crickets are climbing the walls

[Halister]

I need help. Thug is in his new wood enclosure now and the crickets are flying up the walls. Im looking for the best way to keep this from happening. Thug has always eaten inside his enclosure and will not eat outside. Line 4 inches of the bottom with plexiglass, will this work?

 

[GAIJINIJI]

Id guess plexiglass would get scratched pretty quickly and give crickets grip to climb up anyway. Is it a front opening viv? I have a big plastic tub that I dump crickets into, open a door and my beardie dutifully obliges by base jumping in. when he is done he just climbs back...

How about varnish? (remember the curing time)

 

[Halister]

I tried that yesterday and he didnt want nothing to do with it ha ha just stared into it.

 

[GAIJINIJI]

Mine tried that... So I left him a few hours and tried again. Hunger got the better of him perhaps try grabbing a cricket with some tongs and enticing him into the tub? Seems to me they are very much creatures of habbit so might take a little 'training'. Now when I take out the plastic tub he starts window dancing without even a cricket in sight.

 

[KristenT]

Taz did the same thing to me when I first started feeding him in his feeding bin, which is now a huge rubbermaid storage thing. He'd try to jump or climb out and wanted notihng to do with the crickets. But after a day of refusing to feed him anywhere else, he started getting the idea. I didn't put him in the feeding tub, so much as I put him on my hand and lowered it into the tub. He watched the crickets for a while (growing more hungry all the time, I'm sure!) and when he was ready hopped off my hand and started eating. I had to do this a few times, but now he's fine with it. It just takes time. The crickets in his enclosure might be a problem down the road, but if you're sure you want to keep going feeding him in the cage, you can try a thick line of petrolium jelly/vasaline around the top. The crickets can't climb past that I don't think. Now if they're jumping up past the line... sorry, I have no ideas for that one!

 

[Halister]

Just to let you guys know what I did. I took vinyl flooring and lines the bottom sides. It works well they cant climb it.

 

[marilynharley]

Hey,
Crickets climbing walls,gezz I hated that so,what I have done is I went to the pet store and found and amazing back drop that has a shinny look that way the crickets can't climb up, or what you could do is get some clear masking tape and place it around the walls half way down the walls that way if they do climb they will fall right away. Good luck. P.S thank you for being a bearded dragon lover and owner.

 

[Halister]

I was going to do that but I was afraid that one wall dance Thug would shred it. Im still thinking about putting plexi glass around it. I think he misses his friend on the other side of the glass.

 

[marilynharley]

My Beared dragon does the same wall dance and he has not torn it down,I have a wood cage and I bought the sleek wall paper and stapled it to the wood and is holding up just fine.....Or a thin three inch piece of plexi glass around the cage to prevent the crickets from climbing past your designated point.

I have problems with mine hiding in nooks and under bowls and they come out at night while the beardies are asleep. Anyone have suggestions on how to prevent that would be great. I have been tong feeding my dragon daily to make sure that no crickets are running and hiding but I would perfer to not have to do that because I don't want him dependent.