crickets WHHYYYYY escapee help :(

Ryn

New Member
Okay, on a scale from 1-10 im about an 8.5 on the freaking out level. i bought 30ish lil crickets and put them in this stupid kricket keeper thing which theyve been in since less then a week ago, and today i realize theyve been escaping because i just smushed 5 hopping around on the carpet..theyre surprisingly hollow >_>..also it kinda freaks me out how unaffected i am killing things with my bare hands. anyway

can someone pleaseee stop me from assuming theyre going to take over the entire apartment building i am living in, im freaking out so so bad that i cant take it anymore. what should i do?? adviceeeee pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee
 
Ur done bro their gona do a massive take over!!! Bahahaha if u have the cricket keeper tubes put some feed in them nd layy them around ur place.. Or youtube how to catch crickets.. Lol gudd luck bro..
 
I don't really have any advise on large scale capture, I just grab them in my hand. However, they shouldn't be hollow. What are you feeding them? Hollow crickets don't really help your hungry chameleons very much. They may be so eager to escape because they are starving. But then, they will always escape. Just wait until one with wings escapes and chirps all night. One of the biggest reasons I switched to Dubias for my staple bug.
 
Dont worry theyre nice and plump until i bash them. i gut load em before she eats them. anyway its not really a massive outbreak, there is still a bunch of crickets left in the "keeper" and i was feeding her like 6-8 per day of em. Im honestly not sure how many got out, but it couldnt be more then 15.

dead count is up to 7. Im doing sweeps thru the living room and bathroom every ten minutes. found one dead in a spider web. high five spider.
 
I had the same thing happen when I used to use a "cricket keeper". They were everywhere! Makes you think twice about how much you love reptiles. Now I use those large clear plastic bins with lids from homedepot and I cut up some black PVC pipe with caps on the ends for them to crawl into. Works great and I have not had a single escapee since. :)
 
I have escapees all the time, they are everywhere!
The house spiders take care of them though, I even bring some of them up from the basement sometimes just so I have enough.

My house spiders are all fat and happy :D :eek:
 
They won't take over. Thirty is nothing, BTW... Wait till you trip going up the stairs with a bucket of a 100 adults... Then you'll have some splaining to do!

The small ones can get through the lid of the cricket keeper. Get some screen and hot glue it to the inside of the lid. That will keep them in place.

Welcome to the wonderful world of chameleon keeping! :D
 
I've noticed that they always find an orange bucket of my kids - no matter where it is in the house. Makes it easy for me to pop em back in the keeper. That or a half drank glass of water. :eek:
 
Ever think of totally free ranging you chameleon? LOL!!!!! Then you might not need to worry about any escapees.
 
Hahaha
Thanks Im feeling alot better today about it.

I havent seen any more little buddies running around, i hope i squished em all >_>

Ill leave the spiders to the rest :D


I put the cricket "keeper" inside a mesh screen tank that i use for taking my sugar gliders to the vet. if any get out, theyll be stuck in there and Ill sick a glider on them :p

so far none have gotten out inside the mesh tank.. makes me feel better that the number of escapees is low.

Thanks to everyone :)
 
You'll eventually get used to it. I still can't pick them up with my hands, and I freak out when they jump at my face, but I'm kinda desensitized to seeing them around our house now. Best part of having a big dog- he kills them and eats them for me! I just have to call him over and point to where it is and he grabs it. Maybe invest in a dog?? :p
 
You get used to it. I just purchased 1000 online and the box had an opening on the top and was brought into the house without being noticed. About five hours later I get home from work to see crickets crawling out. Less than half of the crickets were left in the box. Lol.
 
Uncle Miltons bug Vac 12 bucks at Amazon ,best chameleon tool I ever bought, use it for everything.. ,escapees, moving crickets to/from supplement cup, catching the uneaten insects to put back on death row, catching flies etc.. at 12 cents a piece at the pet store not smashing the crickets pays for the bug vac in no time.

PS. my veiled loves bulk bungee cord ,avoids branches and crawls on stretched out bungee that I use to fasten stuff, It must feel like shag carpet on his feet.

http://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Milton-...1530&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=dr+miltons+bug+vac
 
Uncle Miltons bug Vac 12 bucks at Amazon ,best chameleon tool I ever bought, use it for everything.. ,escapees, moving crickets to/from supplement cup, catching the uneaten insects to put back on death row, catching flies etc.. at 12 cents a piece at the pet store not smashing the crickets pays for the bug vac in no time.

PS. my veiled loves bulk bungee cord ,avoids branches and crawls on stretched out bungee that I use to fasten stuff, It must feel like shag carpet on his feet.

http://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Milton-...1530&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=dr+miltons+bug+vac

Man I need one of these. Every morning I play "catch the extra crickets" because when I grab them from the keeper with my hand to put in the cage for the chameleon atleast 2-3 escape..
 
either get an xx large glue trap and place the cricket box in the middle of it or if its warm enough outside, take the cricket box outdoors and transfer your crix to a plastic bag then take same bag to your cham cage and release inside.
 
I find crickets all over the house my dog thinks they're a fun toy and a tasty snack. I was in my car outside work once and I felt something on my neck it was a cricket thank god it didnt jump out in the middle of my shift.
I remeber when I first started with reps and I'd drop a cricket I'd be paranoid about getting it back again now though they dont really bother me much. I'd prefer they didn't escape and they're in what I believe to be a secure enclouser but I think it's impossible to stop them.
You can make traps using bottles but to be honest I've never caught anything in mine.
 
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