[Inquiry] best place to buy crickets?

[atrophie]

hi all, i only have 5 slings at the moment...would rather not go to Petco to buy crickets but i don't know how to find better sources for small cricket purchases in my area (San Francisco Bay Area). any ideas of how to find either local/independent pet stores or breeders? i was thinking of posting on Craigslist.

 

[Ben Oliver]

i stopped buying crickets about a year ago. now i breed roaches for my lizards and T's. if petco prices are the same in cal. as they are in mich. .10 each its a little expensive to feed a few slings. there is many different species of roach that can be used for feeders. if you want to look at some roach species you can go to roachcrossing.com the guy that has the site is also a member on AB.

 

[cnapple]

Do you have a local reptile convention / expo ? I find those generally to be the least expensive place to buy crickets. Barring an expo, I would think there would be plenty of smaller pet stores in the Bay Area that carry crickets. Try doing a google search for pet stores in the Bay Area.

 

[atrophie]

thank you but because i only have 5 slings, i don't want to breed my own...that's why i want to find someone else who breeds

---------- Post added 09-01-2011 at 04:03 AM ----------

i want to find a source where i can buy a few crickets a week, not a bunch at one time

 

[RobS]

Sorry, I don't have any leads for you (I switched to keeping / breeding Blatta lateralis roaches on a small scale for my few Ts), but thought to chime in, in disfavor of crickets obtained from the large chain pet stores. The ones near me only feed their crickets calcium-enriched cricket food. Extra calcium, while beneficial for reptiles, does no good for Ts. It is debatable whether it might possibly be detrimental, in that it has been suggested that it might contribute to molting difficulties. When approached by me on this point, my local large chain pet stores couldn't have cared less. I did find a smaller shop that doesn't do this, and I buy 3 smalls there twice weekly to feed my 3rd instar GBB slings; this, only until they are capable of accepting very small roaches. So, I only mention this as you might want to inquire of potential sources, what they feed their crickets...

 

[Introvertebrate]

"Ken the Bug Guy" has a store front in Concord, CA. Is that anywhere near you?

http://www.kenthebugguy.com/index.php

 

[xhexdx]

Most local pet shops sell crickets.

 

[paassatt]

Most local pet shops sell crickets.

Indeed. Far better than the 11 cents Petco wants (at the ones near me, anyway) per cricket too. That price is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Quazgar]

most local pet stores should sell crickets. Call around and ask, and it shouldn't be hard to find one.