How do you keep cave crickets?

[AlphaTen223]

I am currently looking into getting cave crickets and I was wondering if anyone has any information. Specifically enclosure size, enclosure ideas, substrate, what they like to eat, substrate depth, and good things to provide vertical surfaces for them.

 

[birdonfire]

@Hisserdude

 

[viper69]

I keep them in a cave.

 

[DreadMan]

I am currently looking into getting cave crickets and I was wondering if anyone has any information. Specifically enclosure size, enclosure ideas, substrate, what they like to eat, substrate depth, and good things to provide vertical surfaces for them.

Those things haunt my house. They massive and big and jump <edit>. Brazillian wandering spider? no problemo. Cave crickets? burn down the goddamn house. I would assume that they need a large amount of space for each individual one (Dont keep them together, the ones in my basement have nothing to eat yet they have formed a colony by being cannibals), around 15 gallons maybe. They thrive in cave enviorments and in human homes, so substrate should not be a problem. I would assume you give them plenty of places to hide and hang. You could accomplish this with simply some cork bark and toilet paper rolls. A few pest websites say they feed on basically anything, so put in some fruits and a couple of freeze dried crickets or cockroaches and you should be fine.

 

[AlphaTen223]

Those things haunt my house. They massive and big and jump <edit>. Brazillian wandering spider? no problemo. Cave crickets? burn down the goddamn house. I would assume that they need a large amount of space for each individual one (Dont keep them together, the ones in my basement have nothing to eat yet they have formed a colony by being cannibals), around 15 gallons maybe. They thrive in cave enviorments and in human homes, so substrate should not be a problem. I would assume you give them plenty of places to hide and hang. You could accomplish this with simply some cork bark and toilet paper rolls. A few pest websites say they feed on basically anything, so put in some fruits and a couple of freeze dried crickets or cockroaches and you should be fine.

I ended up finding out information and I guess I’ll share what I found if anyone is curious. you can keep a colony in an enclosure as small as a 4 quart however I’ll keep mine in a 16 quart. As far as infesting for me it isn’t a worry because of the area I live. Also they like dog food and tend to avoid fruits and vegetables. Also idk Forsure but I don’t think this species infests houses. And substrate can be anything that retains moisture. As for hides any textured bark works it just should be placed vertically to allow for molts i believe. Also this species tends to keep their own numbers down and they do not cannibalise. The species I am looking at is the giant slender legged ones and ice heard they can also be used as feeders for larger invertebrates however I wouldn’t only feed these to most things.

 

[Arthroverts]

What species specifically are you wanting to work with? By "Giant slender legged ones" do you mean Ceuthophilus gracilipes cf. apalachicolae? Or some other species?

I ask because there are numerous species of cave crickets, some of which are not actually cave crickets but rather close relatives, all of which have different specifics in terms of care.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[AlphaTen223]

I ended up finding out information and I guess I’ll share what I found if anyone is curious. you can keep a colony in an enclosure as small as a 4 quart however I’ll keep mine in a 16 quart. As far as infesting for me it isn’t a worry because of the area I live. Also they like dog food and tend to avoid fruits and vegetables. Also idk Forsure but I don’t think this species infests houses. And substrate can be anything that retains moisture. As for hides any textured bark works it just should be placed vertically to allow for molts i believe. Also this species tends to keep their own numbers down and they do not cannibalism.
[/QUOT

What species specifically are you wanting to work with? By "Giant slender legged ones" do you mean Ceuthophilus gracilipes cf. apalachicolae? Or some other species?

I ask because there are numerous species of cave crickets, some of which are not actually cave crickets but rather close relatives, all of which have different specifics in terms of care.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

thats the one

 

[Hisserdude]

As far

What species specifically are you wanting to work with? By "Giant slender legged ones" do you mean Ceuthophilus gracilipes cf. apalachicolae? Or some other species?

I ask because there are numerous species of cave crickets, some of which are not actually cave crickets but rather close relatives, all of which have different specifics in terms of care.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

As far as I'm aware no one cultures that specific subspecies, but the same common name is used for the nominate subspecies I and several other breed, C.g.gracilipes.

As for care, most camel crickets are pretty similar, with there being three distinct types in the US, arboreal/cave dwelling species that have super long legs, general ground dwellers that have shorter legs and are usually found under debris and such, and dune dwellers which often have specially adapted legs for walking and/or digging through sand.

My Ceuthophilus gracilipes caresheet should cover general care guidelines for most "arboreal" camel cricket species.

And my Ceuthophilus agassizii caresheet should cover general care guidelines for most ground dwelling species.

 

[Arthroverts]

As far


As far as I'm aware no one cultures that specific subspecies, but the same common name is used for the nominate subspecies I and several other breed, C.g.gracilipes.

As for care, most camel crickets are pretty similar, with there being three distinct types in the US, arboreal/cave dwelling species that have super long legs, general ground dwellers that have shorter legs and are usually found under debris and such, and dune dwellers which often have specially adapted legs for walking and/or digging through sand.

My Ceuthophilus gracilipes caresheet should cover general care guidelines for most "arboreal" camel cricket species.

And my Ceuthophilus agassizii caresheet should cover general care guidelines for most ground dwelling species.

Doesn't Kyle Kandillian keep C. g. cf. apalachicolae? At least that's what he claims to keep on his website.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Hisserdude]

Doesn't Kyle Kandillian keep C. g. cf. apalachicolae? At least that's what he claims to keep on his website.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Nope, he lost those years ago, just hasn't updated his site yet... I think he still hopes to source some in the coming years.