crappy crickets or just too well fed?

[Tandra Lee]

hi,i have a question: when i buy my crix and get them home they all get placed in their lrg. rubber maid container with excellent ventillation,there is no over crowding and they are kept cool,they also have tons of egg cartons..i feed them a constant supply of dry cricket crack and they have a wide variety of fresh fruit and veggies on a constant supply.i purchase both lrg and med crix to accomodate my diff size chams...the issue is that my crix get so big(fat) and juicy that they end up dying..at least this is why i feel they are dying..is it possible they are gorging themselves to the point where they just eat themselves to death? i end up throwing away roughly 200 crix mnth do they know when to stop eating or will they eat till they almost explode? when my chams bite into them they literally squirt with the fruit and veggies and crix food

 

[Lancecham]

Crickets have a short life cycle. Could it be that they just lived out their life cycle?

 

[kinyonga]

What temperature do you keep the crickets at?
Are they large/full-grown?

 

[PrettyInInk87]

As stated it could be that they have lived their cycle in life OR it could be that you are keeping them too cool. They LOVE warm temps and thrive in 80 to 85 degrees and hotter if you plan on breeding. Another possibility could be that the cricket "virus" that been going around has struck the supplier?

 

[Tandra Lee]

well guys my crix are kept at about 78* and no they arent at the end of their life cycle either..i just dont get it they end uo being big,like humongous guys(fat i mean) what is this "virus" you speak of?? im curious..thanks ps.i end up losing an equal amount of both large and med crix

 

[Elizadolots]

If they are brown crickets they may be dying from a virus that has decimated the cricket farmers in North America. There are still some farms that have clean brown crickets, but that is increasingly rare. The way the virus seems to work (this just based on my observation) is the crickets get just short of full adult length, then live for a couple of weeks before dying.

 

[Tandra Lee]

yes they do seem to be brown..hmmn is this in any way harmful to my chams? it doesnt seem to be a problem but.......this is most annoying as i pat .10c a crix! and they even charge me .10c for tiny 1 wk old crix! damn rip off as far as im concerned lol..but my pygmy loves em so whatever makes his little heart sing lol

 

[Elizadolots]

No, as far as I know, based on what I've read, the virus doesn't affect your chameleon at all. There are still clean crickets out there. Every Petco in San Diego seems to have good crickets that you can keep for weeks.

 

[ladysilkworm]

No, as far as I know, based on what I've read, the virus doesn't affect your chameleon at all. There are still clean crickets out there. Every Petco in San Diego seems to have good crickets that you can keep for weeks.

Years ago I ordered crix and they came 100% dead.. I never bothered with them ever again nor got a replacement.. I just used mealies.

 

[kinyonga]

Not saying this is what's killing them. It could be a number of things.

The virus...
"The virus is deadly at the 3rd instar- 3rd shedding."...
http://www.supremegecko.com/insects-feeding/cricket-virus-just-how-bad-is-it.html

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9KMMMMG0.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_paralysis_virus