Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I would like to get a gecko, but this entails having feeder insects as well.

In the past I tried my hand at having a leopard gecko, but I gave it away shortly after buying it because I couldn't deal with the crickets. I was so worried that the crickets would be able to jump out of the cage that I decided to rip off the crickets back legs before feeding them.

This became a extremely gross pain in the butt and I decided I'd rather give the gecko a new home rather than freak out about crickets. I know it sounds pathetic, but I was actually to the point of crying when thinking about dealing with the crickets.

Now after about 2 years, I've decided I would ask some people who regularly deal with crickets, because I am entertaining the idea of getting another gecko.

I NEVER want a cricket to be loose in the house. Is this something I can get around? Or if I keep them inside are a few bound to get loose?

If I keep the cricket bin out in the garage all year, will they be able to live (in the cold of winter and the heat of summer)? Would I need to provide heat or a fan? (I live in Northern Ohio.)

What about in my gecko's cage? If I use a feeding bowl for the crickets rather than just tossing them in the cage, can the crickets get out of the bowl? I'm guessing that they can get out by jumping, but is it likely? Or do they just stay in the bowl? If the cricket does get out of the bowl, is it likely that it would stay on the ground rather than venture up on the vines and other cage decorations? (Basically I'm worried that if a cricket isn't eaten it can get up to the top of the cage and then jump out when I later open up the cage.)

What about roaches instead of crickets? Would they possibly be a better feeder insect for me to deal with than crickets? How do they compare regarding escapes? I know that all roaches have the ability to fly, but do they fly in actuality?

Sorry if I sound like a baby when it comes to these insects, but they really creep me out. Ironically, I was the one who made things worse for myself, because I never had a problem with crickets until I tried to break off their back legs.

Thanks in advance. Any help is appreciated.

If you want a lizard that eats crickets, then you have no choice but to keep crickets.

Yes on occassions one or two will escape, it's a fact. BUT I've never had one escape from the actual lizard cage itself, only from their container when I was harvesting them. If you have cats, they will usually catch and kill any stray crickets (usually, but not always). Yes they will climb out of any dish, even without their back legs. Roaches in my opinin are not any better, they breed rapidly and are hard to kill if they infest your house. DO NOT try feeding your lizard canned crickets, they in all likelyhood will not even bother with them. They like their food live. And I am not sure but I don't think the lizards can subsist wholey on mealworms or waxworms which escape a lot less.
In your climate, I doubt they would survive very long without temptures being regulated.

If you don't want to mess with live bugs I suggest getting a lizard that is strictly herbivore like an iguana (which poses a whole new set of issues like the large amount of space they need), or sticking to an animal that you won't be squimish about feeding.

Just my two cents worth, I don't raise roaches, only crickets, fruitflies, waxworms, millipeds and springtails.
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Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.4.0 green anoles
2.2.0 green tree frogs
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake "Popcorn"
0.0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)Due to arrive very soon
2.4 Domestic house cats
1.0 Rottweiler
1.0 Husband (who loves all my critters too)

I got a chameleon but i HATE CRICKETS. Hopping insects just creep me out. I can hold any kind of bug but i just dont like crickets AT ALL.

Bugs that i feed my Chameleon that dont escape and have a LOW creep out factor: Superworms, Mealworms and Waxworms.

For better nutrition I looked into getting SILKWORMS
These things are great. I used to raise them as a kid. They eat premade food or mulberry trees and theyre soft and cute. Theyre caterpillars actually not worms.

ALSO i got some ROACHES
If you get TROPICAL roaches, they are slower and MUCH less likely to infest your house. Some would say its impossible for a tropical roach to survive in a typical Ohio home. They're slow too. The exception would be the lobster roach. They can survive and become a pest.

If you dont like crickets but can deal with other insects theres DEFINATELY alternatives!

Leopard geckos do NOT have to eat crickets.. I raise and breed leopard geckos on a strictly mealworm diet from the time they're hatchlings until I sell them. Mealworms are easier... and once they get older.. Superworms are fine too.. Just make sure the mealies are well gutloaded and dusted and you won't have a problem. Raising mealworms is quite easy as well.. I raise both mealies and Supers.. my breeding female leo gets supers mostly with the ocassional treat of waxworms thrown in. Ron Tremper breeds extensively and feeds only mealworms to his geckos.. look at his success... Done correctly a leopard gecko never needs to see a cricket.
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)
2.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzard and 1 het Blizzard)
0.1 Savannah Monitor
13 rats
12 Gerbils
2 Dogs
3 cats
1 Albino Corey (fish)

I've heard that mealworms have too much chitin(?) in their exoskeleton and that they are hard to digest. Is this really not as big of a deal as some people say it is?

It really isn't as big a deal as most people tend to make of it.. My geckos are all very healthy and happy... And all they get are worms.. Mealworms and superworms.. If you think about it, geckos in the wild wouldn't be eating freshly molted insects but many species of beetle and roaches that have hard chitinous exoskeletons..Only an impaired animal or one kept in bad conditions would have problems digesting mealworms.
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Lucien

1.0 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)
2.1 Leopard geckos (2 Blizzard and 1 het Blizzard)
0.1 Savannah Monitor
13 rats
12 Gerbils
2 Dogs
3 cats
1 Albino Corey (fish)

Most non-climbing roaches can not fly. I have breed crickets, mealworms, and roaches. I prefer the roaches, but everyone is entitles to their opinion. Most of them do not have hard shells and they contain a much higher meat to shell ratio then mealworms. They also can retain allot of water like crickets. I almost never have to water my geckos. Most of us can agree that cickets smell and they pretty much can always find a way to escape. I think mealworms or roaches can be good, but I have not had a good of luck as some of the other people here with just feeding mealworms. I have other 10,000 (even have lobsters, although I do not recommend them) roaches for the past two years and have never once had any running around my house, however my wife wanted all the crickets gone because they kept showing up everywhere. So let look at the some Pro's & Con's:
Crickets
Pro's:
1. Produce lots of babies
2. Are a quality feeder
3. Cheap
Con's
1. Stink
2. They can jump and escape easy
3. Don't live long
Mealworms
Pro's
1. Also have plenty of babies
2. Easy to keep
3. Not good at escaping
Con's
1. Not the best shell to meat ratio
2. Not as easy to breed as cricket or roaches
Roaches
Pro's
1. Very easy to breed.
2. Longest life cycle.
3. Very easy to contain.
Con's
1. Produce much lower amounts of babies.
2. Can make some people jumpy because they are roaches.
Anyone please feel free to add to the list.

Thanks for the info. It's very helpful.

Can you recommend a specific type of roach? Obviously one of the non-flying, non-climbing ones.