CKeeping Cricket Enclosure Sanitary

[Chameleon Brothers]

Anyone have any ideas and ways to keep cricket enclosures sanitary when you have a large blue bin a 2,000 crickets? it's a pain transferring them out and they can jump everywhere if not careful enough.

 

[nick barta]

Here you go:

1) Cut the bottom of the container out, and replace with aluminum screen. All the grass (poop) will fall through the screen. I use a lid from the same sized container to catch the frass, and dump it.

2) Cut the top out and a side or 2 for more airflow.

3) Don't house more crickets than you need. 2,000 crickets smell worse than 1,000.

4) Buy from Ghann's Cricket; they seem to not die as easy, and last longer.

5) Pick out the dead ones: a good portion of the smell comes from dead carcasses. Dead carcasses create more dead crickets, etc etc.

6) Keep them hydrated; if your fruits and veggies dry out before you replace them with fresh ones, have water crystles available, they last about 3 days.

Nick

 

[Chameleon Brothers]

Thanks

Thanks I appreciate that. And is it the water crystals that only last 3 days or the fruit?

 

[SSimsswiSS]

Anyone have any ideas and ways to keep cricket enclosures sanitary when you have a large blue bin a 2,000 crickets? it's a pain transferring them out and they can jump everywhere if not careful enough.

Keep two bins. One clean and one in use.
Much easier to transfer/corral the crickets into a duplicate bin. And rotate them.

 

[Psychobunny]

Here you go:

1) Cut the bottom of the container out, and replace with aluminum screen. All the grass (poop) will fall through the screen. I use a lid from the same sized container to catch the frass, and dump it.

2) Cut the top out and a side or 2 for more airflow.

3) Don't house more crickets than you need. 2,000 crickets smell worse than 1,000.

4) Buy from Ghann's Cricket; they seem to not die as easy, and last longer.

5) Pick out the dead ones: a good portion of the smell comes from dead carcasses. Dead carcasses create more dead crickets, etc etc.

6) Keep them hydrated; if your fruits and veggies dry out before you replace them with fresh ones, have water crystles available, they last about 3 days.

Nick

Nick, I am going to buy a roll of aluminum screen from McMaster-Carr to use as a floor. Do you know what the best mesh size is?

I guess I could get out my calipers and measure some crick poops!! (prefer not to though!!)

 

[Chameleon Brothers]

PIcs

Do you have any pics of your current set-up?

Thanks,
Matthew

 

[nick barta]

Thanks I appreciate that. And is it the water crystals that only last 3 days or the fruit?

In my critter room the water crystals are dried out by 3 days.

 

[nick barta]

Nick, I am going to buy a roll of aluminum screen from McMaster-Carr to use as a floor. Do you know what the best mesh size is?

I guess I could get out my calipers and measure some crick poops!! (prefer not to though!!)

I buy window screen at Lowes. I put a couple of wood braces under the screen under the screen floor so it doesn't sag as much with the furnishings.