Crickets escaping and ruining my life!

[Anastasia_k]

Hi guys, I'm wondering where you all keep your crickets. I had one of those regular cricket pen boxes but the crickets keep escaping from the air holes or somewhere I don't know but they at running around the apartment and I'm afraid I'll have to call pest control services if they reproduce too much and will get in trouble with my landlord... There was one hiding in some crack under the window making unbearably loud noises all night, and the other day I found one in my bed... This is awful and I'm starting to despice those little creatures for causing so much stress plus making me feel all guilty when I have to feed them to my pet. I'm mostly writing this because I feel frustrated and seek some reassurance. I decided to keep them in the small boxes in which they sell them in the shop for now, but it makes it harder to feed them or get the right amount out since it's easier for them to escape from that little thing. If you have any suggestions about enclosure,or have experience dealing with cricket infestation in your home, please do let me know!

 

[JacksJill]

Ha! Great thread title. I feel your pain. Noisy smelly creatures.
I keep mine in a large rubbermaid tub with a cutout top that I screened over and caulked in place. The top 4 inches are lined with packing tape to keep them from crawling out. They have egg crates to hide in.
I keep this in my garage and only feed crickets when my chameleon is in his outdoor cage. The rest of the time I feed silks or dubia and the occasional super, very quiet bugs.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Crickets won't breed in your house. I think you'll find that anyone that keeps chameleons and feeds them crickets has escapees and accepts it as part of living with insectivorous reptiles. It's the pain you must endure to experience the pleasure of keeping chameleons. If they are that bothersome, try placing glue traps around and bait them with a dollup of peanut butter in the middle. Try placing them under and behind things and keep your bedding from touching the floor, if possible. They generally don't last too long in a house and have fairly short life spans at any rate.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

One of the added benefits to keeping chameleons is the wonderful calming night sounds they produce! My family and I just love the tropical atmosphere they create! The cool thing about being a chameleon breeder is that I buy a lot of crickets at a time! I mean a lot!!! I buy 16 000 crickets at a time!

 

[Anastasia_k]

Thanks for replies! I feel better now as my main concern was the breeding.

Ha! Great thread title. I feel your pain. Noisy smelly creatures.
I keep mine in a large rubbermaid tub with a cutout top that I screened over and caulked in place. The top 4 inches are lined with packing tape to keep them from crawling out. They have egg crates to hide in.
I keep this in my garage and only feed crickets when my chameleon is in his outdoor cage. The rest of the time I feed silks or dubia and the occasional super, very quiet bugs.

Could you please post a pic of the enclosure you made? Is there some door to get the crickets out?

 

[Anastasia_k]

Crickets won't breed in your house. I think you'll find that anyone that keeps chameleons and feeds them crickets has escapees and accepts it as part of living with insectivorous reptiles. It's the pain you must endure to experience the pleasure of keeping chameleons. If they are that bothersome, try placing glue traps around and bait them with a dollup of peanut butter in the middle. Try placing them under and behind things and keep your bedding from touching the floor, if possible. They generally don't last too long in a house and have fairly short life spans at any rate.

Thanks for the reassurance I seem to have some crazy wild crickets who not only escape from the tall pen that was also wrapped in two plastic bags (with air access), but they are also good at climbing walls which makes it easy for them to get anywhere, including my bed. They are also committing mass suicides in my dog's water bowl glue traps are a great idea, I will get some tomorrow

 

[JacksJill]

I'm not home yet but will post something for you later.

 

[Anastasia_k]

One of the added benefits to keeping chameleons is the wonderful calming night sounds they produce! My family and I just love the tropical atmosphere they create! The cool thing about being a chameleon breeder is that I buy a lot of crickets at a time! I mean a lot!!! I buy 16 000 crickets at a time!

Wow, that is really a lot! I liked the sounds too at first but sometimes they can get really loud. The big one that was hiding somewhere in the crack close to my bed was so loud I couldn't sleep, it was driving me crazy and violent. How and where do you keep them all though?

 

[Anastasia_k]

I'm not home yet but will post something for you later.

Thanks I want to try feeding worms too but they don't seem to sell them in the shops where I live, so will try to find online. Which ones are better for a young (about 4 month old) female veiled?

 

[shawnschameleon]

Lol I've had the same problem until I invested in a new top for my ten gallon tank and I keep the babies in a large Rubbermaid. They are only five bucks at Walmart. If your a little handy it's the way to go. You can cut a hole in the center of the lid and glue screen to cover the hole. I've gotten pretty elaborate with my cricket setup and I can truly say I no longer have escapes. Also make sure to line the top inside of the bin with packing tape. The crickets can't climb past it and just fall back down. You can also use tape instead of glue if you see the attached pictures

 

[AZChamFan]

I once moved my family room couch outside because one was hiding underneath inside it that I couldn't find and must have found some kind of resonating chamber in there because no cricket should be as loud as that one was. Drove me insane until I moved the couch outside and waited for the cricket to die! There's also something that happens to escaped crickets which gives them a life span several times longer than normal!!!!

This was already mentioned but I keep about half a dozen sticky traps around the house now which helps greatly.

 

[absolutbill]

Get a cat, that will solve your loose cricket problem in no time . Seriously though the glue traps work wonders - that said, crickets drove me nuts, so I finally switched to discoids, to supplement the supers and horn worms. Good luck. Oh, and there are always earplugs!

 

[Beelinn]

I remember when I had my first chameleon years ago. One day I came home to a bunch of wild mockingbirds on my porch, feasting on a bunch of my crickets that had escaped through a damaged delivery box. I was still finding those brown crickets, generations and a decade later. They are indeed a pain!

 

[jamest0o0]

Second the cat and use a plastic bin, cut holes out, hot glue aluminum screen over. Never had escapees with that. My GF freaks if she sees a loose bug so the cats back me up in case I drop any during feeding.

 

[Anastasia_k]

Lol I've had the same problem until I invested in a new top for my ten gallon tank and I keep the babies in a large Rubbermaid. They are only five bucks at Walmart. If your a little handy it's the way to go. You can cut a hole in the center of the lid and glue screen to cover the hole. I've gotten pretty elaborate with my cricket setup and I can truly say I no longer have escapes. Also make sure to line the top inside of the bin with packing tape. The crickets can't climb past it and just fall back down. You can also use tape instead of glue if you see the attached pictures

This looks great and fairly easy to make, I'll try that. thank you!

 

[Anastasia_k]

Get a cat, that will solve your loose cricket problem in no time . Seriously though the glue traps work wonders - that said, crickets drove me nuts, so I finally switched to discoids, to supplement the supers and horn worms. Good luck. Oh, and there are always earplugs!

Second the cat and use a plastic bin, cut holes out, hot glue aluminum screen over. Never had escapees with that. My GF freaks if she sees a loose bug so the cats back me up in case I drop any during feeding.

I have a dog who views any smaller animals as food, so cat is probably not the best idea. unfortunately his hunting skills are not as sofisticates as a cat's, but I'll get some glue traps today, hopefully that works.

 

[Anastasia_k]

Does anyone know from which age I can give her different feeders (worms and stuff) and how much of them to give? she's about 4 months old now

 

[jamest0o0]

Get a bigger cat, it'll view your dog as food

But you can add new feeders any time, just as long as they're the width or less than length between the Chams eyes

 

[jamest0o0]

I give mine silkworms hornworms bsfl and butterworms constantly. Crickets and roaches and then a few worms each day

 

[Anastasia_k]

So should I chop the worms in pieces then? Is it better to mix worms and crickets in one feeding or rotate them?