Cricket help/Rant

[dylankw]

Ok so first of all I would like to tell everyone that Ghann's is not somewhere I would suggest ordering from. I got my replacement order today because the first order had only about 300 of the 2000 it was supposed to have. This order appeared to have 2000 but they were half dead! I would blame it on the heat but most of them A. seemed as if they were long dead (as in dead on departure not just on arrival) B. many seemed to be crushed. Plus they smelled like a bait shop. Its really disgusting and I am almost worried about feeding them to my dragon. Needless to say I am pretty upset that I have essentially paid $40 for 1000 usable crickets. Does anyone have any experience with them? I already complained about the first order. Should I call again?

Now on to the help I need. I need to know the best way to separate the alive from the dead. I know that leaving the dead ones is a bad idea but I don't know how to remove them all.

Regards,
Dylankw

 

[Carnivorouszoo]

Best thing to do is have a container for the crix, then start pulling out the LIVE ones. When you have gotten the obviously live ones out start scooping out the dead ones, any live hiding in them will move when you do this.

 

[karidi]

I had the same problem with Ghanns almost ALL of my order was dead and smelled really bad. It was the 1st time I ordered crickets online so didnt know they would replace them although doesnt sound like it would do me much good. I then tried llreptile and although most were alive they were way to big and had to waste about 80% of them, they sent me a new batch they CLAIM was 1000 which was more like 300 and they were way to small...
Im in the same position as you ordered from 2 different places and not happy with either.

 

[Beardednoob]

The local petshop to me has in the past ordered and or sold me boxes of 1000 crickets for around 25 bucks. If you have a local mom an pop pet shop they may do the same for you. Doesn't hurt to ask anyways. :wink:

 

[dylankw]

There are none around here unfortunately. I have thought about asking a bait shop if they would order me smaller crickets though. The only pet shops here are Petsmart and PetCo. Btw I got 1000 crickets from PetCo online and it was MUCH better. The came live and fresh. Low mortality. And I got a decent price of only about $30. I only went with Ghann's because I could order a larger amount and get them for cheaper. I will NEVER go with Ghann's and I suggest the same to everyone else. I e-mailed them about it and I have yet to get a reply. I was really hoping to find a really good reliable cricket vendor, unfortunately Ghann's is certainly not it.

 

[Beardednoob]

There are none around here unfortunately. I have thought about asking a bait shop if they would order me smaller crickets though. The only pet shops here are Petsmart and PetCo. Btw I got 1000 crickets from PetCo online and it was MUCH better. The came live and fresh. Low mortality. And I got a decent price of only about $30. I only went with Ghann's because I could order a larger amount and get them for cheaper. I will NEVER go with Ghann's and I suggest the same to everyone else. I e-mailed them about it and I have yet to get a reply. I was really hoping to find a really good reliable cricket vendor, unfortunately Ghann's is certainly not it.

You may try LLLreptile
http://lllreptile.com/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/feeder-crickets-worms-rodents-roaches-and-more/crickets/

 

[dylankw]

Wow . . . not bad since shipping is included. Have you ever ordered from them? Overcount? DOA? Customer Service?

I am actually doing their t-shirt contest so maybe I will win and I can get her some food for FREE!

 

[Beardednoob]

Wow . . . not bad since shipping is included. Have you ever ordered from them? Overcount? DOA? Customer Service?

I am actually doing their t-shirt contest so maybe I will win and I can get her some food for FREE!

I have never gotten crickets from them but I have gotten waxworms and they were about 85-90% alive when I received them, so not too bad but, again those are waxworms, delivered to a hot state. :wink:

 

[suzjohnson]

That's a shame you weren't satisfied with your order from Ghanns. I was very happy with my order of crickets from them, as opposed to what I received from my LPS and another on-line vendor. They were fresh, plump, vigorous w/very few dead. The cost of next day made me gag but felt that with the heat we've all been experiencing, there was very little choice. The 1000 I ordered thru LPS made me sick. There was a piece of potato in the box that had mashed a lot of crickets plus, it was black with rot and goo. Would guess half of them were already dead and what remained were lethargic. Heaven only knows how long they had been trapped in the box. I actually have no beef with the quality of the crickets received from the on-line vendor but the crickets are the dark brown variety, virus resistant, and my beardie must not like their taste. Going to have to "tough love" my way through this crisis, I guess. If he gets hungry enough, I hope he will learn to tolerate them.

Suzanne

 

[Rud3Bwoy]

try flukers

30 after shipping for 1000 had a few dead but not much

also they do offer 2 day shipping for cheaper cost but right now they said due to the hot weather they must do over night fed ex,which personally 30 bucks after shipping is still a great deal if you ask me

 

[suzjohnson]

try flukers

30 after shipping for 1000 had a few dead but not much

also they do offer 2 day shipping for cheaper cost but right now they said due to the hot weather they must do over night fed ex,which personally 30 bucks after shipping is still a great deal if you ask me

Were the crickets those dark brown ones or the rather neutral colored ones? My bd not enthused about the dark brown ones. Slowly getting used to them but it's been a struggle.

Suzanne

 

[Rud3Bwoy]

was mixed tbh

 

[suzjohnson]

was mixed tbh

Ok, thanks.

Suzanne

 

[Sapphire]

Unless Ghann's service has just gone to the crapper in the past year, I don't understand why you're having so many issues with them. When I first got my dragon, I ordered from Ghanns at least once a month and never had problems. I switched to reptilefood.com because at one point Ghanns was sold out of the size I needed. I actually found that I liked reptilefood.com more, so maybe you can check them out too.

 

[Mistyck]

If you are going to order crickets again, you might try:

http://www.hungrylizard.com

That's who we ordered from when we were still feeding crickets. Thought they had great customer service, and if I remember correctly, the DOA's were minimal, and they put overcount in the box to cover the DOA.

They have pretty good pricing too. $15.00 per 1000 for crickets, (don't remember how much shipping was though.)