pinhead cricket help!

[ange loves chams]

So my order of pinheads are arriving in this afternoon for the baby pygmies. Thank God because dealing with fruit flies has been a challenge i'll tell ya.

So what i need to know here is what should i be feeding them and what conditions should i provide so they don't all die on me? Do they do better with a little bit of substrate or is a plain cricket keeper fine? Please help me out, i've never delt with pin heads before! thank you

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Keep em the same as big crix. Just make sure the temps dont get too high if you keep em outside. Make sure they have plenty of water gels or water pillows to keep em hydrated.

 

[ange loves chams]

perfect. i keep them indoors so temps wont be an issue then, i do have flukers calcium cricket quencher i use for my large crickets that i will give them aswell. As for food what should i be feeding them? I have pre made gutload i thaw out and give to the crickets loaded with all sorts of friuts and veggies.
And i also provide them with dry food as well, flukers high cal cricket diet, mixed with some ground plain oats and bee pollin. Should i be feeding them just the dry food or will too much moisture drown them?

 

[VeiledOwner87]

yes keep them in a more cool and dry place (like a closet) the warmer it is will either cause death or a faster growth rate. i wouldnt use substrate because it could very well and accidently cause sever impactions with these little guys. plain paper towel changed every day but kept moist should do it. feed as much as the little guys can eat and remove the remaining crickets at the end of the day, remember to dust every day with plain calcium. you may be able to suppliment with d3 3 times a month as well. same with multi vitamin. i would like to suggest Rep-cal brands, that is where the best experiences come from, any more questions i will try my best to help you out

 

[VeiledOwner87]

perfect. i keep them indoors so temps wont be an issue then, i do have flukers calcium cricket quencher i use for my large crickets that i will give them aswell. As for food what should i be feeding them? I have pre made gutload i thaw out and give to the crickets loaded with all sorts of friuts and veggies.
And i also provide them with dry food as well, flukers high cal cricket diet, mixed with some ground plain oats and bee pollin. Should i be feeding them just the dry food or will too much moisture drown them?

you should be fine with just the dry gut load and cricket quencher. if you realy want to use the pre made gut loads that you have made, you could always try dehydrating it and grind it up.

 

[ange loves chams]

noo silly i went in the cricket keeper for the pin heads not the pygmies cage. Oh boyfriend p.s. they better get here soon my pig babies are hungry. So what should i be feeding the crickets besides cricket quencher?

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i just told you, lol the dry flukers gut load and cricket quencher. or you could dehydrate the gut load you have made (dry it out) and grind it up and feed it to your crickets that way. lol

 

[lisa h]

noo silly i went in the cricket keeper for the pin heads not the pygmies cage. Oh boyfriend p.s. they better get here soon my pig babies are hungry. So what should i be feeding the crickets besides cricket quencher?

There are several threads regarding good gut loads for crickets. Fruits and veggies are great, but some are better than others, so you may want to do a bit of research.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

There are several threads regarding good gut loads for crickets. Fruits and veggies are great, but some are better than others, so you may want to do a bit of research.

in filling in for ange, a lot of threads will just go for online ordering foods. i know that cricket crack is a very popular one for the hobbiest on here, i can stand for her because we use the same foods and gut loads together. i know sandrachameleon has great blogs on this, and her ingredients are what we base our "own" gutloads on. as well as we use dry high calcium feed, plain oats and bee pollen as stated.

 

[sandrachameleon]

So what should i be feeding the crickets besides cricket quencher?

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, especially those high in calcium but not high in oxalic acid, such as dandelion leaves, mustard greens, papaya, oranges, carrots, squash. You probably will not need to use a water source like the gel, if you offer these fruits and veg. Also dry gutload such as spriulina, bee pollen, dried alfalfa.

more info: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

ensure the crickets are in a well ventilated container or large enough container. Too high humidity, too high heat, trapped gasses can cause them to die off.

 

[ange loves chams]

thanks everyone! awesome help yes my pre made gut load my bf and i use the same and we've done all the research on what veggies and fruits are most benifical and unsafe so we've got that down pat. Like i said i also like to provide a dry food source aswell which is part flukers dry mix, oats and bee pollen. But seems like the way to go is water gel and the dried food for pinheads then.

 

[ColorCham427]

You actually must keep them warmer than the bigger ones, not sure where you got the cooler idea from?

Pin heads die easily, keep them in the high 80's low 90's with a water source. Ghann's water source is a must, they rock!