Questions about crickets

[PNTxLSTAR]

I recently bought a beautiful chilean rose and i feed her crickets but i do have questions if you could answer them ALL it would be perfect thanks so
1) they are currently in a tiny pre pack small box if i moved them into a bigger box would any size me okay?
2) egg crates are really hard to come by where i live (its possible to find them) what else could i use instead? Show pictures if you keep or breed them
3) would a cupboard be okay to keep my crickets in? They wont suffocate or anything will they?
4) it said on the box "silent" and they are far from silent what makes "silent" crickets silent and why arent they crickets i got no silent especially of a night?
5) id like to breed them as for christmas i will be getting a bearded dragon and a few spiderlings so any do's and donts or any advice?
Thanks

 

[Redmont]

I’d recommend breeding roaches over crickets.

You can put the crickets in a larger plastic container and use egg cartons for them. I’d also put a small pot of soil with a heat mat under it for them to breed. Also use a reostat to control the heat mat.

I’m guessing by silent it meant they were imature and couldn’t chirp but now they are adults and are chirping, that’s my guess.

There is a lot of info regarding breeding on hear if you use the search function. And the forums will also tell you why breeding roaches is so much better. Even people who breed crickets will agree lol

 

[PNTxLSTAR]

Can i use something other then egg crates?

 

[Redmont]

Egg cartons if you eat eggs, or you could use cardboard boxes cut up in a way for them to use it

 

[PNTxLSTAR]

Egg crates egg cartons are the same thing aint they? I have tones of cardboard (from all new furniture any links or anything on what or how i can make it work)?

 

[Redmont]

Just use your imagination when cutting them up, egg cartons are the ones you get at a store and egg crates are the large flat ones that restraunts get there eggs in. You could go to a local breakfast joint and ask for any spare egg crates I’m sure they’d have them

 

[darkness975]

I recently bought a beautiful chilean rose and i feed her crickets but i do have questions if you could answer them ALL it would be perfect thanks so
1) they are currently in a tiny pre pack small box if i moved them into a bigger box would any size me okay?
2) egg crates are really hard to come by where i live (its possible to find them) what else could i use instead? Show pictures if you keep or breed them
3) would a cupboard be okay to keep my crickets in? They wont suffocate or anything will they?
4) it said on the box "silent" and they are far from silent what makes "silent" crickets silent and why arent they crickets i got no silent especially of a night?
5) id like to breed them as for christmas i will be getting a bearded dragon and a few spiderlings so any do's and donts or any advice?
Thanks

1. Get them out of that pre-packed box ASAP. Those things are death traps and I never buy them from those because there is no telling how long they've sat in there in their own excrement and been starving and dehydrating. You can use a rubbermaid box or critter keeper, anything that will hold them in.
2. You can use carboard box pieces cut up to make hiding places. In the past people would use paper towel / toilet paper tubes but the glues used on those can be harmful.
3. It's fine, but with restricted air flow you will likely experience their smell after a while. Best to keep them where there is not restricted air flow.
4. Silent only means that they were either immature specimens, only female specimens, or both. Mature male crickets can (and irritatingly do) chirp incessantly. I always feed off the males, both mature and immature, as soon as I get them . I keep immature crickets of both sexes and only allow females to reach adulthood whenever possible to avoid the chirping.
5. You will need a larger container for breeding. Females lay their eggs in moist soil, so you will require a section of that for them to deposit them in. Pinhead crickets are really tiny and easily escape from many conventional containers. You need special containers like Deli cups to keep them in. Also, you need to keep them in well ventilated conditions or they will smell (trust me). To minimize the smell, in addition to good air flow, I feed mine dry fish flakes for food and for water they get a water dish with paper towel soaking in it that I change out every couple of days. Other than the water dish the Tank is bone dry and it has sufficient ventilation given that it is one of those glass aquariums with metal mesh lids that allows for much airflow.
If you do intend to breed them, there will be mature males chirping as that is their biology. You cannot change that.
6. If you have not done so already, post in the Tarantula section so that we can make sure that your G. porteri (or G. rosea if they actually sold you one) is set up properly.

Best of luck and cheers to you and your new pet.

 

[PNTxLSTAR]

1. Get them out of that pre-packed box ASAP. Those things are death traps and I never buy them from those because there is no telling how long they've sat in there in their own excrement and been starving and dehydrating. You can use a rubbermaid box or critter keeper, anything that will hold them in.
2. You can use carboard box pieces cut up to make hiding places. In the past people would use paper towel / toilet paper tubes but the glues used on those can be harmful.
3. It's fine, but with restricted air flow you will likely experience their smell after a while. Best to keep them where there is not restricted air flow.
4. Silent only means that they were either immature specimens, only female specimens, or both. Mature male crickets can (and irritatingly do) chirp incessantly. I always feed off the males, both mature and immature, as soon as I get them . I keep immature crickets of both sexes and only allow females to reach adulthood whenever possible to avoid the chirping.
5. You will need a larger container for breeding. Females lay their eggs in moist soil, so you will require a section of that for them to deposit them in. Pinhead crickets are really tiny and easily escape from many conventional containers. You need special containers like Deli cups to keep them in. Also, you need to keep them in well ventilated conditions or they will smell (trust me). To minimize the smell, in addition to good air flow, I feed mine dry fish flakes for food and for water they get a water dish with paper towel soaking in it that I change out every couple of days. Other than the water dish the Tank is bone dry and it has sufficient ventilation given that it is one of those glass aquariums with metal mesh lids that allows for much airflow.
If you do intend to breed them, there will be mature males chirping as that is their biology. You cannot change that.
6. If you have not done so already, post in the Tarantula section so that we can make sure that your G. porteri (or G. rosea if they actually sold you one) is set up properly.

Best of luck and cheers to you and your new pet.

Thanks For All The Info i have tones of tiolet paper tubes and flakes (because i have fish) i have tones of cardboard as ive recently moved house so thats all good and the noise wont bother me and my living room is best ventilated (2 doors leading outside) and yeah gonna breed them as to save money in long run and my tarantula is fine she is happy and eating well and its humid in her tank will get new tub for my crickets when i get paid cant do it atm ive been feeding them apple and carrots they go mad for them

 

[darkness975]

Thanks For All The Info i have tones of tiolet paper tubes and flakes (because i have fish) i have tones of cardboard as ive recently moved house so thats all good and the noise wont bother me and my living room is best ventilated (2 doors leading outside) and yeah gonna breed them as to save money in long run and my tarantula is fine she is happy and eating well and its humid in her tank will get new tub for my crickets when i get paid cant do it atm ive been feeding them apple and carrots they go mad for them

Apples and carrots tend to mold up quick if not regularly switched out. The fish flakes last much longer.

 

[Redmont]

Carrots work just fine as long as it’s not to humid in there. They have a tendicy to just dry up, apples on the other hand will rot up if they are not removed. I feed my roaches 2 times a week and just take the old carrots out each time I feed, sometimes I leave carrots in for a week and they just shrivel up.

Apples and carrots tend to mold up quick if not regularly switched out. The fish flakes last much longer.

 

[PNTxLSTAR]

Carrots work just fine as long as it’s not to humid in there. They have a tendicy to just dry up, apples on the other hand will rot up if they are not removed. I feed my roaches 2 times a week and just take the old carrots out each time I feed, sometimes I leave carrots in for a week and they just shrivel up.

I have fish so will try the flakes out and the crickets seem to bite and eat each other they have tones of room and egg boxes but still fight and eat each other why is this? And my tarantula eats 2 crickets and does a kind of dance after and its weird or coincidence but every thursday she waits by one side of glass (she never goes there at any other time) and waits for food the dance is weird like spinning in circles and rotating her bum kinda like a tarantula twerk I think its the "top dog" in the cricket farm that picks on everyone and 1 last thing there seems to be tiny tiny little flies (smaller then fruit flies) that have appeared only noticed them today not had the tank very long and theres never any dead crickets or food in there i check that daily as ive seen her spit out several black crickets i guess she didnt thanks for all your advice

 

[Redmont]

The flies could be phorid flies. The tarantula dance I beleave is her spinning web to make some sort of web mat but I’m not positive. Watch the spinerets and see if there moving

 

[PNTxLSTAR]

The flies could be phorid flies. The tarantula dance I beleave is her spinning web to make some sort of web mat but I’m not positive. Watch the spinerets and see if there moving

She goes in a circle laying her web and at the back of her body they do a kind of mexican wave up and down and i think its some kind of happy dance or victory dance and theres a few more flies could they be because theres too much heat? Or not enough? Or could the tarantula terraruim just need a clean with hot water? Or what do i do? Thanks again

 

[Redmont]

She goes in a circle laying her web and at the back of her body they do a kind of mexican wave up and down and i think its some kind of happy dance or victory dance and theres a few more flies could they be because theres too much heat? Or not enough? Or could the tarantula terraruim just need a clean with hot water? Or what do i do? Thanks again

She sounds fine T cages normally don’t need to be cleaned. They generally don’t need extra heat as well

 

[darkness975]

And my tarantula eats 2 crickets and does a kind of dance after

It's called the "happy dance" informally and is a common phenomenon. They lay down silk webbing while they eat.

 

[PNTxLSTAR]

She sounds fine T cages normally don’t need to be cleaned. They generally don’t need extra heat as well

So what do i do about the flies then? When i look inside her tank its seems clean and fine accept abit of condensation inside apart from that seems fine

 

[Redmont]

So what do i do about the flies then? When i look inside her tank its seems clean and fine accept abit of condensation inside apart from that seems fine

If there’s condensation then you may need some more ventalation. Rose hairs should have there tank bone dry except for a water bowl. Once the condensation is gone the flies should leave as they like humidity

 

[PNTxLSTAR]

If there’s condensation then you may need some more ventalation. Rose hairs should have there tank bone dry except for a water bowl. Once the condensation is gone the flies should leave as they like humidity

oh i see so at least i know i havent done anything wrong and the condensation is because the water out of the tap is freezing cold so the flies are only there because of humidity? Where they coming from?