My crickets are all dying!!!???

[Psychobunny]

I have never wanted to bother breeding them either. To much work just keeping them

clean and alive.

Dubia roaches, on the other hand, will breed out of control simply by putting them in a

90F invironment with plenty of food and water (and egg cartons).

They also dont stink like cricks.

Only thing is, they are very good at hiding and will stay under any substrate for days.

Every time I clean cages I find them. Been there for days, hiding!!

 

[hibiscusmile]

my crickets do not die, so they do not stink

 

[massaman]

I dont use roaches as feeders just dont want to be bothered with them and dont mind crickets though and they can be annoying at night when they decide to sing but I can tolerate it and some people are just not able to use one or the other as feeders as some use crickets and others roaches its just a matter of linguistics!

 

[patrickfraser]

Linguistics? What do you say??? :lol:

 

[Introvertebrate]

I dont know what species I have, they look exactly the same as what I have been

getting for years. They are a light tan color......

Sounds like Ghann's is still selling Acheta domesticus. Here's a quote from Ghann's website: "We're happy to announce that we have just been granted permits by the USDA to LEGALLY produce the new VIRUS RESISTANT cricket that everyone is talking about, and TODAY we received our initial breeding stock - our "Adams & Eves"! The species is Gryllus assimilis (commonly called the Jamaican Field Cricket), and it's VERY similar to the standard Acheta domesticus that we all know & love. The adults get a little larger and are a little darker in color, but the MAJOR difference is... the deadly cricket virus that kills Achetas does NOT affect Gryllus assimilis!"

.........I try to tell you guys to order from Rainbow mealworms, the crickets do not die off, they are the darker kind, but there are some lighter ones in the order.........they are very hardy.......

That sounds like Gryllus assimilis. They're darker.

........i was so glad when the pet stores in my country switched permanently over to Acheta... even the neighbours commented on the racket Gryllus was making.......

I was under the impression that Gryllus is the quieter species. Some people call it the 'silent cricket'.

 

[crucis]

I was under the impression that Gryllus is the quieter species. Some people call it the 'silent cricket'.

Hmm several species in that genus are dubbed 'Field Crickets', right? Those that I kept were really, REALLY loud somehow I made the foolish experiment of keeping the males alone in deli cups, and this made them sing so enthusiastically my ears rang if I stood next to them at night

I cannot be sure that the Gryllus species I kept was G.assimilis (it was probably G.bimaculatus), but I was thinking that - since both species fall under the designation 'Field Cricket' - they are rather similar, and probably as loud as each other. I could easily be wrong though!

 

[Rick]

That sound like it would turn into a huge mess in a few weeks, esp when your substrate starts getting damp.

How do you keep it clean??

I have to clean my bin at least weekly and I get 1/2 a dustpan full of ###### w/o any substrate!!

The oatmeal is never damp. Daily I remove uneaten food and that is it. I water using a small shallow dish with a sponge. Hiding places created with egg crates. I never mist crickets so not sure how you think the substrate would get damp. But when the oatmeal is getting thin I just dump it out and add more. It sounds like your issues are caused by your techniques. I find keeping crickets to be quite easy and I have had few problems over the years with this technique. Crickts get a bad rap and I believe it to be because people have no idea how to keep them.

 

[Psychobunny]

I was thinking water from your water dish, plus whatever veggies, fruit you put in there would make it damp

over time. No, I was not thinking of misting them. Never hear of anyone doing that

 

[Psychobunny]

my crickets do not die, so they do not stink

Okay, on your advise, I ordered 500 from Rainbow !

If they all die, I'm a comin' after ya!! LOL

 

[Rick]

I was thinking water from your water dish, plus whatever veggies, fruit you put in there would make it damp

over time. No, I was not thinking of misting them. Never hear of anyone doing that

Fruit would be more on the order of apples and the like. Those are occasional though. Majority of feed is dry dog food and leafy greens.

 

[Small Pet Feeders]

Yea, the crickets from a lot of farms are getting chewed up by the cold. Try feeding fresh fruits and high protein items. And make sure you change the container they're in 4 times a month at least.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Sounds like a bad batch. From the petstores I consider it normal for at least 1/2 to die within the first few weeks. Rebecca raises a good point, which I never thought of. I always assumed it was from terrible care at the petstores but perhaps the strain of being shipped can trigger some of the deaths. I would probably avoid the vendor and try another.

Meanwhile in my 20 gallon tank I have everything from freshly hatched nymphs to adults and only find the occasional dead adult most likely one that has aged out. I have made no efforts to breed my crickets but from giving the proper environment for healthy living it naturally happens. They don't naturally smell. If someone is experiencing smelly crickets it is either because you aren't keeping the environment clean enough or what you are feeding. I always give my crickets some of the high quality dry dog food my dog is on at the time, and I have noticed on occasion I will happen on a food that makes for a stinky cricket cage.