How do I know?

[MollyT]

Is there a general rule of thumb for when to move up on cricket size? My guy(10 week old veiled male) is eating around 20 small ones a day(about 1/4 size) and I am thinking about moving up to 1/2. I was also just wondering if anyone could tell me at what age they usually move up to full size? The local pet store where I have been getting my crickets just offer small and large. The small range from pinhead to maybe a bit bigger than 1/2. Next time I am ordering online, so I get more of a uniform size!

 

[natureboy86]

Is there a general rule of thumb for when to move up on cricket size? My guy(10 week old veiled male) is eating around 20 small ones a day(about 1/4 size) and I am thinking about moving up to 1/2. I was also just wondering if anyone could tell me at what age they usually move up to full size? The local pet store where I have been getting my crickets just offer small and large. The small range from pinhead to maybe a bit bigger than 1/2. Next time I am ordering online, so I get more of a uniform size!

My advice would be to stick to the rule of thumb of no cricket should be length longer than the width between your cham's eyes. I made the mistake of buying medium/large crickets for my little guy (4 months) thinking the little crickets weren't doing justice.. He choked on a cricket and struggled for over a day.. Standing on his hind legs, swaying back and forth with his jaws open.. swallowing constantly...It was a SCARY, SAD thing to watch, and I had only had my dude for about a week and a half... Luckily, he pulled through! I immediately let all the meaty, larger crickets go, and have been sticking with small/medium ever since. I figure it's better to feed the cham a TON of small/medium crickets, than a few large ones that pose a risk... Just my two cents.

 

[slinko9]

when your cham reaches about 6 nor 7 months he will be big enough for full sized crickets,,,thats when i started feeding Jimmie full sized!!! However with Guber,,,I think I am gunna feed him a more diverse assortment of feeders,,,and keep crickets no bigger that between one quarter and half sizes and feed him more than just 2 or 3!!!
Full size crickets are very noisey!!!!
Oh and its nice to see you have a new Kush!!!
Congratulations!!!!

 

[nightanole]

Each bump in size is almost 4x the weight. Then again the cricket growth rate is huge so your crickets are doubling in size each week you store them. I switch around the 2 dozen a day in one feeding mark. Also mine will naturaly stop being interested in the smaller ones. At 1 year mine wont touch a half inch anything. Im also lucky he is a full chewer and doesnt try to swallow stuff whole.

 

[MollyT]

My advice would be to stick to the rule of thumb of no cricket should be length longer than the width between your cham's eyes. I made the mistake of buying medium/large crickets for my little guy (4 months) thinking the little crickets weren't doing justice.. He choked on a cricket and struggled for over a day.. Standing on his hind legs, swaying back and forth with his jaws open.. swallowing constantly...It was a SCARY, SAD thing to watch, and I had only had my dude for about a week and a half... Luckily, he pulled through! I immediately let all the meaty, larger crickets go, and have been sticking with small/medium ever since. I figure it's better to feed the cham a TON of small/medium crickets, than a few large ones that pose a risk... Just my two cents.

Wow! That sounds horrifying! I think my main problem is that the ones I'm getting at the petstore vary in size so much. The tiny ones are too small, and the bigger ones are just about right. I almost always find the smaller ones dead in droplets of water. He eats the bigger ones(by bigger, I mean from 1/4 to 1/2). I am going to order some 1/4 size crix in bulk next week. That way, if they grow a bit it's ok, but I won't get so much that they have time to get huge. Thanks for the advice!

Slinko...Yeah! He's really doing great. I bought him from a breeder on here and it has been a night and day difference from the first one I had! He was so healthy when I got him and picked up eating right away! It's such a relief!

 

[natureboy86]

Wow! That sounds horrifying! I think my main problem is that the ones I'm getting at the petstore vary in size so much. The tiny ones are too small, and the bigger ones are just about right. I almost always find the smaller ones dead in droplets of water. He eats the bigger ones(by bigger, I mean from 1/4 to 1/2). I am going to order some 1/4 size crix in bulk next week. That way, if they grow a bit it's ok, but I won't get so much that they have time to get huge. Thanks for the advice!

Slinko...Yeah! He's really doing great. I bought him from a breeder on here and it has been a night and day difference from the first one I had! He was so healthy when I got him and picked up eating right away! It's such a relief!

Yea, that's EXACTLY why i ordered larger ones in my situation.. Because the small crickets were drowning after misting.. What I do now, is I mist first, wipe the bottom of the enclosure with some paper towels, THEN throw in the crickets. Since i have a misting system, and it goes on while I'm at work, a few crickets will be dead when I get home, but not that many, because my cham pretty much gets almost all of them before I go to work.. I think you're idea is right, go with 1/4-1/2'' crickets in bulk. The ones that you think might be a little too meaty, throw them out. Good luck!

 

[Kate]

When he is old enough for jumbo crickets I would switch to perhaps worms, roaches. I absolutely hate them. I won't buy any larger than med/ large as if you get a stray one they can cause a lot of damage by biting!!!