of their back legs before this happens....maybe a mutated form of the virus?? I hope not...

Kalyn
 

Halister

Juvie Member
I don't have exp some do here but I don't put much into the health of these feeders. I've had bunch die off then next batch same place same tank and had 2 die off. Right now I have 2 tanks one heated and one not. Reason is to keep the adults egging and to stop the med from growing, it works for me.
 

BeardedAaliyah

Hatchling Member
Great article! A great thing to keep in mind when feeding crickets. After reading the article, I decided to find an alternative to crickets and ordered Reptiworms. We have yet to recieve them, but we will see how Aaliyah feels about them. Worms seem easier to keep. She disliked wax worms, so I am a tad nervous on how she will react.
 

meeka85

Member
Is this info still applicable? I can't seem to keep my crickets from dying off. I am new at all this and get 75 at a time, have a large critter keeper, and give them cricket food I bought at PetSmart (the orange cubes by Fluckers). I also put in a couple wet cotton balls for hydration. Even following instructions from many sources, I still have to pick out 5-6 carcasses every night. I'm wondering if they have the virus mentioned in this post, or if I am just bad at keeping them alive. I've read that reptiworms are easy to keep alive... should I try those? Thanks in advance!
 

Kalyn876

Sub-Adult Member
Crickets die fro many many reasons. A few things I do to prevent this are:

Somehow lift the bin off the floor, I then run a low speed fan under/near my bin to keep the airflowing, moisture is a huge culprit in dying crickets.

I tried out the orange cubes and found while using them i had ALOT more die-offs, I stopped using them (they're still in my fridge) and the mass die-offs stopped.

I also find mustard greens will paralyze the back legs only and the cricket dies shortly after...the stalks from collard greens does the same.

Kalyn
 

meeka85

Member
Thank you so much for the info! I will stop using the orange cubes. My friend who works at a pet shop says to try using dog food as a food source for the crickets (but then again, she says use mealworms for the beadie which I've read is a no-no). I feed my dog high end dog food, so would you think this would be okay for them? I'll also put in greens after I do some more research to find out what kind is best. The cricket keeper had been on a shelf that wasn't too well ventilated, so I will move it and put a fan near it for air flow. Thanks again!
 
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