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Crickets

RonC

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3 Year Member
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250
Location
Dallas Texas
Not a question but I went to my local pet store where I buy my dog's food at. Asked to see their medium crickets since the small ones were very small last time I got some. Mediums were bigger than my T so told her I wanted about 10 small ones and they would last a month. When I got home I looked in the bag and there must be 100 in it. They are even smaller than the first ones. Still have a couple of the original ones and they have grown a bit. T has decided to close off it's burrow now. Guess the best way to solve the problem is more Ts.
 

Enn49

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In the UK I buy all my crickets from an online supplier and they come in tubs, numbers in each tub depends on the size i.e.. the larger the fewer in a tub but the choice of sizes is great.
Sizes are:-
Micro 1-3mm
Small 4-5mm
Med/small 6-8mm
Med 8-12mm
Standard 12-18mm
Large 15-20mm
Ex. Large 20-30mm

I buy 2 Med/Small (there's always some tiny ones in for the smallest slings). 2 Med and a tub of Dubai roaches which last me 2 weeks for my 100 Ts and my sons Scorp.
 

RonC

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3 Year Member
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250
Location
Dallas Texas
At present I only have one G. pulchripes. It's only about 30mm DLS. Ordered a G. pulchra last night, should ship Tuesday. May order several more for Christmas. Also bought some food at the store for the crickets. Seems they grew some overnight. Barely could tell they were crickets yesterday..Their mediums were about 20mm. T doesn't seem to like pre-killed so didn't get the mediums. I couldn't see paying to ship as small an amount as I need. I'm set for a while now. Only one store locally I have found that sells Ts and dubia. Limited selection of Ts at the store at it's a ways over there. Luckily the nearest pet store sells crickets and I can purchase the quantity I need.
 

Dave Jay

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They grow pretty fast, I buy fresh small ones often because after a week they have grown too much. If you spread them out over a few vented containers and feed them carrot and spinach/chard they will live and grow until you need them. Humidity kills them so they do need a lot of ventilation and they are cannibals so they need space but if you address those issues there's no problem keeping them .
 

bbbs53

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3 Year Member
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Location
Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Unless the place you walk in and buy crickets turns them over fairly fast, one usually gets a mixture of small to large and the quantity varies by how much time the store employee wishes to expend in rounding them up out of a large trash can. Since I am only keeping one adult spider I usually only get half a dozen at a time and these last for a couple of weeks usually with one or two dying off. I have kept them in the past and will have to start in to doing so again when I move shortly and won't have a place to get them locally. In addition to space and ventilation they don't mind it being warm rather than cooler. I use an enhanced food for them along with the veggies, they seem to do fine. The store I get them from caters to reptile owners rather than spider folks, in fact they don't handle spiders at all. Unless you raise your own, you kind of get what they have on hand.
 

RonC

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3 Year Member
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250
Location
Dallas Texas
Don't know how many they sell. They don't have any live animals for sale there. They do have 3 different cricket sizes along with prepackaged meal and super worms. They keep the crickets in 3 large totes. I'm guessing their tote gets reassigned as the crickets grow. I too have been purchasing what I need as I go but this last time she hooked me up with a "lifetime" supply for a dollar. I keep the cricket enclosure on top of an entertainment center so they stay warmer.
 

Tortoise Tom

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Southern CA
I solved all of these problems by getting a red runner colony going. I hated dealing with stinky, fragile, noisy crickets. Between the lateralis and my dubia, I always have the right size feeder for any tarantula and I don't have to go anywhere to get it.
 

Dave Jay

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Mt Barker South Australia
Unless the place you walk in and buy crickets turns them over fairly fast, one usually gets a mixture of small to large and the quantity varies by how much time the store employee wishes to expend in rounding them up out of a large trash can. Since I am only keeping one adult spider I usually only get half a dozen at a time and these last for a couple of weeks usually with one or two dying off. I have kept them in the past and will have to start in to doing so again when I move shortly and won't have a place to get them locally. In addition to space and ventilation they don't mind it being warm rather than cooler. I use an enhanced food for them along with the veggies, they seem to do fine. The store I get them from caters to reptile owners rather than spider folks, in fact they don't handle spiders at all. Unless you raise your own, you kind of get what they have on hand.
Ah, it's a bit different here in Australia, and a lot of the UK from what I understand. You have to buy tubs of live food, sold by weight I would guess as the larger the size the less individuals there are. Fresh tubs usually are delivered to the shops weekly so weekly or fortnightly I buy from the new stock of small crickets to get the smallest possible size before they moult to feed the smallest slings and scorpions. I then empty most of them into a larger vented tub to avoid crowding, I have 6 larger tubs set up (around 10x4x4 inches) so there is always a large range of sizes, the frogs get the surplus mature crickets once I hear chirping and the tub is cleaned ready for the next batch of small crickets.

Edit - I should have mentioned that they need a certain amount of warmth but I prefer not to heat them because I don't want them growing too fast and heating comes with its' own problems.
 

RonC

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250
Location
Dallas Texas
Most feeders are pre-packaged here also. With one T a colony would be a bit much. My T is only about 30mm or 1 1/4 inches dls. Called a reptile shop almost an hour away and was told they stock dubia in different sizes. Drove there the next day and "sorry we are out". So I got more crickets from my closest pet store. Just didn't want as many as they gave me. The lady either likes me or hates crickets. I just try to keep them in a warm spot in the house and feed them.
 

Dave Jay

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Mt Barker South Australia
Most feeders are pre-packaged here also. With one T a colony would be a bit much. My T is only about 30mm or 1 1/4 inches dls. Called a reptile shop almost an hour away and was told they stock dubia in different sizes. Drove there the next day and "sorry we are out". So I got more crickets from my closest pet store. Just didn't want as many as they gave me. The lady either likes me or hates crickets. I just try to keep them in a warm spot in the house and feed them.
I guess you just have to keep what you get alive for as long as possible. Space and ventilation (low humidity) is the key. It may seem like a colony of feeder insects is overkill but realistically it can jyst be a critter keeper that you add fresh vegetables to twice a week. Certainly breeding crickets would not be worth it but keeping them alive and healthy is not difficult. I would have to say that mealworms would be easiest if your spider will take them. I add carrot and other veg twice a week and add extra oats twice a year, every few years I do a complete clean out and "re-set" the system. There's no offensive smell or noise, rolled oats (the substrate and food) and veggie scraps don't cost much. Something to consider anyway.
 

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