Cricket Housing Setups

[GatorCham11]

Does anyone know any good websites that have plans or pictures of setups to keep large amounts of crickets? Or any other type of cham feeder food.
Also that way most bait shops have their cricket cages set up, is that a viable system to keep them in? The large wooden box with an open top and heat lamp is the one I've seen.

 

[chameleons707]

If you are just using them for just for feeders here is how i used to setup succesfully. First get any large tub with lid. Pick a tub that is preffarably seethrough or one that is very smooth. Then on the top of the lid cut open a large enough whole in the center to fit a light fixture. Then on the whole cover it with wire screening. Nxt for water ad food system I will just put them in little bowls. Then just add egg cartons stacked up nicely and not to compacted and just add a heat light for heat and place on screen top

 

[GatorCham11]

Awesome. Thank you. What temperature do you usually keep them at?

 

[Craig94089]

I use a bin system too with about 4x6 cutouts in the lid with screen hot glued in place. Also use packing tape around the top 3" of the bin to make sure they can't climb out. I still get the stench though from the die offs. I google getting rid of cricket smell a month ago and some guy setup a fan system and swears it eliminated the stench.

For now I've moved over to dubias. At first I was grossed out but now I'm like whatever, it's my babies food and I've gotten over it. The nymphs are much easier to manage for me...the big adults still freak me out when I feed them in their bin. When I feed my boy I put them on a perch and watch my boy take them out as they scatter...as fascinating as watching him eat crickets.

I am still thinking of trying the fan approach. My die off rate before I switched feeders was about 10 out of 100 per week at room temp (70 degrees). I did switch out the egg carton weekly and feed fresh veggies and fruit daily, no water source other than the veggies and fruit.

 

[fluxlizard]

I keep crickets in storage tubs also. I use 30 gallon tubs and I rough the sides 2/3 of the way up with sandpaper, which allows them to climb the sides up that far. This gives them more surface area and makes collecting them for feeding really easy- slide a cup up the side and a bunch jump in.

I use shelves with 12" heat tape on a thermostat. One of my sons did a growth experiment last year with cricket temperature for his science project. He found 87 to be best for growth and survival - at higher temperatures growth rate was a bit faster, but not a lot and the crickets survival rate was far lower (probably due to dehydration- since then we have worked out better ways with our fruit to keep them hydrated- we were slicing fruit into wedges and the fruit dried out rapidly. Nowadays I cut fruit in half and the skin keeps the fruit from drying so quickly inside) so maybe higher temps are now possible. But I'm happy with 87- growth rate is rapid enough.

We breed our own crickets though- so maybe if you are just buying a bunch to feed, you may not even want to heat them unless your room is very cold. THey will survive fine at room temperature- but growth rate is greatly reduced. Which is actually usually what you want anyway when you are feeding a young chameleon, otherwise your crickets may outgrow your lizard and become too large to feed. Also at lower temperatures their whole life cycle is slowed down, so they will live longer than those kept warm. Crickets don't exactly break world records for long lives (5-9 weeks or so from the time they hatch depending on temperature).

 

[GatorCham11]

Thanks so much for the tips. Right now I have a 4 and 1/2 month old veiled chameleon. It is pretty awesome watching him eat the crickets. I did't know the longest they lived is 5-9 weeks. Good to know so I know not to order too many at one time. I don't think I can gets Dubias in Florida from what I understand. I'll have to work on a set up like that. Thank you again.

 

[ThePantherBaron]

I just use very large sterlite bins that are very long. I cut a square in the top and cut aluminum screen then hot glue it in place. Then use heat tape on the bottom to keep them nice and toasty.

 

[fluxlizard]

I don't think I can gets Dubias in Florida

You can't get dubias, but you can get discoids which are very similar roaches. They can't climb and reproduce at a similar rate and are similarly sized.

 

[GatorCham11]

Thank you all.