manzano167
Well-known member
Crickets in the petco for sale and the label said they were gut loaded is it true? or lie The crickets were fat too
I saw some....
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LauraMG
Well-known member
What the heck does it mean to gut load? :lol: Are they force feeding their mutant crickets?!?! :tt2:
I've always had good experience with Petco's fresh crickets, never tried their prepackaged though
I've always had good experience with Petco's fresh crickets, never tried their prepackaged though
Seattle79
Well-known member
Don't know. When I purchase crickets I always gut load them with fruits, vegetables, dry cat food, granulated honey and bee pollen. I don't always trust pets stores when it comes to what they feed their crickets. Feed your crickets a nice healthy meal
. I also soak cotton balls in distilled water for my crickets to drink from.-Kevin
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Seattle79
Well-known member
YES. They cram tiny funnels down their throats and force feed them to the point were they almost explode. No really, this is true.
-Kevin
manzano167
Well-known member
lol
Do you think 13 cents each is a good deal? or mealworms for $4?
Do you think 13 cents each is a good deal? or mealworms for $4?
LauraMG
Well-known member
I've never had success with feeding meal worms. I can force feed them to one of my mantids, but that's a huge pain.
And I am totally disturbed by the mental picture of a tiny funnel down a cricket's throat
Seattle79
Well-known member
I have never tried mealworms before. I don't know why. I've always used crickets. Maybe because crickets aren't as picky when it comes to feeding them, they eat just about anything, including their dead.
-Kevin
Seattle79
Well-known member
HA!HA!HA!I've never had success with feeding meal worms. I can force feed them to one of my mantids, but that's a huge pain.
And I am totally disturbed by the mental picture of a tiny funnel down a cricket's throat
Thirteen cents is robbery! That makes out to be $130 dollars per thousand. You can buy that same amount from a place like Grubco online for $18! Don't mind the term gutload. That word is thrown around. That is just their way of making it sound like they are nice healthy crickets that are good for your pets, the opposite is usually true. If you need a steady supply, buy them online in bulk and feed them properly yourself and they will serve you well.
manzano167
Well-known member
ok
What about the dubian cockaroaches theirs 25 cents each in a local reptile breeder/ store?
What about the dubian cockaroaches theirs 25 cents each in a local reptile breeder/ store?
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
"Gut loading" is a term used, appropriately, by herp and frog keepers. The crickets are given nutrients like calcium, vitamins and color enhancing chemicals that do nothing for the crickets -- or for mantids that eat them for that matter -- but are good for the vertebrates. The store is also saying that they don't sell their crix as soon as they arrive.
Of course, Rick is absolutely right about the price asked wholesalers versus that asked by stores, but if you only have half a dozen mantids, wholesale buying is not a great idea. Crix double their size with every weekly molt, and will quickly outgrow your mantids. Also, in my case, Tiffany and Heather at my LPS are cute and good natured, but Oscar, my mail carrier, though good natured, just doesn't make it in the cute department....
Of course, Rick is absolutely right about the price asked wholesalers versus that asked by stores, but if you only have half a dozen mantids, wholesale buying is not a great idea. Crix double their size with every weekly molt, and will quickly outgrow your mantids. Also, in my case, Tiffany and Heather at my LPS are cute and good natured, but Oscar, my mail carrier, though good natured, just doesn't make it in the cute department....
Vore
Member
Our local pet store does crickets at $1 a dozen, and you can run a card to get every 13th dozen free. This doesn't come close to the online price, and doesn't help you if you can't handle a dozen at a time (but they do sell them by the 1 if you needs), but it's a lower price than what you saw.
Ultimately, if you don't need a lot of crickets (only a few things to feed) then the difference in prices hardly weighs against convenience.
More importantly to us, we have found the local pet store crickets to be cleaner and "better" than the big box pet store ones. We really don't need to be bringing mites into our zoo on feeders.
I can't ever tell the 2 big box pet stores apart. But one of them usually has the cricket tub on the sales floor (not out back) and I have not seen much food in the tubs.
My local pet store does have supply problems sometimes (cricket shortage, supplier shut down for xmas) but the big box stores here seem to get their crickets on tuesday afternoon, and is often out of them from sunday through tuesday which has been very inconvenient for me.
Fishing stores also carry crickets sometimes, I imagine it is mostly the same suppliers, but I suspect their only real need is to keep them alive and wriggling, not necessarily healthy or nutritious.
I have not been able to get a mantid to eat a meal worm (or super worm) even in a small cage with no substrate. I would have thought the meal worm speed would be enough, but it hasn't happened. Caterpillars seem fine though.
Any ideas you may entertain about keeping your own cricket population, or even simply trying to keep 2 dozen over a month have to be very well thought out. The noise and the potential smell are not things every one's house can deal with simply. And I find buying the crickets I need far easier than trying to maintain them.
It is still summer here. I am supplementing our cricket budget with the huge number of grass hoppers available. Five minutes with a sweep net turns up dozens of hoppers, who are in my opinion easier to clean up after and need less and don't kill each other as often. But then, there's the issue of sorting out by-catch, and what's unhealthy for mantids (wasps, spiders?, anyone know if mantids can eat blister beetles-I certainly would not bet on it). It's hard to use grass hoppers or feeders for most of our bugs, but as both hoppers and mantids like to cling to the ceiling, it works out very well for them. And the largest grasshoppers can be hand fed to the tarantulas.
Ultimately, if you don't need a lot of crickets (only a few things to feed) then the difference in prices hardly weighs against convenience.
More importantly to us, we have found the local pet store crickets to be cleaner and "better" than the big box pet store ones. We really don't need to be bringing mites into our zoo on feeders.
I can't ever tell the 2 big box pet stores apart. But one of them usually has the cricket tub on the sales floor (not out back) and I have not seen much food in the tubs.
My local pet store does have supply problems sometimes (cricket shortage, supplier shut down for xmas) but the big box stores here seem to get their crickets on tuesday afternoon, and is often out of them from sunday through tuesday which has been very inconvenient for me.
Fishing stores also carry crickets sometimes, I imagine it is mostly the same suppliers, but I suspect their only real need is to keep them alive and wriggling, not necessarily healthy or nutritious.
I have not been able to get a mantid to eat a meal worm (or super worm) even in a small cage with no substrate. I would have thought the meal worm speed would be enough, but it hasn't happened. Caterpillars seem fine though.
Any ideas you may entertain about keeping your own cricket population, or even simply trying to keep 2 dozen over a month have to be very well thought out. The noise and the potential smell are not things every one's house can deal with simply. And I find buying the crickets I need far easier than trying to maintain them.
It is still summer here. I am supplementing our cricket budget with the huge number of grass hoppers available. Five minutes with a sweep net turns up dozens of hoppers, who are in my opinion easier to clean up after and need less and don't kill each other as often. But then, there's the issue of sorting out by-catch, and what's unhealthy for mantids (wasps, spiders?, anyone know if mantids can eat blister beetles-I certainly would not bet on it). It's hard to use grass hoppers or feeders for most of our bugs, but as both hoppers and mantids like to cling to the ceiling, it works out very well for them. And the largest grasshoppers can be hand fed to the tarantulas.
sjb123
Active member
im in the uk and what i dont understand is why they sell 5 adult locusts for £3 when they get swarms of billions in some places and kill them all!
Schloaty
Well-known member
Ha! My wife has a tough enough time with me keeping the mantids (though she handled the last escape fiasco very well).
If I tried to keep 1000 crickets, I think I might get the "either they go, or I go."
Hopefully I wouldn't delay in my choice....
:angel: 
