Still no clean solution to this...

B

barnaby

New Member
Hi all!

Been a proud chameleon owner for one month now and still haven't found a "clean" way to feed them crics!

Damn buggers jump, run, I always end up shaking them from some pieces of cardboard into the enclosure (and one or two of them jump to my lap!!), and when I have to dust them it's even more difficult!

Anyone has any clean, straight way of grabbing the crics, dust them, and leave them in the enclosure without turning the room into a war zone??

please...

Thanks!
 
yes...i hate chasing crix and I hate touching them with my hands, esp before I'm about to be around people

get a large tub where they can roam, if you have baby crix which we all know are fantastic climbers, take the lid of the rubbermaid tub in which you store and drill several large diameter holes in the lid for air exchange

at walmar or pet smart pick up a small to medium aquarium skimmmer!

take the bottom of a bottle water cup and cut it with a razor blade and dull the sides with a lighter(don't burn it just hold it at a distance so the radiant heat slighty dulls the sharp edges or just use a dull cup) poke holes at the bottom so water can pass through it and your crix won't drown

poke a small hole at the top and create a hooking mechanism so you can easily latch it somewhere in your cage, I love to change the location so my cham gets to hunt different scenarios

when you scoop the crix out of your tub with your aquarium skimmer, pinch under the rim so you have all the crix enclosed in the bottom portion of your skimmer.....in your dusting cups make sure not to have excess dust so you don't have to waste any or fish them out the idea is to go directly from your dust cup to your feeder cup without losing any on the way which can prove to be a challenge til technique is down.... you can also just dust in your feeder cup but this introduces a lot of dust in your cage which is messy and inefficient

hang your feeder cup with your dusted crix and enjoy...i use to do all kinds of weird stuff until I got that routine developed, now feeding is a breeze

what else I like about using the tub is small crix climb up the side so you can take your dusting cup right up to them and bang them in from patting on the side...its fun i'm like mvp of the cricket basketball league...call me steve nash :D
 
I just use a small Tupperware dish. I sprinkle some supplement into it, put it under the cardboard in the cricket cage and shake the cardboard a little. Some will fall right into the dish then I throw a lid on it. Shake the dish to dust them a little them dump them in the Lizard cage.
 
i sprinkle a little supplement in my mouth , then grab a fistful of crix and shove them into my mouth also. With a clockwise swirling motion of my tongue, I dust the crix, then spit 'em into the cage. Works great; I haven't passed a parasite to a cham yet!
 
I do the same thing. i just use a dish put the crix in it and then dust and swish. after that i just throw the hole thing in the cage. It works goo cuz you can see exactly how many they are eating and catch problems early.
 
The method i use is to put the container in the freezer for a minute or two. They slow down or freeze, then you do what you have to do and they thaw out in a few minutes.
 
What I do is... after I dust my crix and am ready to release them into the cage I put them into the pot of his ficus plant. Its a tall pot and the soil is not all the way to the top. There is enough space from the top to the soil that they cant really jup out or just dont try. I think they are comfortable being with the trees. Anyway, my cham comes right down the stem of the ficus and hunts away. Ive noticed less crickets roaming around the cage and he seems to be used to the spot. Kinda like cup feeding but more natural I guess. As for grabbing.... just somethin you gotta get used to I guess.
 
umm no they aren't, not even close, they walk around in bacteria and tiny cricket poop, even if you are keeping your cricket tub clean every single day you'd still be crazy to touch that and touch your mouth or face, so when you say they are cleaner than you are, thats the stupidest thing i've heard in awhile
 
Hello I keep my crickets in a large tote.I use egg crates and plastic tubes 1in-2in in diameter I place the tubes around the ede of the bottom of the tote then shake the egg crates so the crickets naturally run to the walls of the tote and try to find refuge in the tubes.I grab a tube and a couple good taps and the crix fall into the cup with dust in it allreadty .Shake cup dump in cages or feeding cups and thats it.You will find a way you prefer.This forum is great for exchanging info.And if you dont have plastic tubes theres always the good old cardboard paper towel role. It will harber more bacteria and cant be sterilized like the plastic but you can always throw them out .
Kevin
Chameleon76:cool:
 
TOILET PAPER TUBES

leave one or two in your cricket container. they will hide in there which is perfect. i usually place a cup in the cricket container then shake the tube over the cup.
 
Hm... how come nobody really mentioned the cricket keeper with the two tubes on em?

I usually bring that cricket keeper to the pet store so i can have them put my crickets in the container already so i don't have to go through the hassle of transfering them from a plastic bag. I drop in a few veggies to gut load em. When I'm ready to feed my chams I take one of those tubes, shake em into a 2 liter soda bottle with the top cut off, dust em there. Then I tip that bottle and let the crickets crawl out into the cage themselves. If that doesn't work... the dusting in the mouth and spitting them out sounds good...
 
here is what i do:
1. Buy a cricket keeper. They have a wonderful blacktube that for some reason those stupid crickets just waltz into it (make sure you check if the crickets that gets in are enough for your cham).

2. Buy a noodle keeper. (I bought it from a japanese market. It's basically a tall glass tupperware that are used to keep pasta. it has a lid with 2 openings that you can open individually.)
I put enough amount of my supplement.

3. Jerk the blacktube into the tupperware so all the crickets fall off. and shake vigorously! By the time you finish, the cricket will be dusted with supplement and all of them are dizzy:D (I'm mean).
Remember shake it just enough to make them dizzy, not dead!

4. while they are dizzy, pour them into the enclosure or into the feeding tub.
I have NEVER have any jumping escapees eversince.

A second way:
Just use a clear plastic. Put the supplement and all the crickets there with the blacktube and shake shake shake!
And then just pour the crickets inside (it works because you can just put a half part of the plastic inside (where all the crickets located) and close the door so the half side of your plastic is outside of the cage. and slowly pull the plastic out. It will force the crickets out of the plastic. and they won't escape since the door is already close.
 
booshified said:
TOILET PAPER TUBES

leave one or two in your cricket container. they will hide in there which is perfect. i usually place a cup in the cricket container then shake the tube over the cup.
Click to expand...

DING DING DING!!! This is the best way i have found, and SUPER EASY. I use to have the same exact problem as you.. i hated the dam things (not that i like em now)

I just wish i had thought of it myself, the toilet paper roll not only gives them a great hiding spot.. but all ya do is just pick it up, hover over a "dusting container" and give it a little shake.. wazam! out comes 6-8 crickets!!! Its perfect and i highly recommend this to anyone looking to try something new!
 
I stick a tube in the tank where I keep my crickets. The crickets hide in the tube. Once I get the amount I want, I remove the tube and shake it over a small critter keeper. I use the critter keeper to gutt load the crickets and once it's time to feed them off, I dust them and dump them into the cage.

Pretty easy and I don't have to touch them or be cautious of them escaping.
 
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