Exo-terra Cricket Pen

[Neptune]

I have been looking at this cricket pen for a while and it seems pretty decent, but there is very little in the way of reviews for this product and i was just wondering if any of you guys use pens or have this one?
I like this one because i has the removable tube to get the crickets out easy. I have no problem handling the crickets, its just some keep escaping and my girlfriend is getting pretty mad at me for it.


What you think?

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/cricket_pen.php

 

[RicheyManic]

i know what you meaning about escaping crickets man. nightmare
if you find any reviews etc let me know?

 

[XiDiS]

I keep 500 crickets in a big plastic tub.. its too tall for them to jump out of and i lined it part way up with packing tape so they cant climb out. Cut a hole in the lid tape some screen material over the hole for ventalation. I have some regular egg crates in there and a few paper towel tubes. When i wanna feed i grab a zip loc bag (with or without calcium powder) grab a paper towel roll and shake some crickets into the bag. After that i just reach into the ziploc with me tweezers and pick them out one by one and drop them in. My beardie hears the lil thump sound they make when they fall and comes running. I know what you mean with them getting out and being hard to handle... but since i switched to this method i havent have one escape. Its super easy to put new food and water gel in the tub for them to. I like the fact of being able to open the lid and not have to worry about them jumping out.

 

[RicheyManic]

i keep egg crates in my set-up. any idea why they need it? they all hide underneath making it extremely difficult to reach any
also what do you feed them and do you clean your tub at all?

 

[XiDiS]

They need the egg crates for that purpose to hide and feel comfortable... it also adds surface area to the bin so they dont just trample and kill each other. I give them the greens (mainly squash) left over from my beardie cage once they get a lil dried out. Basicly gut loading them with the greens my beardie eats. I also offer the crickets water gel with calcium, they dont seem to touch it all since i think they are getting alot of there moisture from the food. Replacing some of the egg crate with paper towel rolls will make them easier to catch... ive had like 50-10 in one tube. When i clean the tubs i just take both outside... swap the egg crate (taking most of the crickets with it). Then i prop one bin above the other and 'coax' the rest out some jump out.. but its outside so i dont care. I try not to just dump one bin into the other since all the crap goes with it. Once i have all the live ones out i can clean the dead bodies and sheds and crap out of the first bin. Make sure you let the first bin dry completely before you switch them back. Switching them back is easier i just move the egg crates and dump the rest since they are coming out of a clean bin.

Hope this helps.

 

[RicheyManic]

i may just gamble and buy the product neptune mentioned. it looks effective and looks as if it will make things so much easier. fed up of finding crickets in my room and coaxing crickets to the top of the tray haha

 

[Momomo]

I am not sure about the Exo Terra one, but I bought Lee's Cricket Keeper before, which is very similar and it was crap!! There are so many little holes, where the crickets can just get out. So I threw the keeper out and kept the tubes. I still use the tubes to get the crickets out of a regular plastic bin. Same idea, but crickets are more secure in that bin.