I am beginning to reallly really dislike crickets!

[Jeni]

Here's the problem, my boyfriend won't let me keep crickets in the house. (They stink and chirp at night) Ok, we have a garage.....but! I can not keep ants away from my cricket tank. I end up setting free most of the 20 crickets I buy every other day. My boyfriend and I both kinda think the crickets are dirty and smelly. Worms seem to be so much easier, cleaner, ect......

My question is, Can I use other insects as my main staple or are crickets the best for beloved Oliver? He is a Veiled baby boy (4 months) and is also eating some plant now, loves his worms! He also loves crickets! Can I put calcium powder supplement on the worms? Are worms, even in variety of types, mot the best food? He likes meal worms, wax worms, and silkworms. I guess I could drive everyday to the pet shop and buy what crickets I need but this isn't practical. Just looking for some opinions..... Thank you!!!

 

[Dunnigan]

Silkworms, or you could start a Dubia Roach colony.

 

[hallenhe]

Don't be turned off by the name "roach"; Dubia roaches are not smelly and many people prefer them to crickets. (And chams love them. And they don't chirp.) If sticking with worms, silkies are probably the best staple worms; mealworms and waxworms are more for treats. When he's a bit bigger, he'll love superworms.

 

[Dunnigan]

Dubias are very easy to breed and you can regulate how fast or slow they reproduce by the amount of heat that is provided. They cannot climb either.

 

[Ranka]

you could place a tray with water underneath the recipient where you have your crickets and this will keep ants away.

 

[Pure]

Silkworms, or you could start a Dubia Roach colony.

Ditto this. I'm still using crickets, but as soon as my hisser and dubia colonies are up to speed. No more chirping in my house! I tried silks but don't care for the attention they need.

The hissers are cool but damn they give me the creeps. LOL

 

[WelshOneEmma]

Where are you based? I often use locusts, but I am based in the UK so they are easier to get!

 

[AJA]

In my experience only the adult crickets chirp. You could try getting smaller crickets that are healther than the adults instead. Also, the stink is caused by moisture, so perhaps its your husbandry skills that need tweaking.

You can also try praying matnis, stick bugs or flies. You might want to try only a couple of a new food item before you invest a lot into them, in case your cham is finicky.

 

[Powers]

Bottome line, crickets suck. Go with roaches

 

[Jeni]

Wow!!

Thanks for all the input. I will be looking into the roaches and other ideas!!!! Where the heck do you get stick bugs?? hmmmmm......

 

[Lizardlover]

stickbugs are illegal but not impossible to get

 

[Malicious]

Get a new boyfriend......


I like bugs.....hint..hint..















You can use silkworms as a staple, and as many have said dubia roaches aswell.

Crickets are dirty and smelly no matter how often you clean their enclosure... Variety is best when providing a healthy balanced diet for your chameleon, so try a few. Some chameleons have different taste, your going to have to experiment with feeders.

You can try keeping 50-100 crickets at a time, to keep the dirty and stinky to a minimium.

Good luck,
Jay