What is your technique for dusting then feeding crickets?

[FishboneNC]

I need suggestions on dusting then feeding crickets.
I tried the method of putting crickets in a bag, add the calcium dust, shake it up, but getting them out of the bag is tricky...I loose a lot of them.

I left them in the shipping box, (put fluckers cubes in there for food) they found a way to get out, so I put the box in the feeder tank.
I also have a Lee's cricket keeper and store some in there.

Can I put dust in the black tube the crickets crawl in, dump out the excess dust and feed him?

He eats lots of greens, can I dust the salad?

What is your technique and calcium dusting frequency?

 

[Mustashio]

I keep my crickets in a cricket keeper too with toilet paper rolls in their with them. I never use the black tubes it came with to try and get crickets into. Too tedious.

I usually have a plastic bag of calcium dust (or vitamin dust) then I open the cricket keeper and either tap the toilet paper rolls into the bag, or scoop up crickets with a spoon and dump them in the bag. Then I seal the baggie, shake it up to coat the crickets, and then I just open the baggie and lay it in the viv and the crickets crawl out of it. When all the crickets are out of the bag, I remove it and put my beardie in the viv to eat. Works great. The only downfall to the toilet paper roll dumping method is that sometimes you inadvertantly dump cricket poop into the dust powder. But it isn't like your feeding your beardie a bowl of dust, and the crickets will walk out of it anyway.

You certainly can sprinkle dust on your greens too. My beardie never ate his greens if I did that though. He's pretty stubborn! I also use the empty toilet paper rolls, to catch and trap crickets that he didn't eat to get them back into the cricket keeper so they aren't left in his viv. I put the roll right over the cricket and they climb right up in there, I just cover the other end with my hand and shake it back into the cricket keeper! Quick and easy!

Hope this helps!
~Jill

 

[vampy]

I do similar to the above. I keep my crickets in a big plastic tub with bits of egg crate in, I open the tub, put a ziplock bag inside, then pick up the smallest bit of egg crate and shake the crickets into the bag. Any which jump off en route normally fall back into the tub.

I then put the dust into the bag, seal it, shake it up, and then open it just an inch or so and pour the crickets a few at a time into the bowl with the greens in until the dragons are done eating.

 

[FishboneNC]

Thanks Mushashio and Vampy.
The toilet roll is the trick!

My guy would get excited when I used a small computer vacuum to clean out the left over greens that get spilled and dragged all over.
He confused it with the black tube from the Lee's cricket box.
I had to hold him back to keep him away from it.

I found if I really dust them, they don't jump very good!
As for strays, he'll hunt them down or I'll 'round them up" and herd them his way.

Thanks again

 

[Mustashio]

Sometimes if you shake the bag vigorously enough, the crickets slow down a little too! We're such cricket torturers aren't we? Lol!

 

[LLLReptile]

The toilet paper tube is an excellent tip (it's what I use at home for mine), and another one is once the crickets are in the bag, if you want them to slow down a bit, put the bag in the fridge for a while. 15 to 20 minutes should be enough to slow them down, and they'll survive being in there for up to an hour. Once they warm up again, they'll start moving like normal!

-Jen

 

[SammieLee]

I bought the cricket shaker from rep-cal. I have only used it a few times as my little guy is refusing to eat crickets but it worked great.

 

[esn]

When I have to feed crickets I take a round cup container with a lid (tall plastic kind most bought superworms come in, or a large yogurt container). I fill the bottom with calcium powder, throw the crickets in, and shake. I set the container on its side in the tank. The crickets are usually stunned after a good shake, so they come out slowly enough for lizards to pick them off. I do this for dubia too. Bags never worked for me. I even use baby food jars sometimes.

 

[newmommybeardie]

I put my crickets in a container the amount i need of calcium and give it a little shake i have my Bearded Dragon Juvinile in a 5 gallon tank and put in a little bit of crickets at a time carefully not putting in the lose calcium powder but does happed so i just clean that out after feeding. But thats just me.