Crickets dying?

I dont fish and the dead ones Stink..they get all mushy! Yea, ive tried turning them over. We don't spray, use only natural green cleaners but never int eh bedroom where the crickets are.. Im sincerely confused by all this.
 
blackbetty said:
I dont fish and the dead ones Stink..they get all mushy! Yea, ive tried turning them over. We don't spray, use only natural green cleaners but never int eh bedroom where the crickets are.. Im sincerely confused by all this.
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I would advise against feeding a dead cricket. It died as a result of something. Even if it is harmless I wouldn't take that chance.
 
Ryan Jarosek said:
I would advise against feeding a dead cricket. It died as a result of something. Even if it is harmless I wouldn't take that chance.
Click to expand...

Can I get a toxocology report? Maybe all mine are some kind of cricket crack addicts and they died of an OD? :) LOL.,,
 
Alright, Ive come to the conclusion it MUST be the tank I use.. I bought 4 roaches today and 3 were belly up within 30 minutes.. i dont understand it.. A before, I dont use chemicals and its got good air ventilation, room temp..and Ben doesnt like them..They are HUGE..like bigger than his head..they are dead anyways but the live one he just eyed and then ran to a corner and hid...
 
I agree with the rest, toxicity issue in all likelihood. I keep my crickets in the rubbermaid containers too. Wash all veggies and fruits you feed them, wash the container with hot water only. Cut a large square out of the top of the container and silicon a mesh or screen top on. Keep them in a dark place where they get some air flow and keep them clean and dry at around 75-80 degrees. Look in on them once a day and look for dead ones. Those dead ones might have had parasites, poisoning, or simply bad genes, regardless, remove them before they get squishy and stinky as they will affect the rest of the crickets and more will die. Particularly if the rest of the tiny brained little omnivores try to cannibalize the dead ones. When you clean the water and food dishes use only hot water. I use a cut up sponge for the water dish to keep them from drowning. I also use a lot of fruits like apple and orange. I also use quaker oatmeal as a dry feed and mix a light dusting of vitamin supplements in. Thus far, I have only had a handful die out of the 1000 I ordered from Armstrong almost two weeks ago.

I do the same with mealworms, soon to be replaced with superworms, and they are on the way to metamorphosing into beetles. My Chameleon loves the pupae and recently shed grubs.
 
I did what was mentioned on here and cut the bottom out of one of my bins and attached the plastic mesh stuff and put the regular bin underneath to catch the poo and sure enough today I only had one die!

Thanks so much for the tips!!! Now to purchase some Cricket Crack and water gel.
 
How old (what size) are the crickets?
How big is the tank ?
How is the tank container ventilated? (A plastic container with ventilation vents cut out and replaced with screen works better than a tank)
Have you considered offering a different food to them?
What temperature are you keeping them at?
Do you remove dead ones quickly?
Is it damp? (they need moisture, but they dont seem to like it humid)
Did anything go moldy in the container?
 
Im stuck. I got a shipment of 100 from Dave and they survived 2 days in the mail..within 2 hours here.. about half are dead now..didnt even get to use any! just on the backs limp. Water is orange water quencher, food is oats (cricket feed) fresh cleaned carrots and greens. they have places to hide. Kept in large critter keeper with plastic slotted top. No extra moisture. again I dried dark in acabinet, out int he sun., in part shade, up high, down low...EVERYTHING.... Kept in room temp about 73 and decently lit..I just dont get it.. There has got to be something wrong with that container I guess even though I thoroughly washed it...this sucks!!!!
 
I know, I just dont have another avail I put the ones that are remaining into the Red eyes habitat. they seem to do well int here if they stay away form the water and Ill just scoop em out.. throwing out the container now..Hmm, wonder what it could be..:(
 
A really effective way to keeping crickets is to have really good ventilation, but the ventilation needs to be at the bottom. That smell, is mostly ammonia and other lethal chemicals that crickets are sensitive to. When a batch of them starts to die, you will get a lot more. You need to keep it very clean, try using a very dry substrate maybe oatmeal and vent from the bottom. go to one of your local petstores and ask them about their practices and how they keep them alive. I'm sure they have their little secrets.
 
the pet stores have open bins are one, and the other is a closed container with glass and both have egg carton in them..
Vent from the bottom? How do I do that AND use substrate? Wouldnt it fall out of the bottom?
 
Alright, Im confused! LOL.. So, I dont use substrate, never thought there was a reason to?
I threw away about 10 mire crickets this morning that were left behind int he container. The ones I put in Leos cup that I thought were dying were kicking this morn (until they were eaten that is)..but the ones I placed in Bens were mostly dead. (about 5-7 more)..I didn't dust any of them so I know that's not it..No clue.. Its gotta be the container..Its a large Critter keeper from Petsmart, but it came to me used, although I did disinfect it. Is it possible that something slipped through/ I know crickets are pretty susceptible to diseases...
 
LOL....you know you are doing something wrong when the escapees out live the ones you are trying to raise. That's what happened on my first batch.....damn escaped :rolleyes:crickets kept chirping and rubbing it in, two weeks after I had to dump the bin and start all over.
Now I am on my 2nd generation. (Large open bin in the garage with a clamp light for heat).
 
I use a 10 gallen fish tank with a lockable screen top. Made by all-glass and the same exact one is available at petco, petsmart, ect but different name brands but they all say that they are really made by all-glass, called critter keepers often. I used to use cricket keepers by lee's but that got to be too troublesome.

this way I can fit 18-eggs sized cartons on both sides with a water and food dish in the middle.
I move all the cartons to one side to clean with water only, then back to the other side.

this has worked the best for me, I have the same exact aquarium for my roaches but I have't gotten them to breed yet.

I can easily keep an order of 1000 crickets for a month or more. I order then a bit small at 5/8's cause they grow. either way they don't get out. Feed more of em to my cham when they are small and feed less as they grow.
With cricket keepers I had more escappee's than feeders. I still have a couple die a day, but that's about 60-70 over a month out of 1000(probably more like 1500)
 
I use a big rubbermaid container and the top is made of screen. and on the two sides i have a 12x12 hole cut into it covered with window screen. I have the ocassional few die off but thats it. Also i only use hot water and paper towels to clean it.

The most important thing i have found is that EVERY DAY the dead and poo needs to be cleaned out.
 
Today I invested in a thousand supers. I am hoping they will breed better for me so I no longer have to fight the cricket battle. :)
 
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