Feeding and maintaining feeders

[Troopermk2]

So with my two little slings now housed and seemingly alright, my B.Vagans has already eaten a prekill and today i threw a prekill into the A Geniculatas enclosure.

I was wondering how do you keep Crickets alive for as long as possible, i threw several peices of fruit in their box and they surrounded them so im guessing they were hungry.

Also, how do you manage the smell? the micros dont really smell that much, but the smalls smell absolutley terrible

 

[nicodimus22]

I put a baby carrot in there along with the water gel stuff and the orange cricket cubes.

Fruit smells horrible almost immediately when it goes bad. Use carrot instead.

Clean out the dead crickets daily to keep the smell to a minimum. That is one of their downsides, and you can't eliminate it completely.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Below is what worked for me when I kept crickets. I had hardly any die off, no cannibalism, no mites and there was no noticeable smell to speak of.

Enclosure/food/water:

- Put them in a large, well-ventilated container (they need a fair bit of room because they die if conditions are too cramped).
- Loads of egg cartons for hides (ties in with above, not enough hides = clustered crickets = dead crickets).
- No substrate (just makes cleaning a pain in the anus).
- Mix up some fish food (the flakes, goldfish or tropical is fine, sounds weird but they love it) and cereal grains for food, I almost immediately stopped bothering with fresh fruit/veggies (because they're a pain in the anus and attract fruit flies/fungus gnats).
- Bug gel for water, make sure this is always available, crickets cannibalise when dehydrated.

As for maintenance:

- Remove any dead crickets as and when you find them.
- Change the bug gel whenever it becomes too soiled.
- Clean out poop and discarded food/exuviae twice a month.
- Replace the egg cartons once a month.

 

[Troopermk2]

Below is what worked for me when I kept crickets. I had hardly any die off, no mites and there was no noticeable smell to speak of.

Enclosure/food/water:

- Put them in a large, well-ventilated container (they need a fair bit of room because they die if conditions are too cramped).
- Loads of egg cartons for hides (ties in with above, not enough hides = clustered crickets = dead crickets).
- No substrate (just makes cleaning a pain in the anus).
- Mix up some fish food (the flakes, goldfish or tropical is fine, sounds weird but they love it) and cereal grains for food, I almost immediately stopped bothering with fresh fruit/veggies (because they're a pain in the anus and attract fruit flies/fungus gnats).
- Bug gel for water.

As for maintenance:

- Remove any dead crickets as and when you find them.
- Change the bug gel whenever it becomes too soiled.
- Clean out poop and discarded food/exuviae twice a month.
- Replace the egg cartons once a month.

Damn this is a pretty comprehensive guide to keeping crickets!, i dont have any fish food , but have plenty of cereal grains so ill start implementing that in their diet, and ive never even heard of bug gel but ill have a look around online and see what i can pick up.

Thanks so much for this information, this should be stickied somewhere as a guide for them!

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Also, how do you manage the smell? the micros dont really smell that much, but the smalls smell absolutley terrible

Debatable

For instance, I love the smell of crickets in the morning. You know, one time we had a Phormictopus cancerides on 'power feed' for 12 hours. When all was over, I checked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not anymore one of those singing lovely buggers alive.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Damn this is a pretty comprehensive guide to keeping crickets!, i dont have any fish food , but have plenty of cereal grains so ill start implementing that in their diet, and ive never even heard of bug gel but ill have a look around online and see what i can pick up.

Thanks so much for this information, this should be stickied somewhere as a guide for them!

No worries, I edited to include one or two things I forgot, I need to keep it copied somewhere to pull up when people say "but they die really easily and they stink" lol.

If you have an airtight tub/jar that's big enough then just just order the refills, if not then the jars are about £1 more, I breed roaches now but the setup and feeding is pretty much the same.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Below is what worked for me when I kept crickets. I had hardly any die off, no cannibalism, no mites and there was no noticeable smell to speak of.

Enclosure/food/water:

- Put them in a large, well-ventilated container (they need a fair bit of room because they die if conditions are too cramped).
- Loads of egg cartons for hides (ties in with above, not enough hides = clustered crickets = dead crickets).
- No substrate (just makes cleaning a pain in the anus).
- Mix up some fish food (the flakes, goldfish or tropical is fine, sounds weird but they love it) and cereal grains for food, I almost immediately stopped bothering with fresh fruit/veggies (because they're a pain in the anus and attract fruit flies/fungus gnats).
- Bug gel for water, make sure this is always available, crickets cannibalise when dehydrated.

As for maintenance:

- Remove any dead crickets as and when you find them.
- Change the bug gel whenever it becomes too soiled.
- Clean out poop and discarded food/exuviae twice a month.
- Replace the egg cartons once a month.

Couldn't agree more man, you covered pretty much all points. I have found that the key to keeping crickets alive for long periods is space, lots of ventilation and regular food changes. I never leave anything in to rot. Rotting food should be taken and out and changed with fresh stuff. I feed my crickets a mix of greens,carrots, apple and bran.

This is my 10 gallon tank that I keep all my crickets in. I rarely get any losses and the smell isn't so bad when you keep the space clean and provide ample ventilation.

 

[Nightstalker47]

This was before I added in the crickets, notice I sprayed the greens and some of the paper towel with fresh water. Sometimes when I buy my crickets they are dehydrated/malnourished.

When I add them in they all gather for a drink, the water dries off within the night and the greens can be misted once in a while for some added moisture. Just be mindful not to over do it...

 

[Troopermk2]

Ive managed to get them in a bigger enclosure, and i made damn sure it was well ventilated, removing the fruit from their diet and replacing it with some veggies and grain, ordered some bug gel but for now ive got several bottle-caps filled with water, a really basic set up, but they should last a bit longer now

 

[Paul1126]

This is my set up and I do spot cleans whenever it gets bad, no smell rarely get deaths, seem to be happy crickets. I may hate crickets but they're still living creatures so I try care for them the best I can.

 

[mconnachan]

I put a baby carrot in there along with the water gel stuff and the orange cricket cubes.

Fruit smells horrible almost immediately when it goes bad. Use carrot instead.

Clean out the dead crickets daily to keep the smell to a minimum. That is one of their downsides, and you can't eliminate it completely.

I find vermiculite helps with the stench from crickets, I use roaches now, they don't smell as bad as half the amount of crickets, cleanliness is next to godliness!
When it comes to feeders. @The Grym Reaper 's post is spot on XD.

 

[mconnachan]

Ive managed to get them in a bigger enclosure, and i made damn sure it was well ventilated, removing the fruit from their diet and replacing it with some veggies and grain, ordered some bug gel but for now ive got several bottle-caps filled with water, a really basic set up, but they should last a bit longer now

I use bug gel crystals, the pack I bought over a year ago is still more than half full, it only cost me about £4, not bad for 3 years of water supply.
I still like to use fresh fruit, but remember to remove it the following day or it will stink to high heaven.
I use the mixture that @The Grym Reaper told you about, fish flakes, oatmeal flower, oats, and dried cat/dog food, mixed with a hand blender, simple.
Remember - obviously, what goes into your feeders goes into your tarantulas - so only the best for me, and my spiders.

 

[Ungoliant]

and ive never even heard of bug gel but ill have a look around online and see what i can pick up.

It's sold as water crystals or water gel. You'll pay a huge markup if you buy it from a pet store or feeder vendor. Go to your home and garden store and look for the gel they put in potted plants. (Just make sure you get plain gel with no added fertilizer or anything.)

 

[Troopermk2]

I find vermiculite helps with the stench from crickets, I use roaches now, they don't smell as bad as half the amount of crickets, cleanliness is next to godliness!
When it comes to feeders. @The Grym Reaper 's post is spot on XD.

Yea ive heard quite a lot of people prefer roaches over crickets, being less smelly and easier to keep, i will probably make that transition once my slings are bigger and molted a few times

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I use bug gel crystals, the pack I bought over a year ago is still more than half full, it only cost me about £4, not bad for 3 years of water supply.

They last a good while for roaches as those don't tend to crap in their water source.

I use the mixture that @The Grym Reaper told you about, fish flakes, oatmeal flower, oats, and dried cat/dog food, mixed with a hand blender, simple.

My roaches currently get a mix of fish food and dog biscuits, I mixed in a scoop of reptile multivitamin powder (got it with my corn snake and I have more than I'll probably ever use for her) to attempt to make up for the lack of fresh fruit/veg.

Yea ive heard quite a lot of people prefer roaches over crickets, being less smelly and easier to keep

They do smell but it's not too bad tbh, the main points for getting them over crickets are that they live a lot longer, they're really hardy, they're more nutritious than crickets (higher meat/chitin ratio) and they're easier to breed.

 

[Troopermk2]

They do smell but it's not too bad tbh, the main points for getting them over crickets are that they live a lot longer, they're really hardy, they're more nutritious than crickets (higher meat/chitin ratio) and they're easier to breed.

Thats one of the reasons i want to get them, if i can start breeding them then i eliminate upkeep almost completely, and you will have a very wide variety of sizes to choose from, im having problems getting my A genic to feed, he hasnt touched any of the prekilleds ive had, and i know roaches...Latarelis atleast will be more mobile and might trigger the feeding response.
This little Geniculata has been a high source of stress for me recently, im glad my B.Vagans is a greedy fat bugger

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Thats one of the reasons i want to get them, if i can start breeding them then i eliminate upkeep almost completely

At the rate they breed you could probably end up making money off of them as you'll probably need to sell some on to keep the colony at a manageable size.

im having problems getting my A genic to feed

I've not check my Nostradamus lately but I'm pretty sure that's one of the harbingers of the apocalypse lol.

How big is the genic?

 

[mconnachan]

They do smell but it's not too bad tbh, the main points for getting them over crickets are that they live a lot longer, they're really hardy, they're more nutritious than crickets (higher meat/chitin ratio) and they're easier to breed.

I use vermiculite, in the bottom of the roach colony enclosure, it really does help, but as long as you keep them well maintained like everything else, they don't smell at all. I clean mines weekly, empty the bin into another bin, then remove all the frass then return the roaches, it's easy as....

 

[Troopermk2]

I've not check my Nostradamus lately but I'm pretty sure that's one of the harbingers of the apocalypse lol.

How big is the genic?

Hes a sling, barely the size of my fingernail but a tiny bit bigger than my B vagans, ive had him for 5 days, rehoused once , temperatures are at an average 22C, housed with a waterdish and yea, i was origionally thinking that the store mixed them up, labeling the A Genic as the B vagans, because the vagans is so greedy.

EDIT: Pic was taken before he was rehoused in a less moist enclosure, he now has a hide and a waterdish, i was thinking he was in premolt because he barely moves, but im totally new to keeping and have no idea what to look for in regards to molts, im worried about the little bugger

 

[mconnachan]

They do smell but it's not too bad tbh, the main points for getting them over crickets are that they live a lot longer, they're really hardy, they're more nutritious than crickets (higher meat/chitin ratio) and they're easier to breed.

Undoubtedly the better option, roaches over crickets every time , the roaches nutrition value, trumps everything about crickets.