Jerusalem cricket molting

[mantisfan101]

I got one of these today and noticed that it wasn’t really moving and that its limbs were slightly twitching. I was told that it might be about to molt so I have it on its back right now. Can someone tell me how jerusalem crickets molt? I’d really like to try and keep these guys long term. Also, just checked up on it and it seems to be pulsating/convulsing, almost like it’s pumping its abdomen

 

[Poonjab]

I don’t know much about them, but I’d leave it alone.

 

[Hisserdude]

They molt in a similar fashion to other insects, but usually in temporary chambers under the substrate, they'll only molt on the surface of substrate isn't deep enough or stable enough for burrowing... Additionally it shouldn't take all that long, I never saw my JCs molting, but most Orthopterans are out of their skin within an hour...

If it's taking longer than that, it's probably not molting, just dying, either of old age, or perhaps parasites... (horsehair worms are a common JC parasite).

 

[mantisfan101]

Yeah it’s definitely dead by now...it’ll make an impressive dried specimen though. Also, how do you care for the crickets themselves? I still have 3 smaller ones ranging from 0.75-1.25”

 

[Hisserdude]

Yeah it’s definitely dead by now...it’ll make an impressive dried specimen though. Also, how do you care for the crickets themselves? I still have 3 smaller ones ranging from 0.75-1.25”

Set them up on coconut fiber, peat or potting soil, (NOT sand unless they are a psammophile, dune dwelling species), a few inches deep. Keep moist, and offer lots of protein based foods, (dog food works great as a staple, as well as live mealworms and other invertebrate prey), they are primarily carnivorous but will also nibble on root vegetables and such, feeding them only those foods will result in weak or short lived JCs though, as they are primarily carnivorous... Feed them every few days to once a week, remove and/or replace uneaten food every couple days, etc., they are actually pretty dang easy to keep alive and rear, it's breeding that's a bit more difficult...

Also, while nymphs take around a year or two to mature, adults are rather short lived, unmated females can make it up to the 8 month mark, but not much longer, that's just their natural lifespan, most Orthopterans don't live that long after maturing...