Set up for Crickets

[jings55]

I want to buy crickets on line for Stryker. I live in SC and have pretty much decided to go with Ghann's. Any body have anything to say about this distributor?

Also, I had initially come across a video or two about how to set up a cricket keeper (for 1,000+ crickets). Now I can't find it and want to show it to my husband. Can anybody help with the set up of the keeper and how to car for the crickets? Also, how often do they need cleaning & food? I really don't want to handle these guys... :bleick:

 

[KDK241]

You should clean the bin completely once a week and clean out any dead crickets as soon as you see them. They release a gas that will kill the others and they STINK! A rubbermaid storage bin with a hole cut in the side and top covered with ALUMINUM window screening (they will chew through the fiberglass screen) works well. You can also use a 10 gallon aquarium with a screen lid.

Place a shallow food and water dish on one side and the egg crate/cardboard tubes on the other side. Use the water gel and replace when it looks dry and add food when the dish is empty. You can also add any veggies leftover from your beardie's salad. My crickets loved fish food and ground up dog food.

Honestly, dubias are SO much easier and you can breed your own. I was completely against bringing anything with the name roach into my house but now that I have I will never keep crickets again. I hate that I have to buy some for my frogs still. Plus they don't make noise, don't smell and when you open the bin to change their food and water they all run and hide, lol. I use tongs to handle my dubias because I refuse to let them touch me but they are a million times easier to catch with tongs than crickets

 

[mommisgurl]

I love Ghanns. They are the only place I've ordered from for my beardie. I get 1,000 at a time,and they last me awhile. Barely any dead on arrival,pretty much all the same size you get.

Just like it was said above,having a plastic bin works the best. I have a 19 clear sterilite bin with a lid,and in the middle of the lid,I cut a small square in it,got some screen mesh,and used duct tape. Then I just threw in a bunch of egg crates,and done.!
For the food, I cut a paper plate in half,and I use water crystals on one,and some chow I got from Lance on here Best food in m opinion.
Every other day, I throw in lettuce,carrots,potatoes,apples. They eat em all.
I bought a small dustpan and brush for $2 at walmart that I use to sweep out the bin every other day. If you don't,it begins to smell :roll:

 

[jings55]

Thanks for you help!

However, now I'm thinking dubias!

I don't know what to do!

 

[mommisgurl]

I actually have both.
If you go with dubias,there are most definately more pros than cons,and they are very easy to maintain.
The only downer is that they take a few months to be big enough to feed out of..if you feed too quickly,you will cut short the breeding,and you'll be stuck.
I've had mine going stronger for about 2 months and havn't fed anything out of it yet. Reptar can eat a lot of anything..lmao

 

[jings55]

Well, since we're talking bugs & food-let me ask you this:

I'm having a problem. We gave Stryker about 50 small crickets Thursday night (normally when we feed him) We found out the next morning-he didn't eat ANY!

Friday he got meal worms-he gobbled them up!

Tonight we gave him the same crickets (that were gut loaded). He wouldn't touch them for over a half house-so we took them out. Put in the remaining meal worms (dusted with Calcium & Vitamins) and he ate those hurridly!

He did not poop today and he hasn't touched his freshly made salad of Kale, the last few days.

He seemed slightly lethargic, although he crawled up and snuggled with me and I did our Sunday night weigh in and measure (He gained only 9 grams in 9 days-down from 25 grams last time!) and even clipped his nails for the first time, which any objection at all!

There's two things going on, I discovered. 1) My kids were not breaking up his salad into bite size pieces, but putting almost a whole leaf in. I remedied that and 2) We discovederd he is shedding on his belly. They do shed on their bellies, don't they?

Can you think of any other reason that he would not eat crickets?

Should I try buying them elsewhere tomorrow and dumping this batch outside? :?

 

[mommisgurl]

Hmm..that is an interesting problem..

First thing is first..you should remove all crickets from his tank at night..they can nibble and bite your baby..who wants that.?

How old is he.? From what I've read,mealworms have alot of exoskeleton (shell) making them hard to digest for babies..besides that,they aren't the most nutritious thing you can be feeding him.

How many baths a week do you give him.? A nice warm bath can help move things along in his tummy. I've potty trained Reptar to only poop in his bath everyday. Having only eaten those mealies might be blocking up his tract..

What does your set up look like.? I know it's annoying,but it'll help us figure out what could be the problem.

And yes,they do shed on their bellies. They shed everything from head to toe. Mine will shed his tail and lega first,then his head,then lastly his whole main body.
Every beardie is different. Reptar's average weight increase is 30 grams a week (weighed every Thurs),but like I said,every beardie is different.

The best thing I can think of is some tough love..no more mealies and stick to his crickets,or maybe try some dubia to change it up some. Repti,phoenix,butters,silks,horns..have you tried any of those.?

 

[KDK241]

I actually have both.
If you go with dubias,there are most definately more pros than cons,and they are very easy to maintain.
The only downer is that they take a few months to be big enough to feed out of..if you feed too quickly,you will cut short the breeding,and you'll be stuck.
I've had mine going stronger for about 2 months and havn't fed anything out of it yet. Reptar can eat a lot of anything..lmao

I agree with that. If you do go with dubias then order a lot of them so you have enough for breeding and for feeding. I have a breeding bin and another for feeders and my feeder bin is almost empty. I only started out with 400 mixed sizes but they went fast!

 

[jings55]

Hi, Again!

Stryker is almost 8 months old. We've had him 4 months. He is rather on the small side, probably because I followed what the pet stores had told me up to about 1 1/2 months ago and fed him like 10 crickets or 5 mealies a day!!! So today he weighed in at 127 grams and is 13 1/4 inches long from nose to tip of tail.. He has started to grow about 5 weeks ago and gained 58 grams in 5 weeks.

He is in a 40 Gallon breeder set up. (Pictures below). I am working on the deficiencies . He has a 100 watt, I believe, basking light from pet store. Ay first, when we got him, he was in a 10 Gallon, so he had and came with a 5.0 Zilla dessert UVB. I have kept that on the 40 gallon. My breeder told me it was adequate-but not according to what I read here. So, I finally got the money and ordered him a Reptisun 10.0 tube light with hood from Pet Mountain, which I am exspecting later today ( it's Monday already). I am hoping this new lighting solves alot of problems. He does not have too high of a basking spot-and I can't tell it it's right. I have 2 cheap round thermometers in there, which I can't read, so my next purchase will be a temp gun or two digital probes to read the right temps. The things I have now are useless. He is NEVER on the cool side on the tank. He is on a repticarpet, which I need to also buy another, so I can switch them out and wash this one.

We have spent boo-koos of money on this beardie and the one we bought on craigslist the week before we got Stryker II, that died exactly a week later, even with Vet care. In essense we didn't know what we were getting into and bought a sick dragon, whom we were told was a 1 yr old male. 24" long. He turned out to be a she and the Vet said she was most likely aroind 7 years old. We got ripped off! :evil: I would guess, we've spent easily about $1000, :shock: as we had to replace lights for the 40 gallon, Buy something (an entertainment center) to put it on, then the 10 gallon, bowls, beardie pellets to eat, etc and of course the dragons. So, now that I've learned a few things :study: , my husband, who doesn't like him, doesn't want me spending money on him. Thus, I'm ordering by mail-and do intend to order some of the suggested worms at least, till, I make up my mind about the crickets vs dubias. I pretty much decided to order phoenix worms from phoenixworms.com. Maybe a trial cup to see if he likes them first. I'm also looking for worms that are easy to care for.

I don't have a current pic of Stryker. Right now he is all grayish. He lost his orange colloring on his back, although I can see a hint of orange on his front legs. I hope when he sheds, he will be beautiful once more.

 

[jings55]

What kind of Beardie would you say Stryker is? A leatherback? Is that referring to the design on his back or coloration? :dontknow:

 

[mommisgurl]

Wow,yes he is quite small for an 8 month old.. :? Reptar is three times that and half his age.
Okay,let's see where I can help you

Firstly,thanks for getting a Reptisun 10.0. Any other bulb just won't cut it,and he will thank you for that when his growth speeds up.
But,from your pictures,it is in a hood on top of a screen mesh. Having that on top will block out 50% of the uvb rays,and he needs all he can get. I would recommend you returning that hood you got from Pet Mountain,and using that money to go to Walmart to get an under-the-counter fixture from Lights of America. It is $8.Depending on what size tube you got (18' or 24'..24 is recommended for a 40) you will get the fixture of that size.I have a 24'. Then,go get 3 command strips,and mount in on the INSIDE of the tank. This is very,very important. They need 100% of the uvb rays,and doing this will ensure they get a non interrupted flow. If you go on the enclosures thread,Jess has posted the correct way to have a 40 gal. I have the EXACT same thing in mine (except for the CHE and cool side bulb) Follow that to the tee.It's a sticky note,can't miss it.

Yes,take out those dial thermometers..completely inaccurate. Walmart,again,sells one of the most popular temp probes for $13. Most of the people here use it,and it works great. Along with a good temp gun,you will find out the exact temps. I have a 100w in my 40 gallon,and it gets to 110F,but that is because his log is 10inches from the bulb. It sounds like it may not be getting hot enough because he spends the majority of his time under the bulb,so I would say adjust the log to get it closer to the bulb.

Good,stick to worms. No more mealies. And when you decide what you'd like to do,tell us so we can help you as well Most of the worms do okay in room temp,but if you want them to last longer,you would have to buy a wine cooler of some sort to keep them alive longer. I always had mine in room temp because he would eat them all within a week.
With whatever you use,introduce it gradually,and cut back if you see a big majority of them in his poop.

Yeah,they get very,very dull when they shed. Reptar will always have beautiful colors after he shed though,so I wouldn't worry

From what I can see,he does appear to be a leatherback. He has very nice accents and shades on his back. A leatherback is referring to having less scales on him than a 'normal' would..there are 3 different beardies. A normal with all natural spikes and scales..a leatherback which sounds like it feels,and a silkback,which has no scales once so ever. They are alot of genes that are dominant,co-dominant,recessive,het,het trans..all that stuff I'm not too familiar with,but I'm sure that someone will pitch in Everyone can say different things about the colors,like sandfire,tiger bars etc.

 

[jings55]

Ok, Thanks mommisgurl for all the help! :notworthy:

I will ask my husband to check out the under counter fixture in Walmart-but what do you adhere it to? He has to have a screen-I've got cats!
I thought if you took the plastic filter strip out of the Reptison hood, you'd be all set? I got a 36' bulb. BTW It came this morning, but we haven't unpacked it yet.

I sent Hubby out to look for the accu-temp/accurite thermometers in Wallmart last month, but he couldn;t find them, and no one knew what he was talking about. Maybe he didn't either! lol

Anyways, I've like to have one of those temp guns.

The variety of worms will have to wait till the 26th, when we get paid. Where do you order from? I'm in South Carolina. Where are you from? Thanks for telling me to introduce them slowly! What kind(s) do you get?

He pooped today, so I'm happy! We will bathe him later. Got to get a bigger "tub", too!

I thought he might be a leatherback! Glad to have your opinion!

Thanks for all your help! :wink:

Joanne

 

[mommisgurl]

Don't mention it.! It's no problem :wink:

You put it directly onto the glass with the command strips. They stick perfectly to it,and can hold alot.! Just put one of either side of the back of the fixture,and one in the middle,then stick it as close as you can to the top of the tank,all the way to one side. This is so that the baby can have an opportunity to get out of the uvb rays if need be,and you can still keep the screen

That's what I've heard to,but I also read that the mesh from the screen blocks out alot of rays reguardless of the plastic coating or not. With your baby being a bit more stunted in his growth,he will need every single ray he can get.

Haha no,you guys had it right. It's in the outdoor section,close to the garden supplies. At my walmart,it was close to the weighing scales for humans xD We had a guy show us where to go. Hopefully it will be there for you guys too.

That's quite okay,just keep up with the crickets. I have ordered Phoenix worms directly from Ghann's. They also sell supers and waxies,and will be expanding soon to more worms. You can buy a vast majority of worms from Mulberryfarms.com,as well as lindasgonebuggie.com. The last one is actually a member on here. From what I've heard,she's awsome,and everything comes to you healthy and alive. With ordering phoenix,repti,and calci worms,get the largest size. They are quite small,and my guy can eat the largest size easy

So far,he's eaten Phoenix,wax,and meal worms,and I've ordered some butters,horns,and silks and they will be here soon Those last ones are a very good source of protein and fat for yours,and maybe will help for him to gain some weight Waxies are good at doing that too.

Yay for poop.! That's great to hear

 

[mommisgurl]

These are a few pictures of what I mean with the lighting etc. This was before I got Reptar,and I had a few things in there. The wall mount is on the same side with the basking bulb,and it's as high up as possible. Hope it helps a bit I have both on a timer I got from Home Depot.

 

[jings55]

Thanks for the pictures. That helps explain what you mean better. 8) I will show it to my husband later. Do you have a reptisun 10.0 bulb in there?