How do you all keep your crickets alive!?

[Thompson]

I'm really starting to hate crickets lol. I buy a 1000 thinking they'll last me for a while and then they start dropping dead. In a few days it seems half of them are gone and I feed them fresh veggies and fruits almost daily so they can eat and get water. So how do you all keep your crickets alive for an extended amount of time?

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

I give them loves and hugs... two dishes, one with paper towels and filled with water, the other with dry cricket food around fresh fruits and veggies. Give them lots of space to climb on, works for me, I've heard of other users having a disease like thing that makes them all drop dead.

 

[Hoj]

well all i can tell you is what i do and i can keep 1000 alive for about 5 weeks.
they are in a opaque rubbermaid container about 24x18x18 in my kitchen area that is about 78-83 degrees and i have a bunch of holes poked in the top. i feed them sandrachameleons dry food recipe, zilla water cubes with calcium, repashy foods bug burger, and fresh fruits and veggies. they have a bunch of toilet paper rolls to hind in and i clean out the bin of all dead once a week.
dont know if that helps at all

hoj

 

[JackP308]

Hoj you keep a your crickets in your kitchen area of all places LOL


it is food after all.

Keep them clean and well ventilated and hydrated.
I keep clear rubbermaid tubs the tall ones preferably, some clean egg crates, veggies and dry gutload. Lately Ive actually been cleaning it every single day just cause its easy and im outside with chameleons anyways so mine as well. My easiest way to clean is keep 2 rubbermaid containers the same. So one is always clean. I knock all the crickets off dirty egg crates. Place in new egg crate they all will swarm it. Pick it up place it in new container.So I have clean crickets all alive in new container and clean egg crates. After doing that several times to get all the crickets ill clean the other container. Throw in a bunch of food on the top of the new egg crates and do it again whenever I feel like it.

 

[clarkrw3]

I think the die off is from over crowding. The more egg crates you use the better. I have had small groups with plenty of private hiding spots that have lived producing adults for 2+ months. Surface area is your friend

 

[Hoj]

Hoj you keep a your crickets in your kitchen area of all places LOL


it is food after all.

ya my house is kinda weird got a usless little dining room right off my kitchen that i keep a cricket and supplimenting area there.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I keep them in this, and I get 1000 at a time:

It's only about 14" long I think. The key imo is lots of ventilation, hydration, and eggcrates. If they're too overcrowded they don't do well. And without a lot of ventilation they die off very quickly. They can go a few days without food but they need hydration so they should always have water crystals.

I order 1000, clean it out every 2-3 weeks and they last me about a month and a half. Now that I have a superworm colony they last 2 months and I have maybe 10 die-offs total. When you have that many make sure you feed them quite a bit every day because too many that are hungry isn't good either.

 

[Vegas Chad]

We use something alot like the above pic ^.


#1: Space
#2: Ventilation
#3: Water
#4: Food

 

[Thompson]

Thanks guys! I keep the crickets in a pretty large tupperware container so they have plenty room. I do need to add way more ventilation though, I just have poked holes in at the top of the container Also need to add a water dish, I was thinking the veggies after being washed would enough water for them, guess not! Well I'm about to order another round of 1000. I hope I have better luck this time!

 

[Thezillaman21]

dude its the crickets

i have had alot of crickets but most the ones you get in bulk places are usually inbreed. which i think leads to sudden death becuz the crickets i get at my local pet store lasted me for like 7months and they were almost full grown when i get them and i had alot of em. they all died cuz my heater broke and they froze during winter. :/ however the crickets i got with my cham that were from lllreptile(idk where they get them from) started dieing like crazy i went from 200 to like 40 with in 3days and myset up was the same one i used for my other crickets. i think it has to do with the species of crickets i know i have kept wild ones alive for about 5months. iv heard of tophat crickets having softer exoskeletons that lead to more parisites spreading faster. try getting wild crickets while thier still around and raiseing your own. the cage above is perfect but u dont even need a vent on the side unless your keeping tons of them and they will chew their way threw even glue. also i feed my crix rabbit pellets becuz crickets eat the same diet as rabbits when thier in the wild and everyone says that in the wild animals are healthy becuz they naturally know what they should be eating. also cut back on fruit and vegies they spread bacteria fast i gave mine a slice of orange and a slice of potato once a week. also along with rabbit food i added dry oatmeal. they LOVE IT!! anyway i would suggest changeing where u get crickets from or try getting wild crickets. (usually the brownish colored ones idk what species they are lived longer for me than the lighter gray colored species)

 

[Thezillaman21]

also u can buy cricket traps at walmart in the fishing department for like $2 i just bought some yesterday idk how well they work yet but if they do work well ill be sure to let ya know.

 

[Thompson]

i have had alot of crickets but most the ones you get in bulk places are usually inbreed. which i think leads to sudden death becuz the crickets i get at my local pet store lasted me for like 7months and they were almost full grown when i get them and i had alot of em. they all died cuz my heater broke and they froze during winter. :/ however the crickets i got with my cham that were from lllreptile(idk where they get them from) started dieing like crazy i went from 200 to like 40 with in 3days and myset up was the same one i used for my other crickets. i think it has to do with the species of crickets i know i have kept wild ones alive for about 5months. iv heard of tophat crickets having softer exoskeletons that lead to more parisites spreading faster. try getting wild crickets while thier still around and raiseing your own. the cage above is perfect but u dont even need a vent on the side unless your keeping tons of them and they will chew their way threw even glue. also i feed my crix rabbit pellets becuz crickets eat the same diet as rabbits when thier in the wild and everyone says that in the wild animals are healthy becuz they naturally know what they should be eating. also cut back on fruit and vegies they spread bacteria fast i gave mine a slice of orange and a slice of potato once a week. also along with rabbit food i added dry oatmeal. they LOVE IT!! anyway i would suggest changeing where u get crickets from or try getting wild crickets. (usually the brownish colored ones idk what species they are lived longer for me than the lighter gray colored species)

Can't use wild crickets. I know my neighbors spray around their house, I've seen them :\ So all wild bugs are out of the picture. I usually get my crickets from Ghanns and everyone else seems to have success with their crickets. But there was this type of cricket that I got from a show in Vegas a couple months back. They were more blackish and orange, they were huge compared to the crickets I get from Ghanns. They were so much easier to care for and they ate everything I offered them. I bought them from this guy from the cricket ranch, or farm? Can't remember the name but I've been trying to find that type of cricket again but I've had no luck :\

 

[clarkrw3]

Also need to add a water dish, I was thinking the veggies after being washed would enough water for them, guess not! Well I'm about to order another round of 1000. I hope I have better luck this time!

By water dish you mean water crystals right

 

[jdog1027]

Those are the new crickets on the scene. They are Gryllus assimilis, and Ghann's cricket farm is currently starting to breed them. They say it will be several months beforethey have them up to commercial scale breeding.

 

[Thompson]

By water dish you mean water crystals right

Lol yes water crystals. I certainly don't want the crickets to drown!

Those are the new crickets on the scene. They are Gryllus assimilis, and Ghann's cricket farm is currently starting to breed them. They say it will be several months beforethey have them up to commercial scale breeding.

Yes those! Thanks! Do you know if anyone is already breeding them and has some available right now?

 

[Chamifornia]

i have had alot of crickets but most the ones you get in bulk places are usually inbreed. which i think leads to sudden death becuz the crickets i get at my local pet store lasted me for like 7months and they were almost full grown when i get them and i had alot of em. they all died cuz my heater broke and they froze during winter. :/ however the crickets i got with my cham that were from lllreptile(idk where they get them from) started dieing like crazy i went from 200 to like 40 with in 3days and myset up was the same one i used for my other crickets. i think it has to do with the species of crickets i know i have kept wild ones alive for about 5months. iv heard of tophat crickets having softer exoskeletons that lead to more parisites spreading faster. try getting wild crickets while thier still around and raiseing your own. the cage above is perfect but u dont even need a vent on the side unless your keeping tons of them and they will chew their way threw even glue. also i feed my crix rabbit pellets becuz crickets eat the same diet as rabbits when thier in the wild and everyone says that in the wild animals are healthy becuz they naturally know what they should be eating. also cut back on fruit and vegies they spread bacteria fast i gave mine a slice of orange and a slice of potato once a week. also along with rabbit food i added dry oatmeal. they LOVE IT!! anyway i would suggest changeing where u get crickets from or try getting wild crickets. (usually the brownish colored ones idk what species they are lived longer for me than the lighter gray colored species)

I get 300 from LLL every month and I never see more then a few dead if that when they are gone and I have to clean out the bin. I use the same idea as the picture above because I copied her lol and its worked out great.
I didn't know crickets lived 7 months

 

[JackP308]

I get 300 from LLL every month and I never see more then a few dead if that when they are gone and I have to clean out the bin. I use the same idea as the picture above because I copied her lol and its worked out great.
I didn't know crickets lived 7 months

they dont , but it sure feels like 7 months when an adult gets loose and chirps day n night

 

[lslcronk]

Those are the new crickets on the scene. They are Gryllus assimilis, and Ghann's cricket farm is currently starting to breed them. They say it will be several months beforethey have them up to commercial scale breeding.

Are these the ones that bite??

 

[JackP308]

Are these the ones that bite??

http://www.geckotime.com/jamaican-field-cricket-gryllus-assimili/

 

[Thompson]

http://www.geckotime.com/jamaican-field-cricket-gryllus-assimili/

Wow!! That's scary! Guess cupfeeding is best for these so you none won't be left in the cage to munch on our lizards.