HOW DO YOU KEEP CRICKETS TO STAY ALIVE !!??

[Aznrainbowdime]

thanks so much ! It'll be muhc easier to find at walmart or target now that i have an idea =)

 

[DragonsInKansas]

you also might want to give worms another shot, just use a spoon to scoop them out. Superworms are really the only thing i've come across that moves alot, everything else is pretty slow, especially right after they come out of the fridge. Plus MJ is to small for superworms, so you have plenty of time to work your way up. I started out scooping out worms with a spoon and have slowly made my way up to picking up worms/crickets/roaches with my hands. What we'll do for our kids.......

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

you also might want to give worms another shot, just use a spoon to scoop them out. Superworms are really the only thing i've come across that moves alot, everything else is pretty slow, especially right after they come out of the fridge. Plus MJ is to small for superworms, so you have plenty of time to work your way up. I started out scooping out worms with a spoon and have slowly made my way up to picking up worms/crickets/roaches with my hands. What we'll do for our kids.......

ok ok i guess i'll do that.. lol. But trust me .. the things we do for the kids... tsk tsk.. lol. Well.. i still have that refrigerated can of baby mil worms... i guess i'll try that today... *gulp*

 

[DragonsInKansas]

Yea, gotta do the worms. I don't know if you've got MJ eating greens yet, but when you make a salad put a couple worms on top and it will entice her to eat the salad.

 

[MyLittleFoot]

that's the kind of tub that I use mine is slick enough where I don't need a lid.

make sure you provide the crickets with water I had a bunch to die from drowning until I bought this

http://www.ghann.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=25&Category_ID=4

it works great and it's easy to clean and use or you can use a wash cloth or any kind of sponge.

also provide potatoes they love them along with some greens and crushed corn grain.

Use plenty of egg crates because they don't like to be on top of one another.

I just ordered 3,000 Crickets from the link I provided you with and have never had any problems with them. I use them all the time. I'm sure you want need that many right now but My Little buddie eats like a pig. LOL

 

[tillywally]

I have mine in a deep and wide rubbermaid tub. They die quicker if they don't have enough space to move around so make sure you have egg crates in there too to create more space. I feed them greens and that cricket drink stuff everyday. Also I clean out the dead ones everyday which I have been told helps a bunch too. My vet also told me that giving them calcium will kill them off quickly too so just dust them before giving them to your dragon. I hope this helps! I'm friends with a local cricket man that grows them himself and he has given me a lot of advice!

P.S. I forgot chicken feed is a good food source for them and it REALLY helps with the smell!

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

I GIVE UP !!!!

So I bought the small cricket home/feeder for crickets. houses about 50 -100. I even bought their food, water, etc. I thought this would help. The next day.. about 20 are dead !!!!!!!!!!!!! (I bought 50)
10 were flipped over... the other 10 either drowned or.. i have no idea !!!!!!!!!

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG !?!?

 

[DragonsInKansas]

Okay okay, lets start over. Drowned? Exactly what are you watering them with? Also, have you been buying all your crickets from the same place this whole time?

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Okay okay, lets start over. Drowned? Exactly what are you watering them with? Also, have you been buying all your crickets from the same place this whole time?

I started buying crix from the pet shop I got my beardie from. ITs a mom n pops pet shop.. but its a bit far.. well about 20 min drive.. then I moved to Petsmart.

I had a shallow water dish for the crix, as I heard they need to drink water to survive... only to find them dead the next morning. Im still sticking with Petsmart... and I just bought a sponge, I guess you fill up with water for them to drink to avoid from drowning. But... no luck still. I just bought another 60 today..... I'm so frustrated with crickets right now !!!!

 

[Delshara]

Bulk crickets bought online seem to be more hardy than pet store crickets. At least that's my experience. The pet store is the middleman, so buying directly from a farm skips that middle step. I used Ghann's when I fed crickets, but you could try Mulberry Farms or just do an internet search for "cricket farm".

 

[jargonchipmunk]

Okay okay, lets start over. Drowned? Exactly what are you watering them with? Also, have you been buying all your crickets from the same place this whole time?

I started buying crix from the pet shop I got my beardie from. ITs a mom n pops pet shop.. but its a bit far.. well about 20 min drive.. then I moved to Petsmart.

I had a shallow water dish for the crix, as I heard they need to drink water to survive... only to find them dead the next morning. Im still sticking with Petsmart... and I just bought a sponge, I guess you fill up with water for them to drink to avoid from drowning. But... no luck still. I just bought another 60 today..... I'm so frustrated with crickets right now !!!!

yoiu're right they need to drink. You went wrong in asking petsmart anything. (not Petsmart. The majority of petsmart employees I should say) They are "trained' on very outdated information. The sponge will work better than the open water dish, but buying a couple ounces of dry water crystals from whoever you order crickets from online if you ever do will be the smartest thing you ever did. That sponge will eventually harbor mold and bacteria (yet another way to kill those frail creatures) whereas the water crystals just have to be kept moist, changed out when they look bad/dry, and refilled once in a while and you're good to go on moisture. Plus, when you buy them dry, they're CHEEEEEAP.

 

[DragonsInKansas]

I totally agree about the dry water crystals. They make all the difference. When I went through my cricket issues when I first started out, I started with those nasty orange cricket cubes, then I bought calcium gel, then i finally landed on plain old dry water crystals. Since switching to the water crystals I've cut my cricket deaths down to 1-2 a day, and that's in a tub of 1,000. I promise you if you try this you'll like it. Plus they are cheap cheap cheap, I got enough water crystals to make 10 gallons of crystals for $2. That'll last me a long long time.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Yeah I hate petsmart now. You cant ask them a question because as you say... they have very outdated info. Like you're talking to a trained robot !!

Water crystals ? I've never seen those at Petsmart. I've seen the orange cube but I didnt wanna buy those.. as I am CHEAAAPPP !! Lol. But if the water crystals are only $2... IM THERE !! lol.

I'll try searching for water crystals now !! =D

 

[DragonsInKansas]

i got my super cheap ones at a reptile show, but you can get them on almost any feeder site, or i've even gotten some on ebay. So check around, you shouldn't have to look far.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

I checked Ghann's cricket.. theres a 250 crix for 9.95 or something like that and I thought man thats cheap ! So i proceeded with check out.. and shipping and handling was $8.95 ! Lol. LIke i said.. im ehh.. cheap ! lol. But Im gonna check e bay... and if all fails.. I'll stick with Ghann. lol