Cricket enclosure help!!!

[thefnshow66]

How on earth do you keep crickets from escaping their enclosures? I've tried buying a small cricket keeper and that didn't work. Then i tried getting another type of plastic enclosure similar to the cricket keeper but taller. I even taped up the edges on the screen cover that it offers to prevent escapes and they still manage to get out. I keep getting yelled at by my parents because they see crickets running around the house at night. I'd like to continue to buy crickets for my dragon since he/she seems to enjoy them so much but i can only do so if i can keep them escape free. Can anyone show me a link or pictures of their cricket enclosures and tell me how escape proof it is.

 

[Grumbles]

Have you tried adding a line of Vaseline around the edges?
That will stop those pesky little guys.
-John

 

[rissa]

Hi!
Here's a couple of pics of mine =) (I buy crix in bluk / breed them)

This is how my set up is 24/7

Enclosure #1 (2/3 week olds)

In here is my flukers gut loader, egg cartons, a jar lid filled with water (underneath the egg cartons
but can be placed whereever) and one of the black tubes from my old cricket keeper so the stinky heads can crawl in
and i spend less time trying to pick em all up.. The rubber maid is also tall enough that none of the babies
can jump out (adult crix could) plus theres no traction on the sides of the tub so they cannot climb out.

Enclosure #2 (4/5 weeks olds)

=( i think my dad threw more pete moss in there but normally theres no substrate.
They're in a 10 gallon tank with a Metal screen lid (they chew holes in the plastic screens :shock: )
/w my flukers cricket gut loader,my old geckos dish filled with water, just a bunch of things ( egg cartons,
toilet paper/papertowel cardboard roll, ect.) for more crawl space, and since i breed, theres a shallow bowl of damp
soil next to the water dish (sorry, its black so its hard to see) for the crix to lay their eggs in.

You can also add some of the veggies you feed your dragon in any of the containers and they'll chew them up.
My new set up has had 0 escapees! Every now and then there'll be a cricket who flips up on the screen top, but cant chew
through the lid like my last set up ( about 15 adults escaped in my closet before i saw the holes )
and eventually they fall back down. As long as the continers dont tip over, this is 99.9% escapee free! :mrgreen:

Hope this helps and Good luck with your enclosure!
-Rissa

 

[fresnowitte]

Can't answer your question on how you keep them from escaping other than switching to a different feeder.
I had no luck keeping crickets from escaping beside those boogers stink...I switched to Turks over a year ago.

Rissa rather than the water dish have you considered using water crystals?

 

[rissa]

eh, i dont have have a job exept any odd jobs i can find..I'm just in High school so my main money source is my parents unless anyone in Utah wants their nails done =? I was just going to buy those orange cubes though when i could..

 

[kevindeeley12]

clear packaging tape works well too, they can't climb it. So simply put a line of it around whatever you are using and that should work. They cannot climb glass too. I'd recommend either getting a 10Gallon or something or getting a Tote with clear packaging tape or vaseline around it. - Kevin

 

[IronMaiden805]

I have the same problem with my parents until i found out how they were getting out.Then the dam crickets stink my mom gets mad and puts them outside and i get mad at her cause she did it twice because where i live we have a huge ant problem.The ants start to crawl inside me cricket container.Then i have to put all the crix in a bag and sort them out.Then i have to kill all the ants inside the cirx container.So yeah we pretty much have the same problem but i fixed mine,hope you fix yours.

 

[DragonsInKansas]

I just use packing tape. I have 2-3 lines of it around the top, that way even if they get a little footing at the start there is no way they'll make it all the way out. I've tried vasoline and it was just to big of a mess.

 

[Freeie]

We use a big clear rubbermaid container and i taped around the edge of the top wall its slick so they cant climb up it and fall back down. I added mesh to the lid for vents only time they escape is if i drop em (witch is alot lol) Im switching to superworms cause i cant handle the smell anymore. I keep mine clean and all but they still smell.

 

[kevindeeley12]

superworms are kind of like a treat. Not a staple for beardies, they are not as good for the beardie as crickets or roaches or any of that. The best worms to feed are Phoenix and Silk worms.

 

[picklified]

I have a large 40 or 50 gallon rubbermaid tub for my crickets. It's a clear one so the sides are more slippery than the colored tubs and I've never had a cricket escape! Mine was between 5 and 10 dollars and I got it at Target but they have them pretty much anywhere. They might be cheaper at Walmart or something. I also taped paper around 3 sides of the tub so I don't have to look at the crickets walking around...I left the 4th side so my cats could watch them :lol: