Cricket Help!

[SJM]

My Dad accidentally order crickets 1/4" instead of 1/2", so we've got these tiny crickets. Thor can't catch them to save his life, and hand-feeding is difficult and slow. He only ate 48 today, and I bet he could eat over 80 so this isn't working. I plan to order bigger crickets, but I'm just wondering, how long should it take for my 1/4" crix to get to 3/8-1/2"? I'm in Mississippi and in the hottest room of the house, so they should grow fast, right?

Thanks in advance.
- SJ

 

[Embee]

Hi SJ,

Yes, they may grow for you if you have them long enough. We recently had a big order of 1/2 inch that were definitely 3/4+ by the time we were done (all in all, about a month). Imagine my surprise when I ordered 1/2 inch the next time and they seemed so small. Moving on to 3/4 officially now. :mrgreen:

I've also read something here on the boards about putting them in the fridge for just a bit before feeding beardie. Not sure how long, wouldn't want to go too far with it, but a short amount of time can slow them down a bit, so I've read. Might help! :mrgreen:

Good luck!

Em

ETA: We always keep ours in a cool place (the basement) about 63-65 degrees, and they grew just as well. I'd be concerned that the heat would actually work against you as crickets don't tend to do well in heat... we recently received a dead batch due to overheating in the delivery truck. *sigh* If you are gut loading them well, and giving them plenty of room, I imagine you'll have some bigger, more robust crickets in a week or 2 or 3!

 

[clear]

Do not cramp them, give them plenty for food and water crystals so that they wont die as easy. They need plenty of ventilation also. Crickets have a full life span of 8 weeks I believe so they grow really fast.