Hey! Does your crick bin stink??

[vgaines]

bedding for crickets

I use to use dried oatmeal (Quaker Oats) as a bedding for my crickets. I found that it helped a lot with the smell plus I figured it would be ok for them to snack on. I would like to do that again but I am not sure if it would be good for my chameleon to eat crickets that have eaten oatmeal...Any thoughts on that? Anyone know of any better bedding to use. I wouldn't mind having babies because I have several lizards and fire belly toads that eat a lot of crickets.

Thanks for any and all input,
Virginia

 

[Psychobunny]

I use to use dried oatmeal (Quaker Oats) as a bedding for my crickets. I found that it helped a lot with the smell plus I figured it would be ok for them to snack on. I would like to do that again but I am not sure if it would be good for my chameleon to eat crickets that have eaten oatmeal...Any thoughts on that? Anyone know of any better bedding to use. I wouldn't mind having babies because I have several lizards and fire belly toads that eat a lot of crickets.

Thanks for any and all input,
Virginia

I have been told that fine ground vermiculite works really well, but I know that cricks eat EVERYTHING that they can swallow, so that includes any substrate!!

Over the years (too many of them ) I have found it best for me to use nothing at all. Bare floor

 

[Miacane]

Sugestion/question

Just got my first pair of Chams and realized I need to buy crickets in bulk which lead me to this thread.

I agree that cleanning is the best way to keep things smelling fresh er as fresh as possible.

I have an IDEA!
What about baking soda in a tupaware with pin holes or mesh on the lid. they cant get in and eat the baking soda and hey mom does it in the fridge...

PeaNutt, neither a pea nor a nutt....discuss.....

 

[sulley]

i clean mine out every other day with viv clean.i use no substrate and dont suffer with them smelling.

 

[little leaf]

LOL - OMG YES IT DOES ! to the point of my Hubby telling me IF I can not get the stench out of the house in the next 2 hrs- both ME and the crix are moving out !!
they normally dont smell, but I have not had a chance to clean them this week- going to do that now.... teach me to skip a cleaning - I have NEVER had them smell like this before
ty for the great post

 

[little leaf]

i clean mine out every other day with viv clean.i use no substrate and dont suffer with them smelling.

EVERY DAY - you are better than me how many do you have ? it takes me about an hour just to catch them all- but there is like over 1,000 in mine -
want to come to my house and do mine

 

[Psychobunny]

EVERY DAY - you are better than me how many do you have ? it takes me about an hour just to catch them all- but there is like over 1,000 in mine -
want to come to my house and do mine

LOL!! I forgot all about this thread!!
Got a order of 1500 brown banded cricks coming from Ghann's on Tuesday

Cleaning every day!!?? WOW I wish I had someone like you living with me.
I barely have time to clean myself every day!! just kidding, obviously, I have some free time, otherwise, I wouldn't be posting here, now would I!!

 

[little leaf]

I barely have time to clean myself every day!! just kidding

LOL - you are funny ( I think that is how we all feel- , at times, I have had to decide to "do my hair" - or be sure Olive eats- lets just say I am a big fan of the pony tail ~ )

 

[sulley]

no i clean them out every other day not everyday lol

i only keep 50 at a time so its easy to maintain.i keep then in a big tub too.
i normally just pop the egg crate there sat on in a tub then grab all the runners.takes me about 30mins as most of the time there legs just fall off lol

 

[Rush2112]

I find that mine starts stinking if there is die off. I recently bought 500 crix instead of my normal 250 and half were dead already and several of those made it into my keeper. I usually buy every two weeks but may order more quickly and cycle them out.

 

[Daddio53]

Maybe this sounds like I'm being anal or acting like a clean freak, because I'm certainly not, but I clean out the cricket box every 3-4 days. I have 2 boxes, and I have an old insert from a nylon beer cooler that I can pour the living crickets into while I clean out the dirty cricket box. Crickets seem to shite their own weight in a couple days, and it does stink. I don't know how you water your crickets. I put a cotton ball in the top of a pill bottle and then soak the cotton with water. That way the crickets can suck up a drink and not be drowning in any excess water. Those filthy buggers poop all over the cotton, and I have to change out the cotton ball every other day. So basically clean box equals no stink.