Cricket disease?

[glemo059]

Hello,

I have noticed in the past months that some of the crickets in my cricket colony die in a strange way. Plump fat female crickets tend to start becoming progressively paralyzed (one leg at a time) and as they are on the verge of dying they gush white foam from their mouth. I have also noticed that when they die and other crickets start eating them, where ever there is a bite on the dead bodies, more of that white foam comes out. It is as if the whole body gets filled with the foam. I have also noticed that this phenomenon happens after crickets have been extremely active (for instance when I have to clean their tank and have to move them to other quarters). So far I have only seen females die of this and although most were large breading females it happened on occasion that smaller individuals died that way. However, all had reached maturity. Does anyone know if this is normal old age death or should I suspect disease?

Thank you,

Greg

 

[Introvertebrate]

Acheta domesticus is susceptible to the cricket virus. Some folks have switched to other species like Gryllodes sigillatus.

http://www.ghann.com/new_crickets.cfm

 

[friendttyy]

Well I also have probems like this with my crickets but it is sometimes the food yoou give to it or just the other crickets geting rough even sometimes from the males

 

[glemo059]

Acheta domesticus is susceptible to the cricket virus. Some folks have switched to other species like Gryllodes sigillatus.

http://www.ghann.com/new_crickets.cfm

Unfortunately up here in Canada we have strict laws with regards to acceptable crickets on the market. Furthermore in my area pet stores do not carry a wide range of cricket breeds.

Greg

 

[Introvertebrate]

You can't have roaches either. That certainly limits your options. Do they let you have superworms or phoenix worms?

 

[Galapoheros]

I used domesticus for a long time, only had one year where they kept breeding and had way too many. But the other times I tried I had the same problem you are having, I'd bet on it being the virus that was mentioned. I switched to another cricket, no more problems. I think, when it warms up, I would go catch some native crickets and try to raise those, maybe try to raise a couple of different sps. I wouldn't worry about parasites and pesticides, etc., I feel that gets blown out of proportion here at times. But if you're concerned about that, as soon as you see pinheads you could just chunk the adults if they're still alive. What are you doing with the crickets, are you only trying to raise crickets? Are you feeding other things, how many things are you feeding? I think if I had less than 20 things to feed, I wouldn't bother raising feeders. It is nice not to have to go to the store though, I don't care about spending a few bucks but, I just don't like going to the store that often.

 

[glemo059]

Yes super worms can be found on the market. And I occasionally buy them to diversify my tarantula's food sources. Same thing with phoenix worms but I have not tried them yet.

I also think that I will try breeding black crickets from outside when summer comes. If I am successful I have heard that offsprings and offsprings of offsprings are not a danger as a food source for domestic pests.

---------- Post added 03-24-2013 at 04:17 PM ----------

I used domesticus for a long time, only had one year where they kept breeding and had way too many. But the other times I tried I had the same problem you are having, I'd bet on it being the virus that was mentioned. I switched to another cricket, no more problems. I think, when it warms up, I would go catch some native crickets and try to raise those, maybe try to raise a couple of different sps. I wouldn't worry about parasites and pesticides, etc., I feel that gets blown out of proportion here at times. But if you're concerned about that, as soon as you see pinheads you could just chunk the adults if they're still alive. What are you doing with the crickets, are you only trying to raise crickets? Are you feeding other things, how many things are you feeding? I think if I had less than 20 things to feed, I wouldn't bother raising feeders. It is nice not to have to go to the store though, I don't care about spending a few bucks but, I just don't like going to the store that often.

Could be the virus however it does not seem to spread as only some of the crickets die like this not all of them. I normally feed my crickets salad, dog food and oats. Sometimes I add apple and other vegetables. They are to feed my tarantulas. Yes I will try to breed outside ones this summer. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Formerphobe]

I usually buy ~4 week old crickets in bulk every couple of months from the same reliable supplier. I would have a few die off, but nothing unexpected until last month. Other than the 100 or so that I fed to my arachnids on day one, the bulk of 1000 ct of crickets died over the next three days. :-( If it weren't for some of my finicky Ts, I would avoid crickets for awhile. I've had terrible luck getting either crickets or roaches to reproduce. I saw that site with Gryllodes sigillatus and am tempted to try them. Anyone else used them?

 

[Introvertebrate]

..............I think, when it warms up, I would go catch some native crickets and try to raise those, maybe try to raise a couple of different sps.............

Do you live in a part of Texas that's warm year-around? I'm guessing that any crickets captured in northern regions would require a dormant period in the winter. That would make them unavailable to our Ts this time of year.

 

[Introvertebrate]

I did some poking around, and it turns out that the two most common field crickets found in the northeastern US, (and presumably Canada) are Gryllus veletis (the spring field cricket) and Gryllus pennsylvanicus (the fall field cricket). G pennyslvanicus may not be a good choice for breeding purposes, because they supposedly need to have their eggs go through a dormancy period in cold temperatures to hatch - at least 3 months or so. I read a post, however, by a fellow who says he successfully bred G. veletis for a couple generations in captivity.

http://www.roachforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1423&#entry5637

 

[glemo059]

I did some poking around, and it turns out that the two most common field crickets found in the northeastern US, (and presumably Canada) are Gryllus veletis (the spring field cricket) and Gryllus pennsylvanicus (the fall field cricket). G pennyslvanicus may not be a good choice for breeding purposes, because they supposedly need to have their eggs go through a dormancy period in cold temperatures to hatch - at least 3 months or so. I read a post, however, by a fellow who says he successfully bred G. veletis for a couple generations in captivity.

http://www.roachforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1423&#entry5637

Yes it seems there might be some in my area according to this map. I do believe I have seen them around during summer as well.



Source: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/488a.htm

 

[Introvertebrate]

As I understand it, the Gryllus veletis is an adult in the spring. They chirp in the spring. Gryllus pennsylvanicus is an adult in the fall. They chirp in the fall.