Are crickets a must...
- Thread starter acyr
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Djturna4thakidz
Established Member
I have made the switch to roaches because of the smell, but still supplement with crickets here and there
Djturna4thakidz
Established Member
As long as you offer a varied diet of well gut loaded feeders you will be fine
Check Craig's list in your area.
Lazy Boy
Member
Dubias are super easy to have a Colony and don't stink. Get you some breeders and start asap you will tank me later. I feed dubias, reptiworms, silkworms and supers. I might get crickets once a month but really they are unneeded once you get a colony of dubias. But I would try some first. They don't hop like crickets and some chams won't go for them. I cup feed them with no problems at all and he will usually go for a dubia before a cricket.
SaintJimmy
Avid Member
Dubias can't climb, don't make noise, can't fly, can't jump, and are meaty and don't smell.
All you need is a patch of heat tape (if you want them to breed), some adult (male and female) dubias, and some bug burger and egg cartons. They will do just fine in a big ol' plastic tub.
All you need is a patch of heat tape (if you want them to breed), some adult (male and female) dubias, and some bug burger and egg cartons. They will do just fine in a big ol' plastic tub.
pigglett79
Avid Member
I don't have crickets as a feeder. I use roaches, various worms, stick insects etc. I have a blog in my signature that details how I keep and breed various feeders.
Bush baby
Avid Member
I personally think that crickets are superior to roaches.
Here's why:
Gut load
1) I've noticed that even after crickets are brought home after being purchased and you dump them into a container in order to gut load them, they immediately start feeding on whatever food item you have set aside for them. In other words, they seem un-phased by the 'trauma' of being scoop up from their current home (the pet store) transported via plastic bag for as long as several hours, shaken around, then dumped into a completely different environment. It's as though they are programmed to feed, no matter what. This is what makes them superior to roaches. Roaches, i've found, take time to settle in before they will feed. Crickets are eating machines which makes for the perfect gut load vehicle.
Free-range
2) I free-range, so after i've gut loaded my crickets in a separate container, i dust them and empty about a dozen of them into my chams enclosure. I do this because most of the chams i've had rarely cup feed. I leave a small amount of food, for the ones my cham doesn't eat immediately, in the cage bottom, so the crix won't nibble on my cham at night. You cannot free-range roaches because they are great at hiding, and are nocturnal, un-like crickets who are both active during the day when your cham will see them and at night.
Movement
3) Crickets are far more lively during the day when your cham will see them. Even if you cup feed, roaches tend to crawl into a corner or one side of the cup and remain still. Not good for predator who's feeding response is based on it's preys movement.
Impaction
4) I've notice that when i feed my chams crickets as the primary part of their diet, they have a bowel movement everyday, whereas when i've fed them roaches, it's gone from them defecating daily, to every other day, to sometimes once a week. From this i must conclude that a roach must be much harder for a chameleon to digest. I've even had to treat some of my past chams for impaction (using oil) when i had them on a roach diet. The situation remedied itself when i switched back from roaches to crickets.
Those are the reasons why i personally don't use roaches. I'll give them to my cham once in a while; but as i just stated, i've found crix just have more attributes that benefit the chameleon itself, as opposed to roaches, who seem to be a popular feeder not so much because they benefit the chameleon itself but because it's better for the owner, i.e they're cleaner, make less noise, produce less smell, etc…
…to each his/her own.
Here's why:
Gut load
1) I've noticed that even after crickets are brought home after being purchased and you dump them into a container in order to gut load them, they immediately start feeding on whatever food item you have set aside for them. In other words, they seem un-phased by the 'trauma' of being scoop up from their current home (the pet store) transported via plastic bag for as long as several hours, shaken around, then dumped into a completely different environment. It's as though they are programmed to feed, no matter what. This is what makes them superior to roaches. Roaches, i've found, take time to settle in before they will feed. Crickets are eating machines which makes for the perfect gut load vehicle.
Free-range
2) I free-range, so after i've gut loaded my crickets in a separate container, i dust them and empty about a dozen of them into my chams enclosure. I do this because most of the chams i've had rarely cup feed. I leave a small amount of food, for the ones my cham doesn't eat immediately, in the cage bottom, so the crix won't nibble on my cham at night. You cannot free-range roaches because they are great at hiding, and are nocturnal, un-like crickets who are both active during the day when your cham will see them and at night.
Movement
3) Crickets are far more lively during the day when your cham will see them. Even if you cup feed, roaches tend to crawl into a corner or one side of the cup and remain still. Not good for predator who's feeding response is based on it's preys movement.
Impaction
4) I've notice that when i feed my chams crickets as the primary part of their diet, they have a bowel movement everyday, whereas when i've fed them roaches, it's gone from them defecating daily, to every other day, to sometimes once a week. From this i must conclude that a roach must be much harder for a chameleon to digest. I've even had to treat some of my past chams for impaction (using oil) when i had them on a roach diet. The situation remedied itself when i switched back from roaches to crickets.
Those are the reasons why i personally don't use roaches. I'll give them to my cham once in a while; but as i just stated, i've found crix just have more attributes that benefit the chameleon itself, as opposed to roaches, who seem to be a popular feeder not so much because they benefit the chameleon itself but because it's better for the owner, i.e they're cleaner, make less noise, produce less smell, etc…
…to each his/her own.
shmeenakoz
Member
I personally think that crickets are superior to roaches.
Here's why:
Gut load
1) I've noticed that even after crickets are brought home after being purchased and you dump them into a container in order to gut load them, they immediately start feeding on whatever food item you have set aside for them. In other words, they seem un-phased by the 'trauma' of being scoop up from their current home (the pet store) transported via plastic bag for as long as several hours, shaken around, then dumped into a completely different environment. It's as though they are programmed to feed, no matter what. This is what makes them superior to roaches. Roaches, i've found, take time to settle in before they will feed. Crickets are eating machines which makes for the perfect gut load vehicle.
Free-range
2) I free-range, so after i've gut loaded my crickets in a separate container, i dust them and empty about a dozen of them into my chams enclosure. I do this because most of the chams i've had rarely cup feed. I leave a small amount of food, for the ones my cham doesn't eat immediately, in the cage bottom, so the crix won't nibble on my cham at night. You cannot free-range roaches because they are great at hiding, and are nocturnal, un-like crickets who are both active during the day when your cham will see them and at night.
Movement
3) Crickets are far more lively during the day when your cham will see them. Even if you cup feed, roaches tend to crawl into a corner or one side of the cup and remain still. Not good for predator who's feeding response is based on it's preys movement.
Impaction
4) I've notice that when i feed my chams crickets as the primary part of their diet, they have a bowel movement everyday, whereas when i've fed them roaches, it's gone from them defecating daily, to every other day, to sometimes once a week. From this i must conclude that a roach must be much harder for a chameleon to digest. I've even had to treat some of my past chams for impaction (using oil) when i had them on a roach diet. The situation remedied itself when i switched back from roaches to crickets.
Those are the reasons why i personally don't use roaches. I'll give them to my cham once in a while; but as i just stated, i've found crix just have more attributes that benefit the chameleon itself, as opposed to roaches, who seem to be a popular feeder not so much because they benefit the chameleon itself but because it's better for the owner, i.e they're cleaner, make less noise, produce less smell, etc…
…to each his/her own.
I can absolutely agree with you on free-range, movement and BM's
I personally can't stand crickets but, at least Ive never had a problem with them nibbling on my cham! Im going to start leaving food though at the bottom cause that is a great idea, just to be on the safe side.
Lazy Boy
Member
I personally think that crickets are superior to roaches.
Here's why:
Gut load
1) I've noticed that even after crickets are brought home after being purchased and you dump them into a container in order to gut load them, they immediately start feeding on whatever food item you have set aside for them. In other words, they seem un-phased by the 'trauma' of being scoop up from their current home (the pet store) transported via plastic bag for as long as several hours, shaken around, then dumped into a completely different environment. It's as though they are programmed to feed, no matter what. This is what makes them superior to roaches. Roaches, i've found, take time to settle in before they will feed. Crickets are eating machines which makes for the perfect gut load vehicle.
Free-range
2) I free-range, so after i've gut loaded my crickets in a separate container, i dust them and empty about a dozen of them into my chams enclosure. I do this because most of the chams i've had rarely cup feed. I leave a small amount of food, for the ones my cham doesn't eat immediately, in the cage bottom, so the crix won't nibble on my cham at night. You cannot free-range roaches because they are great at hiding, and are nocturnal, un-like crickets who are both active during the day when your cham will see them and at night.
Movement
3) Crickets are far more lively during the day when your cham will see them. Even if you cup feed, roaches tend to crawl into a corner or one side of the cup and remain still. Not good for predator who's feeding response is based on it's preys movement.
Impaction
4) I've notice that when i feed my chams crickets as the primary part of their diet, they have a bowel movement everyday, whereas when i've fed them roaches, it's gone from them defecating daily, to every other day, to sometimes once a week. From this i must conclude that a roach must be much harder for a chameleon to digest. I've even had to treat some of my past chams for impaction (using oil) when i had them on a roach diet. The situation remedied itself when i switched back from roaches to crickets.
Those are the reasons why i personally don't use roaches. I'll give them to my cham once in a while; but as i just stated, i've found crix just have more attributes that benefit the chameleon itself, as opposed to roaches, who seem to be a popular feeder not so much because they benefit the chameleon itself but because it's better for the owner, i.e they're cleaner, make less noise, produce less smell, etc…
…to each his/her own.
I'm with you on movement. They do jump and move around much more but that's all I can agree with. As far as fecal I would think they go less because more is absorbed. Its a proven fact dubias have much more meat to shell then crickets. Also dubias can't get out of feeder cups like crickets.
LookinRound
New Member
If you pinch the back legs off the crickets they fall off and once both are gone the crickets can't get out of the feeder cups either... though that is time consuming haha
Psychobunny
Avid Member
Lots of people don't use cricks at all.
They are excellent gut load vehicles, as they will eat anything.
BTW, Only dead cricks smell, and if you get the brown banded species (Ghann's sells them) they have no odor.
I keep my crick bin in my dinning room. If there was any smell, they would be in the basement
They are excellent gut load vehicles, as they will eat anything.
BTW, Only dead cricks smell, and if you get the brown banded species (Ghann's sells them) they have no odor.
I keep my crick bin in my dinning room. If there was any smell, they would be in the basement
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
agree. a good variety, some soft bodied some "chintony" and well gutloaded.
I provide crickets only 2- 3 times a month. I buy them in small quantities and feed them off after several hours of gutloading. This means no smell and practically no noise (if I am going to keep for a few days, I cut wings off males to ensure silence).
If you can handle keeping crickets in the diet just a little, I think your cham would appreciate it. They move well and are easily gutloaded.
alternatives / prey to offer when not giving crickets include: roaches (I find hissers are more easily gutloaded than dubia, so I keep use types); termites; captive raised snails; superworms (aka kingworms aka morio); silkworms; solder fly maggots (aka phoenix worms aka calci worms); indian walking sticks; captive raised terrestrial isopods; captive raised blue bottle flies; moths; ...
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
or just use a deeper /bigger container. I use a big bowl or a tall yet fairly narrow plastic container.
