Cricket virus info?

Sticktongue

Sticktongue

Avid Member
So I'm just catching little glimpses of the cricket virus going around. What exactly is it? I'm guessing it's happened before, so does go away quickly or what?

Just curious as I have not been buying feeders for a year now but will be somewhat shortly and want to get educated in this.

Carson.
 
Is there a NEW virus going thorough?

Few years ago there was massive die off on cricket farms because of the virus. Lucky Lure cricket farm in Florida where I use to get my feeders had t shut down and they had been in business for years.

Cricket farms started breeding hybrid crickets by crossing the black cricket with the brown cricket because they where resistant to the virus. Now all the crickets I buy from ghanns are all hybrids.
 
(Just joined to share whats happening with my crickets)

I seem to be having issues with my crickets.. I don't know the virus very well but I am losing crickets almost every hour. Received them only a week ago.

They seem to be constantly stretching and stiffening their legs for a few seconds before returning back to normal, they also have their mandibles open biting at nothing (I'm terrible at explaining) before eventually dying.

Not sure if this part of the virus but I live in Florida and got my crickets online from Petco.

EDIT: Contacted Petco and they said they haven't had any reports of the virus
 
There was a similar thread about this a while back, looks like this virus (or something similar) might be coming back around...
if its CrPV (cricket paralysis virus); its a densovirus, non zoonotic (you cant carry it), and non transmissible between invertebrates and vertebrates (ie your chams are safe). All the same, it is highly contagious between many inverts... Transmission is likely fecal/oral, but studies have also shown that mites can transmit the virus between crickets.

There are probably a number of different strains under the densovirus genus, but from what WildTosa described, it sounds like crpv
 
The new crickets from Ghanns are like super crickets. The jump higher and chirp louder and also seem to chirp sooner (at a younger age) I had to buy deeper bins so they would not jump out.

I only heard that they where cross breeding black crickets. I am not sure (the crickets i find in my yard are black wild crickets..i wonder if that is the same breed)

Site says : Banded crickets have Minimal noise - only adults chirp, short wings make minimal noise

I disagree with that.. Its true they have hardly any wings BUT they are louder than the old brown cricket. They sound more mechanical when they chirp.. I have joked that they where really little robots.
 
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Mulberry farms's banded crickets got the virus apparently
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/CRICKETS-c12/
Don't know if its the paralysis virus or not, but it shows that banded cricket aren't completely immune..

As for Ghann's, I think they just sell the banded crickets like they advertise. However I can ask before I order since I need new crickets.. I'm losing 20-30 a day.
 
I hate to say it, but if youre losing them at your current rate, you might be better off cutting your losses and going the slash and burn route.

New tubs, new substrate, new crickets...anything that touched the old colony cannot be put in contact with a new one without being sanitized. Densovirus (as a genus) have non-enveloped capsids, which generally means it survives longer outside of its host than other viruses. Starting everything over should theoretically stop the losses (assuming youre getting a clean supply of feeders)

Given how many different types of insects can get infected its likely that a lot of companies wont be able to clean themselves of this virus completely. A number of articles cited a rate of 9/10 inspected species from the order Lepidoptera to be carriers of CrPV (which might explain why the dubia's seem to be resistant), meaning all the companies that carry silk worms and horn worms have a potential source for the virus...and some articles even point to fruit flies as potential carriers
 
chefboyardee said:
I hate to say it, but if youre losing them at your current rate, you might be better off cutting your losses and going the slash and burn route.

New tubs, new substrate, new crickets...anything that touched the old colony cannot be put in contact with a new one without being sanitized. Densovirus (as a genus) have non-enveloped capsids, which generally means it survives longer outside of its host than other viruses. Starting everything over should theoretically stop the losses (assuming youre getting a clean supply of feeders)

Given how many different types of insects can get infected its likely that a lot of companies wont be able to clean themselves of this virus completely. A number of articles cited a rate of 9/10 inspected species from the order Lepidoptera to be carriers of CrPV (which might explain why the dubia's seem to be resistant), meaning all the companies that carry silk worms and horn worms have a potential source for the virus...and some articles even point to fruit flies as potential carriers
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm going to clean my rubber maid tubs with a bleach solution and rinse it a few times then let it dry out for a day or two. I'll also get new egg cartons. Do you think this'll get rid of it or just build a new tub
 
10% bleach is what we use at work to deal with some heavy duty viruses, so that would certainly kill off whatever was in the tub no doubt. The problem is figuring out how effective this virus is at getting into random areas and staying virulent long enough to find a host again.

there are just too many factors... feeder supply could be infected, out-of-host survival could be high, contamination of food supply, non-feeder insect infection (mites, flies, etc)...

Hopefully that will work, but if your new colony gets infected again, especially if you choose a new supplier, then I might consider trying to raise dubia or another feeder insect that isnt as prone to infection
 
I can't really switch to dubias since I live in Florida they're illegal. Plus I got quite a few reptiles that would be too small to eat them sadly.

I want to try and keep my old tubs but I'm going to build new ones just to be on the safe side.
I'm going to try the banded crickets from Ghann's cricket farm unless they ship with those beetles and worms. Does anyone know if they do that? If they do, anyone know a company who doesn't do that..

I keep my crickets in my house and really don't want those beetles in my house
 
WildTosa said:
I can't really switch to dubias since I live in Florida they're illegal. Plus I got quite a few reptiles that would be too small to eat them sadly.

I want to try and keep my old tubs but I'm going to build new ones just to be on the safe side.
I'm going to try the banded crickets from Ghann's cricket farm unless they ship with those beetles and worms. Does anyone know if they do that? If they do, anyone know a company who doesn't do that..

I keep my crickets in my house and really don't want those beetles in my house
Click to expand...

they do have those worms in there- but why would you not want them ? those are the "clean up crew" - they eat the crix " nastyies " - you leave them in the bin and they clean it - but they are right, those things JUMP way higher - even pinheads can jump 12" - I HATE crix anymore- and also, they do not cross w./ the black cricket- & the banded seem to more "juicy" - lol :D
 
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