Housing 1000 crickets

[chuka1212]

My order of 1000 crickets is due to arrive tomorrow. I figure my new veiled will eat quite alot, in addition to the other reptiles I have.

I was just in the garage setting up a 10 gallon aquarium for them, and thought, holy crud, I am getting 1000 crickets! This may not be big enough.
I have an empty 20 gallon long, but would hate to dirty it up with nasty crickets but will if I have to.

How do you all house your huge shipments of crickets? I did a search on these forums but no one seemed to mention the sizes of the containers they use... and what size do you think I should use?

 

[tru510]

There is no way a 10 gal can hold 1K crickets. I use a rubber made tub works great. I have a good size maybe 20 gal wide I dont know the diminution on it but it was like $7 bucks at walmart or target. I just cut the middle out and put some screen then clued it to the top and called it a day.

 

[SuperRad]

www.keepingchameleons.com/diy.html
click on cricket keeper.
Most people use the rubbermaids as well.
As long as you have stacks of egg crate there will be enough room in that 10 gallon.

that's how i store my cricks. order 1000 at a time as well

 

[summoner12]

Get something bigger than a 10gal. but it'll work for now. If you can find a way to vent the air inside of the tank, it'll help keep the rickets alive.

This is my keeper. I am not sure of the size, but it is rubbermaid.

Yes... there is a hole..... they keep eating through... make sure you buy steel or aluminum screen

Here you can see the fan that draws air out of the container. I use a 40mm computer fan hooked up to a 12vdc power supply.

As time goes on the screen will build up some dust. Compressed air to blow out the screen works great.

I keep 1k crickets in this container no prob. You will need egg crate. If you order a bulk shipment the box the crickets come in will have egg crate and should suffice. Just be sure to add some toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls. They also help with unloading crickets at feeding time.

 

[DarkRapture]

airflow is key. its really easy to make your own container, i like this one the best, and great instructions too!!:
http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-97-page-1.html

a good tip to keeping them alive is cleaning habits and feeding properly. the 10g will work for now if set up with a lot of places to hide. if you glue egg crate together so that there is space between and set up roughly 12X12" 'blocks' of them. 1 or 2 or whatever you can fit in the container is fine. i keep about 200 crix at a time and 1 block is more than enuf. place the 'blocks' in vertically so that all cricket poop, sheds, and dead bodies can fall right to the bottom. clean this out each week for sure. i have a screened area in the bottom of one corner and all i have to do is tilt and gently shake the bin so all the poops fall out in to the garbage can. easy cleanup!

for food i use 2 jar lids or cut bottoms from dixie cups. use 1 for dry gutload and the other for fresh veggies and greens.

its cheaper to make your own gutoad in a grinder unless you order large quantities of it - but it won't be as healthy as what ingredients you could use. my recipe is simple: hamster food (alfalfa pellets, kibbles, various seeds -no large shelled seeds like sunflower, cracked corn, wheat, oats) fish flakes, calcium powder with vitamins and D3, peanuts, a bit of coconut, and a bit of uncooked pasta. i put it all in the grinder and make a few batches. it fills a sandwich container and lasts quite a while! i would put yeast too but it doesn't keep too long.

i wet down the greens and offer them every day and remove all the uneaten wilted stuff. i change the gutload every couple days cuz it gets little poops in it. additional water doesn't need to be supplied if fresh greens and veggies (like squash, carrots...) are offered everyday and moistened - not soaked.

this should be the best way to keep them alive, and the least stinky. i find that if i keep the food fresh and clean out poops and dead bodies frequently, i have about 5-6 die a week! and it doesnt really stink either. it takes more time this way but i think its effective

 

[summoner12]

I got my ideas from that link provided. lots of good info on that page.

 

[chuka1212]

Awesome info guys. Thanks so much! Keeping my crickets alive for months was my main concern, so I will definately follow some of these guidelines. It make take a bit more work but it sure beats going to the petstore once a week.

 

[Washoe]

This plastic architectural planter is the best method I’ve so far found for keeping 1000+ crickets. It’s exactly 24” tall and approx. 28” wide. Even for large crickets, it’s escape-proof. Under it is a 25-watt heating pad. I lose almost no crickets with this setup as long as I feed them ad libitum. Out of a box of 1000, I lose maybe 20 – 30 crickets.

 

[Nicodemayo]

yeah me and my roommates order 1500 at a time and we use a big tupperware container similar to summoners but we dont even put the lid on it. If its deep enough they're to dumb to jump out so they wont escape. Just put the fresh egg crates from the in the tup and toss in some dry gutload, some greens and some fruit sometimes and your all set, thats what we usually do and we dont have hardly have any die on us.

 

[lonomac]

I use a 15 gal aquarium and its always worked just fine. I order 1000 at a time. I have 3 layers of egg cartons to give them more space but as long as theyre kept fed theyve always been fine to me.

 

[nightcrawler]

i get about 5000 at a time, and i just throw them in my sisters room.
she doesnt notice because shes never home, and she has a mess of
junk on the floor so they have plenty to climb on.
i just cut an apple in half and chuck it in there.
sometimes ill toss some greens in there too.
whenever i need some i just open the door and send my cat in and
she chases them out one by one.

its a neat trick, ill make a video of it someday.

 

[Washoe]

I can't wait to see it.

 

[Dankmeleon]

i find that two groups of 500 work better than housing them all together

 

[Justin Carl]

Get something bigger than a 10gal. but it'll work for now. If you can find a way to vent the air inside of the tank, it'll help keep the rickets alive.

This is my keeper. I am not sure of the size, but it is rubbermaid.

Do you see the cricket that is loose next to the sharpie?
Cool stuff everyone!
I use a rubbermaid.
K.I.S.S.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

I use the cheapest trash can you can buy - less than $5 at walmart. The ugly thin plastic black ones. Crickets can not climb up the walls, and they're very deep.

I have a clamp lamp on the side for warmth, and it keep sthem dry as heck, too.

A cup of water crystals and one of dry food stays in all the time, and I throw in greens often. The bin is wid eenough that you can stack 4-5 egg crates in it - VERTICALLY - and house several thousand crickets in it.

I stack them vertically, so the waste falls down and out of the egg crate.

It's been working very well.

The last few months I've been getting adults, not my usual 3/4 inch. It's working well. With the subadult veileds, I actually go through 2,000 crickets!

In the past, the adult crickets died off before I coudl feed them off. I've reached th epoint where it's better to get the bigger, shorter lived crickets than the smaller, longer lived ones...

 

[summoner12]

Do you see the cricket that is loose next to the sharpie?
Cool stuff everyone!
I use a rubbermaid.
K.I.S.S.

lol As I stated before. I didn't use the right screen and they have managed to chew a few holes. You can see patches in that photo. If you use the right stuff this isn't an issue.

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

10 gallon with egg crates/ paper towel rolls works for me.. clean weekly, and provide a fresh supply of food and water.

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

to add to my post, i have had a few chams get mouthrot in the past... i stopped feeding them inchers becuase of this.. i use 1/2 crickets exclusivley now and have not had a problem since.

 

[gentlejamo]

I am also getting sick of endless trips to the pet store for more crickets. I get them for a god price, but once I get my veiled, things will change. I was going to start a thread in regards to this issue, but we now have one and a few good links! thanks guys.

Considering how much chams eat, I will most likely set up one of the large rubbermaid bins and what not. What temp do you keep yours at?

 

[summoner12]

I am also getting sick of endless trips to the pet store for more crickets. I get them for a god price, but once I get my veiled, things will change. I was going to start a thread in regards to this issue, but we now have one and a few good links! thanks guys.

Considering how much chams eat, I will most likely set up one of the large rubbermaid bins and what not. What temp do you keep yours at?

I keep mine at room temp... but right now that can be anywhere from 70-85 degrees. 70 degrees is at night and 85 is mid afternoon. My apt gets a LOT of sun because we face south-south-west. In the summer i try to run the A/C but I don't run it much cooler than those temps.