Well this happened.... rip

[BClizzi]

So i orderd a box of 500 crickets off of ebay (my first mistake) and then left them on my counter because i had to leave for school (my second mistake) and i came home about 5 hours later to this... About 490 of them dead. Well lets just say it was the best chicken feed i could find. 15$ chicken feed. Thanks ebay!

 

[Nursemaia]

That sucks. I order my crickets off of eBay all the time without a problem

 

[absolutbill]

Its not because you had to go to school and left them on the counter that they died. Did they have any cardboard egg crates in there with them? I'm not sure if you took them out for the picture or not. If there was no egg crate that was the issue - good sellers put that in so the crickets have something to walk on instead of crushing the other crickets.

On the other hand, if the egg crate was in there and you just took it out for the picture, then the crickets might have been diseased. There was a cricket epidemic a few years ago with a virus that can live in wood which is what most cricket farms were using. I order from Amazon without any problems, and routinely have the crickets either sitting outside my door until I get home from work, or pulled into my kitchen by my husband for me to deal with when I get home. Either way a few hours in a box at room temperature and not exposed to extreme heat or cold will not kill them like that.

 

[WAMBO]

Which eBay seller? I'd like to know to avoid them. I have used 3 without an issue, but bought 500 banded from Josh's Frogs last week and they are doing well.

 

[BClizzi]

Well that sucks. I will add a link. http://m.ebay.com/itm/Live-Crickets...%3Ab65642f71570a2af085884acfffb5332%7Ciid%3A3

 

[Nursemaia]

Bassett Cricket Ranch is who I buy from. I haven't had issues and there's always egg crate in my shipments

 

[Andee]

The cricket virus depends on the type of cricket you bought, it only affects the domestic American cricket if they are from the US. The actual cricket virus which is the one from Australia spreads like a virus and affects all species. The one found in the US is more likely something genetic or something that only affects that species because of their bad genes.

 

[WAMBO]

Well that sucks. I will add a link. http://m.ebay.com/itm/Live-Crickets-All-Sizes-500-10-000-Free-Shipping-14-99-500-22-99-1000-/252107232377?var=&hash=item3ab2c31479:m:meTwv3t2Mlt-31_LxDnvyfw&_trkparms=pageci%3A9d19ad64-9014-11e6-b47e-74dbd180771b%7Cparentrq%3Ab65642f71570a2af085884acfffb5332%7Ciid%3A3

Thanks because I was thinking of trying them next, ignoring some of the bad reviews.

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

I've had good orders come from Bassett's before, they sent me bandeds so I don't think disease is the issue. Where are you located? I know here in Maryland it's really cold at night for the time of year, could weather have played a part? I lost a shipment of meal worms because of a random heat wave this summer.

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

Another tip on feeders, if you use Amazon rather than eBay and aren't satisfied with an order, the A-Z guarantee covers them. I had ordered 4 pods of horn worms and one of the 4 arrived doa, but the seller never responded to my request for a replacement pod and Amazon still gave me credit for it.

 

[Chameleons4u]

I buy 2000 3/4 banded crickets every other month from Josh's Frogs. They don't smell like field crickets and don't make any noise. When it cold or hot I get FedEx - Home Delivery next day only $10.50 and all are just fine in the cold winter.