what's the best way to store crickets for my fire bellied toads?

Question

I get sick of running to the pet store 3 or 4 times a week what should i do

Answer 1

Fulfill their basic needs: food, shelter, and water.

First: Food. Through MUCH trail and error keeping crickets for my beardies, I have found that reptile kibble; found at most herp stores (if it smells like fruity pebbles, you got it!) serves tripple duty as a snack for my lizards, as well as cricket food and gutload. I have had FANTASTIC luck with this foodsource considering how cheap it is (compared to "cricket food" which does work, but for $10 per 8oz, it better!). Plus, I can sleep at night knowing it won't go bad in there (being dry as it is) making my bugs sick... or worse, my pets!

Water. CRICKETS ARE DUMB! They can (and usually will) drown in as little as 1/4 inch of water. Plus standing water gets nasty and habors all sorts of bacteria. I swear by a single wadded up, saturated (but not dripping) paper towel, per 100 crickets placed away from food and shelter. Change the paper towels at LEAST every other day. Remember: Apples and potatoes are only a water source, and a lousy one at that! They smell and are difficult to clean out of your enclosure.

Shelter. Recycled cellulose egg cartons, drink holders from fast food places, and packaging of the same material is the only way to go. Scatter them about and keep em' dry. Remember: Alot of crickets need alot of room to hide. If you're having trouble with cricket cannibalism (die hard herp lovers know what I mean), not enough space or material is usually the problem. This bedding also gives them something to chew on, which seems to help them maintain their sanity!

To put the whole deal in, I perfer a square rubbermaid container with a modified locking lid (I punched TONS of appropriately sized holes in the top of mine to maximize air circulation). A 20 or larger aquarium will also work (but watch out as bugs are great at climbing the silicone corners!). To further inhibit escape, I lined the inside of the container (about 6 inches from the top of the cricket bedding) with an 8 inch strip of packing tape (that's four strips high if you're using the wide tape). The littles boogers can't scale it! It's halarious to watch! And in my 18 gallon (68 liters) container I can easily keep up to 1,000 crickets with as little as 1% mortality over about 2 months time. Be sure to keep the food and cartons away from the paper towels! If everything gets wet, disease will kill off your bugs faster than you can say "What smells?". Clean out all bodies as soon as you discover them.

DO keep the crickets at a moderate temperature! Above 80 degrees farenheit they start to die; below 65, they start to die. About 75 seems right for happy crickets. Mature ones will also breed around this temp.

Humidity is also important. You don't want to keep them anywhere too damp. They will literally rot to death! Too dry and you'll have a whole bucket of Aboriginal chips!

Buy crickets in bulk. It's way cheaper, plus they will ship to your house eleminating those pesky trips to the pet shop. You may want to practice keeping 50 to 100 alive before going full scale with 500-1,000.


Allow a day before your next shipment arrives for cleaning. THUROUGHLY scrub all cricket feces and yang out of your container. Sift out the kibble (crumbs contain bacteria soaked feces) . Discard and replace damp or very soiled cartons. Finish by sterilizing the inside of your container with rubbing alcohol and let dry and air out before starting a new cycle. GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 2

I bought a mid size tupperware tub, cut out some of the top and hot glued mesh to the top of it. Then I poured oatmeal on the bottom, and put some cricket food in there along with some of that jelly water stuff you get at the petstore. I also put in a hunk of potato, carrot, and a couple of egg cartons (not the styrofoam ones but the paper ones, or you can use chinette paper plates.) They are happy and healthy til I feed them to my dragon.

Answer 3

Well if you are looking to breed them and raise them yourself then it is very easy. You need a ten gallon tank, Some egg carton pieces and cricket food and moisture. Here is a good site

http://www.anapsid.org/crickets.html

I too get tired of always running to the over priced pet store!

Answer 4

kool, i also have fire bellied toads! ok i usually store my crickets in a tank almost like my 2 fire bellied toads. then i just buy the crickets some food and leave them there til my toads r ready 2 eat.

Answer 5

I order mine on line from www.reptilefood.com (250 to thousands at a time) and put them in a large tupperware container. They can't climb out, so no lid--they need lots of air flow. A couple of paper towels on the bottom, egg crates to hide in, a dish for gutload, and a shallow dish of water. Keep everything nice and clean and water fresh and they'll live well.