Crickets in California?

[jeschardies]

I read some older threads about reputable cricket suppliers in Ca. I found Bassett's and Mulberry's no longer ship crickets. Anyone know of a good supplier? My dilemma is that I only have one beardie and not yet interested in breeding feeders, not until I get another beardie anyway.....
Ghann's gets many hits in the community, but what is shipping like to the south west? Am I best off continuing my cricket purchasing at the local pet shops?

Thanks for your input!

 

[jeschardies]

I would consider a dubia colony, but not too sure the mrs. would go for roaches in the house and I don't want to end up overwhelmed with roaches. Don't think my single beardie would keep up with them....

 

[bestcrickets]

cricketsdirect.com is great for feeders. there in san diego and a box of crickets is only $10.50 and about $8 for shipping. give them a try.

 

[fresnowitte]

There's actually a virus that is attacking crickets right now that is why the 2 Californian sites do not have any available to ship at this time. I actually prefer to stick to ordering from the sites that will actually take yuky bugs off the market instead of just selling them anyway. Mulberry farms is great at monitoring the quality and health of their feeders. I would suggest that you try something different for a minute until they get this virus under control. Not sure exactly how wide spread it is so ordering from another state might help and might not.

 

[jeschardies]

Thank you so much for all the input. I've actually just finished putting in my order with Ian to start a Dubia colony (Very pleased with his service and patience with a newbie). They should be arriving on Thursday. Though I will not be feeding out of it for a while, so I'll continue to buy feeder crickets from the reptile shop in town for another month or two. They breed their own and order from Ghanns when a boost is needed. At $.4/cricket, my only concern is the virus until my colony stabilizes.
Are phoenix worms okay for a 12" beardie? I was thinking of occasionally ordering them for Mia from Mulberry farms. Would they be considered a type of staple insect? If I was to leave for a couple of days, I was thinking that it may be easier for my mom to feed Mia phoenix worms than crickets. Would this be okay or should I still have her do crickets? If so, how many would I have to consider buying?

I'm gonna have to hide the roaches for the weekend, my mom wouldn't sleep knowing that we are breeding them......lol

 

[fresnowitte]

There's actually a virus that is attacking crickets right now that is why the 2 Californian sites do not have any available to ship at this time.

I actually spoke to someone in the cricket growing business in our area an I must stand corrected on that statement that I made. It is not due to a virus persay but do to contaminated cricket feed.