Gecko Time: Attack of the Killer Crickets

[Golden Gate Geckos]

If the cricket bit you and you felt it enough to scream, then they are the Jamaican crickets. They will bite your geckos, too... which really stresses them out even if they don't draw blood. The smaller these crickets are though, the less the bite hurts.

 

[Dimidiata]

Hmm, I just realized that my old crickets looked like the ones in the picture but I dunno, when they bit me( only twice), all I did was scream in suprise no blood so do you think it is the evil crickets?

Omg, your gonna turn into a werecricket!!!!! Dun dun dun..... ok im goood, thats all out of my system. Good read.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I just received a 'ping back' notice that this post was made regarding the G. assimilis crickets: http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeders-live-frozen-culturing-etc/11319-gryllus-assimili-super-crickets-safe.html#post84557

Also, another very reputable breeder spoke at length with Sunshine, a feeder insect farm in Oregon, that reports that there are NO hybrids at this point. Apparently, the female G. assimilis are eating the male A. domesticus when exposed to each other in breeding colonies.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Ghann's latest cricket news was quite a disappointment to me, the way they just glazed over previous issues like it was nothing of any consequence...........


Their header did't come thru, but the information is a complete copy/paste from their newsletter.




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CRICKET NEWS!

Better Acheta Production!
Demand for Ghann's standard "brown crickets" (Acheta domesticus) exceeded supply this year, and we had to do some outsourcing. This sometimes made it challenging to provide the exact size crickets our customers wanted. We are now doing a better job of meeting Acheta demand with our own production, and outsourcing less and less each week. Sizing problems should be few & far between going forward.

NEW CRICKETS! - Gryllus assimilis!
In addition to better Acheta domesticus production, we're ramping up another species - Gryllus assimilis. The USDA has approved Ghann's to ship Gryllus assimilis into 44 states so far, so we CAN begin shipping them as soon as we get supply up to speed which shouldn't be too much longer.

Gryllus assimilis - GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT!
We've heard the rumors that a "black cricket" being shipped out of CA (possibly illegally since very few other growers have permits yet) may be more aggressive and "not as good as Acheta domesticus". Don't panic - these rumors are just that - RUMORS. It's very possible that the crickets coming out of CA may not even be true Gryllus assimilis. TRUE Gryllus assimilis (ours were ID'd by a USDA approved Entomologist) are believed to be just fine for feeding anything that eats Achetas, and may in fact be MORE NUTRITIOUS than Achetas. Once our Gryllus are available for sale, try them for yourself rather than blindly buying in to negative propaganda (possibly spread by people who want to squelch this new cricket before it gets to market).
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For those of you that may not know, Ghann's is co-owner of Reptiles Express (aka "RE") where all reptile breeders can purchase Fedex pre-approved packaging to insure that animals are shipped safely & properly, and RE members can purchase Fedex shipping labels at substantially discounted rates. Check it out today at www.reptilesexpress.com!

 

[BrightReptiles]

That's quite upsetting.. I get my crickets directly from timberline which is right in my town. I rarely do get crickets but I ask specifically for a domesticus as I've gotten a batch of blacks one trip, they did gladly exchange them though.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I vended at the Sacramento Reptile Show last weekend, and had the opportunity to talk in depth with a long-time feeder farm owner whom I have known for many years. He verified that the G. assimilis are so aggressive that they cannot interbreed with the A. domestica. Apparently, the virus causes the domestic crickets to die in large numbers before the females are old enough to breed and lay eggs so they use female Jamaican crickets to breed with the male domestics. The female Jamaicans eat the male domestics!

He told me that they are researching the diet of the G. assimilis, and it appears that grain-based diets cause these crickets to be so hungry that they will eat literally anything and everything. By feeding them produce, their appetites and aggression settles down considerably. Of course, this is still an issue being worked on by many cricket growers, as well as trying different species.

 

[Kotori]

So would a Leopard gecko and crested gecko have any problems switching to roaches?

Crickets are nasty,smelly,jumpy and now deadly....Roaches seem cute and cuddly by comparison..