Cricket advice (advice greatly appreciated)

[J4ckdaw-]

Hi there, strangers of the internet. I have a 5 month old beardie who's been plowing through 20 crickets a day at this point, if I'm being totally honest it's starting to get a bit expensive... About 10 dollars a week for 70 crickets that disappear in no time! God- half of them die off before I can feed them! I can't keep doing this! How on earth can I keep these things alive? They are kept in a 13" long 10" wide plastic tub with decent airflow and lots of room to climb, I'm going to drill some holes in the sides tomorrow morning and I'll try to add a mesh on the top if I can... They are offered the greens I feed my beardie to gutload them along with some of that weird Fluker's cricket diet, the food is replaced when ever necessary. They aren't dehydrated... Did I get the temps wrong? They aren't kept anywhere special, they are in 67-84 degree temps (maybe a bit on the cool side, my city is going through a heat strike atm so the ac is cranked). Please, please, please help me out on this- I swear if this keeps up I'll go broke (ok, not broke but it's gonna take a number on my bank account.) Any and all advice is welcome, darn it, I just want to feed my animals! Why is everything so darn expensive?

 

[xp29]

That's actually a low amount of crickets, babies can and will eat 100 a day if you let them. Its best to order 500 to 1000 at a time online. Crickets are very hard to keep alive, they are loud and they stink lol. Keeping them clean and keeping fresh water goes a long way in keeping them alive. Having egg crate helps also. When i kept crickets i had better luck using very large totes, they don't do well when they are crawling all over each other. For water i cut the bottom out of 20 ounce water bottles and fill them with cotton balls (so they don't drown, they really are to stupid to get out of the water). If the crickets are to small to get in the bowls then you can stack rocks it sticks or what ever for them to use as a ramp.
Banded crickets are cleaner and hardier and not as loud, but i think ghan is the only ones that sell them.

 

[jabda]

Brown crickets die fast, banded crickets live a little longer (not much). You have to ask for them when purchasing or they send brown.
Dubia roaches live a lot longer and are healthier. Plus they don't stink like
crickets. You can keep them inside. Easy to start a colony although it takes about (4) months to establish before feeding the new roaches. Then $0.00 for feeders.
Superworm are good but only used as treats.
My brother puts superworms in a wine cooler frig and says they can be thawed
out to resurrect just like the day bought.
If you deride on roaches, Dubia Deli puts them on sale often for 30% sometimes
50%. I buy the largest from them when I need to replenish my over the hill breeders.
Doesn't happen that often...
p.s. 70 crickets in that small of a container, they will die quick. Go to Home Depot and buy a large plastic container @ $20.

 

[jabda]

That's actually a low amount of crickets, babies can and will eat 100 a day if you let them. Its best to order 500 to 1000 at a time online. Crickets are very hard to keep alive, they are loud and they stink lol. Keeping them clean and keeping fresh water goes a long way in keeping them alive. Having egg crate helps also. When i kept crickets i had better luck using very large totes, they don't do well when they are crawling all over each other. For water i cut the bottom out of 20 ounce water bottles and fill them with cotton balls (so they don't drown, they really are to stupid to get out of the water). If the crickets are to small to get in the bowls then you can stack rocks it sticks or what ever for them to use as a ramp.
Banded crickets are cleaner and hardier and not as loud, but i think ghan is the only ones that sell them.

Critterfarms sells banded crickets but you'll need to request at checkout.

 

[xp29]

It's been ages since i kept crickets (although one of my females now refuses anything but crickets). Thank you for the heads up.

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Brown crickets die fast, banded crickets live a little longer (not much). You have to ask for them when purchasing or they send brown.
Dubia roaches live a lot longer and are healthier. Plus they don't stink like
crickets. You can keep them inside. Easy to start a colony although it takes about (4) months to establish before feeding the new roaches. Then $0.00 for feeders.
Superworm are good but only used as treats.
My brother puts superworms in a wine cooler frig and says they can be thawed
out to resurrect just like the day bought.
If you deride on roaches, Dubia Deli puts them on sale often for 30% sometimes
50%. I buy the largest from them when I need to replenish my over the hill breeders.
Doesn't happen that often...
p.s. 70 crickets in that small of a container, they will die quick. Go to Home Depot and buy a large plastic container @ $20.

Alright, I'll see if my local reptile shop has any banded crickets in stock next time I visit. Dubia roaches are illegal in my country, you can only buy and sell dead pre-packaged ones which smell absolutely vile (I have no idea how long they've been dead). The bin I have is 10" deep, 13" long and 10" wide (forgot to mention depht), do you think that would work..? I only just bought it a week or so ago because prior to that I was keeping 25 crickets a time in a small bug house you can buy at the dollar store.

 

[J4ckdaw-]

That's actually a low amount of crickets, babies can and will eat 100 a day if you let them. Its best to order 500 to 1000 at a time online. Crickets are very hard to keep alive, they are loud and they stink lol. Keeping them clean and keeping fresh water goes a long way in keeping them alive. Having egg crate helps also. When i kept crickets i had better luck using very large totes, they don't do well when they are crawling all over each other. For water i cut the bottom out of 20 ounce water bottles and fill them with cotton balls (so they don't drown, they really are to stupid to get out of the water). If the crickets are to small to get in the bowls then you can stack rocks it sticks or what ever for them to use as a ramp.
Banded crickets are cleaner and hardier and not as loud, but i think ghan is the only ones that sell them.

Thanks, the crickets I am feeding are the exact length between his eyes and any more than 20 gives him a big belly. I offer 50-60 BSFL with it to make up for the lack of protein from the crickets, on occasion I also offer 1-3 mealworms (going to upgrade to superworms whenever I run out of those things) as well as a few dried insects as treats. Should I be feeding more..? My current set up is 13" long, 10" deep and 10" wide full of egg cartons and paper towel rolls I've custom designed as small towers they can climb up, I've been having an issue where the crickets are all crowding around the edges (when they are given so much space) and dyeing. I feed them daily, they get their water source from that pre-made cricket diet stuff- I'll upgrade to the cotton ball method next batch of crickets I buy. I get 3/4 or 1" crickets on varying occasions. I'll look into banded crickets next time, thanks.

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Critterfarms sells banded crickets but you'll need to request at checkout.

Alright

 

[KarrieRee]

Alright, I'll see if my local reptile shop has any banded crickets in stock next time I visit. Dubia roaches are illegal in my country, you can only buy and sell dead pre-packaged ones which smell absolutely vile (I have no idea how long they've been dead). The bin I have is 10" deep, 13" long and 10" wide (forgot to mention depht), do you think that would work..? I only just bought it a week or so ago because prior to that I was keeping 25 crickets a time in a small bug house you can buy at the dollar store.

Joshes frogs has banded crickets as well

 

[jabda]

Here's some substitutes for Dubia Roaches...
Discoid Roaches (best bet) are the easiest to find.
Red Runners are speedy and can climb, so u need a container high enough plus a screen lid over the top. They can be bought on Amazon.
Crickets:
If you buy in bulk don't think they will have enough room. They may start eating each other.

• Discoid Roach (Blaberus discoidalis)
• Red Runner Roach (Blatta lateralis)
• American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

 

[xp29]

I agree on the bulk, if you buy a few hundred at a time they will need more room. The advantage of buying bulk is the cost. Last time i ordered any i could get 1000 bulk for about the price of a hundred or so if i bought locally.

 

[jabda]

Where do you live?
Dubia roaches are illegal in Florida, Hawaii, and Canada. You cannot import or keep them in these states.

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Where do you live?
Dubia roaches are illegal in Florida, Hawaii, and Canada. You cannot import or keep them in these states.

I'm from Canada

 

[Lyrebird.Rainwing]

Put something like an egg carton in with the crickets so they won't kill eachother and also some jelly pots scattered around so they have something to eat
I once had ZERO crickets die because I did this (I mean they did all die eventually but that was because they were eaten)

 

[jabda]

Looks like you need a permit for discoid roaches.
Guess crickets are the only cheap feeder. Hornworms and other types except for superworms are expensive.
Try this site for superworms crickets... don't know shipping charges

Fluker's Cricket Farms - Live Crickets Feeder Insects Online Delivered to Your Home

Order online and buy live crickets, mealworms, superworms, soldier worms and other feeders delivered to your home

flukerfarms.com

Crickets 250ct (1/2in) $11.50 Superworms 250ct (large) $12.90

Discoid roaches are the only large feeder roach available in Canada, and we are the only legal source currently. All purchasers can opt in to be sent a copy of our permit for verification, and you will be able to distribute, sell, breed the roaches as you wish.