Help ! Almost all Crickets Dying !!!

[OffshoreMetal]

I need help, About a week ago , i received my cricket order ( 500 ) but they are almost all dead now !:-x I noticed that alot of them have their back legs paralysed and they cannot walk properly. Some of them are still in perfect shape but i suppose that in a couple of days , The paralysed ones that are still alive will all die. I have about 50-60 still alive out of 500 !
Whats that problem ? Anyone has already saw this ?

Thanks alot !

 

[Salzy]

I've never had any luck with crickets either. That's why I switched to roaches for feeders. Crickets always seem to need so much more moisture and food to stay alive, and they don't live nearly as long as what you would think anyway. Every time I've ever ordered them, within a couple of days 75% of the bunch were dead.

 

[OffshoreMetal]

I already tought about getting some roaches , But i dont know where to get them... Im in quebec, Canada. Does anybody know where i can but some ?
And for the crickets , Anyone knows what it is ?

 

[NathanSoto]

I have a general idea i think, sometimes crickets end up basically stabbing the other crickets with the spurs on their back legs and ultimately killing them, on top of this the dead ones give off an oily substance when killed that is POISONOUS to the others if eaten and crickets DO eat the dead and even sometimes the living ones, but then theirs also other occurrences like a bad shed - to much heat - not enough heat - to much moisture - not enough moisture - to much stress etc... they can be a pain to keep alive but hope this helps.

Nathan

 

[JordanAng420]

OffShore...
I had the SAME problem when I first started using crickets, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why they seemed to die within 2 or 3 days.

I was told on a different forum that sometimes crickets will "trample" each other if there isn't enough room for each of them to hide individually. I added a few more pieces of egg carton and made a little "cricket palace". My crickets now live for about 2-3 weeks, sometimes more.

My suggestion would be to stop by a pet store that sells crickets and ask them for some extra egg carton...they should just give it to you...and put more of it in there with your crickets. I can almost guarentee that it will fix your problem.

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Thanks people, Ill order some more crickets and tell them to put extra egg cartons
And just to vary more the diet, Anywhere i can order online some roaches in quebec canada ??

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Roaches are by far the best way to go. But I know that many of the species of roach are not allowed in canada. But I don't know which species are and are not allowed. Hopefully one of your fellow canadians will chime in.

 

[kruler]

Basically all species of tropical roach are illegal here in Canada.

There is a supplier in Quebec whose e-mail address is: dubias AT live DOT ca

You wont go back to crickets, good luck.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

A few things will kill crickets in mass like you are experiencing, excessive humidity, heat, cold, and too much calcium in the diet are the big ones.

Crickets are reared in huge colonies so I doubt that overcrowding is an issue unless you have them in a very tiny enclosure.

For the most part they can be bred or maintained on any dry cereal you might eat for breakfast and slices of potato for moisture. Unsweetened cereal is best of course.

Keep them at least at 22°C all the way up to 26°C and they should do fine, lower or higher and you’ll have issues keeping them alive.

Describe the enclosure and conditions and I’m sure we can weed out what went wrong.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[Airedale]

Crix are a pain. That's why I went with roaches. They live much longer than crix do when you keep them in the container. I prefer them to crickets, bar none.

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Yeah , I know they are easier to keep but i am still thinking about it. They are illegal here so ill think about it
Just to know , How do i care for theses ? Temp , Himidity , Food etc... All i need to know
Thanks.

 

[kruler]

there is info and a care sheet at roachranch10

 

[JordanAng420]

How are your crickets? Did you add more egg carton?

 

[kruler]

Anyone know where I can get some egg carton trays?

 

[OffshoreMetal]

I added a couple more cartons but theres not many crickets left. Ill order some today and they will probably come by friday.( i order them from a store in montreal , It is cheaper for me to order from there than to get them from the pet shop ).
Ill order less so they will not be too much crowded ( last time i ordered 500 ).
I hope more carton will solve this weird problem

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Anyone know where I can get some egg carton trays?

When i buy my crickets , They come with 2 big piece. But you can use your own egg cartons, It is the same thing.

 

[kruler]

When i buy my crickets , They come with 2 big piece. But you can use your own egg cartons, It is the same thing.

I need them for my dubia colony, so won't be ordering any quantity of crickets. I would also prefer clean ones that haven't been used with crickets. The eggs that I buy come in clear plastic boxes (better for the environment :crackup and I need the flat trays anyway.

 

[OffshoreMetal]

I need them for my dubia colony, so won't be ordering any quantity of crickets. I would also prefer clean ones that haven't been used with crickets. The eggs that I buy come in clear plastic boxes (better for the environment :crackup and I need the flat trays anyway.

umm i dont reallt know where you could find this... A good place to find them ( for my opinion ) Would be places that sell live chickens for the eggs Probably a hard place to find but im sure if you find a egg farm or something similar, You could buy a million of them if you want :crackup:

You can also try to contact a roach breeder. If they are nice , they can help you.

Good luck

 

[cliff_f]

Make sure you put the egg cartons vertical in the tubs so they don't squish the crickets. I never have a problem with my crickets dieing off they are extremely easy to keep. I highly disagree about the roaches. They plain suck and I will never go back to roaches.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Make sure you put the egg cartons vertical in the tubs so they don't squish the crickets. I never have a problem with my crickets dieing off they are extremely easy to keep. I highly disagree about the roaches. They plain suck and I will never go back to roaches.

Out of the 16,000 users of this forum, I think you're the only one I've ever seen complain about roaches. But I've never seen you actually give any real reason why you think they suck? They have tons of advantages over crickets. You're certainly welcome to your opinion. But I'm curious as to why other than just "they suck".