Dead Crickets!!!

[kelii]

OK, so this morning I took out my cricket colony and noticed a ton of them were dead because their food had become moldy. I'm going to see which ones I can salvage and clean their bin really well. My question is, is it safe to feed the survivors?

 

[Claudiusx]

You can. I'd give the crickets a day to get rid of anything bad in their systems before feeding to your dragon, just as a precaution. I don't necessarily think its necessary though.

-Brandon

 

[kelii]

I cleaned out my cricket bin very well with hot soapy water and got all new eggcrates, but my crickets are still dying. any ideas as to why? I noticed they get paralyzed and twitch before they go.

 

[Claudiusx]

What are you feeding the crickets?

With crickets, it's important to remove the dead as soon as you see them. At least once a day. Dying crickets give off fumes that will kill the living crickets in the bin.

But I haven't experienced fumes causing what your are describing in regards to their behavior.

-Brandon

 

[kelii]

thanks! I'll make sure to pick them out when they first start twitching.

 

[Claudiusx]

Well, i was saying that the dead fumes shouldn't be causing a twitching behavior, which is why i was wondering what you are feeding.

-Brandon

 

[kelii]

I'm feeding them dog food cheerios and collards.

 

[andrewh151]

Hi,

I used to have chams with crix and used to have to same problem. If you place a 60 watt bulb over their cage they will live much much longer. unlike dubias, humidity and moisture kill crickets off fast. try it and you'll have a much higher ratio of living vs dead.

 

[kelii]

Hi,

I used to have chams with crix and used to have to same problem. If you place a 60 watt bulb over their cage they will live much much longer. unlike dubias, humidity and moisture kill crickets off fast. try it and you'll have a much higher ratio of living vs dead.

thanks! I'll give it a try.