Reptile & Amphibian Forums

the last two times ive bought crickets from the local reptile shop most of them seem to die after the first week. i've made NO changes in the way i keep them and just as i have always down cleaned and sanitized(with novasan) the tank i keep them in. over a month ago i bought 200 and it seems easier to keep larger quantities alive then small amounts. any suggestiuons?

dennis
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working for the man again

Dennis,

I feel your pain. I am the same way. I don't know if I just don't notice the die-off when I have more..or what.

you guys are probably using flukers or something like that. i order 1000 every week to two weeks. i used to have huge die offs until i switched to cricketfood.com. my crickets grow huge fast, and an order will almost last me two weeks now, with maybe 5-10% die off in that time frame.
cricketfood.com

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groups.msn.com/JEChameleons
2.1 Chameleo Calyptratus
1 Chameleo Melleri

i don't use flukers. it has that poly stuff in it and is suppose to bloat the chameleon or something like that. it's a home made "jello"my wife calls it jello)lol.

dennis
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working for the man again

You guys must be doing something wrong . Perhapes You forgot to feed or provide a source of moisture for them? try to feed them everyday and provide some source of moisture so that they can drink. I recommend using cricket total bites. It feeds them as well as keeps them hidrated. Do you have enough hiding place for them? If it gets too crowded in your tank or if it is too small, they will eventually start attacking each other. If you do all these i think you can keep them alive for weeks.

i have them in a 20 gallon, screen top reptile tank. i use use egg crate and cut it in half anf place each half on either side of the tank along with 4 toilet paper rolls(2 on either side of the egg crate halfs). in the middle of the tank i have a small lid with water bites("jello" as we call them) and another small lid with cricket food in it. i've had the same set up nearly since day one(about 4 months) but only have had a problem the past couple weeks.

dennis
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working for the man again

maybe it is your supplier then. Perhapes their crickets arent healthy.

Or Did you do anything different since day one? Like for instance, use a new cleaner, or perhapes add a new ingredient to your "jello". Or , as obsurd as it sounds, use diferent toilet paper rolls?

i think we are going to try a different supplier. there is a new reptile store in town and is half the price as the one we currently go to. we haven't made any changes to anything so it's got to be the supplier. maybe go back to american cricket ranch?

dennis
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working for the man again

Why not use LLLreptile of reptilefood.com? Reptilefood has by far the best service and the cheapest prices available. But what makes it expensive is their shipping. But if you plan on buying a few items at once, there is no other place cheaper. Trust me, i compared and made charts( don't laugh at me) of more than 50 companies, and reptilefood is still the cheapest, if you want to buy in bulk. However, lllreptile is even cheaper than reptilefood if you just order crickets. the only problem is the shipping is a bit slow. Another thing i noticed when i was doing my "study", is that lllreptile has about 40% more crickets than reptilefood.com. To be more specific, if you order 1000 circkets from lllreptile.com, you'd get about half more than 1000 crickets ordered from reptilefood.com.
lllreptile seem to give us more. All in all, both companies are great, it just depends on your needs.

i'll look into lllreptile. they're only 1 1/2 away and a reason for my wife to go to the beach(i'll take a dirty old lake anyday over the beach!lol).

dennis
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working for the man again

good on you! Goodluck with your crickets this time!

Did you change cricket supplier? If you get them from a store, ask them if they changed cricket suppliers. it may be that they are just not well raised from the beginning, and you are now seeing the result. OR if it is just one batch that is dying off, they may just be old and they are naturally dying about the same time.
ALSO if you keep them at a cooler temp (slightly under room temp you don't want cricket ice cubes lol) they will have a longer lifespan. Oppositely, if you keep them warmer they will breed more and grow faster, but will die younger.

Dennis-

Well crickets have a life span of 6 weeks under optimal temps. What age crickets are you buying? Some times crickets just come in bad, have you asked the store you buy them form if they have experienced high mortality rate with there recent shipments of crickets! What brand of gutload are you using? I use the www.cricketfood.com gutload, you can see and small the difference in this gutload. You may try another local shop, that said they probably all get there feeders from the same source so they would be from the same supplier. Also since you are keeping them in a glass aquarium, have you notices them eating the silicone sealant for the tank, they like to chew on things! I breed my own cricket supply, email me off the board for more info! Hope this helps!
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John @ Chameleon Paradise
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers
1.2 Rhampholeon uluguruensis

How old are the cricket's when you buy them? I ask because they only live about 6 weeks.
If they're 4-5 weeks old they life span is about over.
I buy 2000 3 week olds and they grow quick and are adult size soon after.
I house mine in a 66 quart sterilite.
Newspaper on the bottom, 1-2 egg crates, and toilet paper or paper towel rolls also.
I have a small flower pot bottom (the thing that keeps water from running out the bottom) that i put paper towels in and moisten for drinking, and a larger bottom for the chick feed. I also feed fruits and veggies.
I use no heat source as it's warm enough in the house.
The top has a small section cut out and screen covering it for vetilation. I rarely have more than a few die and the rest shed and grow fast. I clean once a week or when needed and just let the crix hop into a 2nd clean tub and that's it. Sounds like alot but it only takes about 10 minutes to clean and switch and during the week all i do is change the paper towels and food..
I'm done and hope it helps lol..

I seem to lose a ton the first few days after they come in...and then have no trouble after that. I probably lose about 50-75 the first day. and then 15-20 after that.. On the third day, I lose no more than one or two.

I have 3 plastic sweater boxes. (one for each size of crickets)

I use the premium gutload from cricketfood.com as well as the flukers gel. Everyday, I add more food and gell as well as scoop out the sheds and the slopped food from the edges of the container . I have paper towel rolls and egg crates.

The good news is that Timberline does add a lot of overage to cover die-offs. So, after my threes days are up, I still probably have a little more than I ordered.

Try www.expresscrickets.com They send next day delivery! It's a bit more expensive but I am in Florida and it's HOT
It could also be the heat during shipping depending on where they have to go in transit. In the summer time if I get them from anyplace else and they have to spend more than one day en route I will lose tons the first few days. With express crickets I tend to lose very little at all. Plus it is really worth it the crickets are healthy and you get them next day.