Keeping large quantities of Crickets

[bendecki]

Hey everyone,

Still new to this hobby but my girlfriend has a bearded dragon, a gecko, and a veiled chameleon. We started buying crickets in bulk to save money but we don't have the best setup to keep them, as we found out the hard way lol. Our cricket pens look like biohazards currently so we need to upgrade to more space.

I was wondering what y'all keep them in? I know they have large cricket keepers you can get online but they were kind of expensive. We are looking to house about 250-500 crickets and would really appreciate any advice you have on how to store them and not have the area turn into a biohazard lol.

Thanks for your help

 

[blackhawk007]

I use a 20 gallon long, and a 33 gallon fish tank with screen to house them. But I also order 1500 at a time. I use up one tank till they are gone, then place the next order in the other tank so I can clean the dirty one. I already have these tanks laying around from my saltwater reef setup though.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

This is how I keep my bulk crickets:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/511-keeping-crickets.html

It works really well for me and I hardly have any die offs so they don't smell at all. I order anywhere from 500-1500 at a time.

 

[absolutbill]

I use a 10 gallon tank for about 1000 at a time, and clean it thoroughly between re-filling it. So, after all 1000 are fed off, I'll get another batch, and wash it all out with soap (I use Dawn) and water, dry it completely, and then re-fill it. Make sure there's no left-over moisture as that will cause your crickets to die off more quickly than normally.

With multiple animals that might need differently sized crickets, I use 2 tanks, one for each size. Then, when the small ones get "too big" for the animals eating them, I just transfer them to the larger tank if there are still some there. Or, I'll just rotate the tanks, making my "small" tank the "large" one. Sorry if this doesn't make sense - I just woke up from a nap and am a bit groggy.

Michelle

 

[K9Luvn]

This is how I keep my bulk crickets:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/511-keeping-crickets.html

It works really well for me and I hardly have any die offs so they don't smell at all. I order anywhere from 500-1500 at a time.

This system that Ferret has is what I went with after seeing and reading about it. I am very pleased with it.

The only thing different that I did was also added screen to the bottom and I sit the bin in a kitty litter pan and most of the frass falls out of the bottom screen and I just sweep it off into the trash daily

 

[bendecki]

Thanks for all the advice. I think I am going to have to go with Ferret's idea because it seems to be the cheapest since I don't have spare tanks laying around.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

The only thing different that I did was also added screen to the bottom and I sit the bin in a kitty litter pan and most of the frass falls out of the bottom screen and I just sweep it off into the trash daily

That's brilliant! I think I'll need to make that modification to mine!

That tub was like $3 at Walmart so it was very cost efficient.

 

[blackhawk007]

duplicate post sorry

 

[blackhawk007]

I agree with ferret, this is a great idea and kinda makes me want to change over to this.

 

[K9Luvn]

That's brilliant! I think I'll need to make that modification to mine!

That tub was like $3 at Walmart so it was very cost efficient.

I saw the screen bottom from someone else... but can't remember who. I would like to give them credit for it.

 

[grimjob]

This is just the thread I was looking for thanks for all the info every1 your the best

 

[bendecki]

so I came up with another question while pondering this over. What is the best way to get the crickets out of these bigger enclosures with out getting a billion of them out?

just seems like this setup would make it a little harder to get access to just a few crickets and take them out and feed them to my little guy

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

The toilet paper roles are perfect for that! There usually aren't a ton of them in there because of the egg crates that they like to hide in better. And if there are too many you just shake some of them out of the roll before taking it out to get the right amount. It takes a little practice at first but now I can pull out the perfect amount every time.

 

[absolutbill]

I'm a big fan of the dustbuster method. I have one that is ONLY used for crickets, and keep it next to the bin. When I need crickets I just suck up the amount I need and transfer them to the dusting bin (a small cricket keeper). I should mention that I've been keeping chameleons for 4 years and have only recently been able to touch a cricket - and usually it ends with me jerking my hand away . With the dustbuster is doesn't hurt the crickets at all, and helps me keep what's left of my sanity.

Michelle

 

[bendecki]

both great are great ideas thanks!!