What to feed non-gut-loading crickets?

[OurBigClan]

The night before feeding, you gut load, I get that. But what do you feed the crickets that aren't being fed off the next day? I've read varying info, including dog/cat food or chicken feed. If that's our best option that would work for us - we have dogs and chickens so that kind of feed is on hand at all times - but want to be sure that we're feeding something appropriate.

Also, I may or may not try breeding in the future. I've read up on how to do that. I'm not ready to comit to that at this point. But if I want to extend the life of mail order crickets, what's the best way to accomplish that? If I were to buy, say 500 1/4" crickets is it possible to keep them alive for 6-8 weeks? If I understand it correctly, keeping them in the 70s would stunt their growth a bit - allowing a slower growth rate. That would be ideal as I could feed lots of the little guys, and as they grow reduce the number for our cham. Anyone successfully manage an every other month cricket order?

Lastly, some cricket web order sites list the crickets by size and some list by age. Generally speaking, what is the age/size comparison? I would imagine 1/4 inch crickets are small, but what's a good approximation of weekly age at that point? Mediums are, what, a half inch? And larges 1" plus? One site sells them by 1 week, 2 week, 3 week etc and I have no clue how to guesstimate what size I'd be getting.

Thanks!

 

[aliguori]

The night before feeding, you gut load, I get that. But what do you feed the crickets that aren't being fed off the next day? I've read varying info, including dog/cat food or chicken feed. If that's our best option that would work for us - we have dogs and chickens so that kind of feed is on hand at all times - but want to be sure that we're feeding something appropriate.

Also, I may or may not try breeding in the future. I've read up on how to do that. I'm not ready to comit to that at this point. But if I want to extend the life of mail order crickets, what's the best way to accomplish that? If I were to buy, say 500 1/4" crickets is it possible to keep them alive for 6-8 weeks? If I understand it correctly, keeping them in the 70s would stunt their growth a bit - allowing a slower growth rate. That would be ideal as I could feed lots of the little guys, and as they grow reduce the number for our cham. Anyone successfully manage an every other month cricket order?

Lastly, some cricket web order sites list the crickets by size and some list by age. Generally speaking, what is the age/size comparison? I would imagine 1/4 inch crickets are small, but what's a good approximation of weekly age at that point? Mediums are, what, a half inch? And larges 1" plus? One site sells them by 1 week, 2 week, 3 week etc and I have no clue how to guesstimate what size I'd be getting.

Thanks!

A cricket's lifecycle is typically 8 weeks. pin heads are generally freshly hatched, 1/4" are 1-2 weeks old, 1/2" are 2-4 weeks old, 3/4" are 4-5 weeks old, 1" are 6-7 weeks old. But temperature affects things a lot.

I'm currently using Repashy Bug Burger for feeding. If you feed a good diet, you don't need to explicitly gut load.

In the past, I've used a commercial diet (Flukers and others) and gut loaded with a vegetable mix. The commercial diets tend to be loaded with cheap grains and really require a gutload.

So far, I'm happy with Bug Burger and would recommend it although I've only been through a single generation with it.

 

[Hoj]

i feed my crickets the same all the time, bug burger, sandrachameleons dry recipe, fresh fruits and veggies and calcium fortified water crystals, dry gutload and crystals are always available to them and i alternate the bug burger and fresh stuff every other day.
i ahve started breeding my crickets for the little one, and still order 1000 large every 5 weeks or so, but i am feeding 11 chams

 

[OurBigClan]

Thank you! This is all very helpful info!

11 chams! Wow! We've only the one 9 month old veiled.

I'd really rather not breed them - and the 100 medium crix we bought from the pet store lasted us a good two weeks - that includes feeding off some of the biggies to our chickens. I'm trying to figure out the most economical and efficient way to order her crickets.

Maybe I need a couple more chams to justify the cricket orders?! I'm not sure my hubby will buy that kind of reasoning! Although I've managed to talk him into 7 goats, a couple dozen chickens, a hedgehog and the one chameleon, so maybe it's worth a try?!

 

[hinoco1225]

Maybe I need a couple more chams to justify the cricket orders?! I'm not sure my hubby will buy that kind of reasoning! Although I've managed to talk him into 7 goats, a couple dozen chickens, a hedgehog and the one chameleon, so maybe it's worth a try?!

If you've talked him into all of that, you can talk him into a couple more chams. Lol

I just started ordering crickets in orders of 1000, and it's working great for me! As long as you provide the crickets with plenty of food, space, and air circulation, they should last a good few weeks. I hear that it becomes more efficient to order crickets online once you have 3 or more reptiles feeding on them.

For my cricket bin, I use a deep plastic Sterlite bin. I cut a big window out of one side and taped screen over it to allow proper airflow. I have lots of egg crate and paper towel tubes in there so they have plenty of surface space. I clean out the bin about every 3 days, and I've had very few dying. It's been much more cost-efficient for me to order 1000 crickets for $25 (www.smallpetfeeders.com) than going to the pet store multiple times a week and paying 11 cents each.

As far as feeding the crickets, I personally believe they should be gutloaded all the time. Feeding them a nutritious diet at all times is going to make them healthier and better feeders overall for your reptiles than just gutloading them for 24 hours. I have a dry gutload, water crystals, and fresh veggies available for my crickets at all times. I also throw in occasional fruits.

 

[OurBigClan]

thanks for all the great info!

I've tried smallpetfeeders, I really like that they sell 100 count crix for those of us with just one cham but it doesn't look like they can ship to me (Washington state) without it being outrageous shipping. I'm still searching for a seller.

 

[camimom]

When I had one cham ( I have two now) I still bought 1000 crickets at a time from Mulberryfarms.com
With proper gut loading and diet, no one died (until i fed them off). they really arnt hard to keep.
And a 1000 lasted me over a month with just one cham.

BTW, do not feed cat/dog/chicken food to the crickets.

 

[OurBigClan]

When I had one cham ( I have two now) I still bought 1000 crickets at a time from Mulberryfarms.com

Camimom, what size do you order from Mulberry when you're hoping to make them last a good month?