Cricket breeding stink

[sfx606]

Okay so Im going back to breeding crickets because superworms arent producing as fast and take too long lol. My beardies hungry belly has no patience!!! and last time I had crickets they STUNK!!! really really bad! This is mostly due to that I rarley cleaned the cage and was stupid for doing so. I plan on cleaning poop and dead crickets every day to reduce stink. Is there anything else I can do to reduce the smell?

 

[NegativeCreep]

The best thing to do is stick with a cleaning schedule. I clean the cage every day, pretty much. Every other day, I change the water crystals, and I stir them on the other days. Every day, I sweep up and remove any dead crix, shells, old food, and poo. I give them fresh veggies every day (I've finally figured out about how much they can eat in a day) and dump their dry food if it has too much cricket poo in it and replace it.

I know that people complain about crickets stinking so badly, but mine aren't that bad.. Once in a while, I skip a day, if I don't feed crix on that day, for example. I know that if you keep them clean, then it's not so bad... I'm still going to be me some dubia, though! Crickets are still gross.

 

[Kaida520]

do dubias stink less than crickets?

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

do dubias stink less than crickets?

Put it to you this way. I have numbers into the 10's of thousands and not only do they not smell, they don't make a sound either. God's greatest gift to herpers... THE ROACH!

-Ian

 

[patrickb]

The cleaning method NegativeCreep described is about perfect. But crickets are crickets and will still stink. I got over 4k roaches in a bin I haven't cleaned in 8 months and they have hardly any odor to them when I first pop the lid. That many crickets in that bin within 2 days would knock your distant cousin off of their feet.

Crickets HAVE to be cleaned daily. They will peel paint off the walls otherwise. If you clean them daily, then they may be tolerable if you clip your nose with a clothespin each time you venture in. Roaches really are the way to go for many more reasons than just the odor.

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

Patrick and I could go into all the reasons for you but the list would go on for a long time.
I'll chuck a couple out there though.

1. They don't die off like crickets. Which means that you will be saving $$$ and won't be wasting that much if any food for your animals.

2. They are quiet...... .... . ... Can you hear the crickets chirping? No? That's because they are roaches and don't make any noise.

3. Dubia don't Fly, bite, or climb

And YES... I absolutely despise crickets & meal worms. You might as well be feeding your prize herps styrofoam since it probably has a higher nutritional value than the previously mentioned.

-Ian

 

[sfx606]

Ive been wanting to get roaches but my parents sadly won't let me. They say that if even one gets loose, we'll never be able to get rid of them. I'd definetley take roaches if over crickets lol

 

[Dakotachristy84]

i've kept crickets for about 6 months now. i have 2 setups for them. the one is a 20 or 30 glass tank. i have the bottoms covered with that dirt you get in bricks that you need to moist to get apart. i also keep my dragons on it and never had a problem. this stuff said that it's suppose to decompose the poop matter. my dad accidently started the crickets in his baby dragons tank and when it got over run he gave me back the dragon and the crickets. the glass tank i have set up for the breeders. i put a couple of little plasitc dishes in there filled with the same dirt and leave them in there for about a week and put new ones in. then i take the ones that were in the glass tank and put them in my feeder tank in shoe totes about the crickets so i don't have to use a bunch of different totes to heat and raise them. mine really don't stink at all. the soil in there helps break down the poop and the dead crickets. if you want pictures of my setup i can gladly take some and post. i just started the plastic containers with dirt because i didnt want to depleet my breeders.

 

[sfx606]

That would be very much appreciated

 

[Dakotachristy84]

I've had the glass tank going for about 6 months. the dirt in it decomposes the dead crix. i've just starting using the little tubs filled with dirt. i still try and spray the whole tank down with water so they can still lay eggs in there. i just make sure to take out the food and not to hit the egg cartons. if you mist it to much they get damp and all moldy. i did have them in my feeder tote but they kept getting real dam for some reason. keeping crix in totes doesn't seem to work to well no matter what. it's still a work in progress. i change the tubs in the glass tank every sun. i have one of the small shoe totes that fits across the top of the tote that i am going to put the little tubs in so they can hatch and not have to use all types of containers. Most of my dragons are pretty big so they can all eat the same size food.

this is the breeder tank sorry the glass is a little dirty. i have a 2 year old.

I've been using pig starter to feed them. i have to fill that little dish almost every 2 days. they love it. i also give them tortoise pellets and bearded dragon pellets. someone told me that it was bad for the dragons and tortoise, but the crickets love it. i use to wet it down but it would start to mold after a couple of days. it was really only to keep them from walking off with it. They play tug-a-war with the pellets. i am probaby going to be taking the egg crates out and putting in some fake plants like i have in my feeder tote.

These are the tubs that i switch in and out. i use small ones so i can kind of stack them in the shoe totes.

this is my feeder tub. i got 4 vents cut in the sides for airflow. i don't have the top cut open like some people cuz we live in an old drafty farm house and i want to try and keep as much heat in as i can.

just fake plants. gives them a place to hide and i can shake them in a bag pretty easy. i'm probably only going to keep the crickets going until my other feeders(roaches, and superworms) pick up breeding. i do like the sound of them. i think only because my husband doesn't.

 

[MarianaL87]

The only remedy for that problem is to keep a very rigid cleaning schedule...As others have said already. I clean everything out everyday and theres no such smell at all.

 

[pieters]

Hi there. We are the Pieters family fom Zimbabwe. We are recently the proud owners of 5 beardies. Unfortunately our crix have to be imported from South Africa, and this is rather difficult as they dont always have when we are there. i was thinking of breeding my own. please could you advise me how to start and where to start. Also, i noticed when i open the containers that i have, 101 little flying jobs escape! are these the babies? Do babies fly? what is the time frame to buld up a good stock. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated, as we are very new to this.
Thank you.Candy