Help - my crickets keep dying!

PicassothePanther

PicassothePanther

New Member
Hey guys - I ordered 1,000 large crickets and put them in a bin with plenty of food and water.. and after 1 week, more than half of them already died!

Any suggestions? They are in a dark place, in about 70 degrees.
 
When you opened the box what did you see?

was there still food and water crystals? if not then they probably ate it all ( ude be amazed how much 1k of those guys will eat per day ) and turned on each other. Did you notice any missing limbs or looking chewed on?

referencing the previous paragraph, what did the dead ones look like? and what exactly were you feeding?

There is apparently a "Cricket Virus" that is going around and killing many crickets as they make the move to the final molt and full size. From what ive noticed its mainly effected the size of crickets available at the pet stores, large crickets at my local petco used to huge! fully grown adults. Now they are about half that size and waiting a molt or two to get there.

What I have noticed is the crickets that do make it to that final molt ( if not fed off already since I buy in smaller amount ) is they usually die in a day or two, most commonly on their backs and twitching slightly.
 
The virus you speak of is a form of a retrovirus called parvo. It has been found in Washington, Oregon and California.

It is the same retrovirus that affected the European cricket producers. Currently, it is only known to affect Acheta domesticus.

This will affect the hobby significantly as Acheta domesticus is commercially extinct in the EU because of this virus.

-jason.p

Protean Terrarium Design
www.proteanterrarium.com
 
Hey Ryan - thanks a lot, i have been ordering them from LLL, but I just placed an order with Ghann's..

As for the food, there was food in there, was feeding them greens and gutload.

The bottom of the tub was littered with cricket carcases and it stinks!

Maybe it has to do with the size of the container I'm keeping them in? I have them in about a 30 gallon -sized tub.
 
Tub size sound fine. Thats around the size I use. Is the tub getting good airflow? Also how often do you clean the tub?
 
PicassothePanther said:
Hey guys - I ordered 1,000 large crickets and put them in a bin with plenty of food and water.. and after 1 week, more than half of them already died!

Any suggestions? They are in a dark place, in about 70 degrees.
Click to expand...

They may have just died of old age, if you order Large. Order 5 week olds to be on the safe side, and you'll get a couple of weeks out of them before they start dropping.
 
swiss tahts a good idea.. maybe i'll order smaller ones. and i do not clean the cricket cage at ALL. I just scoop up the dead crickets as best I can and then I throw the new ones in. Think there's disease in there?
 
PicassothePanther said:
swiss tahts a good idea.. maybe i'll order smaller ones. and i do not clean the cricket cage at ALL. I just scoop up the dead crickets as best I can and then I throw the new ones in. Think there's disease in there?
Click to expand...

I clean mine out every time I get new crickets or when it needs it. It probably would help prevent diseases. You need to clean it... I would also recommended cutting a huge hole on the top of your lid and replacing with thick screen (if you haven't) maybe even some of the sides? Might help airflow if you didn't already do this
 
I order my crickets from LLL as well and my last batch of 6 week crickets were half dead when I dumped them into my bin. I ordered 5 week old crickets last week and when I dumped them out on Wednesday when I got them, they were all alive. Last order was the only time I had a ton of die off with my order from LLL
 
I just cant wait until my dubia colony is flourishing and I dont have to rely as heavily on crickets as a staple. The smell of crickets is starting to get old!
 
same here! I bought 100 crickets and all the large ones are still alive.. after 2 months. There really isnt any wrong way to mess up on giving roaches proper breeding conditions is there? I mean I have them in a tub with food, but not much air flow at all (they're in a closet)
 
Cleaning your insect containers on a regular basis is Very Important! Dont just clean it out when you get new crickets. Clean it about twice a week. Do what I do, have 2 cricket tubs, when the current one is dirty, transfer the crix to the clean tub. This is the easiest and fastest method to keep your insects happy and healthy. Also make sure the tubs get good airflow. A screen lid or no lid works best. Also all my crickets are coming from LLL. I think they are great. Ive used alot of sources and Ive found theres to be the best for the price and now there shipping 1000 for only $18. Good deal I think.
 
Once you go ghanns you wont go back..Ive used many cricket companys..
and Ghanns is by far the best..Cleanest and healthiest crickets of any.

I order the 4000 1/2" special they run for around 41$ shipped. with next day delivery..
generally with proper care i only have about 400 die out of the whole bunch.

You will need a screen top on your enclosure...And LOTS of egg crates.
you will need to check for dead crickets about every 2 days. and remove any you see.
Dead crix put off a harmful odor to your other crix..Also anything dead becomes consumed by bacteria very fast..killing your other crickets in a chain reaction.

i also use ghanns calcium cricket diet and my crix seem to like it far more than the lucky lure chow i was using.
Greens grow bacteria very easily, i suggest switching to carrots. slice them up pretty thin, and put them in a shallow container about 1/2" deep. only supply enough for them to eat in 2 days. This will prevent spoilage/bacteria.

To clean my containers i use grean works window cleaner(all natural ingredients and smells good!) and wipe the container down good, then spray the container down with water and give it another good wipe.

I agree about size.. adult from ghanns still only have about a week and a half to live if that.If you cup feed you will have no problem with a smaller size.

I have researched greatly on crix and raised about 6000 before.
Hope this helps! :)
 
you need to have airflow. Cut all 4 sides and the top out and hot glue insect screening in. they release a gas when they die that will kill all the rest. You need airflow to prevent this
 
Note that crix will chew through the fabric type screen. If you do the sides.
Removing the dead crix will also eliminate this problem.
 
Cricket cages dry as possble

Yes keep very clean and dry with good air flow and you will see a difference in surrvival rate of your crickets . Crickets dont do well in high humidtiy especiallly with no air flow. Try to keep the container as dry as possible and feed greens and flukers cricket quencher so theres less water in in cage. Cut out top and place screen or cotton t shirt and will make big improvement.
 
ghanns

i went to there website. I did not see that deal that you posted about for 4000 1/2 for 41 shipped... I am interested if you can tell me how to order. I did not see it in their specials
 
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