Keeping Crickets.

[m0lsx]

What do people keep their Crickets in?

I was about to order one of the Exo Terra Cricket pens, but then I decided to check some reviews for them & found that the reviews are bad, no matter where you look. With it appearing that they do not keep your Crickets enclosed, which is a great pity, as they look like a usable item.

 

[nedaK]

I use a large critter keeper with no substrate and a lot of egg carton pieces. I’ve had no escapees. Remember to keep them well fed and hydrated everyday.

 

[Mr. P]

To be honest, unless you have a large enough container and all the perfect conditions then crickets are not worth keeping. Crickets smell, they are noisy and they don't last very long. Unless you plan on creating the perfect enclosure then only get enough crickets that you can feed off in a week or two or they will die off. Crickets have a 8-12 week life cycle so by the time you get them they only have a few weeks left unless you plan and know how to breed them, not worth the hassle.

Now roaches, that is a different story. They live 1-2 years, easy to keep, easy to breed, no smell, no noise and much better nutrition then crickets.

 

[m0lsx]

Now roaches, that is a different story. They live 1-2 years, easy to keep, easy to breed, no smell, no noise and much better nutrition then crickets.

I must admit, that is the way, my thoughts are going at the moment. Roaches.

 

[nedaK]

The only reason I feed my T’s crickets is that most of them refuse to eat anything else. I’m in the process of converting some to roaches, but only few have came around to eat them so far.

 

[Mr. P]

The only reason I feed my T’s crickets is that most of them refuse to eat anything else. I’m in the process of converting some to roaches, but only few have came around to eat them so far.

If it's because of movement then get some Red Runners. They don't bury and they definitely draw. the T's attention. Just don't let them get out.

 

[m0lsx]

If it's because of movement then get some Red Runners. They don't bury and they definitely draw. the T's attention. Just don't let them get out.

I had read that the red runners are not good at climbing glass/plastic & thus not good at escaping & that if they do, they need higher temperatures to breed in, so it need not be an issue if they do.

 

[THETGUY]

To be honest, unless you have a large enough container and all the perfect conditions then crickets are not worth keeping. Crickets smell, they are noisy and they don't last very long. Unless you plan on creating the perfect enclosure then only get enough crickets that you can feed off in a week or two or they will die off. Crickets have a 8-12 week life cycle so by the time you get them they only have a few weeks left unless you plan and know how to breed them, not worth the hassle.

Now roaches, that is a different story. They live 1-2 years, easy to keep, easy to breed, no smell, no noise and much better nutrition then crickets.

Crickets are weird creatures. One second they're alive, the next second they're dead. When I catch a cricket with a tweezer, it'll just keep on jerking and die. They only live for a few weeks. Its much better to switch to roaches. You won't regret it.

 

[Arachnoclown]

I keep all my crickets in the grasps of my spiders....I dont store those filthy beasts in my tarantula room. Number one killer of crickets is humidity...so keeping them in your spider/reptile rooms is a huge problem. I feed off what I buy that day or I release them.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

I had read that the red runners are not good at climbing glass/plastic & thus not good at escaping & that if they do, they need higher temperatures to breed in, so it need not be an issue if they do.

Red runners do well at lower temperatures than other more tropical species. You don't want them escaping.

 

[THETGUY]

I prefer red runners over Dubia because Dubia roaches would sometimes play dead or bury.

 

[mrsoul1974]

Yeah, all the dubias do is burrow, and my T is afraid of the tongs, so I've been feeding crickets. I get one of those bug boxes that have like 30 crickets in them, put that in a critter keeper, and feed Fluker's cricket food. I ordered some red runners which my T was eating when I first got it (Near Not Tarantulas sent a few with my order). I couldn't find any stores by me that had the red runners, so I had to order them online.

 

[m0lsx]

I couldn't find any stores by me that had the red runners, so I had to order them online.

I have the same situation here. A local reptile dealer will order them for me, bit it takes more effort doing that, than ordering them online.

 

[thehotdogman93]

Everyone has mentioned either crickets, Dubia roaches, or Red Runners, but what about Mealworms? Can mealworms be a viable option? Or are Ren Runners the best option here.

After all, I'm not too content with keeping **** roaches. At least not yet I guess.

 

[PanzoN88]

Everyone has mentioned either crickets, Dubia roaches, or Red Runners, but what about Mealworms? Can mealworms be a viable option? Or are Ren Runners the best option here.

After all, I'm not too content with keeping **** roaches. At least not yet I guess.

Mealworms and superworms are fine, that's all I use as feeders. If feeding a sling chop the worm up.

 

[thehotdogman93]

Mealworms and superworms are fine, that's all I use as feeders. If feeding a sling chop the worm up.

Thanks.

Right now, I only have a adolescent b hamorii who's in early premolt at the moment.

 

[Jess S]

I've only recently got my first T and am at the moment, using my local pet store for feeders. They supply crickets, locusts, wax worms, superworms and mealworms, but no roaches.

I bought 3rd crickets, which were the smallest of all the feeders they had there that day. Way too big for my 1cm sling, so I've been prekilling. I could have just frozen them, but I wanted to keep them for a while to see what they were like to keep. What I've found is they are more work than my sling. You have to change fresh fruit/veg daily. They poo constantly and over everything, even their food. Obviously, that will cause smell and the dampness in their waste can encourage mould. With that and the way they huddle together in dark corners they are the rats of the insect world.

There is no way you can provide any sort of water source. I found this out on morning 1. I'd put a wet cottonwool ball in a bottletop lid as a waterdish. There were 5 dead crickets in the morning. Now I just provide juicy fruit for their water source ( or potato would work) and I've still had one or two deaths but nothing like that 1st day. Obviously, I feed them carrots, dry cat food etc too.

I was thinking about getting smaller prey for my sling. I'm leaning towards pinhead crickets. Bean weevils are being advertised as ideal. What do you guys think of those?

 

[Colorado Ts]

What do people keep their Crickets in?

I was about to order one of the Exo Terra Cricket pens, but then I decided to check some reviews for them & found that the reviews are bad, no matter where you look. With it appearing that they do not keep your Crickets enclosed, which is a great pity, as they look like a usable item.

I use a small plastic container that I bought at WalMart for around $2.00.

I have 3 pieces of egg crate, and bottle cap lid with water crystals and another bottle cap lid that I top off with fish flakes. There is no substrate.

I've tried to feed the crickets various types of vegetable matter, but they don't seem to eat it too much. Roaches will devour vegetable matter with gusto.

The crickets grow and moult, so there are various sizes in the container. Every few weeks I go to the pet shop and by a couple dozen small crickets. I do occasionally find a dead cricket as I'm feeding the tarantulas, but very few.

 

[smallbike]

The only reason I feed my T’s crickets is that most of them refuse to eat anything else. I’m in the process of converting some to roaches, but only few have came around to eat them so far.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one whose T seems genuinely confused by roaches! I'm beginning to think she's teamed up with my cat who has no teeth and has just started refusing wet food in favor of dry.

 

[Crax]

I know I'm late on this but what about meal worms and super worms? Easy to keep, no smell, and cheap. I live in an apartment complex that doesn't allow us to raise "pests". Meaning no roaches, no crickets, and even the worms are pushing it. To keep up variety, I go buy feeders and gut load them the night before.

Anyone else have issues with raising feeders in their home?