I got my crickets in a cage, now, how do I catch them & get them to my lizard?

Question

I bought crickets to feed my anole and I can keep them alive and gut load them and the anole likes them fine. Catches them, it's fun to watch her stalk them, etc., but trying to catch the crickets in the little plastic crate is practically impossible. If I keep the lid open too long, they hop out. If I keep it closed, I can't catch them. What's the right tool? Should I use a net? A meatball maker? Help!

Answer 1

I would use a cardboard tube like for toilet paper or paper towels...they crawl inside feeling like it's protection....then you can just uncover one side and let them out into the cage..

Answer 2

lol, dude doesn't know what he is talking about. The best way to get the crickets out is to hold the tank sideways, and let the crickets climb into the lizard tank on their own. if your cricket tank is too large, or has moving things in it that would crush them, use a small cup with a lid, or a fish net. How many crickets are you buying for your anole? If you have less than a dozen, there is no point in having a second tank. You can put them right into the tank with your anole? As well, how old is your anole, and what is the size of crickets you are buying? The younger the anole, the smaller the crickets should be. If you breed them, the ones that you will catch the easiest will be too big for your young anole to eat. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

Since you don't mention how big your cricket cage is, I'll just give you an idea, then you can modify it to fit your cage: use a toilet paper tube.

Just set the tube inside your cricket house/cage. You can lie it down on it's side or lean it upward at a slant. The crickets crawl into it and you just pick it up and shake out as many or as little as you want. If it is filled up just shake the majority back into your cricket house, and shake the rest into your lizards cage.

I use to keep my crickets in old ten and twenty gallon aquariums with a wire mesh lids. I used paper towel rolls, though, because I need a lot of crickets at feeding time. I would just lay a bunch of them across the bottom, and when I needed them I just picked up the roll & shook them into a plastic bag (the kind that are used at fish stores 4"wide x 10"long) It is much easier to handle the crickets this way and I could see how many I was dealing with. You can then empty some out and keep what you need to feed your lizard. Also, with the plastic bag, you can add your calcim powder and do the shake & bake, then feed.

Please Don't make the mistake & leave a bunch of crickets in with you lizard. Crickets will EAT you lizard over a period of time. Only feed as many crickets as your lizard can eat at any given time. If you are not sure how many he will eat per day, then start with two or three. If he eats them all, add a few more, etc.
Keep count. You can always add more if he eats them.

Always move stuff around in your lizard's cage to make sure crickets are not hiding. If you get an abundance of them in the cage and don't notice them, over a period of time they will actually start breeding, and the babies are so tiney you can't even see them until it is too late for your lizard. Speaking from sad experience.
Good luck!

Answer 4

What you need is called a Cricket Keeper.

It is a small plastic cage with a plastic mesh lid, with 2 black tubes poking out either side. You put the crickets in the cage with food and moisture (and I suggest some sort of paper towel / aspen shavings substrate to keep the smell down). Now, the crickets will naturally climb up the tubes because they are dark, and they are higher than the ground. When you are ready to feed, pull out a tube, and cover the end with your hand. (One end will be shut off by a plastic cap already.) You can then lower the tube into the anole cage, shake out some crickets, cover the end, and pop the tube back into the hole in the cricket keeper. It's fairly escape proof, and can be found at most Petsmart / Petco type stores. It is by far the easiest thing to do. Good luck!

Answer 5

try a 15 gallon plastic storage container, the kind used in offices and such to keep the crickers. They cointainers are tall and the crickets can't get out, plus there is an attached lid for easy closure.

Keep an orange slice in with them (change it once per week) and keep a couple of egg containers in there too. Use the botton of the box that eggs come in and tear them in half.

The crickets will occupy the secions on the egg container and it makes a very handy "scoop" to get the crickets an put them in the reptile's cage. You will have to be quick about it, but it is easier than a bag or net.

Every breeder I have seen who uses crickets has this set up.

Answer 6

Thats an awful lot of work. Why not just get a few crickets every week, rather than storing them. Keeping crickets is a smelly occupation. DO NOT put too many crickets in at once. If the anole doesn't eat them, they will get hungry and they can kill the anole. Stupid as that sounds...

Answer 7

Its very easy to plant a tank and raise crickets so you never have to buy them again. But some people really hate the chirping all nite. Take an egg carton and cut off just 1 of the cups and its easy to shake just as many as you like in your anole tank. Cut 2 or 3 individual cups to put in with the crickets they love to hide in them. if you want to know how to raise crickets just ask. believe me once you get them going you will never have to buy them again.

Answer 8

If the cricket container is small enough, place it with the lid open inside the lizard's aquarium and wait for them to hop out. Otherwise, try cupping your hands and catching them in your hands.

Answer 9

put a piece of egg crate in the cage and they will crawl into the egg holder spaces then just pick out the piece of crate and shake crickets off into bag with dust powder in it shake bag to coat crickets then feed crickets to lizard

Answer 10

put the cricket cage in the lizard cage then open it and wait until one jumps out.
OR!
put a small hole in the cricket cage then open a can of peas put some of the peas in front of the hole when a cricket comes out to take a pea you grab him. It's easier to sneak up on them if you wear sneakers, or tennis shoes.

Answer 11

You should try just picking up the plastic crate and dumping a portion of them into your terrarium. I don't think you have to worry about feedin him an exact amount of crickets at every meal.