Cricket setup

executivebexley

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
47
Hi, sorry if this is on the wrong section, I didn't know wether to put it there cos it's more chat relating to t, or other inverts.

Anyway, here some photos of my cricket setup, is it OK? The box is 21" X 13" X 7" with cross ventilation that I've taped paper towel over, and I have a scattering of substrate just a little that's bone dry. I had a much smaller box with open vents that got really wet, mite infeted and phorid flies, those tiny "digital ones"

My place is freezing so they're up against the radiator, they love it when it's on, and cram right up to it.

Is this setup ok? I only have like 5 spiders in total so I don't breed them, and get through them very slowly, 5-8 a week tops, I just buy tiny ones and let them grow. Should I keep the population lower? To discourage mites, infighting, damp etc

Sorry for going on, I love it! I spend ages watching them, can't figure out if they're social or not, in the wild i think they live alone. Some flying locusts are communal but I dunno, I should look it up really, the crix don't seem to mind, but they never interact really

IMG_20210106_171129.jpg

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No crickets??
IMG_20210106_171221.jpg
They're all in the tubes by the radiator!!

IMG_20210106_171302.jpg

And they go here to molt by the looks of it

Sweet!!!
What are your setups like??
 

Almadabes

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
163
The general idea looks good.

I am by no means an expert but I would make the following changes.

- No substrate (it's just unnecessary moisture that could cause mold or stuffyness.)

- No styrofoam - Idk if this is really a problem but styrofoam has always been sketchy as far as a human toxin goes. They regularly eat their own bedding so I wouldn't use styrofoam.

- Add more egg crates or paper towel tubes. Stack them on top of each other - you don't want them to crowd around each other too much or they will go full crackhead and start killing their neighbors.

- More ventilation. The sides are good, I would do the same on the top too. What you've done is actually a great idea and almost exactly what I've done, just switch the paper towel out for a wire mesh sheet. They could eat through the paper, its also a potential mold/bacteria retainer. More ventilation seems to be better for crickets, reduces smell, mold potential, and gives them much more fresh air.
 

executivebexley

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
47
Sweet, don't worry it's not styrofoam, the white things are wierd cardboard, like drinks holders are made of just white

I found a tiny bit of substrate stops the smell so ima keep that, but your right I'll go for ventilation at the top

Is it an idea to cull a load of them? I don't get through them all and alot die off anyway, I'd imagine less of them would be cleaner and lower stress, less competition for space
 

Frogdaddy

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,067
I agree with @Almadabes
No substrate. Humidity or moisture is your enemy. Crickets need to be dry. The radiator will help with that, but no substrate.
As long as they are not crowded, have a source of water, kept warm and dry and fed regularly, you should have no issues keeping crickets.
You're always going to have a few die off and some eaten by other crickets as they are cannibalistic.
 

Almadabes

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
163
Is it an idea to cull a load of them? I don't get through them all and alot die off anyway, I'd imagine less of them would be cleaner and lower stress, less competition for space
You can just add more space by adding more cartons/tubes.
Stacked egg cartons don't take up a lot of space, but the little caves and crevices they create when stacked offer a ton of room for them to space themselves out.

You don't need to kill them off... they do a good job of that on their own, trust me.
Try to pull out and discard the corpses when they do die.

Many of them will die, even if kept correctly.
I'd say about 15-20% in a few weeks.

I find it admirable that you're so enamored by them. I hate crickets lol.
 

executivebexley

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
47
Sweet, next time then I'll do away with the substrate all together

Stupid question can they drink?? I thought they got their moisture through their food, which I change ever day or 2. Potato, carrot, apple, bits of bacon all sorts!! I'm experimenting to see what gets nibbled the most, when I remember I out the different things in different piles to see what gets eaten most, chicken paste was a winner!! Haha

I don't give them access to water at all, just fresh veg and had them last weeks
 

executivebexley

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
47
.
I find it admirable that you're so enamored by them. I hate crickets lol.
Haha, to me they're equally my pets as the Ts that eat them in a way, and they're active all day every day, so cam be just as entertaining. I just like insects I think

life goals are an ant farm and dragonfly larvae, they look like amazing little predators
 

Almadabes

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
163
I getcha - I love my dubia roaches and have a hard time feeding them off.

I give my crickets the best life I can like any feeder - but I still hate them.
In comparison to other feeders, they're quite filthy, cannibalize often, and seem to die for no reason.

can they drink??
Probably - but fresh fruit and veg like you've been doing is better.
Water bowl will once again - up the humidity, and is also a potential for drowning or a corpse nastying up the water supply.

Veggies in the bin will also up the humidity a little, but they will be eaten or removed within a day so it shouldn't be a problem.
 

Frogdaddy

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,067
Sweet, next time then I'll do away with the substrate all together

Stupid question can they drink?? I thought they got their moisture through their food, which I change ever day or 2. Potato, carrot, apple, bits of bacon all sorts!! I'm experimenting to see what gets nibbled the most, when I remember I out the different things in different piles to see what gets eaten most, chicken paste was a winner!! Haha

I don't give them access to water at all, just fresh veg and had them last weeks
Yes they can drink and actually they need a good amount of water you drink. In the old days we used a baby chick waterer with a sponge. The sponge got nasty quickly though. I use the gel water crystals now. Much more convenient and no risk of drowning. Yes, crickets will drown in a small amount of open water.
 

executivebexley

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
47
I've never tried any other feeders, Ivw only got 3 Ts, a p.regius jumper and a wild caught lace weaver true spider. All the newbie things!!! And only had them maybe 6 months tops. So I haven't been brave enough to try other feeders

But I do see on here alot of people on here and YouTube say roaches are better, cleaner, last longer, easier to catch and handle

And I've seen people say superworms (morioworms here in the UK I think) are good for a small collection like mine, last longer, need less space, less care, you dont get like 100 in the smallest pack!

But when I see the YouTubers feeding videos, which I know aren't to be taken as advice, alot of them have big collections but only just started really, so it's a bit deceptive, anyway I digress! I see the tarantulas always go for crickets instantly, but other feeders often seem forced upon them, rammed at them with tongs, you will eat this massive luminous green catipillar!!!!!

I wouldn't wanna get something that they might not eat so readily
 

Almadabes

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
163
I've never tried any other feeders, Ivw only got 3 Ts, a p.regius jumper and a wild caught lace weaver true spider. All the newbie things!!! And only had them maybe 6 months tops. So I haven't been brave enough to try other feeders

I wouldn't wanna get something that they might not eat so readily
I'm new to jumpers! just got 3 today. Had such a hard time trying to get them to go into their enclosures cause they kept jumping and swinging around lol.

A lot of people will only ever use crickets and still have a healthy tarantula.
I personally like to change their meal up each time but some of my adults are picky and only take crickets.
My slings seem to eat just about anything.

Worms are even easier to keep than crickets. I actually started with worms cause I was grossed out by crickets but everyone's different - I like roaches after all.

Supers can be kept dry on oats with the weekly veggie for hydration.
They will last a long time like this.

You can do the same for mealworms - but they will eventually pupate and turn into beetles that your tarantula probably won't eat.
Most people keep them in the fridge butter tray. They will remain dormant and live for a long time like this.

Supers can't be kept in the fridge but pupation is not a concern if they are kept close together - they won't pupate next to each other.

Downsides are that unfortunately with worms you do often have to buy bulk. For me - 25 supers or 100 mealworms at once.
but again - keeping them is easy, they last a long time, if you like to fish it's extra bait.

While you may assume mealworms are small and can be fed to a small spider - they're still much bigger than a lot of tiny slings and I end up having to cut them up when I feed them.
Supers have the same problem - Honestly more suitable for larger Adults than juveniles but you could always just feed less often.

Oh and the biggest downside - head crushing.
You have to do it with worms. It makes them less likely to wiggle so the T may have a harder time finding it.
But the alternative is the worm digging down, pupating into a beetle, and coming back up to eat a molting T.
 
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executivebexley

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
47
My spiders are all little, the 2 bigger Ts are about an inch and a quater, and one is half inch, the tiny one won't take live prey at all not even the fff from the jumper, so it gets legs from crickets atm.

That in itself is interesting, some cricket's Instantly "give up" a leg, others just won't at all and will bite at the tweezers

The jumper can only take a small cricket with no jumping legs, it just gets thrown off otherwise so it 99% gets fff, but it's just like 2 days ago built a molt web and is kinda chillin on the edge of it with its front legs out, it's cute, so when it's done molting hopefully I can ditch the flies, they're a nightmare too.

I think it's a good idea to feed different things even though I haven't yet, but want to and will, I'm sure Ts need different vitamins and proteins and minerals and stuff too

I wonder if the mealworm beetles are cool to keep too!
 

executivebexley

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
47
P.s. jumpers are awesome, I've had lots of wildcaught ones from the garden, that's what started me, but we have no big species in the UK, the zebra spider is the biggest here, maybe 10, 11mm

I've only ever had Pseudeuophrys lanigera which are tiny quater inch ones with furry hands hahaha!! 🤩🤩
 

RoachCoach

Arachnodemon
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
703
I getcha - I love my dubia roaches and have a hard time feeding them off.

I give my crickets the best life I can like any feeder - but I still hate them.
In comparison to other feeders, they're quite filthy, cannibalize often, and seem to die for no reason.



Probably - but fresh fruit and veg like you've been doing is better.
Water bowl will once again - up the humidity, and is also a potential for drowning or a corpse nastying up the water supply.

Veggies in the bin will also up the humidity a little, but they will be eaten or removed within a day so it shouldn't be a problem.
The Dubias have individual personalities which is pretty cool. It sucks to feed them off or have to crush their heads to feed them off. Just wait until you see how opportunistic cannibals they are though. That will quickly make you realize they are all little psychopaths.
 

XxSpiderQueenxX

Arachnobaron
Joined
Feb 14, 2019
Messages
321
Haha, to me they're equally my pets as the Ts that eat them in a way, and they're active all day every day, so cam be just as entertaining. I just like insects I think

life goals are an ant farm and dragonfly larvae, they look like amazing little predators
Ants are pretty easy (depending on which species) and make great pets. If you get a colony with a queen, you can watch it grow. Since you are in England, you can easily order queens online.
I keep multiple ant colonies, and they are one of my favorite pets! :)
 
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