# King Crickets



## PhilK (Aug 23, 2008)

Does anybody here keep king crickets? If so, what are they like to keep? ..do you even get them in the US..?

I have a praying mantis and a white kneed king cricket coming on Wednesday.


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## Andrew273 (Aug 23, 2008)

I think you're talking about some sort of Jerusalem cricket. I'm not sure of temperature/humidity, it depends what species. They eat dead stuff and smaller insects.

Warning: They do bite.


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## PhilK (Aug 23, 2008)

Nah not a Jerusalem cricket. Related to the weta of New Zealand. 

Pretty sure they're only down here.. Similair though I guess.. Big, spiky, tough, hissy, bitey.. 

Anostostoma australasiae is the Latin name.

http://tscharke.blogspot.com/2007/06/anostostoma-australasiae-giant-king.html

http://www.unearthimages.co.uk/Anim...ng Cricket, Anostostoma australasiae 001.html


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## PhilK (Aug 27, 2008)

Well, she arrived, she's a white kneed king cricket (_Penalva flavocalceata_). This is her set up:












This is my big girl that I got today. Very creepy - not moving much at the moment though. Maybe from being cramped?


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## eelnoob (Aug 27, 2008)

Very cool


How big it is? How long do they usually live?


I love crickets, remember catching huge thumb size crickets way back when I was a kid in Thailand. But than again maybe I was just small so everything seems bigger than .


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## PhilK (Aug 27, 2008)

Will live for a total lifespan of 2 - 3 years. Get to about 60mm body length but that's doubled because of their huge legs. Can weigh up to 10g


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## bugmankeith (Aug 27, 2008)

I think the term is "Weta"

Reactions: Funny 1


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## PhilK (Aug 28, 2008)

bugmankeith said:


> I think the term is "Weta"


No, it isn't. That's like saying the term for donkey is 'horse'. Wetas are native to New Zealand. This is a White Kneed King Cricket. Native to Australia.

Reactions: Like 1


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## MysticDragon (Aug 28, 2008)

Nice cricket 

Post any news about breeding them. Very interesting. Maybe i will buy some of those in the future. Of course, if i find any


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## PhilK (Aug 28, 2008)

Don't think you can get them overseas.. Breeding is just like normal crickets on a bigger scale.


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## M.F.Bagaturov (Sep 2, 2008)

Hi!

Does it really biger than Tarbinskiellus portentosus?
It is really grilidae species and reaches 6+ cm of BL in female.
Here's the pic: http://www.yakzooex.narod.ru/new/inv/tpor.htm


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## reverendsterlin (Sep 2, 2008)

just what we need, a cricket that we feed T's to lol.
Rev


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## Nephila Edulis (Mar 15, 2017)

What enclosure are you keeping your king crickets in? Found some for sale @minibeast wildlife. They're up for sale again so I won't miss this chance. I just can't find a good enclosure online that's 25 cm deep because apparently they dig deep burrows, or can I just give them a hide?


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