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Odor when feeding live crickets

xrayeric1993 Feb 05, 2008 10:32 AM

I dislike the odor that the live crickets emmit after a couple of days in the gecko's cage and I'm not sure what my options are to resolve this problem. I would consider a different food source, perhaps mealworms. Does anyone have any suggestions on the matter?

Replies (7)

coheed196 Feb 05, 2008 11:11 AM

First off you shouldn't be leaving crickets in the cage for days at a time. They can stress the leo out, or if they get hungry they will nibble on the leo, or eat the leo poop then if the leo does eat the cricket it just ate its own poop. If you dont keep large numbers of crickets around the house then i would suggest switching to mealworms. You can leave several in a dish in the leo's cage and drop a piece of carrot in that dish to keep the mealworms active, cause if they arent moving the leo wont recognize them as food. Also you can buy large numbers of mealworms and keep them in the fridge for extended periods of time only bringing them out once a week to let them warm up and eat. I am not trying to be mean, i was just informing you of the consequences of leaving crickets in the cage.
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coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (gordo, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (e-yore, trixie)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, polly)
0.1 jackon's chameleon
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)

Paradon Feb 05, 2008 11:48 AM

I feed mine the giant mealworms. They keep longer than crickets and the regular small mealworms. With these giant mealworms, or Zoophobas, you do not need to refridgerate them like the smaller ones and they last pretty long at room temperature. They don't stink like crickets and you can leave them in a small dish with calcium and multivitamin in it over night for your leos to eat and then replace it with a fresh gutloaded one the next day. I gutload mine with crushed good quality dog kibble, but you can use chick mash or hog feed. To gove the mealworms some moisture I mist the dog kibble everyday or everyother day. I use the dog kibble as substrate for the mealworm to burrow into and as food. I believe that's how they are kept.

Oh, and never leave crickets in the cage with you leos. The crickets may start to nibble at the leo if they become hungry enuogh.

Good luck!

sleepygecko Feb 05, 2008 12:22 PM

Ditto with not leaving crickets in the cage. Yes, there can be a smell with crickets, but regular cleaning and one of those oder absorbing air fresheners near the crickets helps a lot. Usually the smell is more from dead crickets than anything else, so if you take those out it won't smell. We also feed a product called "cricket yummies" to the crickets that makes everything smell like apples for a few days.

We deal with the smell because we believe there is psychological advantage to "hunting" their prey instead of eating out of a bowl. That's our opinion.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

ginebig Feb 06, 2008 09:55 PM

I agree with sleepygecko. The odor is from dead crickets. Do you warm the container the crickets are in, by any chance? I keep mine in a tub with a layer of chicken mash in it for them to eat with a heating pad under the tub. If you warm the substrate to 80-85 you'll find that you won't have as many die off and there will be less or no smell. Your crickets will live longer also. Hope this helps.

Quig
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Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

xrayeric1993 Feb 05, 2008 01:54 PM

You may not have been trying to be "mean" (believe me your opinion won't hurt my feelings). However, you first piece of advice was issued with a condescending tone. Since I'm a snake guy and the leopards belong to my children, I had no idea that crickets could do damage to the animals. So I do appreciate the advice, but please review your post before posting. The advice below is essentially the same, but with the intent to educate not humiliate.

xrayeric1993 Feb 05, 2008 01:55 PM

This message is intended for coheed.

NomadOfTheHills Feb 12, 2008 02:52 PM

I don't that was condescending at all.

He was telling you that crickets could harm your leopard.
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0.0.1 Tiliqua scincoides chimaerea
1.0.0 Pyxicephalus adsperus
0.1.0 Eublepharis macularis
0.0.1 Ceratophrys cranwelli
1.0.0 Python breitenstein
0.1.0 Heterodon nasicus
0.1.0 Morelia spilota cheynei
0.0.1 Bufo americanus
0.0.1 Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum
1.1.0 Sternotherus oderatus
0.0.1 Ptyodactylus hasselquistii
0.1.0 Lampropeltis getula floridana 'Brooksi'
0.1.0 Japalura splendida

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