Crickets continuously dying - suspicious?

[AlphaWolf]

Switching to Dubias - What size and supplier? (Leopard)

Hello, everyone.

A problem has recently arisen that I need to take care of fast, as I am making a run to the pet store almost every 4 days.

I have noticed that during the past 2 trips to get crickets they almost all die within very short time spans. Considering the fact that I am getting small crickets, death of age should not be a concern.

I keep all my crickets in a Cricket Container that is sold at pet stores. It is fairly small, but I am only getting around 50 crickets so they have space to move around freely. Below is a design quite similar to my cricket Pen.

I've been feeding the crickets Natural Adult Bearded Dragon Food with fresh carrot slices, along with potato slices and Fluker's Orange Cubes.. My mealworms seem to be thriving on the Beardie Food along with carrots, so I think maybe one of those two exclusive items could be killing the crickets. Causes of death I'm most worried about are the cricket 'virus' or poisoning.

I'm keeping the crickets in the mid-80's at all times, so that rules out temperature in my opinion.

Another very suspicious thing about the crickets' death is that they are all on their backs. Now, I've read that this could mean a number of things including what is listed above. I never really see the crickets frantically kicking their legs, I just go to examine them and I see the dead feeders. Another interesting point that I could not find anything on is that they are a darker brown or black when found dead.

I'm going to switch the crickets' diet to what the mealworms are having in hopes that my next batch stay alive longer. I also think I'm going to be going to Zamows instead of PetSmart to buy my crickets.

Any other suggestions for me, or possible causes of death?

 

[Hilde]

Excess moisture could kill them off. If there's any ammonia build-up (you can smell that) from their poop, warm temperature, and high humidity, it will do it as well.
Do you have anything they can climb on - like egg crate? They need something like that, even crumpled up paper towel, otherwise they'll trample each other to death.

 

[AlphaWolf]

I think removing the potato and gel cubes will reduce humidity for sure. I have little tube like structures (as seen in the picture above) for the crickets to climb in and on. Do you recommend having an egg carton in addition to this?

I'm getting really frustrated buying crickets so often just to see them die. I should at least have one week with a stable cricket population but they seem to be dropping like flies.

Another thing that could be killing them is mold. How often do I need to switch out fruit? I leave carrots in the container for a day and then replace them. The potatoes seem to get moldy fast from my observation.

 

[mecoat]

Hi

They shouldn't be dying that quickly. I have a similar cricket keeper (it's smaller than the one in the pictures, but only has one tube per side). Mine last about 1 month at the moment (they get eaten by then, they last longer in winter as Daff eats less). However there are some shops I never buy from as they last about 1 week, as they all die!

It's to do with how the shop/supplier looks after them. I suggest you switch your supplier (and also stop using potatoes if they go mouldy).

Hope that helps.

P.S. I don't use egg flats in my boxes like this, as they have the tubes

 

[AlphaWolf]

Thank you for replying. I switched suppliers, but they have banded crickets. 0_0

They are so hard to catch, and I'm thinking of removing the tubes because they climb in them and I can't get them out.

I'm thinking of switching to Dubias, because they are more nutritious. What size should I get? What online supplier? Thanks!

 

[mecoat]

Thank you for replying. I switched suppliers, but they have banded crickets. 0_0

They are so hard to catch, and I'm thinking of removing the tubes because they climb in them and I can't get them out.

I'm thinking of switching to Dubias, because they are more nutritious. What size should I get? What online supplier? Thanks!

Have you no other suppliers that offer the right kind of cricket? Online? I can't comment on Dubias, as I can't get them here.

I currently get my crickets online with a friend (who has many reptiles), so we make savings and they're much better quality than can be bought in the shop locally.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

See whether you can find the gentle brown crickets, Acheta domestica. I'm getting them from Armstrong's Crickets ( 800-345-8778 ).

It's easy to keep the 2 week old ones alive for 2+ months.

Try empty toilet paper rolls and/or paper towel rolls as hiding places.

 

[firehawk0285]

One possibility is pesticides on your veggies. I had a die-off once from that. Clean them real good before giving them to the crickets. If you're looking for an alternative, I highly suggest dubia roaches. I've tried virtually every other staple and these are by far my favorites. Try them once and see if you like them, too. I get mine at Home - Discount Dubias