Feeding crickets

[dlbeats36]

So I have a fair amount of tarantulas and scorpions but this question is actually regarding crickets.
In the past I had no problems keeping them but lately in the last few months they just won't eat?... I keep them clean, spay them everyday and give them fresh fruit or vegetables every single day. (Carrots, leaf greens, potatoes, apples, banana, pears ect.) But they don't even touch the food and I always have skinny dying crickets. It's a pain to always get a new Bach like every week or so. Before I used to be able to breed them only got a few new ones every now and then to add to the gene pool. I tried different stores, even ordered crickets to see if maybe the problem was them being sick when I got them but no success. I don't get it... I even have those tiny beetles that eat dead crickets and their waste to keep them extra clean. Please help me...

 

[Charliemum]

Crickets are well known for being hard to keep that's why most eventually change to meal worms or roaches of some sort. I have tried all 3 the crickets tend to die off nomatter how well I keep them and I have to replace them every 2 weeks , the roaches could escape out of some of my vivs so they weren't an option for me but meal worms tend to last ages I get a box every 2 months n have 39 t's and all my t's will happily take them, I do crush the worms head first because they have a nasty bite and tend to burrow if I don't but all my t's like them and I get some good growth rates when feeding them eg my baumgarteni has gone from 1/2 inch to 2.5 inch in 11 months and my rosea went from 1/4 inch to 2 inches in 8 months (both females) try other food you may find something that suits you more . Oh and I use morio worms for my bigger t's but they keep the same as the meal worms just alot bigger. Good luck .

 

[KaroKoenig]

Why spray crickets? Keep them dry. Feed fruit and vegetables- not too much - to keep them hydrated and nutritious. They last up to 8 weeks like that for me.

 

[dlbeats36]

Why spray crickets? Keep them dry. Feed fruit and vegetables- not too much - to keep them hydrated and nutritious. They last up to 8 weeks like that for me.

I guess I should have clarified lol I don't spray the crickets but the dirt I have in the corner of their box incase they lay eggs. The dirt must be slightly moist for the eggs to stay alive

 

[dlbeats36]

Why spray crickets? Keep them dry. Feed fruit and vegetables- not too much - to keep them hydrated and nutritious. They last up to 8 weeks like that for me.

I guess I should have clarified lol I don't spray the crickets but the dirt I have in the corner of their box incase they lay eggs. The dirt must be slightly moist for the eggs to stay alive

 

[dlbeats36]

Crickets are well known for being hard to keep that's why most eventually change to meal worms or roaches of some sort. I have tried all 3 the crickets tend to die off nomatter how well I keep them and I have to replace them every 2 weeks , the roaches could escape out of some of my vivs so they weren't an option for me but meal worms tend to last ages I get a box every 2 months n have 39 t's and all my t's will happily take them, I do crush the worms head first because they have a nasty bite and tend to burrow if I don't but all my t's like them and I get some good growth rates when feeding them eg my baumgarteni has gone from 1/2 inch to 2.5 inch in 11 months and my rosea went from 1/4 inch to 2 inches in 8 months (both females) try other food you may find something that suits you more . Oh and I use morio worms for my bigger t's but they keep the same as the meal worms just alot bigger. Good luck .

I use morio worms and meal worms too but only a small few of my T s will eat them and practically only my scorpions will eat the morio worm with the exception of one of my T s. I had roaches but they where dubia roaches and all they ever did was burrow into the grou d or not move for hours when I tried to use them as feeders. I know crickets are a pain, what I don't get is when before this I used to be able to breed them with relative ease. Now they starve to death even with an over abundance of food?

 

[Delta1243]

I always had trouble with breeding crickets and them dying and some of my tarantulas don’t eat mealworms so I just use Dubia’s they’re great

 

[Charliemum]

All I can think of is maybe something wrong with the crickets maybe they weren't kept the best before they came to you so already have the damage and are already dieing. Try getting crickets from somewhere else n see if it helps maybe? I wouldn't know what else to suggest, but good luck.

 

[ButterMan]

Crickets are well known for being hard to keep that's why most eventually change to meal worms or roaches of some sort. I have tried all 3 the crickets tend to die off nomatter how well I keep them and I have to replace them every 2 weeks , the roaches could escape out of some of my vivs so they weren't an option for me but meal worms tend to last ages I get a box every 2 months n have 39 t's and all my t's will happily take them, I do crush the worms head first because they have a nasty bite and tend to burrow if I don't but all my t's like them and I get some good growth rates when feeding them eg my baumgarteni has gone from 1/2 inch to 2.5 inch in 11 months and my rosea went from 1/4 inch to 2 inches in 8 months (both females) try other food you may find something that suits you more . Oh and I use morio worms for my bigger t's but they keep the same as the meal worms just alot bigger. Good luck .

I keep crickets in a tub with good air flow, feed them, give them a place to lay eggs, a paper based substrate and cardboard. They last MUCH longer if you give them a lot of space.

 

[HeartBum]

If you had trouble with Dubia last time, the advice is to crush their heads before feeding. That way, they can’t burrow and evade your T. Pop them on their backs and they’re wriggle around lots.

If that doesn’t take your fancy and you want something as active as cricks, you could try red runners. They don’t burrow, are super speedy, and adults are the equivalent of a cricket.

 

[Charliemum]

I keep crickets in a tub with good air flow, feed them, give them a place to lay eggs, a paper based substrate and cardboard. They last MUCH longer if you give them a lot of space.

I have an acrylic viv I keep them in its 30x20 with sub and egg crate I even have cricket food and gel I bought in coz I was sick of them dieing they also get fruit n veg but for whatever reason they don't survive for me not like the mealworms n Mario's do . I do still get crickets in I like to use them as a treat for my t's something to chase more than food, but usually they only last a few weeks for me. And tbh I only get crickets because I hope to get another Thanatus vulgaris in with them, brilliant spiders
My SO uses crickets for his t's but he has a 230+ collection so uses the full pack or 5 every time he does feeding, but even he is sick of getting them in n has not long started roach colonys instead.

 

[dlbeats36]

I am buying crickets again but I am gonna try a totally new location maybe the problem is from where I got them from. Hope they actually end up breeding this time otherwise idk what to do lol I have been wanting to get red runners but don't know where from cuz I live in Alberta and all roaches are super illegal... I can only get dubias as far as I know and those have to be shipped in from BC too.

 

[HeartBum]

I am buying crickets again but I am gonna try a totally new location maybe the problem is from where I got them from. Hope they actually end up breeding this time otherwise idk what to do lol I have been wanting to get red runners but don't know where from cuz I live in Alberta and all roaches are super illegal... I can only get dubias as far as I know and those have to be shipped in from BC too.

Funny, I'm trying crickets again, too got my 30-odd adults today and a couple hundred pinheads. They were the first feeder I tried and I had a terrible time trying to keep them alive and ended up with a breeding box full of dead ones... Females have gone straight into a separate enclosure with a couple inches of substrate, and I've seen them laying already. Fingers crossed.

 

[Wolfram1]

i never tried keeping them since they need a ton of ventilation and i dont want the stink in my flat.

 

[HeartBum]

i never tried keeping them since they need a ton of ventilation and i dont want the stink in my flat.

Apparently, the smell really isn’t so bad as long as cleaning is kept on top of. Even roaches can smell when there’s even one dead one in there. We’ll see…

 

[dlbeats36]

Update. I ended up getting new crickets, adults and babies from a new location. I keep them separate just for safety. Sometimes the adults eat the babies when they molt. The adults seem to be the same, not eating and kinda dumb but the babies are fine! They are eating plenty and being actual crickets. Maybe the adults in the store are too old and near the end of their life so they just stop eating I don't know. From now on I think I will just buy smaller crickets

 

[Dry Desert]

Update. I ended up getting new crickets, adults and babies from a new location. I keep them separate just for safety. Sometimes the adults eat the babies when they molt. The adults seem to be the same, not eating and kinda dumb but the babies are fine! They are eating plenty and being actual crickets. Maybe the adults in the store are too old and near the end of their life so they just stop eating I don't know. From now on I think I will just buy smaller crickets

I always used to purchase small crickets and grow them on.
Not the pin head/ micro ones, they don't seem to last very long.
Purchase the next size up and grow them on.
Replace the older ones with fresh small ones, and keep the colony going.
Buying large is okay for immediate feeding as large / ex. large are fully grown and won't last long.

 

[darkness975]

So I have a fair amount of tarantulas and scorpions but this question is actually regarding crickets.
In the past I had no problems keeping them but lately in the last few months they just won't eat?... I keep them clean, spay them everyday and give them fresh fruit or vegetables every single day. (Carrots, leaf greens, potatoes, apples, banana, pears ect.) But they don't even touch the food and I always have skinny dying crickets. It's a pain to always get a new Bach like every week or so. Before I used to be able to breed them only got a few new ones every now and then to add to the gene pool. I tried different stores, even ordered crickets to see if maybe the problem was them being sick when I got them but no success. I don't get it... I even have those tiny beetles that eat dead crickets and their waste to keep them extra clean. Please help me...

Switch to Banded Crickets. Gryllodes sigillatus
You'll be glad you did. They're much more hardy and easier to keep.