mass cricket death

[Grizz]

I got up this morning went to feed morken and 90% of my crickets where on there backs, it was like they couldnt turn them selves back over. has any else had this happen? does anyone know what causes this? they just die after about an hour of trying to flip themselves over. I flipped a few over my self but it is like they are in shock.

 

[toddmkeller]

where are you located? did it get too cold last night? crickets don't just flip over on their backs, that means they are dead or dying. How big are the crix... Also what are you feeding them and what is their source of water?

-Todd

 

[Grizz]

I did snow last night. i keep them in reptile room 73-77 degrees always.I feed them grapes,collard greens,apples,carrots,kale,pears and flukers calcium enriched powder feed. they drink flukers cricket quencher with calcium. I clean there bins every week, remove veggies every day and replace with fresh. do you think they are diseased. I have been losing about 10 a week on average. I keep about 100 crickets in each bin. I have had these crickets for about a month, they where about 1" long.this is the last of 500 i got from mullberry farms.

 

[Julirs]

Sounds like they might have too much moisture. I keep 5000 crickets in a bin and don't have many die off.

 

[Grizz]

they do go through a lot of quencher. should i cut back? or maby give them less fresh veggies? On closer inspection it appears there abdomens are bloated, like they over ate and became to fat to move. the ones i flipped are still alive but cant move anywhere but on egg carton. when i put them on top of egg carton they take off like nothing happened.

 

[Julirs]

I had high die off when I was using water cubes-now I just use cricket feed and some veggies.

 

[Grizz]

Ill try just putting grapes in instead of quencher. What size bin do you have? i have three 18x24x24 plastic bins and one 18x20x24 i use to hold crix while i clean there other ones. I put 250 in and they canabalized a lot. i think my bin is to small for masses.

 

[Julirs]

My bin is about 3 feet long by 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide. I order cricket food from LuckyLure cricket farm-reasonably cheap and lasts awhile. Only the top is screened.

 

[FOREVER ENDEAVOR]

Grapes and oranges work well as a "water source". I use oranges.

 

[Vince]

Apples also provide a lot of water for crickets. That is what i use for the majority of their water. They can also get small amount of water from potato's, and carrots.

Also, crickets only live so long as adults, then die of old age. I try not to buy to many adults at a time. Smaller crickets last forever.

Good luck

 

[jukeboxpunk]

Normally

From what I have read usually if they die on their backs it is caused from toxic fumes. Those clear rubermaid bins are known to give off toxic fumes under certain circumstances when exposed to heat. Also, you might want to check the area for any carbin monoxide issues or cleaning solvents you may have used. It only takes a small dose to kill them all.

 

[jukeboxpunk]

bad batch

I did snow last night. i keep them in reptile room 73-77 degrees always.I feed them grapes,collard greens,apples,carrots,kale,pears and flukers calcium enriched powder feed. they drink flukers cricket quencher with calcium. I clean there bins every week, remove veggies every day and replace with fresh. do you think they are diseased. I have been losing about 10 a week on average. I keep about 100 crickets in each bin. I have had these crickets for about a month, they where about 1" long.this is the last of 500 i got from mullberry farms.

You might even have a bad batch of cricks. Do your crickets normally survive under the conditions they are exposed to now? What has changed in your habit of feedings and cleanings that could have resulted in this?

 

[Grizz]

im going with the poision thing. I just cleaned the bin yesterday and it seemed to happen over night. i used a few drops of bleach to about 8 gal of water i must not have rinsed well enough. this is the same way i always do it. they are in the same room as house heater, it ran a lot last night. maybe it is giving off carbon monoxide. i have detector right by door so i dont think so.

 

[Grizz]

i just checked on them again. some seem uneffected. they are a month old. they where 1/2" when i got them. but you wouldnt think they would all die off that fast from age.

 

[Chamero]

Once you have crickets die you must remove them as fast as possible. Dead crickets release toxic fumes....so I hear....and may spread to kill others.
Also, I usually like to clean my crix once a week but it seems Ive been having to clean it once every 3-4 days. Idk thought cuz it may just be that I have a small container and too many crix...? Man... Crix are a pain!

 

[chameleon97]

Once you have crickets die you must remove them as fast as possible. Dead crickets release toxic fumes....so I hear....and may spread to kill others.
Also, I usually like to clean my crix once a week but it seems Ive been having to clean it once every 3-4 days. Idk thought cuz it may just be that I have a small container and too many crix...? Man... Crix are a pain!

THANKS!! 1 cricket died (first one) then 5 more a few minutes later

 

[dodolah]

I agree with Juli about the whole water gel/ cube thing.
Now, I give them moisture via fresh veggies and fruits.

 

[Grizz]

I removed all dead ones,some where still kicking 6 hours later. the remainder seem unharmed. i checked them this morning, no more have died. I went and got 100 from pet store to replace till i can get new shipment this week. i dont think i am going to feed Morken any of the old crix just in case. i am going to free them in back yard today. they will freeze within minutes, but that is allright. or i might give them to my salamanders, from my understanding they are very resistant to toxins.