How to care for crickets

[lokibp]

So I just bought a crested gecko and I just realized I don’t k ow how to care for crickets so can anyone run me down on how to care for crickets

[ashleyraeanne]

Here is a thread that will help you.

Keeping bulk crickets

Whether you’re keeping bearded dragons, small monitors, geckos, or any other insect eating reptile or amphibian it really does not make sense to purchase crickets from a pet store for upwards of $0.10/cricket unless you only need a couple dozen a week. But if you are feeding growing babies or large collections you should be purchasing your crickets in bulk so you can feed your animals properly not just the handful a week you can afford because at 0.10 each every 10 crickets costs you a dollar, e…

[foxreptile]

Are you planning to colonise the crickets, or just look after them before becoming a meal?

[lokibp]

Mainly look over them until they become a meal I don’t think colonizing them would be worth it since I only have 1 crestie and mainly just to gut load them and how to do that

[foxreptile]

I thought as much, I have a colony of dubia roaches but I have several Cresties.

So I use a large kricket keeper (good ventilation) for my locusts and occasionally crickets with paper towel at the bottom and left over toilet rolls and egg boxes (cardboard boxes) for them to hide in. I also have RUBs that have plenty of air holes too, but I use that for dubias mostly.

I add fresh food and remove uneaten food every other day. I rinse the food before giving to them as they is there water intake (I sometimes use hydro balls also) but don’t leave a bowl of water in there, they down easily.

I tend to buy them small, as I have different sized Cresties, that way they last a while too. But I use other insects also.

I keep them at a similar temperature to my Cresties, if they get too cold then they will not eat the food, therefore won’t be very nutritious

I feed a variety of food:
Apples, oranges, banana skin, kale, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, Strawberries, dog food, raspberries, mango…

Basically left over food in the house (I Google if it’s something I don’t usually feed). However when they are ready to feed to my Cresties, I avoid citrus fruits like orange as they aren’t great for cresties and I’m not sure how well the insects digest them prior to feeding them off.

I keep all insects for 4 days before feeding any off, this shows time for guy loading to take place.

When feeding them to my credit is cover them in Calci dust with d3.

Hope this is helpful!

The attachment above helps with ideas even if you don’t want loads.

[eaglereptiles]

@foxreptile here’s one for Dubias also I’m sure Marla wouldn’t mind you adding some of your own tips to it.

Creating my own Dubia colony

[lumpy]

This is a great amount of information! Definitely take @eaglereptiles up on his offer!

[ghoulishcresties]

We had a colony of Dubias as our cham ate them, very easy to do! Cresties wouldn’t touch them though Also when I found out about the allergies they can cause I no longer wanted to keep them so the cham ate them all

And cricket wise, I feed mine veg and Pangea left overs and touch wood, none die!
I even put a little bowl of water in with them

[welshmorphology]

We use around 8000 crickets per week!
Basically a few simple rules…IF YOUR CRICKETS STINK…You’re doin it WRONG!
The 2 BIGGEST killers of crickets are suffocation…and mould spores!!
Like other inverts they breathe through holes in their exoskeletons called “spiracles” so if you overcrowd them, they will suffocate and die.
The second is excess moisture/mould spores!!
There is ZERO need to give livefoods water crystals (bug balls) whatever you call them. Whilst the crickets and livefood need moisture to survive, giving them these water crystals is basically empty calories, that will in turn just offer the feeder of the livefood more moisture. not a lot else.
Fruit n veggies DON’T CUT IT!!! What you basically want is not just the crickets surviving but also making them a suitable feeder, offering THE BEST nutrition you can to the intended animal, that will eat these feeders.
Trial and error over the years and 2 of the BEST products that I mix together are a probiotic alfalfa feeder pellet (under many names on the net) and the amazing Bug burger from Repashy. BOTH of these can have water added. The repashy I favor as you mix it with hit water (from the kettle) and let it set. It sets into a jelly/hard gel and the feeders not only get the moisture they need, but all the essential vits n mins. Believe me we’ve tried it all having such a need for decent feeders and to date the repashy bug burger is SUPERB. Since adding this to the probiotic pellets or feeding just this to the feeder the animals are simply radiant.
I’d recommend this TOTALLY.
Remember what you put in, you get out.
So plenty of space and decent food and you’re onto a winner, as well as providing the feeding animal with the best nutrients from the livefood