Keeping Crickets Alive

[Yessabub]

Ive bought bulk crickets a couple times now and most of them end up dieing ive read everything i put them in a 29 gallon tank (1000 Crickets) with carrots and flukers orange cube and i use i paper towel ball that i keep soaked in water but not to much so they dont drown theres also about 5 egg crates and a few paper towel rolls also i clean the tank out every other day they live for about a week with barely any deaths then all the sudden there will be days where 30 or so will die off

 

[dirrtybirdy]

I would also like to know this.

 

[Versagirl]

what size/age crickets are you buying? I used to get the large ones and after a week they were all dead...Now I buy medium and they last 3-4ish weeks

 

[Psi]

5 egg crates for 1k might not be enough.
I'm using 4 for 500 (as well as 2 small pieces) and they seem to be semi cramped for space.

I'm keeping them in a 10gal aquarium within a 20gal aquarium (no escapee's for me )

I've yet to find a single dead cricket out of this batch. But then again I've only had this batch around 10 days.
I'm only buying 3/4" as well.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

I found that if there isn't decent airflow in the enclosure they die very quickly, and the more crates for them to crawl on/hide under, the better.

 

[jannb]

Here's an older thread that was pretty good on cricket care:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/keeping-crickets-17385/

 

[Yessabub]

i buy 1/2 crickets from millbrook crickets

 

[BocaJan]

I have good luck with my 3/4s. I get them 1500 at a time and use 3 egg crates in a big bin. I give them cricket crack and use water crystals. They are hungry and thirsty when they come out of the box and you have to keep the crack and crystals in the bin all the time. I lose very few.

Don't forget they shed so you may see the husk that they shed and think you're looking at dead crickets. I get my 1/4s by the truckload and they are a little harder to keep alive. However, they shed so fast I'm never sure if I am looking at dead crickets or the husks. I don't keep a lid on mine because they never jump out. Air circulation is important along with temps in the 75 range. Too hot and they will die.

 

[Rachgreens]

Where are you keeping them? if it gets over 80 mine die pretty fast. i have about 3 thousand at a time and use the same food sources. Sometimes when the orange cubes aren't changed daily they tend to die, but not in large numbers

 

[jake01]

I need to find a place where I can get alot of clean egg crate. Right now I use the egg crate that comes with the crickets, but when it gets dirty I replace with clean paper towel/tp rolls until I get my next batch of crickets.

 

[Cassie]

I usually get my egg crates at https://www.eggcartons.com, they are pretty inexpensive and delivery is really quick.

 

[Jonas]

The only tricks to keep crickets are water and ventilation. They also need egg cartons and such to hide in, but dehydration is a quick killer, so is gas buildup and "bad air". I always make a small ventilation area at the bottom (use steel mesh).

Something that people sometimes confuse with mass-death due to problems is actually the fact that crickets dont live for very long. If you need full sized ones, just buy half grown and feed with the biggest ones as they grow. Once they get their wings, they live for a week or two (maybe more?).

 

[jadeaudio]

My crickets never like the orange cubes. Not sure why. I've had the same issue, but after doing some research you cannot expect large ones to live that long. That is the end of their life span. 3/4 inch is the best size to get. They die off fast and that is why the larger the quanitity you buy the cheaper they get. Why do you think places sell 1000 of them for only a few dollars more than buying 500? They want to move them before they die also. I accidently bought 500 of the very small ones and I never have any deaths and I have had them for 2 months now, but they are still too small for me to feed. The large ones will only live 2 to 3 weeks if your lucky. The stupid water sponge thing I bought is worthless because if it tips over you drown all your crickets and the egg crates get sopping wet. Then I discovered the crystals. They are awesome!!!! Best thing I ever bought. I found a huge bin of them at a show for $5 and they last forever. I haven't tried it yet, but I think you can reuse them? Crickets do suck and are a pain, but after a while you kind of figure out what works and what doesn't. There is no perfect way of taking care of them and you will have ones that die off.

 

[ColorCham427]

I've purchased crickets from a bunch of dealer, for some reason and I still am not so sure why, but Ghann's crickets are always so hyper active and healthy and always live on lol... wierd i know! haha

When I keep my crickets, i always separate the ones that i am going to feed off for the next few days.

the rest i keep and feed them grounded up dry cat food and offer thin slices of orange to keep their stench down with some potato chunks.

ALWAYS offer alot of hiding places. and ALWAYS make sure they have ALOT of air flow.

Spot clean their cage every 4-5 days if you have more than a thousand in one bin. seriously, u need to keep them clean.

 

[Julirs]

I keep pinheads inside. However-everything else, usually 1/4-34" stay outside in the lovely FL 95 degree temperatures. I keep them in plastic totes with a screen lid. It seems the trick is to have enough moisture for them to survive, but not enough that it kills them all. I pour dry cricket feed along one end, and add veggies every day to the other. I do make sure to keep them very clean. Again-I am ordering from LazyH Bait-very healthy and small amount of die off.

 

[Pure]

Juli..Isn't LazyH local to Florida? I wonder if they use a local species of cricket. I wonder because I've had massive die offs when keeping them out doors, if it gets that hot, 95 or over. I did only have this happen with one supplier, LLL. I didn't want to learn a lesson twice so all others have been indoors since. It wasn't the crickets, they were fine then almost at once all of 1000 were dead. My superworms also took a dirt nap that day.

 

[writh]

I use water crystals and cricket crack and i keep them in a big plastic container the big clear ones u can get anywhere. Cut a big hole on the lid almost as big as the lid itself and the sides too then use a hot glue gun to glue screen on the sides. I order a thousand at a time and very few if any die. I order from the cricket factory.

 

[thomas041]

how many of these things do your reps eat each day 1500 damn that alot. I take it you all live in the US to get temps that high.
I have a question, how low can the temperature go? Give me a break this is my first reply.