250-500 crickets

cswan19

New Member
So I've been noticing how much money i've spent on crickets and I have to buy new crickets every few days as my baby veiled eats about 8-15 small crickets a day. So I was looking online for feeder crickets in order to save money. I found both 250 and 500 crickets for fairly cheap. As of right now i gut load the crickets with cut up strawberries and flukers cricket quencher and shake them in calcium powder before feeding them to Malibu. I keep them in a fairly small tupperware container with holes in the lid, as I usually only buy about 30 at time. I also keep toilets paper rolls and cut up egg carton for hides in with them. Before I buy the crickets online I want to be sure I can keep them alive (Don't want to waste my money on dead crickets). Any tips on keeping crickets alive? How big of a container will i need for 250-500 crickets? what to feed them? Also how fast do crickets grow? If my veiled eats small crickets from petco what size should I get? The options from the website are in fractions of an inch (ex. 1/4").
 
I'm not sure of much options but my 3 month veiled is a beast and eats about 15-20 a day too lol, at this age is all growth spurts :)
 
Well its good to know I'm not the only one with a very hungry cham. I guess it means they're healthy! although too bad crickets aren't free haha :) I love watching them eat though its very cool to watch.
 
babies eat like they are high school football players.

You need a large rubbermaid bin, some aluminum mesh, a hot glue gun, and a bunch of cardboard from eggs.

cut a hole in the bottom and the side of your bin, glue the aluminum mesh on, let dry, then place the crickets andthe egg crates inside.

feed crickets daily, and keep them from overheating or getting too cold.
 
Nope its normal at a young age :) lol its crazy how fast they are when they want to be, its like a masacure when the I put the bugs in ahahahah !!! When I get him a hornworm or something interesting he will stretch for miles if he has to and rip it right over the branch :)
 
Since you have a baby, I'd start with 1/4" crickets. I would feed off the largest crickets and just go from there - crickets will grow fairly quickly, but even when you order 1/4" there will be variances in there, cricket to cricket. I'd also only buy 250 at a time - with only 1 cham it will take a little while to go through them. As your cham grows you'll learn to buy in bulk 1 size smaller than it normally eats to compensate for how long it will take him to get through all those crickets. Plus, when he grows up, you'll only want to buy 3/4" crickets so that you have a couple of weeks chirp-free before they get large enough to chirp. By that point you will have fed off quite a few of them so they can't chirp either! :D
 
I keep my insects in exo terra large or extra large faunariums.
Large one easily houses around 400 crix. You need loads of rolls/egg cartons though. Just clean it every once a while and feed them. I have very few dying on me

faunarium_set.jpg
 
Rubermaid is my suggestion. Also try out different fruit and vegetables for gut loading. Oranges are great and provide lots of liquid as do potatoes. Just mix it up. Have a lot of small pieces of cartoon for the crickets that way you can use them to shake into a feeder cup, it is much easier than hand picking or shaking a big piece of cardboard without escapes. Good luck!
 
Potatoes are worthless for gutloading. Oranges are okay, but only if used with really good gutloading staples as by themselves they're really only good for hydration, not gutloading.

Best gutloading ingredients to use because they are highest in calcium, low in phosphorus, oxalates and goitrogens. (These should be the primary components of your gutload): mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion leaves, collard greens, escarole lettuce, papaya, watercress, alfalfa.

Good gutloading ingredients because they are moderately high in calcium and other vitamins/minerals. Should be used in addition to those from the previous category: sweet potato, carrots, oranges, mango, butternut squash, kale, apples, beet greens, blackberries, bok choy, green beans

These fresh fruits and vegetables can be combined with dry gutload mixes such as Cricket Crack, Dinofuel or home made mixes for optimal well-rounded nutrition. Dry ingredients can include: bee pollen, organic non-salted sunflower seeds, spirulina, dried seaweed, flax seed and organic non-salted almonds, among many others.
 
Wow so much useful info! This forum is always great when it comes to fast replies and good information. Thanks guys! Where do you guys get your feeders offline? What's the best site? I was thinking about ordering mine from lllreptile, but then I noticed the smallest amount of crickets thy offer is 500. Any suggestions where to order from?
 
yes I would order from Lazy H Bait in LaBelle Florida. They will ship 500 crickets of any size right to your front door with the egg crate and all for $14
I would just get the 500. You are gonna get die off no matter what. i think that is the least amount they will sell.
 
Potatoes are worthless for gutloading. Oranges are okay, but only if used with really good gutloading staples as by themselves they're really only good for hydration, not gutloading.

Best gutloading ingredients to use because they are highest in calcium, low in phosphorus, oxalates and goitrogens. (These should be the primary components of your gutload): mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion leaves, collard greens, escarole lettuce, papaya, watercress, alfalfa.

Good gutloading ingredients because they are moderately high in calcium and other vitamins/minerals. Should be used in addition to those from the previous category: sweet potato, carrots, oranges, mango, butternut squash, kale, apples, beet greens, blackberries, bok choy, green beans

These fresh fruits and vegetables can be combined with dry gutload mixes such as Cricket Crack, Dinofuel or home made mixes for optimal well-rounded nutrition. Dry ingredients can include: bee pollen, organic non-salted sunflower seeds, spirulina, dried seaweed, flax seed and organic non-salted almonds, among many others.


Excellent information for new comers and senior members! +1 :)
 
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