yesterday i bought 6 dozen crickets from my local reptile store. today i shook a few out of my cricket keeper, and noticed a foreign object that just fell out of the tube, as i looked closer it appeared to be moving. when i looked closer it was indeed a cricket, but just the exoskeleton and the inside was filled with what looks like pinworms? either way i have bagged and cleaned up the worms off the bottom of the slate tile, my question being should i abandon all 6 dozen crickets and give my keeper a thorough cleaning with a water-vinegar solution? or should i try to salvage the crickets? ive never encountered parasites or worms with my Beardie and i never want to have to. hes maxed out at 16" long and i am not his original owner but i believe hes almost 10 years old. a diet of mostly crickets and hornworms every other day, collard greens every day and a variety of fruit. i dust crickets also. any help would be nice. exotic vet not an option.
Were they fuzzy little black worms ? Those are Dermestid beetle larva, they are included in some cricket shipments because they eat the dead crix and skin sheds.
I’m not 100% sure if all the crickets would be infected but when my beardie Grievous had parasites the medication cost me $80 so I would suggest getting rid of the crickets because although they are expensive it’s certainly better than having to purchase medication. Better safe than sorry. I would also suggest notifying the pet store of the issue to ensure this doesn't happen to someone else.
- Sadie
they look like tapered white worms about 3-5mm long some are slightly pink towards the tip. the exoskeleton of the cricket is there, the insides are not. i have the worms bagged up, no idea how to dispose of them. i was going to bring them to the store before i realized how silly that was incase they somehow manage to make their way out of the bag and into food ect. anyways i will be phoning the store to let them know, and i will probably be buying a whole new cricket keeper because this one has gotten pretty beat up and the black tubes are gross so i hope they arent harboring and parasites that i cant see. also i dont want to feed the crickets to him for obvious reasons, but how do i dispose of 6 dozen crickets that could have worms? im limited to what i can do because im recovering from a bone graft and i am in multiple casts that i really dont want these worms to crawl into hahahaha.
Yuk ! Sounds nasty ! To kill quickly, just pour scalding water on them, in the container or the bag. It will kill immediately. I hope your bone heals well.
Yuk ! Sounds nasty ! To kill quickly, just pour scalding water on them, in the container or the bag. It will kill immediately. I hope your bone heals well.
just an update, put the worms and the whole cricket keeper in a garbage bag outside so it freezes all of them overnight. i bought a bigger cricket keeper so all the crickets arent all ontop of each other.