Cricket+Paper Towel?

[Superior]

Could you put a paper towel down inside the cricket cages and just swap it out when it gets covered in poo? Or will they eat it even if theres food available? If you can't put paper towel down, how do you keep your cricket cages clean and poo-free?

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Paper Towel

Well ...

You can put a Paper Towel in with the crickets. They may eat it.

Most sites suggest no substrate.

A few recommend either food such as Bran or some type of bark.

I do not use anything.

 

[acpart]

I use about 3/4" of cricket feed and a handful of catfood. About mid-way through the cricket cycle (I use about 1500 every 2-3 weeks) when it starts stinking I sift the substrate, let the live crickets jump out, let the food fall back to the bottom and toss the sheds and the dead ones. Before I get new crickets I toss the old substrate. I keep 4 small lids full of water crystals in the cage and replenish as necessary. They are in a 10 gallon tank with a screen top.

Aliza

 

[nats]

Crix are VERY messy, it's best to use no substrate as it will just get funky and attract parasites.

I use a big plastic bin. When it needs cleaning, I take everything out (except the crix!), tilt the tub so everything slides to the other end, put the egg flats back on the "clean" side, let the crix go back under the egg flats, and "sweep" up the dirt with a 2'' paint brush and a piece of cardboard for a "dustpan".
Then just put the food and water bowls back.

You need to change the egg flats when they get dirty to:

http://www.eggcartons.com/

 

[LeapinLizards]

Just buy your eggs at Costco or Winco lol...you'll never have to buy egg crates every again!

 

[acpart]

Just out of curiosity for those of you who do not use substrate with your crickets, what and how are you feeding them? Do you have bowls of food, take a few out a day in advance and gutload or what?

Aliza

 

[Bennayboi]

Get off of crickets and switch to roaches! Roaches are clean, dont smell, dont chirp, dont die, dont eat eachother and are more nutritous than crickets.

For dealing with crickets, id suggest taking all of their hiding spots out, and tipping the bin just enough to get all the crickets and poop and sheds to go to one corner of the bin. Then put the hides back in and all the live healthy crickets will go back to them and you can scoop out the poo from the corner.

 

[Roaming Reptiles]

I have a 10 gallong tank with a screen lid I use a small tin about 4 inches tall filled with vermiculate? (Spelling) on one end and the tank has a small heating pad under it then I have a small bowl filled with wet paper towels and water and another bowl with cricket chow and other veggies with alot to paper towel rolls. I always have babies and adults. thats been working great for me.



Brandon

 

[nats]

Just out of curiosity for those of you who do not use substrate with your crickets, what and how are you feeding them? Do you have bowls of food, take a few out a day in advance and gutload or what?

Aliza

I use the same textured "rock" bowls that I buy for my leos.

 

[LeapinLizards]

I feed my crickets a 7 grain mix that I buy in bulk from Fred Meyer's. Like nats, I put it in a little, low sided dish.

 

[nats]

I feed my crickets a 7 grain mix that I buy in bulk from Fred Meyer's. Like nats, I put it in a little, low sided dish.

One thing to keep in mind too when using bowls, make sure it easy for them to climb on. The little ones have a hard time w/ slick surfaces, like glass.

 

[NB1230]

I cut the bottoms of plastic cups off to use for water and food bowls for my crickets, because they're easily replaceable, and they seem to hold up for a while.

 

[LeapinLizards]

One thing to keep in mind too when using bowls, make sure it easy for them to climb on. The little ones have a hard time w/ slick surfaces, like glass.

Definitely, the little dishes I use has ramps that lead up into the dish, with a textured surface on the ramps, so they can climb. I think I got them at a chain store.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Feeding

I have a little bowl or I use the lid from a Kid's Plastic Cup that I got from a restrauant.

For water, I have changed to a Small Bird Feeder. I got the feeder for a Buck or so and put part of a paper towel in the feeder portion so that the dumb crickets do not drown and then, I put it into the Cricket Keeper.

I was just tired of using paper towels as cricket pillows.

I will see how it works.