Crickets - basic 101 questions

[Kimmers]

I'm gathering info before I make a commitment to bring home a chameleon and have questions about crickets. I understand gutloading and have a list of foods and information about d3 etc. but it's the basic cricket keeping information I need.

For a baby chameleon, how many/size do you feed and how often?

How many do buy at a time and how long can you keep crickets before you should buy more? I guess I am asking how long do they live. Ex.Would I buy 5 dz and they last 2 weeks?

What type of container do you keep them in? I've seen cricket 'containers' at pet stores, is there an inexpensive DIY alternative?

I've notice a few comments about water gel packets(?). What are they for and where can they be purchased?

Thank you,

Kimmers

 

[AngieL]

I'm gathering info before I make a commitment to bring home a chameleon and have questions about crickets. I understand gutloading and have a list of foods and information about d3 etc. but it's the basic cricket keeping information I need.

For a baby chameleon, how many/size do you feed and how often?

How many do buy at a time and how long can you keep crickets before you should buy more? I guess I am asking how long do they live. Ex.Would I buy 5 dz and they last 2 weeks?

What type of container do you keep them in? I've seen cricket 'containers' at pet stores, is there an inexpensive DIY alternative?

I've notice a few comments about water gel packets(?). What are they for and where can they be purchased?

Thank you,

Kimmers

Hi there! How long they last depends on general care. 5 dozen won't last you long with a young chameleon. You should feed a baby as many appropriate sized (no bigger than the gap between the eyes) feeders as he/she will eat in about 5 minutes and this should be done twice daily. A young cham can eat over 20 a day.

I keep my crickets in a plastc cricket keeper/faunarium and they are pretty cheap and well ventilated. You should put egg crate in there for the crickets to roost. I buy about 50 crickets at a time but my chameleon is over a year old and only gets 2 feeders a day so my bugs last a long long time

The gel crystal things are for hydration but I just mist the inside of the keeper once a day and they drink the drops.

I just want to add as well that variety is the key to a healthy reptile (or any pet) so you would want other feeders as well as crickets. Some good choices are silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, roaches, locust, grasshoppers, mantids and probably more depending on your country laws etc.

 

[Kimmers]

Thank you so much. I should have added that I also have varied diet information noted. I assumed that crickets were the right size for a baby cham. for some time. I don't really know how big the rest of the recommended foods are except hornworms because I pick the darm things off my tomatos. (And I read not to feed those to any chameleons as they are poisonous if feeding on tomatoes. I assume cabbage is ok though? Also noted I should be concerned about pesticides which I don't use but neighbors may.)

Thank you again.

 

[AngieL]

You are very welcome

Cabbage isn't a good gutload as it contains a lot of oxalic acid which hinders calcium absorption! I'm in the UK so don't get hornworms but do they not get a synthetic chow like silks?

Some of these bugs get quite big so it would need to be small hatchlings or nymphs depending on what you use pinhead crickets and fruit flys are good for little ones.

 

[vcao333]

Hey, if you haven't read this blog post yet, it is extremely helpful.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/734-crickets-101.html

good luck!

 

[Kimmers]

Excellent read

Hey, if you haven't read this blog post yet, it is extremely helpful.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/734-crickets-101.html

good luck!

Thank you!