Cricket feeders, important info. Please Read!

Status
Not open for further replies.

scampb24

New member
I am new to everything reptile. I got my first reptile, a bearded dragon, in October of this year and have been feeding crickets I get from petsmart with no issues. I decided to order crickets online from premiumcrickets.com because they came recommended and I had heard about this cricket virus. It's been 24 hours since I got my 1000 crickets and I would say at least 75% of them are dead or what I think is dying. They seem lethargic and don't move around much. They can't use their back legs and some are on their backs barely moving their legs. it is really quite sad, but also frightening because I'm worried this is the dreaded cricket virus. If it is, when I get more crickets, won't they just contract the virus and die as well? I don't know what to do. I can't do roaches, they FREAK me out and my beardie is just a baby and doesn't like worms.

HELP! I need advice!
 

dangit12

Juvie Member
i remember that a pet store called california pets had all rat dead maybe a virus my sister needed food for snakes

this is a bit offtopic but this reminded me of that.
 

cesteb

Member
how many crickets do you buy at time when ordering them online and how much do you pay. i have just purchased 2 adults and im trying to find good prices thanks
 

Kalyn876

Sub-Adult Member
scampb24":1c2k68lr said:
I am new to everything reptile. I got my first reptile, a bearded dragon, in October of this year and have been feeding crickets I get from petsmart with no issues. I decided to order crickets online from premiumcrickets.com because they came recommended and I had heard about this cricket virus. It's been 24 hours since I got my 1000 crickets and I would say at least 75% of them are dead or what I think is dying. They seem lethargic and don't move around much. They can't use their back legs and some are on their backs barely moving their legs. it is really quite sad, but also frightening because I'm worried this is the dreaded cricket virus. If it is, when I get more crickets, won't they just contract the virus and die as well? I don't know what to do. I can't do roaches, they FREAK me out and my beardie is just a baby and doesn't like worms.

HELP! I need advice!


These are symptoms of the virus yes. Whenever I get a bad order I bleach my crickets bins and rinse really well. I use 1 part bleach to 10 parts water.
 

ladydean

Member
I got some of the new crickets mixed in with my last order, and it completely turned my beardie off of them. They've actually bit him AND me! I have to take all of their legs off before he'll go near them, and he's still wary of them. Poor hannibal. :( I've ordered some repti-worms and I guess I'll wait a few months before trying to reintroduce crickets to him.
 

LOKI97

Member
ive had reptiles for a few years and at the same time started my own cricket colony, if they all die while ur trying to start one wash out the container with diluted bleach b4 using it again. make sure the soil u buy for it is insecticide free (i use black gold) and mix ten parts soil with 1 part sand. any size of the larger rubbermaid containers will work depending on your demand ( i have 2 leopard geckos a beardie, frogs, and fish ) i use a 70 gallon tub. for cover put in just enough ripped up egg cartons to cover the soil and a small wad of spanish moss to keep the babies from being canibalized. for best breeding results heat the container with an undertank heating pad and add layers in between the pad and the container until the temp is around 85, this ensures u will have an equal number of males and females to continue the next generation. once the habitat is set up add 20 to 50 (depending on the size of your habitat) of each size of cricket, this staggers the breeding for a continous population. for food and water chop up some potatoes and/or apples and mist the container to keep the soil barely damp, to much water and u get mold. good luck out there, hope this will help.

oh yeah, you can go easy on gut loading ur crickets with a bunch of vitamins, dont feed them anything u wouldn't feed ur beardie and ull be fine. 2 potatoes a week will work, just pull out the old stuff and clean it out 4 times a year
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
According to Ghann's crickets website, there has been a case of mistaken identity. The gryllis assimils, which has replaced the acheta domesticus is not the aggressive one that is being mentioned at the beginning of this thread . Accordng to their website,the aggressive one is called a " crazy red" because it develops a slight reddish color but looks similar to gryllis. Some cricket suppliers are or were using these. Also, according to Ghann's,the gryllis are legal to ship just as the acheta are. That is the latest on the Ghann's website if you want to check it for yourself.
 

ReptileAddiction

Hatchling Member
Tangerinebeardie":1cw36caq said:
I recently ordered some crickets from Bassets I think. They were the new super mutant crickets but I have to say I really don't have many complaints about them. Almost all of them were alive upon arrival and I have had less die than the other crickets. They haven't bit Dexter or me. They are quiet. They are huge and juicy. Dexter doesn't have to eat as many. The only problem is that they don't move as much as the other crickets did so I have make them move in the bowl to get Dexter's attention. I can see how it might be a problem for smaller reptiles or baby beardies but for my 6 month old they seem fine.
Im having the same thing. My cricket supplier switched to a mutant and I have been using them for almost a year and have never gotten bit and neither has my dragon. I love them. Im not sure what they are but they are like black and normal sized. They can also go a very long time without being fed. Which is a huge plus for me,
 
SoulFyre":36hn2z96 said:
Glad I saw this post. I was finding it very strange that my crickets were just randomly dying several a day, small and large. My beardie won't touch them, maybe he knows there is something wrong with them. Think I will just stick to supers and mealies for now. Oh and I got the crickets from PetsMart.
I got so from PetSmart also and my bearded dragons wont eat them ethier. They turned there heads when I even tried to feed them by hand.
 

RainMaiden

Member
I believe I got these new "black crickets" when I went to a local reptile store. I noticed they seemed darker than usual, are very quiet, and do not jump at all. Ozzy gobbled them down happily after I gut-loaded them. They didn't even have a chance to bite him or anything. I made sure not to touch them with my bare hands. One of them actually got in what I can only describe as a fighting position when I tried to move him with the tongs. :shock:
 
I've noticed that large quantities of crickets are dying....I won't buy from Petco, they are way over priced. I've been getting from a local reptile shop. Crickets from both have died quick. They stink when they are dead! I used to buy Phoenix worms, but found them to be more expensive.
 

Badmojomn

Member
I had a baby beardy die. After I bought an fed her some crickets that were a different color from a different pet store. They were a little bit darker then the tannish color and came in a premade "box" that looked like a box of nails. I believe she may have contracted pneumonia right after but I cannot say for sure if it was from those. I decided to buy a bulk of superworms and house them here
They are easy to keep and the beardies love them.
 
sorry bare with me im new here so if i feed my crickets potato (because it last forever as food for them) will that harm my beardies if i feed them the crickets im new to beardies but so far i got two happy babies adopted them for $5 at a petco which is a horrible store almost wann report them for animal crualty their dragon cage was 75 degrees and had no uvb light at all :( i had to at least get two out of there so if anyone could help me id apreciate it

thank you
 

Badmojomn

Member
Feed squash carrots greens, only some potato. Soak carrots and dryer veg in water a bit.
Cricket food formulated for crickets is ok but fresh veg every few days is ideal for staple.
Sugar snap peas they like also.
Zucchini is another good one. I always found the potato rotted to quickly anyhow.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,903
Messages
1,255,709
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom