Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i use to buy 150 crickets all together....50 small for my beardie and 100 large for my chameleon..BUT before i could feed my babies all of the crickets most of them DIE! i dont understand it...i mean i use fluckers water for the crickets and gutload to feed them so they can get all fat and juiced up so they can be eaten mwahaha..lol anyways i keep my large crickets in a 20-25 gal tank and my small in a little cage made for crickets....and some die the night i bring them home or either a day or two after...i use to feed my chameleon 5-10 every other day but now i feed her 5-6 everyother day because she's not eating as much because she laid eggs...i dont know why though...and i feed my beardie around 10 or a little more a day or everyother day....i just want to know why my crickets are dieing so fast! i do everything correct! that i know of and i also have toilet rolls so they can hide.....any help would be greatful! thanks

brittany

Are you giving them heat & light? They need about 80 degrees heat & 12-16 hrs of light.
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God Bless, Beardie Dreams, & Peace!
Pogoniacs™

oh....lol...no well my house an ok temp , and the only time they get light is when i take my beardie out of his cage and when the lights are on in the house.....thank you

brittany

Are you purchasing adult crickets or smaller?

Sometimes the pet stores have no clue how old their feeders
are

I keep my crickets in seperate boxes, by size.
Lots of holes in the box, the smell really bad!
I use a shallow water dish with cotton in it, no flukers gel.
Dust their food with calcium powder.(crunchy cat food)
They live forever for me.
The cat food keeps them from eating each other to.

Maybe they are getting too much to eat. Flukers gel really
expands them. Puts a whole new meaning to the term "gut loading"
Just my thoughts on the subject
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Call me an animal freak again and I'll sick my Tarantulas on you!! j/k

I by my crickets in the 1000 and 500 counts and hardly loose any. Do you provide them with something to climb on? Like cardboard egg carton or a card board papertowel roll. If the go to the bathroom on each other it can kill them. Also you need prper ventelation too. I keep my crickets in a rubermade tub and the smaller ones in sterilite tubs, all with plenty of holes drilled in them. No lights in them my room is hot enough with all the reptile lights. Although when i worked for a supplier we kept the crickets we shipped in the cold room(goldfish room) and they didnt die. hope this helps.

peace,
nathan