Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I really hate handling crickets. Maybe "loathe" would be a better word. But since my precious babies love them so much, and of course they are an integral part of their diet, I've had to figure out some ways to handle the crickets without going nuts!

First of all, I bought a large Rubbermaid tub, cut out a portion of the top and used duct tape to tape a section of screen to the hole. When my thousand crickets come in, I just empty the box into my container, and voila! I don't touch a single cricket, they are in the tub, and not one escapes! The sides appear to be higher than the crickets can jump. This stays outside, sitting on some ant-killing powder, to keep away the Argenitine Black Ants who would love to finish off my babies' feast. When I need to move the crickets to my ten gallon indoor cage, where they are more convenient to get for feeding, I collect the crickets with a Dust-Buster. Mine is actually a Hoover Wet/Dry Hand Vac, but the crickets just bump against the soft filter and are deposited in the collection area, waiting for me to dump them into their indoor cage. Again, I don't touch one! Now, inside the indoor cage I have placed a couple pieces of 1/2 inch sprinkler pipe with caps placed on the ends. I don't glue the caps; they are just placed on the ends, for easy removal to clean. To collect crickets for feeding, I cut a diagonal slit in the bottom of one corner of a ziplock bag. Before I place the crickets inside, I put my calcium or my vitamins, then I pick up one of the sprinkler pipes, place the open end inside my ziplock, then shake. (The cut end must be held a little higher the other end, or the crickets get out.) When I have enough crickets in the bag, I seal it, and shake. Then I carry it over to my beardies, and shake out the crickets, one by one. Very few crickets now manage to escape and crawl under something in the cage.

So, does anyone else have great ways for handling crickets? I would love to hear them!

Diana

N/P
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Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

its so much easyier in every way

i also have a rubbermaid bin but with a window screen on top of it .... then i take one of my old drinking glasses and use the old paper towel method..shake the crickets into the glass and swirl the crickets in calcium and multi-vitamin.. and set the glass in the tank.. and my little ones just run right into the glass and munch away...

a little off topic but still cricket related.. i walked into the kitchen today (keeping the crix in the kitchen because my basement flooded) and found one of my dogs munching away on the crix.. lost half of my supply..ick

alissa

You can use a small tupperware container that has some height to it, or even some of the taller deli cups. Place the cup or container into the cricket tub and shake the egg cartons(if thats what you use in there for the crix to hide and crawl on)over the cup or container. Place lid on container when you have enough, add your dust if needed and then shake into each container that you are putting crix in. I use the lid to only let some crix out at the same time(holding the lid over the cup or container with just a little gap for them to slip through while im shaking). Thats how I do it anyways. Or sometimes if im not using any dust I get a little dirty and use my bare hands! lol

I equally hate crickets, if I touch one, it's instant goosebumps and a EWWWWWWW!!!!! I once knocked a huge painting off the wall because one jumped on me..lol Guess it goes to show how much I love my beardies. I sure wouldn't mess w/crix for any other reason!
A friend of mine, who thinks my bug fear is pretty funny, gave me this solution..

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TheClassyLizard

Beardiemom or Christyj on "Fear Factor" anytime soon.

D.A.

Uhhhhm no..
I usually can't even watch Fear Factor. It's more like Gross Factor. Eating blood balls and a plate of dirty night crawlers with their faces in the plate literally makes me gag..lol
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TheClassyLizard

I was thinking more along the lines of "No way in hell am I gonna lay down in that box of *fill in the insect/worm of your choice*!!!!

And no, I won't watch it when they're just eating nasty stuff either.
As you said, it's not scary, it's just gross.

D.A.

A coworker and I went to a pet trade show one year. At one booth, we were offered chocolate covered crickets. They said if we eat a live cricket, we could have a hat. My friend did. Then they said if she ate a mega worm, she could have a shirt. Well, she didn't just eat it, she let it hang out of her mouth first and the thing tried to climb up her nose. I was so grossed out, you could have heard me on other side of the building going, "EEWWW, EEWWW!!!" By the way, I didn't even try the chocolate cover myself.

You did have me laughing at the lengths you go not to touch the buggers. Real inventive...

n/p
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TheClassyLizard

LOL The perfect bugsuit LOL

What I do to catch crickets is using a simple sandwich bag. I open it up and hold it in the bin with the crickets. Then I just grab an edge of torn egg carton and shake it in the bag. I keep doing this till I figure I have enough crickets in the sandwich bag. Then you can dump these slowly into the dragon cage, only one or two at a time to make sure he eats them before they run and hide in his cagen (or if you use separate cage, not so much a worry).

This has worked for me fine since I bought my dragon in March. Now, however, i hand feed the crickets as I can't seem to get my dragon to eat in a separate container (he actuallly hissed at the crickets after I dropped them in..LOL, made them all scatter) and since I have a large peice of driftwood where crickets can hide in for days, I don't want to risk lose crickets in there.

That certainly is...interesting, lol. I just use a beta cup from work and my hands. It's just easier for me than using a scoop. I really don't mind bugs....except for spiders and those creepy crawlies with all the legs that get into my house. Ugh....if I see those then I scream.
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1.0 Beardie, 1.1 Green Anoles, 1.0 Green Tree Frog, 4.1 Hermit Crabs, 2.1 Hamsters, 1.0 Betta, 0.1 cat, 1.0 Takydromus sexlineatus