What size crickets?

[Sugybooks]

Okay so I have been feeding my chameleon baby crickets from petco(they don't say the size just small) been gutloading them with apples, carrots. Now I'm to the point petco is burning a whole in my pocket. So I was wondering a cheap but good website to order crickets from and what size? These websites have a bunch of sizes.

My plan is to order a bulk amount and keep them in a tub so I'm not going to the store every 4 days spending 5$ for 30 crickets, but I do not know how many to get due to them growing to large?

Was also wondering if Repashy bug burger and veggies would be a good staple? Does bug burger have all the vitamins needed?
I've tried giving him a occasional superworm but he will not touch them! And I'm very, very hesitant with roaches (fear of roaches) aha. And idk if my cham would eat them.

My cham is 3-4 months old but I'll include a picture.

This was taken a week or two ago right after I misted the cage (he gets dark when I mist) but is getting a lot more comfortable with me misting, feeding and being around him. So he doesn't get dark nearly as often

 

[nightanole]

Crickets only live 6-8 weeks.

I would get 1000 of the 1/4" . Then in 3 weeks when they are half grown (half inch) they should be 1/3-1/2 gone, and your cham should have put on 50-100% more body weight. That gives you another 2-3 weeks before they all die off. By that time your cham is now 6-8 months old and should have no problem eating full grown banded (and maybe even full grown house).

You may want to get a small sampler so you can introduce some roaches,worms,caterpillars. They are not going to be happy with just crickets as an adult.

 

[eahoormann]

Crickets only live 6-8 weeks.

I would get 1000 of the 1/4" . Then in 3 weeks when they are half grown (half inch) they should be 1/3-1/2 gone, and your cham should have put on 50-100% more body weight. That gives you another 2-3 weeks before they all die off. By that time your cham is now 6-8 months old and should have no problem eating full grown banded (and maybe even full grown house).

You may want to get a small sampler so you can introduce some roaches,worms,caterpillars. They are not going to be happy with just crickets as an adult.

Oooo! Great advise! I'm in the exact same boat as @Sugybooks! Petsmart is eating my paychecks!!

I thought since we only have one little guy, buying in bulk wouldn't be worth it! I'll keep this in mind! Thank you!

 

[nightanole]

Oooo! Great advise! I'm in the exact same boat as @Sugybooks! Petsmart is eating my paychecks!!

I thought since we only have one little guy, buying in bulk wouldn't be worth it! I'll keep this in mind! Thank you!

Its not worth it as an adult. However when they are in their teens ,they can (and mine did) eat 2 dozen a day easy. I cant imagine paying 5 bucks a day in crickets vs $20-$25 per 1000.

 

[eahoormann]

Its not worth it as an adult. However when they are in their teens ,they can (and mine did) eat 2 dozen a day easy. I cant imagine paying 5 bucks a day in crickets vs $20-$25 per 1000.

So you're saying don't do it long term? just until they slow the roll on the crickets?

 

[Sugybooks]

Awesome thank you for the advice. What's the best way to keep that many alive lol. I'm used to only having to care for 30-40 at a time. Also what are good websites that don't cost a arm and a leg. Some sites shipping costs are way high

 

[nightanole]

So you're saying don't do it long term? just until they slow the roll on the crickets?

Once they become an adult they dont have to make more "chameleon". The will only eat a few feeders a week. MY guy is well over 300g, and eats about 3 adult dubia a week. An adult dubia weighs as much as 6 crickets.

 

[AZChamFan]

I would definitely do much more with the gutloading. There are a large number of items which are great but I like to use fresh greens as a staple such as endive, dandelion, collards etc. You can of course still give some apple and carrot. I like to sprinkle Repashy Superload over the greens. I also occasionally sprinkle the greens with bee pollen, organic wheat grass powder or spirulina. If you wash the greens before offering then these powders will stick really well and it works great. I sometimes give Repashy Bug Burger alone instead of all these other things to add even more variety and have an "easy gutload day" once in a while!!! Squash, potato and sweet bell pepper are also fine once in a while. This is only a very small sample of what you can feed and everyone has their own unique group of foods that they use, but the end goal should be as much variety of well known healthy gutload items as possible.

 

[Sugybooks]

I would definitely do much more with the gutloading. There are a large number of items which are great but I like to use fresh greens as a staple such as endive, dandelion, collards etc. You can of course still give some apple and carrot. I like to sprinkle Repashy Superload over the greens. I also occasionally sprinkle the greens with bee pollen, organic wheat grass powder or spirulina. If you wash the greens before offering then these powders will stick really well and it works great. I sometimes give Repashy Bug Burger alone instead of all these other things to add even more variety and have an "easy gutload day" once in a while!!! Squash, potato and sweet bell pepper are also fine once in a while. This is only a very small sample of what you can feed and everyone has their own unique group of foods that they use, but the end goal should be as much variety of well known healthy gutload items as possible.

Yeah I tried finding some of these unique things but couldn't. What are some gutload I could find at Walmart all I knew of was the apples carrots potatoes lol I'm in a small town and we don't have a lot of stores

 

[jamest0o0]

I can recommend ghanns crickets. Shipping seems expensive, but these bandeds live long! On a whole other level than petco. You'll be saving money with them.

 

[eahoormann]

Oh gosh!! There's still so much more to know!! Is this how new parents feel...? completely incompetent?!

 

[AZChamFan]

Yeah I tried finding some of these unique things but couldn't. What are some gutload I could find at Walmart all I knew of was the apples carrots potatoes lol I'm in a small town and we don't have a lot of stores

Do you mean as far as fresh greens and veggies or dry gutloads? You can get the Repashy gutloads online from Repashy or Amazon.

Most any grocery store should have some good greens and veggies.

Bee pollen, spirulina and wheat grass powder are also readily available from Amazon.

 

[Sugybooks]

Do you mean as far as fresh greens and veggies or dry gutloads? You can get the Repashy gutloads online from Repashy or Amazon.

Most any grocery store should have some good greens and veggies.

Bee pollen, spirulina and wheat grass powder are also readily available from Amazon.

Yeah veggies and greens or other easy to get items. What is a good list for varieties of fresh gutload s?

 

[Sugybooks]

I ordered from Josh's frogs! I ordered 1000 crickets, I'm going to keep them in a tub with egg holders. I also ordered repashy bug burger for gutloading when I need to.
But I also ordered water gel cubes from the site and I have high calcium cricket diet for the crickets. Will the gels and the cricket diet keep them alive? Also what else should I be doing to ensure the crickets stay alive

 

[jamest0o0]

Ventilation and space are very important for crickets. They are nasty, dirty monsters and will fight, eat each other, die, the dead will give off gases that will kill more, the remaining live ones will eat the dead and die... you get the picture. To keep this from happening they need a lot of room, a big plastic bin filled with toilet paper rolls and egg flats works great. I use a dremel to cut a large square out of the sides and lid. Then I hot glue metal screening over(they will chew through plastic, even metal sometimes so it helps to layer the screening).

 

[Sugybooks]

Ventilation and space are very important for crickets. They are nasty, dirty monsters and will fight, eat each other, die, the dead will give off gases that will kill more, the remaining live ones will eat the dead and die... you get the picture. To keep this from happening they need a lot of room, a big plastic bin filled with toilet paper rolls and egg flats works great. I use a dremel to cut a large square out of the sides and lid. Then I hot glue metal screening over(they will chew through plastic, even metal sometimes so it helps to layer the screening).

Where's a good place to get the screening?

 

[jamest0o0]

Home depot, Lowes, etc

 

[Sugybooks]

Home depot, Lowes, etc

Alright thanks much! What's a good temp range? And would it be ok to have the bin in a closet

 

[jamest0o0]

I'd probably keep them out of the closet for better airflow. I keep mine in the 70-80 range(that's just my cham room's regular temperature I dont heat them). If you want them hidden maybe put them on a stand behind something.

 

[AZChamFan]

Not trying to make things difficult for you but to be honest the Fluker's gut load you have is one of the worst quality gut loads you could use. There is a reason it's so cheap. Sure the crickets might do quite well on it but it's not doing much good for your cham. There are quite a few high quality gut loads including Repashy Superload (fine powder usually given dry) and the Bug Burger. Some members here also sell good ones. I don't have a full list of leafy greens and veggies handy but if you do some searching here you will find endless information on that. Start by searching for "gut load lists" or something like that. Also most people don't care for the pre made water cubes. If anything get the crystals and make your own water gel. Repashy also sells a substitute for this. Also you can offer other things like orange, unsweetened applesauce, baby foods, etc. for a water source. I don't use every one of these myself but many here do. You'll find much more info by researching this site and looking at past threads. When you're using the Bug Burger you don't need additional water. Anyways just a few more thoughts for you.