# funny little bug in cricket box



## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

I have these little black/brown fuzzy isopod type things in with my crickets. I am pretty sure they live off of the cricket waste
What are they?
Can I pull them out and raise them specifically--> like bean beetles or rice flour beetles or roaches etc? would they be safe for the viv/frogs- janitor bug and tasty treat all in one?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I think you may have dermestid beetle larva. A lot of amphibians won't eat the larva due to the fuzz and the beetles are too large for a lot of dendrobatids. They are another pest species that eats a wide variety of things. Before you decide to culture them you might want to google dermestid. 

Ed


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

Thanks ED- I am not sure these are the same thing. It is hard for me to say for sure. the bugs I have are darker, kind of long and thin not as wide as the pics I found of the dermastid. But as I am not an entomologist I really haven't a clue.

I posted a question about these last year- but I can't find the thread. ( had a pic attached to it) but it wasn't worth it at the time for me to go to the trouble to culture them. I have several tree frogs now and the crickets are getting pricey and I seem to have very little success in culturing them on my own.

so I am looking into alternative multi purpose feeders that won't take up a lot of extra space.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Does it look close to the pictures here? 
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... n%26sa%3DN

Ed


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## shockingelk (May 14, 2008)

Tadpole4 said:


> I have several tree frogs now and the crickets are getting pricey and I seem to have very little success in culturing them on my own.


I've found crickets the easiest to culture. Feed catfood and vegetable scraps. Have a moist towel or sphagnum in a corner. Provide egg bedding of a container of potting soil, always kept slightly moist. Make sure crickets can craw to each pat by laying cardboard or egg carton bridges. That's it.

You can take the bedding out every 2-3 weeks and allow pinheads to hatch for easy collection.


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