Post Cricket Depression

[envysion]

Hey guys.

I'm a newb on her first dragon. Helios is about 6.5" long (including tail), and I'm estimating his age to be about 5 - 6 mo. He is starting to come into his own as far as eating goes.

So, I went ahead and ordered 250 crickets from Ghann's farms. They're much more lively than pet store crickets, and I can see my dragon likes them better. It ended up costing about $.07 per cricket after we accounted for shipping.

So, now I've got the crix in a rubbermaid (actually, it's a knockoff) in a closet, but... dealing with them has made me dread feeding time for my dragon.

First off, there's the smell.
To me, crickets smell like rotting milk. Opening up the rubbermaid releases a cloud of scent. It's awful.

Secondly, there's the escapees.
I taped up the rim of the rubbermaid with packaging tape, thinking that it would be too smooth and they couldn't escape. Wrong. I have no idea how these demon spawn are getting out, but they are.

It's driving me crazy. I feel myself growing depressed about Helios, and even entertaining thoughts about giving him away. Don't get me wrong, I love him. I just feel like I have Post-Partum Depression for dragons or something.

I'm frazzled. What can I do to keep crickets securely and have them NOT STINK?

I was thinking of buying 2 of Lee's Cricket Keeper (the large ones), and ditching the rubbermaid. I have a small cricket keeper, and I didn't have any escapees, they never stank, and they were easier to take care of.

Is this a good idea? Are there any other ways around this? I feel terrible.

 

[aussiefreak101]

Would you be opposed to switching protein sources? Roaches have less of a smell if any at all, I don't notice any from mine. And with packing tape(if you have a climbing species) you have no escapees. I have Dubia and only the nymphs can climb if they wanted but unless messed with they prefer to hide in the egg crates. No new setup is needed.

 

[envysion]

I... I'm afraid of roaches. :|

I'd be willing to try once, for my dragon though. Even if it means I don a hasmat suit in fear at feeding time.

What do they eat? I've been feeding the crix Orange Cube.

Also, do you know how much dubias are in comparison?

 

[ShannyBeard]

Roaches are much, much cleaner than crickets. A LOT of people have had to get over their fear of roaches, and I know you can do it. You can also feed worms instead - silkworms, butterworms, hornworms and waxworms are all very easy feeders to keep. Just rotate them as feeder as you are able to find them in your local reptile shop or order them online.

 

[no2beards]

I was creeped out by them too but i got over it. After a while, you'll become curious and see how well their doing and maybe, just maybe, you'll become attached to them. They are interesting bugs.

 

[aussiefreak101]

They cost a bit more up front because they live so long but you end up feeding less roaches than crickets. They eat ground up dog food or cat food and an assortment of other things in it. I use One Beyond Cat food Chicken flavor with rolled oatmeal, brown sugar, dash of powdered milk, textured vegetable protein(also known at textured soy protein, TSP), and banana nut cheerios. All that except the cat food, I was able to find in bulk at my local market. They love oranges and apples as well. And of course as said above there are also worms that make good staples. They can get expensive if you don't raise them yourself but definitely should offer a variety beyond crickets or roaches anyways.

 

[NickStar]

I've been having problems with crickets myself, in different ways than you, and I've been searching for a good staple diet to feed my dragon. (He's approximately 6 inches as well, but mine's no older than 2 and 1/2 to 3 months.) My dragon hates chasing crickets, you can literally "see" how frustrated he gets when he misses one, or when one escapes him.

This lead to a friend of mine telling me about ReptiWorms, and I've gotta say, they seem like the best staple for young dragons to me if you don't want to handle roaches. I personally, can't stand roaches. (Not saying they aren't a great feeder for your dragon, just saying I feel much more comfortable in a roach-free house.) ReptiWorms are Black Soldier Fly Larvae and they're perfect for Bearded Dragons. Great calcium to phosphorus ratio, and you don't really have to worry about impaction, or dusting with calcium either.

I ordered my first batch of ReptiWorms a couple days ago, they should be here tomorrow or the next day, they're pretty cheap. Instead of spending $20 or more on crickets every week, I can spend $15.00 - shipping included - and feed my dragon for almost 3 weeks. Like I said though, I've just ordered my first ReptiWorms and I'm still waiting for them to come, but Ive heard great things about them.

So, if ya can't handle the roaches, look up ReptiWorms.

 

[ShannyBeard]

So, if ya can't handle the roaches, look up ReptiWorms.

ReptiWorms are good advice for a feeder. If you order from the actual Repti-Worm site, use the discount code HUNGRY20 for a 20% discount.

 

[NickStar]

I just used the coupon code "BEARDED20" about 2 days ago, that should still work as well.

 

[envysion]

I will have to try them out as well. Wormies give me no issues, but roaches... *shiver*

 

[theguns19726]

I love roaches as a food source for my beardies and my scorpions, they remind me of rolli pollies until their final molt, then they kinda give me the willys. I do enjoy watching my turtle eat the big males though.

 

[Paradon]

My bearded dragons like the superworms better.