Massive Cricket Death

[lectricblueyes]

SOIL

Okay, so I bought roughly 72 crickets on Friday (48 hours ago) and put them in a long tank... I'd say... 20 gallon tank with a screen lid. Before I put them in there, I churned the soil as to mix the old cricket poop in with the soil. I figured this was a good idea, since so much cricket poop has accumulated over the last few months. Rather than start with fresh soil... just churn the soil and mix the poop in.

Bad idea? Good idea?

FOOD

I've read many guides and found one that suggested I feed the crickets only 2 things:

1. Cat food pellets

2. Oranges

Cat food contains both protein and grains for a "full" diet. I figured that this made sense when you consider the fact that cats/dogs live on a single food and that food has preservatives in it so that it lasts quite a long time. Oranges provide water and are loaded with vitamin C. They were on sale and so I grabbed a huge bag of them for like $4.00.

Good idea?

POLLEN

Last night, I emptied out the old pollen inside my big zip lock bag. The pollen blend is called "Yen's Blend" which I bought from Hibiscusmile. Instead of dumping the pollen into the garbage, I figured I would just dump it on top of the cat food. There wasn't much, maybe a table spoon worth on top of 1/2 a cup of cat pellets.

Bad idea? Good idea?

WATER

Before dropping them into the churned soil of their new home, I sprayed the soil with a LOT of water. The soil was VERY dry and I figured... with all those eggs/babies in there... I hear the eggs need water to watch.. so I soaked the soil... waited for the water to soak down and the soil was just damp/muddy... and then I released them from their plastic bag prison.

Water like that, good? bad?

When I put those crickets in there, they were going NUTS for the food pellets! Fighting each other.. dragging it into their egg crate, hiding in corners and eating like little pigs. The oranges had massive chunks missing from it... which means they were drinking/eating away at it.

Now, my gut tells me that the pollen was a bad idea and might be responsible for the massive deaths today... since it was like 18 hours ago when I added that into the tank. BUT, it could be a combination of things....

What do you, the experts think of my setup and choices for food and does pollen kill?

Thanks!

PS. To describe the deaths... they are sluggish... slow moving.. .they go hide... and they die. Some are found dead right there near the food/pollen... while others are found dead, hiding under stuff. The bodies seem whole, and only the ones who have been dead for a while have that real dark color to them... and get gooey/stinky. I do not see any odd colors... no odd discharge that I can see...

 

[AmandaLynn]

How many do you think have died so far? Are they adult crickets? It dosn't seem like you did anything wrong, but I don't really know.

 

[lectricblueyes]

How many do you think have died so far? Are they adult crickets? It dosn't seem like you did anything wrong, but I don't really know.

I bought a total of 2 dozen adults and 3 dozen mediums. When the guy hands me the bags... it seems like there has to be.... an extra dozen in there.

The deaths... around 16 deaths... 1/3 - 1/4 of the total population.

Both adults and mediums.

 

[beckyl92]

I bought a total of 2 dozen adults and 3 dozen mediums. When the guy hands me the bags... it seems like there has to be.... an extra dozen in there.The deaths... around 16 deaths... 1/3 - 1/4 of the total population.

Both adults and mediums.

i had this with my extra small crickets..

id say you look after yours pretty well.

i just kept mine in the cricket tub i got them in, put a carrot in and misted them every other day.

i bought some new ones which ive had for about 2 weeks and i did the same but put in some crumbled up wheetabix.

not one has died. hmm

 

[d17oug18]

i find that if there in a hot spot they die really fast, they like cold shadowy spots, and if some ppl put a heat lamp with the crickets they all die in a day, you didnt say so but if there near a window or hot wall... there gonna die =/

 

[Rick]

Here is what I do and I have excellent results with large batches of crickets. I use a large rubbermaid but a tank will work. I put about half an inch of dry oatmeal in the bottom. I then add those egg crates for hiding and climbing. A gravel filled shallow dish for water and that is it on the setup. For food I feed dry dog food but the bulk of the diet is from leafy greens, (endive, bok choy, radacchio, mustards, collards, romaine, etc). I always have these around due to my uromastyx eating them but a bag of spring mix will work and it has most of those. Very simple!

I normally buy crickets 500 or 1000 at a time. Get them smaller than you need them because they grow fast and you won't likely use all of them before they mature. Where you got your crickets could have something to do with their dying if you got a bad batch. My preferred vendor is worrman which many people don't like but I have had nothing but great service from them the last several years.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Well, we don't know what killed yr crix, Dave, but it sounds as though you have way too much water in there. Crix don't live in a swamp! Next time, try green vegies instead of the orange (though of themselves, oranges are fine) and use just enough water to moisten a piece of sponge, Keep 'em well ventillated, keep the sponge moist, and away you go!

How long were they in bags, BTW? Because of the temp here, I usually have the girls at the store dump about 100 into my nasty orange cricket keeper which already has a sponge and some egg crate in it. Recently, the girl, trying to help, poured way too much water on the sponge and I lost some on the way home.

 

[Katnapper]

I'm not sure what the problem is either Dave. I think the oranges, cat food, and pollen are fine... I use all of these for mine too. (I grind the pollen into a powder and mix it right in with the ground cat and dog food).

But I'm wondering about the soil... not sure I like that idea. Seems like it might harbor other pests, would be messy and dirty, and when you wet it, it might gunk up the crickets and drown them... even if it may not be runny. If you don't use any substrate, it's easier to just vacuum or sweep the poo and dead crickets up, which you can't really do very well with soil. So all that ###### in the soil might be fermenting or something, lol. Also, do you put the food into a little dish or lid (something to keep it off the dirt)? If not, maybe it's soaking up the moisture and going bad (rotting/molding)?

Do you have a shallow dish or lid with your water crystal gel in it for them to drink plain water? (I know you have some, lol)

 

[ABbuggin]

I totally agree with Phil. Crix need to be kept dry with lots of ventilation. If you ever want to switch to another feeder look into roaches.

I personally use roaches, no stink, they dont jump, they can't annoy the living daylights out of you (crix chirp), and you can breed them rather easy. To top it off, I keep them in a dresser drawer that I emptied out. :lol:

 

[Katnapper]

I totally agree with Phil. Crix need to be kept dry with lots of ventilation. If you ever want to switch to another feeder look into roaches.I personally use roaches, no stink, they dont jump, they can't annoy the living daylights out of you (crix chirp), and you can breed them rather easy. To top it off, I keep them in a dresser drawer that I emptied out. :lol:

 

[Rick]

I also agree with roaches. I want them but wife says no. She says I can get them but would have to sleep outside with the roaches.

 

[ABbuggin]

I use a drawer because a lid is not needed just as long as you use a Vaseline "strip" about 2" wide smeared along the wall. Nothing can climb past that.

 

[d17oug18]

I use a drawer because a lid is not needed just as long as you use a Vaseline "strip" about 2" wide smeared along the wall. Nothing can climb past that.

i hear shipping tape does the same thing as well, just in case it helps anyone.

 

[lectricblueyes]

Okay well... last night before going to bed I brought the cricket tank into my apartment. Outside it's 80-90 degrees depending on the time of day. Inside it's 71-77. I took away the food, pollen, and the oranges.

This morning I am still seeing deaths. It's hard to say...

At this point I think I need to get them out of this old dirt. It has other little tiny bugs in the dirty moving around... they are not tiny crickets... not sure what they are. Hosing the dirt down with water was also a bad idea...

I might go with the oatmeal idea. I was against it before because I was under the impression that if you use black dirt, you will get new.. pin-head baby crickets as time goes on. Free crickets if I buy a $1.00 bag of dirt? How could I resist? Now I see that... once the dirt has eggs... you need to remove that dirt, and replace it every few weeks... new dirt for the crickets... old dirt goes into a container where babies are born.. kind of a nursery.

I think the poop, mildew, fungus.. other bugs in the old dirt are killing the crickets. That's my best guess...

the next question is...

1. Should I NOT feed my mantids with these crickets?

2. Should I just start brand new and fresh, wash the tank out with hot water.. go with oatmeal and all that?

3. Cockroaches... ummm... are we talking about the kind that can completely infest an apartment building? (like the one I live in?) or are they some other species that doesn't mass produce and spread disease?

 

[Rick]

Okay well... last night before going to bed I brought the cricket tank into my apartment. Outside it's 80-90 degrees depending on the time of day. Inside it's 71-77. I took away the food, pollen, and the oranges.This morning I am still seeing deaths. It's hard to say...

At this point I think I need to get them out of this old dirt. It has other little tiny bugs in the dirty moving around... they are not tiny crickets... not sure what they are. Hosing the dirt down with water was also a bad idea...

I might go with the oatmeal idea. I was against it before because I was under the impression that if you use black dirt, you will get new.. pin-head baby crickets as time goes on. Free crickets if I buy a $1.00 bag of dirt? How could I resist? Now I see that... once the dirt has eggs... you need to remove that dirt, and replace it every few weeks... new dirt for the crickets... old dirt goes into a container where babies are born.. kind of a nursery.

I think the poop, mildew, fungus.. other bugs in the old dirt are killing the crickets. That's my best guess...

the next question is...

1. Should I NOT feed my mantids with these crickets?

2. Should I just start brand new and fresh, wash the tank out with hot water.. go with oatmeal and all that?

3. Cockroaches... ummm... are we talking about the kind that can completely infest an apartment building? (like the one I live in?) or are they some other species that doesn't mass produce and spread disease?

I would go ahead and feed the healthy looking ones to mantids.

I would wash it out good and maybe use a bit of bleach

Not those kind of roaches. There are at least a few species you can use.

The oatmeal works best beause they eat it and it is easily dumped out when it gets soiled and chewed up. If you want to breed all you have to do is stick a bowl of moist dirt into the enclosure with adults and the females will lay eggs in it. I then put those under a 50w red lamp and within a week I have pinheads. I found it easier to just buy more crickets which by the way are MUCH cheaper online.

 

[lectricblueyes]

I would go ahead and feed the healthy looking ones to mantids.I would wash it out good and maybe use a bit of bleach

Not those kind of roaches. There are at least a few species you can use.

The oatmeal works best beause they eat it and it is easily dumped out when it gets soiled and chewed up. If you want to breed all you have to do is stick a bowl of moist dirt into the enclosure with adults and the females will lay eggs in it. I then put those under a 50w red lamp and within a week I have pinheads. I found it easier to just buy more crickets which by the way are MUCH cheaper online.

Alright, I'll give that a shot.

You sure they aren't spreading any kind of bacteria/disease?

 

[PhilinYuma]

You sure they aren't spreading any kind of bacteria/disease?

No one can answer that one Dave! If you have any doubts just toss out the few remaining crix, do as Rick suggested and go and get some new ones.

And before you put the new crix in, give the container a good sniff to make sure that all the bleach is gone!

 

[Rick]

Alright, I'll give that a shot.You sure they aren't spreading any kind of bacteria/disease?

I've done it and never had a problem. If you don't want to do it then don't. Or maybe try it on one mantis.

 

[Rick]

Found a pic. Cricket tub in lower right. It is the clear rubbermaid one. I cut a section of the lid out and glued in netting. At upper left you see cricket eggs in bowl incubating under red lamp.