How to care for Crickets??

Hey all, my crickets are in a 10 gallon tank with a paper towel roll, a hollow decoration ox skull thing from the pet store , a food dish containing Ultimate Omega fish food flakes, and another food dish with a water-soaked paper towel folded up. They're dying like the plague hit them, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong or right, or :|...

I'd appreciate any advice !
thanks

Best way to care for crickets is leave them at the petstore.

You're not doing anything wrong or right, crickets are just that way. They end up being a waste of money in the long run.

Get some roaches and have some fun.

Hehe okay! But my Ralph is kind of little, just bigger than a quarter. Would roaches be okay..? if so, where do I get them? And what do they eat(besides everything in your kitchen ?) Like, what's safe to give them..?

Thanks!!

Taceas said:

Best way to care for crickets is leave them at the petstore.

You're not doing anything wrong or right, crickets are just that way. They end up being a waste of money in the long run.

Get some roaches and have some fun.

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Whatever you say I feed only crickets and lose no money or real effort, it's all about knowing what your doing.

Lose the paper towel, feed them watery lettuce and fruits and veggies. That will cover the hydration needs. I've said it 1000 times but nobody listens. Staight water or fruits/veggies, stuff that absorbs the water will harvest bacteria and kill them (Ie sponges, towels). Change the food out daily at the least, Fish flakes are good but provide no water. Give them egg cartons to hide it/on, if you don't have any I can supply you with plenty. I've got a 20 gal. with about 500 crickets living it it now and only suffer minor losses using this method. Any other questions ask, I'm the cricket guy.

rYe said:

Staight water or fruits/veggies, stuff that absorbs the water will harvest bacteria and kill them (Ie sponges, towels). .

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I use a sponge to give water to my T. My science teacher said it would be better than a food dish, and he's big on Ts. Sould i go back to a water dish, or just wash the sponge everyday? Do spiders eat fruits or veggies as water? he seemed to be drinking the water bowl, because the level dropped about 1/2 a cm, according to the rock i stuck in there for the crix. anyways, please write back.

Taceas said:

Best way to care for crickets is leave them at the petstore.

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LOL, Yes! I had same respond, lol
but I do get mine fresh every week or so
and keep em in well vented enclosure
wit 'bug bites' food formulated fer insects and arachnids
cuz whatcha feed yer crix thats whatcha feed yer T's

Taceas said:

Get some roaches and have some fun.

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yukes thats gives me heebee-jeebees

As long as they are well ventilated they shouldnt be dying. I'm keeping mine like yours. Fish food, wet paper towel for water but I use scrunched up paper towels for them to hide.

I have been getting crickets for my pets for the past 15 years now. Ventilation is absolutely key. A screen top on that tank will help a lot. Any kind of stangnent air does them in very quick. As for feeding them and having a good long life, the absolute best food i have used and still use to this day religiously is Nature Zone Total Cricket Bite Cubes, the green ones (they smell like watermelon). They can be bought online at www.naturezonepet.com When you put it in the crickets will literally swam the stuff. Should be changed about every 2 days as it dries out. (IMO) this is the best luck ive had.

GL

Doug

Crickets are not worth the hassle. Get a roach colony (n. cinerea are the cheapest, $10 for 100 puts them at roughly the same price as crickets before shipping) give them seperate dishes of fish flakes, dog food and cat food (protien content roughly 10%, 25% and 20%) and a heat lamp so they can breed. Veggies once a week will suffice.

Lobsters won't infest. I lost about 300 in my room and no sign of the escapees yet. They'll just wither and die.

Upgrade to discoids or dubia later. My colony of lobsters feeds my collection and I've had them roughly five months or so. The colony will take time to mature.

I've had some animals die from parasites transmitted through crickets. They die within a day and eat each other. Crickets are crap. That's it. I raise all of my own food now.

And do NOT use a sponge with tarantulas. Sponges are breeding grounds for bacteria. Just use a plain, straight up water dish.

mr jacob: this thread is about crickets, not ts .

simply give your t a water dish without a sponge or anything in it. sponges harbour bacteria! and no, ts will never eat fruit or veggies...

Alice said:

no, ts will never eat fruit or veggies...

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Vicariously through their food items, they do

when i started off my were dying 10 a day. just make sure you keep their tank clean. i feed fish flakes, fruits/veggies, water soaked paper towel. i use toilet roll tubes for hides aswell as eggcrates and im gonna add a breedind dish soon.

Cheshire said:

Crickets are not worth the hassle. Get a roach colony (n. cinerea are the cheapest, $10 for 100 puts them at roughly the same price as crickets before shipping)

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I pay $15 after shipping for 500 Crickets

I've had some animals die from parasites transmitted through crickets. They die within a day and eat each other. Crickets are crap. That's it. I raise all of my own food now.

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Parasites can't say nothing about, though I've never had that problem. I can keep them alive their entire life span with only minimum losses and mine don't eat each other. The Trick is supplying enough food and hides they don't want to eat each other. Everybody's entitled to their own opinion and if Roaches are what you use and it works awsome. But Crickets are actually a great feeder that you just had problems with, telling a newbie to the hobby that they're horrible isn't really helping him/her. For every one person who only feeds roaches I know five more that only feed crickets.

And do NOT use a sponge with tarantulas. Sponges are breeding grounds for bacteria. Just use a plain, straight up water dish.

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And to think this kids teacher was the one who told him this stuff!

rYe said:

But Crickets are actually a great feeder that you just had problems with, telling a newbie to the hobby that they're horrible isn't really helping him/her. For every one person who only feeds roaches I know five more that only feed crickets.

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This is a difference of opinion. I had three deaths of centipedes that I traced back to contaminated feeders. These deaths were attributed to nematodes, but I've also heard that more than a few large shipments of crickets have parasitic mites, as well.

No experience with that, but it doesn't surprise me.

Telling a newbie to the hobby to spend $15 on roaches, feed them for ~6 months and then forget about ever buying feeders again is giving them a pretty big helping hand.

As for crickets being good feeders, not really. They'll munch on freshly moulted bugs...another problem I've never had with roaches. Roaches are nutritionally superior to crickets and have a higher meat to shell ratio to boot.

As for more people feeding crickets, research on the forums. Most people here despise crickets, and I'm very adamant that crickets are the worst feeders ever.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=78699&highlight=What+feeders+do+you+use

They're noisy, parasite ridden, don't keep well, predate on your pets, and cannibalize each other.


For a temporary feeder, sure. If you don't have the space for roaches, sure. Those are the only two reasons I see to use them.

They're cheaper, live longer, don't predate for the most part (orangeheads), usually don't have problems with parasites and are nutritionally superior.

I also had a slight problem with phorid flies that cleared up after I stopped using crickets. I think they burrowed into and then died in the substrate and attracted the phorid flies and gave them something to breed in.

Not directly related to crickets, but also not a problem I've had with roaches.

I have a sneaking suspicion that most crickets that are shipped out are probably already sick and they're probably a bit hardier if you raise your own...however cricket breeding is a bit more of a hassle than roach breeding.

IMO/E, they're just not worth the time or the energy.

Now ya all gettin me thinkin about roaches
but as an ex city person, I hate roaches...............

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OK, which ones better fer my T's

Again you must be doing something wrong, I've kept alot of animals that eat crickets so I've kept and breed crickets. I've never had a single one of these problems, ever. The Crickets feeding on molted insects/aracnids yes, but that's why you monitor your animals and don't drop more in then they can eat and clear the tank when they're molting. You've had a problem so I see why you don't use them, but no matter what facts and numbers you pull out your butt it doesn't change the truth that crickets are more common and cheaper (if gotten from the right place) for your just starting T owner. Despite the risks... That I've in all my years never seen. And from just this thread it looks like there are still several people using crickets. I know people who swear by Roaches, but not because of them being "Horrible" feeders. I've seen the numbers and roaches can contain more value, but that's nothing selected feeding can't fix for crickets.

i find crikets fine as feeders my t loves them and i collect spiders from the house and garden that take the pinheads and dead crikets with ease so in my opinion they're fine. my only problem is the need for constant cleaning to avoid major deaths and the chirping but im getting used to it so i wouldn't change.

Cheshire said:

For a temporary feeder, sure. If you don't have the space for roaches, sure. Those are the only two reasons I see to use them.

I have a sneaking suspicion that most crickets that are shipped out are probably already sick and they're probably a bit hardier if you raise your own

IMO/E, they're just not worth the time or the energy.

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Don't misquote me. I never said they're never an option...I just said they're definitely nowhere near the best.

The

rYe said:

facts and numbers you pull out your butt

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is legitimate research, along with my personal experiences and the experience of others. Roaches make life easier. End of story. I'm looking at it from the perspective of someone who has an established collection, or somebody who's planning to get up to the 100+ bug range. Start your feeder colony early and use crickets until it gets established. You're only saving money in the long run. Roaches are more expensive to start up, so if you have a small collection and plan to keep it that way it's just not worth it. People who don't have 20+ predatory animals might just find it worth their time to stop by a petstore once a week to pick up pet food.

However, for the price of maybe four or five cricket shipments ($15 for 500) you can set up a lobster roach colony and never pay for food again, with maybe the exception of veggies and dog food. You don't have to bother with switching dirt out of the cricket tank every night, either (I had to do this so the adults wouldn't eat the eggs).

I'm not denying any of the above, however when you can stoop to another tank in the corner of your bedroom and pick out as many feeders as you want whenever you want at the correct size and not have to worry about die offs or rotating containers (yes, adults do eat the pinheads)...it's a better option.

There's a cricket breeding article in the article section if you want to breed your own. I'd rather just toss a heat lamp on a 10 gallon aquarium and be done with it.

The is legitimate research

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Oh I know all about the various papers and such printed on the subject.

I'm looking at it from the perspective of someone who has an established collection, or somebody who's planning to get up to the 100+ bug range.

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So am I my collection covers everything from arachnid to Gecko, I've breed crickets and I never once filled their tank with dirt. I would supply a smaller container for the females to lay their eggs in then remove it after a week or so.

However, for the price of maybe four or five cricket shipments ($15 for 500) you can set up a lobster roach colony and never pay for food again, with maybe the exception of veggies and dog food.

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For the price of one cricket shipment ($15) I can be breeding hundreds of crickets and never have to pay for food as well.