keeping crickets

[davieb769]

okay so ive been ordering about 500 small crickets offline to save on money. once they arrive i just put them straight into a 10 gallon aquarium, then i put a bunch of egg carton on the bottom usually with lettuce and carrots for gutload. i always seem to kill off way to many crickets, anyone have any ideas on what i could do to keep these guys alive and healthy? my main concern is i keep thinking about the fact that if these crickets im feeding my chameleon arent the healthiest they can be than neither is my chameleon

 

[beeze]

CRICKET CARE AND KEEPING


Housing Tips:


1. House crickets in a 10-15 gallon glass aquarium with a full screen top.

2. No substrate on the tank bottom. Simply keep it clean and dry.

3. On one end of the tank, stack clean egg carton pieces. Placement should allow for gaps in between so that the crickets have room to hide.

4. Be sure to position a spot light directly above the egg cartons so that the temperatures beneath are 95-100F. Crickets are cold blooded and need to "warm up" so they desire to eat and metabolize their food properly. If not kept warm, die offs will occur quickly. Lights should be on, 24/7.

5. On the opposite end of the tank, place a clean paper plate with cricket food. Since crickets will eat "around the clock" be sure to have food available at all times. In addition to the cricket food, they will require something to drink. We like to use cut up orange slices which provide not only liquid, but added vitamin C as well. Oranges are one of their favorite foods and they will often eat the slices all the way down to the rind.

6. CLEAN the tank bottom at least every other day (daily if you have many crickets you are housing). Crickets eat and produce waste nonstop. Regular cleaning deters the opportunity for bacteria and disease.


Cleaning Tips:


1. Remove the paper plate and egg carton pieces (tapping the pieces against the tank glass to loosen any debris). Now you should just have crickets and waste on the aquarium bottom.

2. Use a wide "paint scrapper tool" to scrape everything to one end of the tank. As you are doing this, if there are any live crickets, they will run back over to the cleaned end. Use the flat edge of the scrapper (as you would a spatula) to lift out the waste and/or dead crickets that have accumulated.

3. Once the tank bottom is clean, add back clean egg carton pieces and cricket food.

4. Once every 2-4 weeks when you've fed out all your crickets, wash the tank thoroughly with antibacterial soap and water. Rinse well.

 

[BMXICAN]

Nice layout. I just recently started purchasing in large amounts too.
Saves me somemoney. Great tips. Thanks!

 

[macro junkie]

different subject but can locust eat oranges also?

 

[summoner12]

I keep about 500-1500 crickets in this container NO prob. I have a fan to pull fresh air in and then exhuast the bad air out. I have very few die off. I feed cricket crack and can keep med. crickets for weeks.

I have to clean the fan side every now and then.

 

[davieb769]

very nice!

 

[chameleon97]

different subject but can locust eat oranges also?

yes they can

 

[jejton]

Whats the waterer you have there?

 

[summoner12]

Whats the waterer you have there?

It is for watering....

 

[Marc10edora]

I have to clean the fan side every now and then.

Summoner, Do you have any links or tutorials on how to rig up one of those fans to plug into a standard outlet?

 

[ocdirtyjerz]

Het sommer,
You got a cricket on the floor. Are they just crawling around?

 

[jukeboxpunk]

Check this out

I am from NH and this guy lives 20 minutes up the road. Some of you may have, or may not have heard of him and his wife. Crazy Carl's Cricket Farm. They have a great care sheet on crickets. This guy has Sigma 6'ed the whole cricket raising process and can educate even the most professional chameleon keeper on how to care for their crickets. This guy knows his stuff. So I think you should find out why you shouldn't keep your cricket in clear plastic rubbermaid containers and much more. Also, temperatures up in the 90s decrease the lifespan of your crickets...find out why.

http://cccricketfarm.com/pages/cricket-care

 

[Garrett]

Adding a spot light for heat was the missing ingredient for me, used to get die offs all the time until I kept them warm. Also make sure the bottom of the cage is DRY and no left over lettuce is in there, or you'll end up with cricket death paste.

 

[Dunnigan]

i use an old stereo amp to keep mine warm

 

[BocaJan]

Just an FYI, I keep mine in a tub too, but I don't put the top on it. They don't jump out, and they have all the air circulation they need. Don't need a fan either.

 

[jejton]

It is for watering....

Smart@ss I meant what type and where did you get it.

 

[summoner12]

Summoner, Do you have any links or tutorials on how to rig up one of those fans to plug into a standard outlet?

No links.....

I made it myself.

About two years ago I did a security camera install on my GF's parents coin shop. All the cameras I ordered came with these neat little 120VAC to 12VDC transformers. Since I purchased a central power supply for all the cameras to run off of, I didn't need to use the ones provided with each camera. I kept them of course and use them on things like cricket keepers.

To make it cheap and simple you don't need to buy 12VDC transformer... they cost a bit of money sometimes. You can buy a 12VAC adaptor and put a diode bridge on the sucker and it'll spit out 11.5 VDC. The fan was left over from a computer I made. You can find what you need at radio shack.

I guess I could make a thread about the fan stuff.

 

[summoner12]

Het sommer,
You got a cricket on the floor. Are they just crawling around?

You will notice the screen on the cage in that same photo has a hole in it......... DO NOT use fiberglass screen... crickets will eat right though it. I now have metal screen covering that opening.... no more escapees.

 

[summoner12]

Smart@ss I meant what type and where did you get it.

I got it at the NARBC show a year ago. The Rainbow mealworm booth had them. You can find them on their site for like 8 bucks (I think). They have two kinds. It'll depend on the age of the crickets for what type you should buy. I think Mulberry Farms sells them as well. You should buy two for one keeper... they get dirty and are a pain... so it might be good to keep one on standby to switch out.