Vacation tips and crickets

[jackthejellydragon]

Hi everybody. I am going to be on a trip for a week and have some questions. I can only keep crickets alive for about a week and if I’m lucky a week and a half. I keep them in the cricket keeper and give them kale beet greens and carrots. I have somebody coming everyday and the lights are on timers. I have a roach Ben that is doing okay but isn’t doing great I have about 4 or 5 winged roaches and lots of big ones. I give them food whenever they need it and I put in super worms with them. The super worms are breeding and multiplying and the roaches are breeding and multiplying very slowly but I thought saw my first batch of eggs in the Roach ben a few days ago. Do you have vacation tips or know how I can keep the crickets alive longer.

thank You for the help

 

[jamest0o0]

Roaches don't lay eggs, some lay ooths, but most we keep as feeders are live birthers.

How old is your chameleon? An adult could easily go a week without food if needed.

 

[kinyonga]

How do you have the crickets set up? Can you post some photos please?

 

[ERKleRose]

Are you using raw or cooked/blanched/etc kale?

 

[jackthejellydragon]

My chameleon kiwi is about 1 year 3 months old. Thank you for telling me about the roach eggs i Have discoids and did not no that. My crickets are set up in a large cricket keeper with all my gut loads such as carrots beet greens kale and sweet potato, and sometimes orange. just finished the last of my crickets will clean out the keeper and send some pictures. The kale is all organic from Publix.

 

[ERKleRose]

Raw kale binds calcium and is high in oxalates, so it shouldn't be used unless cooked properly

 

[jackthejellydragon]

Ok have been doing that the whole time how should i cook it.

 

[ERKleRose]

I don't know, I've never used it, sorry! Hopefully someone else can chime in on that for you!

 

[jackthejellydragon]

Ok thank you for the help

 

[jackthejellydragon]

I don't know, I've never used it, sorry! Hopefully someone else can chime in on that for you!

Ok thank you for the help

 

[jamest0o0]

Raw kale binds calcium and is high in oxalates, so it shouldn't be used unless cooked properly

Nope I think you got this confused with spinach and some other greens. Kale is low in oxalates. Kale is of the cruciferous family and tends to be higher in goitrogens which may effect thyroid health if excessively used. Otherwise it's very healthy. This is one of the reasons it's good to alternate, most vegetables/fruits have anti nutrients of some sort. I like to alternate back and forth between greens of different families so that one isn't overused. In moderation they're all perfectly safe IMO

 

[ERKleRose]

Thanks for the correction! I swear I saw some threads on here a few years ago talking about how kale binds calcium but can be used if cooked

 

[kinyonga]

Here you go @ERKleRose ...
https://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/kale-sheds-bum-rap-on-kidney-stones/

 

[ERKleRose]

Here you go @ERKleRose ...
https://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/kale-sheds-bum-rap-on-kidney-stones/

Thanks!

 

[DeShawni Green]

Back on the subject of keeping crickets longer. Here are a few tips I have found help from experience:

1) Clean cricket condos - try to keep the place they live free of dead crickets. They release toxins that kill and sicken live crickets, and end up causing a chain reaction.

2) Keep food and water in separate containers - this might seem obvious, but again this helps keep things clean. I've seen people just toss some veggies into the bin with crickets. If you use both dry food and fresh food, use separate containers for these as well. See #1

3) Replace all old food, water, and 'egg cartons' (if needed) at least weekly. Veggies end up rotting, water/cartons get dirty, and again crickets get sick/die. See #1

4) Crickets need warmish temps to stay alive. Too hot they will die, and too cold they will cannibalize each other. See #1

5) Adequate room and air flow - I put these two together because they go hand in hand. You basically need a 2ftx2ftx2ft at a minimum for 250 crickets (bigger is better). Also make sure the tub/bin has good ventilation.

These tips will help keep crickets alive longer.

 

[Lindasjackson]

I use to buy crickets 500 at a time when I had anoles as pets and I fed them oranges, that’s what the breeders told me to do, it helps them smell better. I kept them in a large plastic garbage can with the lid on but it had a large hole cut out and screen glued in place. I don’t remember having large losses. Since I’ve gotten Eustis, my jacksons Cham, Ive been buying crickets 20/at a time and they keep dying! Im feeding them carrots and apple, and some mazuri gut load. They’re in a critter keeper with som egg carton. Why are they dying?

 

[kinyonga]

Is the size of the crickets different? Temperature? Humidity?

 

[Lindasjackson]

They are in a warm but not hot area of the house. I keep them clean and give fresh fruit and veg every day and fresh mazuri gut load every day.

 

[Lindasjackson]

They don’t have a temp or humidity gage because the critter keeper isn’t that big. They’re all medium to large crickets

 

[Lindasjackson]

I bought two horned worms to and paid over 3.00 each. When I got them home and took them out of the packaging they are clearly too big for Eustis to eat so I don’t know what I’m going to do with them