Crickets in freezer/cricket size

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BellsBird

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hi guys,

I'm getting my first mantis sometime this week (hopefully) and I've just been down at the pet shop looking at the crickets.

I have two questions: One, crickets are awfully jumpy creatures, and getting the form A to B with butterfingers could be tricky for a blonde :D So...If i put them in the freezer for five or ten minutes, will it hurt them? because i know that with fruit flies they go into a nice little sleep, and thaw out within a minute. Very handy. Will this happen to crickets as well?

And the size. i just read a post (much to my horror!) that someomne's mantis has been eaten by crickets! How awful! The mantis I'm getting is a sub-sub adult female, and i just wanted to know if medium or large crickets would be too big for her. But will small crickets fill her up? and roches don't present a problem do they?

Thanks,

Robyn

 
I would put the crickets in the fridge, not the freezer. The freezer could kill them rather quickly. Do you know what species of mantid you are getting? Most sub-adult mantids can handle adult crickets. Roaches present no problems for mantids.

 
ismart said:
I would put the crickets in the fridge, not the freezer. The freezer could kill them rather quickly. Do you know what species of mantid you are getting? Most sub-adult mantids can handle adult crickets. Roaches present no problems for mantids.
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^^+1^^

A short stay in the freezer works well for fruit flies, but I use the fridge for crickets. And I only keep them in there long enough to slow them down to the point where they lack the energy to jump.

I once left a cricket in for too long, and it was out cold (pun intended). I dropped it into the cup, and the hungry mantis climbed down and started poking at it as if to say, "Come on, dude, you have to wake up and start moving before I can grab you and eat you." :lol:

 
ismart said:
I would put the crickets in the fridge, not the freezer. The freezer could kill them rather quickly. Do you know what species of mantid you are getting? Most sub-adult mantids can handle adult crickets. Roaches present no problems for mantids.
Click to expand...
I'm getting a sub-sub adult orthodera (female, if thats any help :p ). Fridge it is then :D

 
-MK- said:
^^+1^^A short stay in the freezer works well for fruit flies, but I use the fridge for crickets. And I only keep them in there long enough to slow them down to the point where they lack the energy to jump.

I once left a cricket in for too long, and it was out cold (pun intended). I dropped it into the cup, and the hungry mantis climbed down and started poking at it as if to say, "Come on, dude, you have to wake up and start moving before I can grab you and eat you." :lol:
Click to expand...
Hahaha, I'll make sure they're still twicthing for Dotty :lol:

Thanks guys!

Dotty (and Robyn)

 
Katnapper said:
Look for a pair of long forceps/tongs at your pet shop. They're indispensible to me to handle feeder insects. ;)
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Hahaha, that might be a good idea :p but until, it looks like Dotty will have to wait for her meals to defrost :lol: But it's not that i can't touch them :n\blink: i can hold crickets, and fruit flies (lies and roaches though...uuuuuggggghhhhhh :( ) but the crickets will jump out and i will have a room full of bloody bouncing crickets :lol: and the fruit flies are just easier when they're out so i can pick them up and give them to Dotty.

Tweezers might be a good idea :D

 
Katnapper said:
Look for a pair of long forceps/tongs at your pet shop. They're indispensible to me to handle feeder insects. ;)
Click to expand...
Yep. Best thing I have ever bought for this hobby. I wouldn't worry about crickets eating a mantis. I've never seen it. Just don't have crickets in there when the mantis molts because if it falls then it could be chewed on.

 
Robyn said:
Hahaha, that might be a good idea :p but until, it looks like Dotty will have to wait for her meals to defrost :lol: But it's not that i can't touch them :n\blink: i can hold crickets, and fruit flies (lies and roaches though...uuuuuggggghhhhhh :( ) but the crickets will jump out and i will have a room full of bloody bouncing crickets :lol: and the fruit flies are just easier when they're out so i can pick them up and give them to Dotty.Tweezers might be a good idea :D
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Get a deeper tub, like a Rubbermaid type storage container to keep them in... then they can't jump out. They will also have more room for furniture (cardboard egg crates, toilet paper rolls, etc.), water dish (with sponge, paper towel, or use the water crystals - so they don't drown), and food area.

 
Katnapper said:
Get a deeper tub, like a Rubbermaid type storage container to keep them in... then they can't jump out. They will also have more room for furniture (cardboard egg crates, toilet paper rolls, etc.), water dish (with sponge, paper towel, or use the water crystals - so they don't drown), and food area.
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I don't keep as many mantids as some so I only get a dozen or two crickets at a time. I keep them in these types of containers.

http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?fam...esultRedirect=1

The black tubes are good places for the crickets to 'hide' when the lights come on so they stay in there a lot. Just pull out a tube and shake a cricket or two out into a cup then dump them into the mantis cup. Hardly ever have one escape. Well there was the time that I dropped the whole container and well.... that could happen with any box. :p

 
Mikey said:
I don't keep as many mantids as some so I only get a dozen or two crickets at a time. I keep them in these types of containers.http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?fam...esultRedirect=1

The black tubes are good places for the crickets to 'hide' when the lights come on so they stay in there a lot. Just pull out a tube and shake a cricket or two out into a cup then dump them into the mantis cup. Hardly ever have one escape. Well there was the time that I dropped the whole container and well.... that could happen with any box. :p
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I used the large version of that cage when I was up at college, and space was at a premium. The tubes do work great and help maximize space in the carrier, though did they fix the design flaw on them? First thing I noticed when I picked one up was that if you have the tubes in and the flaps open, the place they are hooked has a gap large enough for even an adult cricket to slip through. I simply used some tape over the holes, but figured I would give anyone a heads up about that if they haven't fixed that flaw since I got mine several years back.
 
Krissim Klaw said:
I used the large version of that cage when I was up at college, and space was at a premium. The tubes do work great and help maximize space in the carrier, though did they fix the design flaw on them? First thing I noticed when I picked one up was that if you have the tubes in and the flaps open, the place they are hooked has a gap large enough for even an adult cricket to slip through. I simply used some tape over the holes, but figured I would give anyone a heads up about that if they haven't fixed that flaw since I got mine several years back.
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The one I bought less than six months ago had the same flaw. It's got some duct tape holding the flaps down, and I just open the main door and snag 'em with forceps. Not the easiest job in the world, but I don't have many escapees (much to the dismay of my mighty huntress cats).

 
hahaha, okaydoki :) So...Would a medium size cricket be around the right size for Dotty do you think? I spose it doesn't matter...I think I'll stay and watch ehr eat them anyway :D

 
Krissim Klaw said:
I used the large version of that cage when I was up at college, and space was at a premium. The tubes do work great and help maximize space in the carrier, though did they fix the design flaw on them? First thing I noticed when I picked one up was that if you have the tubes in and the flaps open, the place they are hooked has a gap large enough for even an adult cricket to slip through. I simply used some tape over the holes, but figured I would give anyone a heads up about that if they haven't fixed that flaw since I got mine several years back.
Click to expand...
I have both the small and the large versions of the containers. At one time I did have a lot of mantids and needed the big one. I've never actually seen a cricket be able to climb up to test the escape capabilities of those small gaps near the flaps. The outside of the tubes are too smooth and slippery for any of the crickets I've bought to get up and they can't climb the walls. Maybe I have dumb crickets? That's fine for me!

The flaps will come off though pretty easy if you are not paying attention. I also use a bit of tape to make sure they don't pop off when I'm feeding the critters.

 
Any idea what size cricket would be most appropriate for Dotty? (sub-sub adult female Orthodera, again, for the lazy people who can't be bothered to scroll up :lol: )

 

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