Frickin Crickets!

[steve905]

I've boutght and fed off approx. 30K crickets per year. I just get my next supply and they seem ok. It seems overnite I get a mass die off approx. half of my 4K I bought for the next few weeks. Such a wonderful stink...YUCCH! Any suggestions as to why one day fine the next mass die off. I've kept them the same in a large plastic tub fed the same food Ive fed others that last 2-3 weeks on. Now I'm ticked off and suffering from stinky dead crickets.....

 

[RampantReptiles]

could they have gotten too cold during shipping? Was the tub wet at all when you put them in?

 

[Keith N]

I had crickets in my garage that went around 20 degrees. They went into a coma like state and I thought they were dead. I brought the one container into a 65 deg environment and within a hour they were all spunky

 

[RampantReptiles]

yeah crickets dont always survive the cold but sometimes they do. I think it also has to do with how long they are in the cold. Also they may come back to life but die a couple days later...

 

[Leopard.Geckerz]

Crickets are such a horrible, touchy bug to deal with. But, worms scare me in large numbers (LOL, I know, pathetic. I can handle about 1-200 at a time. XD) so I deal with it but am constantly frustrated by my losses when I'm dealing in bulk. I find it helps slightly when the enclosure is super clean and there is lots of food and water-gel available.... but then again, sometimes they just die. I think there are bad batches... also, I eman, no idea where you get yours, but the company I buy from, sometimes ships them in from the US (I'm Canadian) so they have travelled a long, long way befoer they get to me. SOmetimes longer than other times. Maybe yours are traveling similar distances, sometimes?

All in all, crickets suck. Necesary evils..

 

[steve905]

I got these form a local reptile swap this past weekend. They didn't get cold,or wet, I usually get 2K's worth but a dealer had extra at the end and asked if I wnated then at a reduced price so I thougt no problem Everyone gets crickets for the next few days to feed off most...(The beardies REALLY liked this idea) I had 4 cups of water crystals out some carrots, and chick feed...man I'm ticked I may not make it to the following show now....Ugghhh!

 

[RoninSTi]

Have you considered trying Dubias? I switched to them and LOVE how easy they are. No Stink, No noise, You don't have to do anything special and they breed for you. I just chuck some carrots, oranges and gutload in their container every couple of days and they can't be happier. Super Fat roaches of all sizes for all my critters. Easy to handle to! No climbing, no jumping.

 

[steve905]

Have you considered trying Dubias? I switched to them and LOVE how easy they are. No Stink, No noise, You don't have to do anything special and they breed for you. I just chuck some carrots, oranges and gutload in their container every couple of days and they can't be happier. Super Fat roaches of all sizes for all my critters. Easy to handle to! No climbing, no jumping.

Did you see how MANY crickets I go thru...I'm not sure of the coloney size but I'm MORE than a little intimidated as to the thought of that many roaches alive in my house. I really think I'll get there but not until I get my lot out and in a separate building. How many roaches do you think I'd need to produce approx. 1500 adults per week?

 

[CapCitySteve]

An adult dubia is about 4 to 5 crickets. Once you get the colony started the females will be laying 30 babies a piece every few weeks. And they take 3-4 months depending on temp to reach adulthood.

I'm not in the mood to do all the math for you...so...there's your intel, you can crunch the numbers. haha

 

[RoninSTi]

I believe the technical term for the amount you need is a ****load.

I worked through the math assuming you do 30k crickets a year. Accounted for the fact that you need less roaches than crickets. I think 1000 females producing should meet your needs. So a colony of maybe 1200 adults (1000 females 200 males) Should produce enough for you to feed and enough to replenish the adults as they pass.

DO IT!!!!

 

[steve905]

Yhanks...How big of a tub or tubs should I get? If I buy a mixed group how long does it take from nymph to adult...Just so I can plan ahead....DO I have to watch the adults in the tanks to make sure they dont get out????

 

[thegeckoguy23]

this has happend to me before