what the heck is going on with my crix dying ??

[little leaf]

I have no idea why, but for some reason, it seems any crix I get are all dead in 3 days- at first, my original bin started to smell- and then about 800 died in a few days, - so I got rid of it, the bin, and anything that had to w/ them- waited a few weeks- and started w/ all new - now....not only did 1,000 1/8 die in 3 days, so did just about all the 3/4, and in less than 2 days, about 2,000 pinheads - those I hatched, and they are not even in the same part of the house as the others ?? at the price of crix, I MUST find out what is going on - and I do not want to feed what has not died until I know what is going on, I am ready to toss EVERYTHING - food, crix, and chams ( oh, lol not the chams ) water gel.. has anyone had this mass die off ? I would almost suspect the crix breeder, except that would not explain the pinhead die off - those hatched here

any help, or things to check for would be appreciated - thanks

 

[Miacane]

What are you keeping them in?
Do you have air circulation?
What temperature range?
How offten do you clean the bin/what do you use to wash it?
Do you change the egg flats?
Do you keep them in bedding?
What do you feed them?
How do you water them?


Any of those factors could lead to a dye off.

 

[Chameleonsinc]

Just a couple quick thoughts, went through 6 months of loosing crickets till we found a combination of things that worked for us.

Airflow - keeping so many crickets together they generate heat, this in turn can foul your cricket box (not to mention the smell it makes) we're currently using sterilite storage bins, that we have cut as large as possible openings into the lids and glued in window screen (metal so the crickets can't chew through it)

Space - crickets aren't an overly social insect and in fact all varieties will become cannibalistic given the opportunity. Their not too fond of neighbors. Make sure to have plenty of egg crate in your bin ( my rule is if I think I have enough I add a couple more flats ) also tp tubes work wonderfully to shake crickets into your dusting cup. And they add extra space for the crickets.

Food n water - we use standard water crystals in a shallow cup and make sure a few pieces of egg crate are in contact with the crystals so that the crickets can get to them. Also as a side note to the cannibalistic nature of crickets have plenty of dry gut load available so they don't think of chewing on their neighbor. When feeding fresh fruit n veg, keep the plant matter separated into its own dish or plate don't spread it all over the bin. The crickets will smell the food and find it. And you can easily remove it every day to prevent mold. The mold that grows on fruits n veggies can cause an entire bin to die.

And one final thought, after the cricket disease that destroyed so much stock, many who raised crickets went looking for alternative species. I have had no luck with the black jamacain field crickets, and limited success with banded crickets, so I stick with the common brown Acheta Domestica. You'll always loose a few but I never loose more than 40-50 per 1000 now.
Hope some of this helps, just our experiences.

 

[reefercheefer]

I just started purchasing boxs of a 1000's pins and large a few months ago and mine were dieing off in a few days as well. I increased the amount of egg crates, rephashy gut load and water crystals offered before and they are lasting me 1-2 weeks now.

 

[monstertankman]

I keep my crickets in a 10-20 tall with a screened top,lots of egg crates,a small dish with water crystals and a small dish of rephasy bug burger(changed daily) and some paper towel tubes and have little to no loss.Air flow and temps may be the issue..hard saying though i struggled a short stance of time with alot of losses. If you can give a break down on daily care that would be a big help in finding the issue.

 

[shaunaroxanne]

I would say it's something in the way you are keeping them. I buy 2000 at a time and rarely lose more than a few. Like others have said, they need space and air. I use a giant, clear Rubbermaid tub with the top entirely screened. I use egg flats and paper towel rolls. Nothing fancy.