Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i threw a few crickets into my boxies pen about a month ago, which is odd for me because normally when i have live things i feed her elsewhere. now, i have babies. every morning i go in to change the water & theres at least a dozen drowned already. i dont particularly like killing things, & call me a girl but baby crickets are too cute, but the pen is inside (before i get criticized, i have no yard so theres no where else to put her, & ive had her since '97) & i really dont need baby anythings taking over the place. i dont want to deal with them, & i dont want them to get down to the neighbors in the same building. the last thing i need is to hear all about the sudden cricket infestation, which will probably lead to me, since i keep crickets to feed a few different animals. anyway, ill be changing her bedding soon so i guess i shouldnt worry about it, but anyone know of anything i can do other than pesticides, etc. im obviously concerned about my turtles wellfare, so i wont use anything that would hurt her, but these things are getting out of hand, & id be willing to bet theyve gotten out of the pen & are probably elsewhere already.

ive already resigned myself to picking the live ones out of the water & throwing them outside until i change the bedding, so if im out of luck, i wont be too upset. id like to avoid exterminators in the future, though. advice please, thanks a bunch, guys.

You can capture 90% or more of those loose crickets by putting in the cardboard centers from paper towels. They will be more effective near your undertank heat source if possible.
After a day, the young crickets will have gravitated towards the round tubes, then, you can slowly pick them up and shake the tubes into another container. Put the tubes back to collect the rest.

Did you know that crickets, gutloaded or not, will have a high degree of phosphorus as compared to calcium. If you dust the crickets occassionally with 2.0 calcium...it would compensate for that.

One more tidbit; if you feed the crickets in a ceramic straight sided bowl; one deep enough for the boxie to reach but too slippery for the crickets to get out...you'll have virtually no escapies ( if you break the hind legs- of the larger feeders). Sink the bowl down into your substrate so just the lip is above the substrate. Put some calcium 2.0 dust into the bowl and it will be even more difficult for the crickets to escape; and easier for the boxie to feed.

Also, any crickets not eaten in the first 48 hours; I would remove; as domestic European crickets will feed on a boxie's fecal matter and contaminate themselves with a high degree of pathogens..usually protozoa. This only applies in a closed contained small environment. Consequently those crickets will, themselves, become sick and sluggish, and be easily captured. Normal healthy domestic crickets have a lifespan of six to eight weeks.
Ric