How do you keep crickets alive!?

[ryanlegend]

i dont know why but my crickets die pretty fast. i feed them keep a little thing of water in there. what am i doing wrong?

 

[carol5208]

you pray!!! lol! Do you have a light on them to keep them warm?

 

[ryanlegend]

no. i never thought to do that. i figured they created enough heat. but it seems like if they get to warm they die and turn all gross and mushy.

 

[carol5208]

I live in Florida so I always kept them on my patio, now my cham does not like them but I would have a light on them now with the colder temps of winter even in your house. The cricket breeder I used to get mine from keeps his at about 88-90 degrees. I would get a dome lamp and get a house bulb and measure the temps. When I used to keep mine out on the patio in the summer it was hot and I had very little die off of my crickets! Hey, it is worth a try!!!

 

[Lancecham]

Crickets can tolerate a pretty good range of temps. Tell us about your cricket enclosure, the temperature they are kept at. What size crickets are you getting/

 

[ryanlegend]

uhh its like 70 degrees and i keep them in a big plastic bin and i think their half inch. i just got a box of 500 yesterday. and i found out getting them off the internet is WAY cheaper than getting them from pet stores. haha

 

[PrettyInInk87]

These little guys are very delicate... They need to be kept at HIGH temps as Carol stated, well fed and hydrated (as you are doing), and kept very clean. Even when you have enough food to go around they tend to feel the need to eat one another including the dead crickets. Try and take the dead ones out as soon as possible, the bodies will start to decompose and pass bacteria on to the healthy crickets, they die, and so forth. It's a cycle... Also, they need lots of ventilation so make sure you have a nice open top or create a big mesh top for them so it doesn't get all mucky and humid in there. Trust me, it's a pain when keeping lots of them at once but if you keep them clean, fed, warm, and well ventilated, they will live longer and grow into fat juicy things. Lol!

Edit: If you can get your hands on Egg Carton that would be great to toss in with them. It creates more space for them to climb and hide on... If the place you are keeping them in is not large enough they will start killing and eating eachother for the space.

 

[carol5208]

yes, I used to keep mine in a ten gallon tank with a screen lid and as prettyinink said, keeping the container sanitary is key also.

 

[kinyonga]

I keep my crickets at room temperature...about 72-74F where their cage is....and I rarely lose any.

I keep them in a large petpal (clear container with a plastic lid that is well ventilated). I take the egg carton pieces that come in the box of 1000 crickets and break them up into about 6 pieces and set them randomly in the pet pal so it creates lots of places for the crickets to hide.

I put any greens and veggies that I'm feeding them on top of the layers of egg cartons. I never give them water...I give them a piece of romaine lettuce instead.

I have two pet pals and alternate between them so that I have one in use and can clean the other one.

 

[DeviousMike]

I keep 100 at a time in a little Kritter Keeper and just keep a bunch of food and total bites for more supplementation and moisture source. Most survive til they get fed off.