Are dark crickets safe?

[Exo]

I have an unusual situation, I have a cricket colony that has been going for a few months and upon maturing many of the crickets have changed color. Instead of the normal tan or light brown, most of my crickets are a dark brown or dark grey color. They act healthy and not many seem to die off on me, and they don't smell any different than normal crickets. I do keep my colony rather cool (66F, I move some females to a warm cage when I want pinheads) and I feed them fish flake and the occasional fresh fruit or vegtable. I have been feeding off the lightest colored individuals to my Ts and they seem fine, but I never heard of dark colored house crickets before and I am worried that they might have something wrong with them.


If anyone has seen this before or has any advice, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[TalonAWD]

I have seen this as well and tend to stay away from them. I feed off the "normal" ones first and finally, if The dark ones are still "jumpy" at the end I would feed them. I do this to give them time to either die off or for me to be sure they are not defective.
I find that usually the males are the ones to get the darker color variety.

 

[Mattyb]

I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[Exo]

I have seen this as well and tend to stay away from them. I feed off the "normal" ones first and finally, if The dark ones are still "jumpy" at the end I would feed them. I do this to give them time to either die off or for me to be sure they are not defective.
I find that usually the males are the ones to get the darker color variety.

You are right about the males being darker, but as far as I can tell all the crickets are very jumpy and healthy. They don't chirp very much, but I think that has to do with the temps at which they are kept. So you have fed dark crickets to your Ts without any problems?

 

[TalonAWD]

You are right about the males being darker, but as far as I can tell all the crickets are very jumpy and healthy. They don't chirp very much, but I think that has to do with the temps at which they are kept. So you have fed dark crickets to your Ts without any problems?

Yes. I have fed off the dark ones without any problems. As long as they are Jumpy and not slugish they are healthy enough for the T.

 

[Exo]

Yes. I have fed off the dark ones without any problems. As long as they are Jumpy and not slugish they are healthy enough for the T.

Alright then, It's just that the parents of this batch were petstore crickets and they were much lighter in color, so I was startled when these ones turned dark on me. Thanks for the info.

 

[spiderfield]

Hey Exo, I just want to mention that my colony is going through a similar phase at the moment, and believe it may be temperature related (as you alluded to). I also have a small cricket colony, and this is about the third generation or so, with some new blood mixed in. Like you, I have been keeping them at about the same temperature and noticed a majority of them turning darker than normal as they neared the adult stage. Unlike my dubia colony, I keep the crickets unheated, so they've just been cooling/heating with the days here in SoCal (nights have been dipping into low 60s). Regardless, i'm still feeding them off and there's no ill effect.

 

[JimM]

Am I the only one who sees the humor in the thread title?
No, the dark crickets won't hurt you...or your T's.

 

[WelshTan]

Alright then, It's just that the parents of this batch were petstore crickets and they were much lighter in color, so I was startled when these ones turned dark on me. Thanks for the info.

lol ... crickets turn dark and then molt just like T's

 

[nikinizor]

just like all the rest...martin luther Kricket says "I have a dream...that all my people shall be eaten just like them honky crickets!

 

[Exo]

just like all the rest...martin luther Kricket says "I have a dream...that all my people shall be eaten just like them honky crickets!

Well, I am also starting a colony of black field crickets, so you could say that I'm for cricket equality.

 

[spiderfield]

just like all the rest...martin luther Kricket says "I have a dream...that all my people shall be eaten just like them honky crickets!

lol!