Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I really enjoy my ackies but i really don't enjoy caring for crickets and the way they smell (i started working with breeding roaches but that is not my favorite job either). I know that this is just part of what comes with caring for monitors but i was wondering about gut-loading the crickets and then freezing them? Sounds weird but if you do it right it might work.

Gut load crickets

Toss them in fridge (they will die or at least be in coma-ish state)

then use something to sort them, say toss em on ice cube trays.

seal it with maybe ceran(spelling?)wrap and freeze em

Has anyone tried this ? I think i'd rather spend the time and effort to do this first than constantly have the extra job of taking care of the crickets (oh and did i mention crickets smell really bad in confined places, like apartments)

Feel free to flame my lunacy

dont know about freezing, but have you concidered mealworms? they are the easyest insect to breed in numbers. sure your monitor with thrive on them.

Until you learn crickets, they are a pain in the backside.

Crickets do not stink, not at all, DEAD crickets stink like crazy. So once you learn to keep them alive, they no longer stink.

Why I understand your pain, I too had to learn crickets and the general information, thats out there is as horrible or more horrible then the information about monitors.

You have to weed thru the wifestails and false information. For instance, i have been raising crickets for many years now. I have tried all sorts of things with all sorts of success. From commerical success, producing so many dang crickets, you could use them to feed entire countries. To having them all die off in a hurry.

First, they do not need greens, greens kill them in common practice. They do not need a constant temp, they are like monitors and enjoy a choice of temps. They do not need water, not in a dish type of approach, as far as I can tell water only kills them. Remember all this killing is causing all this stink.

Also mucking with them kills them too. So daily or weekly cleanings is not a good idea. I use my only ackie breeding cages to produce crickets, dirt and all. I use egg crates instead of Retes boards. I use a saucer to place dry food in. and I spray the edges of the cage a couple times a week to keep the substrate only slightly moist. I use the same heating as for the monitors, a regular incandesent bulb. I use 40watts in the summer and up to 100watt in the winter.

Dry food and no water makes for some sweet smelling crickets(no die offs)

The largest problem becomes over producing. You can produce so many that you tend to not harvest enough and that will cause die offs.

So there are ways, in fact, if you have a garage, keep them in there, If you have a yard, put them outside in the summer. Remember, crickets live naturally outside in most of the U.S.

But yes, they are a pain, but a necessary one. I do disagree with Jobi, mealworms or superworms are indeed easy to raise, but not all that good as a staple in a monitor diet.

Thanks for the info Frank. Yea, after running through this last 1000 i did notice a lot of casualties. And in retrospect, I agree, water is the enemy when it comes to these guys and does contribute a lot to deaths and produces stink on its own (dead and wet crickets, ugh). I too began simply spraying the egg crates with a little water also (too little too late). I never was a fan of greens for food. Actually, whether it is good or not I don't know, I used things like stale bread to sustain them. You mentioned a dry food?

I know you have very good reasons to say this, I sure would like to know them.
My crickets skills are even worst then my peoples skills, why I giving mealworms a shot.
Rgds

Hi Jobi, its not all that complicated. When I began, I used all sorts of prey items. All the commonly available and lots of wild critters, like lizards and grasshoppers.

As I progressed successfully, I could test a prey item easily. For instance, if I fed five types of prey items, I could simply remove one and see if progress changes. If the monitors progress is not hindered, then that prey item most likely is not adding anything.

When I stopped feeding mealworns, there was no negative effect what so ever. When I stopped feeding crickets, there was a tremendous negative effect. When I removed lizards, there was a slight negative effect. Then I added mice parts or pinkies, and the progress was regained. When I stopped feeding mice, there was little negative effects. I never fed roaches, I attempted too at one time, but my monitors would not eat them, so out they went. I did not have problems so there was no need to force roaches.

The point is, I based all decisions of a set level of success. Not on theory. That level was simple, small monitors should reach maturity in under a year and larger monitors in under 18 months and both should sucessfully multiclutch. Those goals were very average in actual practice, all monitors could and did far exceed "plan".

As you know, when I stopped buying crickets, my small monitor production dropped like a stone. They did not meet that level of success until I learned to manage crickets again.

I think most people overdo most things and crickets are no different. They simply do to much. They provide a varied diet, veggies, and this and that. Much like people do with monitors. People tend to base their approach on theory and not result. They also base it on, what they are told and not actual experience. In all cases I based my approach on results. You must have some faith and not have to "understand" all things. If it works then it works. Its all about that simple.

In my experience the less I do with crickets the better they do. I use grounded up dogfood mixed with laying mash. I am positive I could eliminate the mash and the crickets would do great. I give them a choice of temps and a substrate of dirt(any stinking kind of dirt will do)

I have been told of all sorts of things that could happen like bigger crickets eating the smaller crickets and such. That never came to pass. They will only eat eachother if starved to death. Again like monitors. People should really understand that animals have levels of hunger and do not go by YOUR(keepers) schedules. Again simply put, they only eat eachother if forced too.

I understand why people feed on schedules, but those keepers should not complain if their charges eat eachother because the schedules do not offer enough food. Sorry for ranting, cheers

Thanks for sharing, as you know this is the first year I need to produce insects, in the past the only insects Iv fed was field plankton when they bloom. I am not giving up on crickets, because sins we last talked about them, there’s been a significant improve and a very low mortality rate, my only problem are the eggs, the darn eggs hatches in my lizards cages not in the crickets cages, I know what your thinking!! No need to tail whip me on this, I am making adjustments.

But seriously I was considering the mealworms for my agamas, with rep-cal d3 they cant be that bad? My dragons love them as beetles and my soon to be babies will feed on the smaller mealworms. Mountain and tree dragons aren’t the fastest predators, with crickets they miss target 3 out of 5 and give up. Slowing the crickets is was not a problem but soon it will be impossible with my ever growing collection.

Of course you understand I am not arguing with you here, there’s no dough crickets do the job. I am just hopping the mealworms can give me the same results with my dragons iv seen with leopard gecko breeders.

Glad you mentioned about the dog food, you see I got it reveres and went with the laying mash. Any tips on grinding a 50L bag? I seem to run out of elbow grease now and then, but you can call me lazy.