How do you guys feed crickets?

[catwu20]

We usually feed our 2 yr old girl ~5 gutloaded crickets 3-4 times a week. The thing is, we need to constantly remove and put back the decor every time there is a feeding. The crickets are so active and jump around onto various surfaces and into nooks and crannies, and our beardie struggles to find/catch them all. Constantly removing and putting the decor back can get pretty bothersome, so I want to know how you guys feed crickets to your beardies?

I've heard of putting them in the fridge for 5 mins to slow them down, but this seems so cruel to me. I'm thinking of investing in a small tank or storage container just to plop my beardie in there and feed. Switching to dubia roaches is an option, but I don't have a lot of experience and I hear they climb and hide too.

 

[KarrieRee]

We usually feed our 2 yr old girl ~5 gutloaded crickets 3-4 times a week. The thing is, we need to constantly remove and put back the decor every time there is a feeding. The crickets are so active and jump around onto various surfaces and into nooks and crannies, and our beardie struggles to find/catch them all. Constantly removing and putting the decor back can get pretty bothersome, so I want to know how you guys feed crickets to your beardies?

I've heard of putting them in the fridge for 5 mins to slow them down, but this seems so cruel to me. I'm thinking of investing in a small tank or storage container just to plop my beardie in there and feed. Switching to dubia roaches is an option, but I don't have a lot of experience and I hear they climb and hide too.

Dubias are a great feeder- they are easier to keep and last longer- I keep mine in a 10 gallon aquarium - they don't escape out of the tank and crickets are escape artist- crickets stink horrible -

 

[Longfellow777]

Dubia are so easy, they do not climb that well and they don’t fly. I have mine in a regular storage tote and never had any get out. I even keep the lid off most days. They don’t smell they make very little noise (if you have a lot you may hear them moving around here and there.) But no chirping like crickets. A cricket could get sick and die and get the rest sick, roaches don’t do that either. Which makes maintenance much worse then dubia, because you need to make sure you never have any dead and clean all the time. In my opinion they just noisy gross and smelly. Dubia are worth it for sure. Summers coming and that’s a great time to start a colony. I know plenty of people that feed outside the enclosure though. Most people just don’t have the time for that I know I don’t.

 

[catwu20]

Thank you guys for the reply. I might invest in dubia roaches - the thing is I'm in Canada where they are illegal, and getting your hands on them could be difficult and expensive. How often do you need to clean their storage tote? Do they poop everywhere?

If they have difficulty climbing, I might just unleash them in my enclosure. I'm worried about the hiding, though. Although I guess it would be fine to let them hang out in the enclosure if they are clean.

 

[Longfellow777]

Yeah and they don’t bite crickets bite. I clean mine once a month. I check on them daily though (water crystals and salad scraps) our dragons salad scraps. If your just throwing a handful in the enclosure it would be fine. However you can get slip proof dishes made for exactly this and worms. I bought mine from here

No-Escape Food Bowls

Start shopping for No-Escape food bowls for flies. We are dedicated to the best quality here at Symton Black Soldier Fly.

symtonbsf.com

There great never had anything get out.

 

[catwu20]

Yeah and they don’t bite crickets bite. I clean mine once a month. I check on them daily though (water crystals and salad scraps) our dragons salad scraps. If your just throwing a handful in the enclosure it would be fine. However you can get slip proof dishes made for exactly this and worms. I bought mine from here

No-Escape Food Bowls

Start shopping for No-Escape food bowls for flies. We are dedicated to the best quality here at Symton Black Soldier Fly.

symtonbsf.com

There great never had anything get out.

How wonderful! I might invest in one of those handy inventions - although I do plan to throw a few into the enclosure, just so she can hunt. I assume dubias need to be gut-loaded too?

 

[Longfellow777]

They don’t have to be but it’s beneficial too gut load. Like crickets you want to calcium powder the roaches. Unless you use liquid calcium like I do this dosent matter. Yeah when I have the money I gut load with a brand called repashy and it’s the bug burger. There’s lots of gut loading products out there or you can just gut load with things you know are nutritionaly beneficial to dragons. A lot of people gutload their bugs with the things the dragon dosent eat enough of (salads, fruits, etc.) My girl dosent eat much squash so that’s something I tend to put into my roaches too. “Hunting” yes I throw a few around the cage sometimes to stimulate her. The dish is a good investment no matter because there are certain things you don’t want to let loose in a viv, like worms most are capable of biting and pesting your dragon so the dish comes in handy. Crickets are also biters, once the lights go out they hunt the dragon LOL. Can’t put them into a dish though lol they just suck. But that repashy if you have the money is great for the dragon.

 

[catwu20]

I use the repashy too lol sprinkled on. And feeding the bugs with stuff beardies refuse to eat is a great idea - my girl can finally have some alfafa sprouts and endive lol. Thank you guys for your replies and helping me make a decision

 

[Longfellow777]

Of course we are all in this together!