Feeders from PetSmart?
- Thread starter kevbek
- Start date
kevbek
Member
really? how much are a 100 crickets at petsmart?
windex
New Member
crickets at PetSmart here run about 10 cents a cricket, so 10$ plus tax for 100 crickets :S
happiness
New Member
I can't imagine spending $100 on 1000 crickets...
There are all different websites to buy your feeders online.
Chameleonforum has a lot of sponsors here https://www.chameleonforums.com/index.php?page=sponsors that you can buy them from.
I purchase my crickets from Ghanns cricket farm (you can google it!), Instead of paying $100, I paid $27 for 1000 crickets. There are lots of other sites that sell them too for around the same price.
& I recently purchased superworms off of ebay, I bought 500 for $14 (small size) I thought it was a great deal. I just received them today, none dead and I received well over 600. (I stopped counting after 500 lol)
I haven't tried silkworms yet and mealworms are more of a treat..
There are all different websites to buy your feeders online.
Chameleonforum has a lot of sponsors here https://www.chameleonforums.com/index.php?page=sponsors that you can buy them from.
I purchase my crickets from Ghanns cricket farm (you can google it!), Instead of paying $100, I paid $27 for 1000 crickets. There are lots of other sites that sell them too for around the same price.
& I recently purchased superworms off of ebay, I bought 500 for $14 (small size) I thought it was a great deal.
I just received them today, none dead and I received well over 600. (I stopped counting after 500 lol)I haven't tried silkworms yet and mealworms are more of a treat..
Chameleon Creator
New Member
Petsmart has 12 cent crickets by me. I just ordered 1000 from ghann crickets, they arrived today and all in great shape. Soo much cheaper than any pet store.
Although I agree with online being cheaper per insect than buying from a box pet store, or mom and pop store, there is a cost factor to not forget. If your 2 chameleons eat a total of 20 a day, that is 140 a week. You will get the crickets on February 1st, and if none die, you will not finish feeding them off until March 22nd……….. That creates a……...problem.
The cricket life span is about 7 weeks, so if you purchased 3 week old crickets (which are really too small for larger chameleons), you only have 4 weeks to get through the 1,000.
Now, instead of feeding 140 a week, you need to feed 250 a week for 4 weeks.
I have over-bought thinking "I am only paying 3-4 cents a cricket instead of 12 cents a cricket, AND no tax! If 1/2 die, I am still WAAAY ahead." Even if you end up even, crickets as the first example tend NOT to be our favorite feeder to have lots of.
Of course, when your chameleons numbers increase, and you can go through the 1,000+ without having them die off, it is worth internet buying.
The same is true of super worms for me. I bought 1,000 several months ago, and they are now going lethargic and i find them stiff and dead every week. I would have been dollars ahead buying the Pet Smart 50 count.
All feeders are perishable, and we can gut load the best ingredients, but a feeder on its' last legs probably isn't the best choice for a feeder for the chameleon.
I would suggest we estimate the daily intake of our chameleons, and buy the appropriate amount of feeders.Three cent crickets or super worms are not a bargain if you loose a high percentage, and have the extra time and costs feeding larger numbers, and cleaning bug habitats, IMHO
I would also say my views have changed since I have moved to having many different feeders instead of just 1 or 2. Instead of feeding what I bought too much of, I feed what the chameleon needs for variety; that is hard to do when you have 500 crickets left, and you realize they are adult stage, and they begin dying.
If I only had the money I "saved" by buying bulk on Crickets, Supers, Silks, and Dubias, I would have my chameleon 401K fund bulging!
CHEERS!!!
Nick
The cricket life span is about 7 weeks, so if you purchased 3 week old crickets (which are really too small for larger chameleons), you only have 4 weeks to get through the 1,000.
Now, instead of feeding 140 a week, you need to feed 250 a week for 4 weeks.
I have over-bought thinking "I am only paying 3-4 cents a cricket instead of 12 cents a cricket, AND no tax! If 1/2 die, I am still WAAAY ahead." Even if you end up even, crickets as the first example tend NOT to be our favorite feeder to have lots of.
Of course, when your chameleons numbers increase, and you can go through the 1,000+ without having them die off, it is worth internet buying.
The same is true of super worms for me. I bought 1,000 several months ago, and they are now going lethargic and i find them stiff and dead every week. I would have been dollars ahead buying the Pet Smart 50 count.
All feeders are perishable, and we can gut load the best ingredients, but a feeder on its' last legs probably isn't the best choice for a feeder for the chameleon.
I would suggest we estimate the daily intake of our chameleons, and buy the appropriate amount of feeders.Three cent crickets or super worms are not a bargain if you loose a high percentage, and have the extra time and costs feeding larger numbers, and cleaning bug habitats, IMHO
I would also say my views have changed since I have moved to having many different feeders instead of just 1 or 2. Instead of feeding what I bought too much of, I feed what the chameleon needs for variety; that is hard to do when you have 500 crickets left, and you realize they are adult stage, and they begin dying.
If I only had the money I "saved" by buying bulk on Crickets, Supers, Silks, and Dubias, I would have my chameleon 401K fund bulging!
CHEERS!!!
Nick
Chameleon Creator
New Member
True to the point where buying bulk you will have wasted feeders, but when you buy a lot of feeders you can also start your own colonies and raise them on the specific diet and nutrition your chameleon needs. Say you buy 1000 crickets online, that will run you $15 at ghanns cricket farm, I forget the shipping cost so let's just say the order totals at $40. If 300 are wasted then you technically spent $40 on 700 crickets. That comes out to be just shy of 6 cents a cricket, after the others dying off.
700 crickets at Petsmart would cost you $84 not including tax.
Plus if you buy them at once you do not need to keep running back and forth to purchase crickets, so saves money on gas as well.
Even if half the crickets die then your at 500 crickets for $40
Petsmart would be $60 for 500 crickets. Not including tax.
I will never go back to Petsmart unless it's an emergency.
Ghanns cricket farm also uses a different type of cricket, supposedly more durable and they don't stink as much
700 crickets at Petsmart would cost you $84 not including tax.
Plus if you buy them at once you do not need to keep running back and forth to purchase crickets, so saves money on gas as well.
Even if half the crickets die then your at 500 crickets for $40
Petsmart would be $60 for 500 crickets. Not including tax.
I will never go back to Petsmart unless it's an emergency.
Ghanns cricket farm also uses a different type of cricket, supposedly more durable and they don't stink as much
kplatvoet
Member
I was buying crickets on-line till I found out that my local pet store gets their deliveries every Wednesday and that I can just get a box of 500 or 1000 from them at pretty much the same price as I could getting them on-line (29.00 per 1000) Since I'm feeding 3 and a bearded dragon and get a coupon for $1.40 every time I get them I switched- (The store never told me I could get the box price till I told them my cricket shipment was late in the mail). The beardy is still young and goes through them quickly - I'll probably spend more time on trying to raise them this summer - the temps in my house are all over the place but my husband is working on the "reptile room" so I'll have more room to play with it - the silkworms have the best spot in the house for breeding and my first batch seems to be on it's way- they take a lot less space.
Ninkylou
New Member
I agree with Nick, but want to add if your chams are young and the crickets you buy in bulk online out grow their feeding needs your are stuck with a lot of stinky, noisy bugs....well that was my mistake...
I buy my dubias, supers, horns etc online but, since I don't feed a high percentage of crickets and I only have two chams, I get a few of those at Petsmart. I do try to alway get them on their delivery day and I have some great staffers there who indulge me and pick and choose the size I want. That is one of the problems there, the size variance is HUGE.
I take em home and gut load them overnight before I start feeding them off. Now to clarify I only feed cricks a few times a month. I despise them, but their are fun for the boys to hunt.
I buy my dubias, supers, horns etc online but, since I don't feed a high percentage of crickets and I only have two chams, I get a few of those at Petsmart. I do try to alway get them on their delivery day and I have some great staffers there who indulge me and pick and choose the size I want. That is one of the problems there, the size variance is HUGE.
I take em home and gut load them overnight before I start feeding them off. Now to clarify I only feed cricks a few times a month. I despise them, but their are fun for the boys to hunt.
Ninkylou
New Member
My petsmart 'guestimates'...one time I asked for 25 and am certain I got about 150....I never get shorted. They just eyeball the number. I say they should bar code them and then they can scan them as they jump into the bag.....
I always initiate a new clerk..I tell her that I want crickets then point into the bin and say...'Okay, I want that one.... and that one..." I love the look on their faces.
Juliaf3
Established Member
happiness
New Member
You're right about the variance.
I bought about 60 from the "adult" size box hoping to breed them and they were anything but adults.
Didn't chirp, didn't have wings.. Waste of money. They ended up dying.When I saw the crickets in the bag the employee handed to me, I really wanted to ask her if we could throw all these back into the box and pick out the actual adults.. but I decided not to.
The petsmart down the street from me counts each one. :\
When I first bought my chameleon, I bought about 150 crickets for over $15!! That was a killer. :\ They didn't last long :|
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