# Feeding Crickets



## mcweaze (Feb 5, 2010)

I am just wondering, I haven't really seen anyone on here talk about feeding crickets. And was curious for the reason. I have been feeding my D. tinc (azureus) 2 week old crickets for a full year now, I just got 3 D. leuc and a tiny little azureus this week and am feeding them the same size and all seem to be eating them well, I do "shake n bake" the crickets with a calcium powder and alternate with a vitamin powder. 

Any thing I need to watch out for or since its been working should I be ok?


----------



## Bob Fraser (Nov 21, 2007)

Nothing wrong with feeding crickets (appropriately sized to frog). I believe most people don't like dealing with the cricket noise & smell. But crickets are an acceptable food-source especially if you gut-load them.


----------



## mcweaze (Feb 5, 2010)

Bob Fraser said:


> Nothing wrong with feeding crickets (appropriately sized to frog). I believe most people don't like dealing with the cricket noise & smell. But crickets are an acceptable food-source especially if you gut-load them.


Luckily I work at a pet store and can bring home only what I need and when I need them so I dont have to deal with smell, since they are only 2 week olds they don't make noise, and we gut load them in the store


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Crix are a useful feeder insect additon and provide nutrients that other feeders like FF do not.

Things to consider:

1. Crickets are escape artists and frequently get out of vivs. Unlike FF, they live for weeks or months and can become a nusence in the home.

2. They hide and survive really well in the viv. Some frogs miss them and they can grow large and sometimes escape (see #1).

3. They are more expensive to purchase than FF and much more time consuming and effort intensive to culture.

I buy them at reptile shows and end up feeding them to my frogs roughly 6 times a year.


----------



## mcweaze (Feb 5, 2010)

Philsuma said:


> Crix are a useful feeder insect additon and provide nutrients that other feeders like FF do not.
> 
> Things to consider:
> 
> ...


 I will add, I have heard of stories and seen myself where larger un eaten crickets will pick at the tank inhabitants when they start getting hungary..

as for cost, FF would be more expensive for me becuase as a perk I can take as many free crickets as I need but would have to buy the FFs


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

culturing ffs yourself comes out to well under a dollar a culture


----------



## RentaPig311 (Jul 6, 2009)

I've attempted to feed crickets but can't find any small enough. When I first purchase my first frog he came with a cup of pinheads. Haven't been able to find any since. If it was an option I would do it. There have been times when a culture will die unexpectedly and I'm up a creek.


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

mcweaze said:


> as for cost, FF would be more expensive for me becuase as a perk I can take as many free crickets as I need but would have to buy the FFs


 
hmmmm....free crix eh? You could become quite a popular guy at local frog meets.


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

frogparty said:


> culturing ffs yourself comes out to well under a dollar a culture


I'm pretty sure it can be done for under .50 cents a culture, if you reuse the cup / jar.


----------



## Chris Miller (Apr 20, 2009)

Philsuma said:


> I'm pretty sure it can be done for under .50 cents a culture, if you reuse the cup / jar.


10 year old mason jars here with that plastic needle point/cross stitch stuff instead of excelsior. Just figured out that cultures cost $.44 each now. That includes the hot water, soap and sponges used to wash them out.

That being said, I like to pick up pinheads at the reptile swap here once a month and gut load them.


----------



## pa.walt (Feb 16, 2004)

i am the exact oppisite. i am not really crazy about flys. reason being is they ecsape easily crickets don't. another reason i like crickets is i pick up crickets for my friends store so my payment is free crickets. 
mcweaze, about the size you are feeding your frogs 2 week old are to me rather large for the frogs you have. 2 week olds are around 3/8in. or more that would be the size they would be when i got them. i feed out pinheads(around 1/16),7-8days(3/16).
walt


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

.44 falls into my well under a dollar mark
Mason jars, and lids wih filter discs last a loooong time.

I just found garbage bags of excelsior yesterday!!! The loca nursery was unloading bulb, and the boxes come PACKED with it. Im set FOREVER


----------



## hankat (Dec 31, 2009)

Feeding crickets can be a really good way to supplement the diet of the frogs. Because they can be gut loaded they can be a lot more healthier than fruit flies if you can find ones small enough. You'll want to guy load your crickets for 24 hours before feeding. I have many other reptiles which eat crickets and I've been using a gutload I purchased from progeckos.com. It's excellent, I've been using it for years.


----------



## araceae (Jan 28, 2010)

When I had anoles I fed crickets, eventualy one got huge, turned white with red eyes and ate all the others  
it was freaky!! It only ever happened to one! 

...I hate crickets...they are scary


----------



## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

We breed them and feed them. 

If you feed pinheads it is very unlikely that they would survive very long in the viv. They're not very quick and are easy pickin for the frogs. After hatching they're fed a high quality fish flake as well as carrots and romaine lettuce. 3-7 days old and in they go. We really like them as a feeder. They stay on the floor of the viv, for the most part and the frogs go nuts for them. They're fed out at least once a week.

We have yet to experience a cricket escaping, or surviving for very long.

I do think 2 week old crickets are a bit large though unless they were kept fairly cool. This can have a dramatic effect on how fast they grow.


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Glen,

I am trying to catch a large sized crix in my Azureventris viv as we speak...it started out as a 10 day old and now...its pretty big and elusive.

When I was doing Geckos...there were ALWAYS escape...crix throughout the hoose. Eating carpet. Chirping. Behind the fridge.

The escape and survive MUCH better than FF....


----------



## jeeperrs (Jan 14, 2010)

Philsuma said:


> Glen,
> 
> I am trying to catch a large sized crix in my Azureventris viv as we speak...it started out as a 10 day old and now...its pretty big and elusive.
> 
> ...


Maybe they are escaping from your house into the viv??


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

jeeperrs said:


> Maybe they are escaping from your house into the viv??


FF actually do go back into the vivs

but 

not crickets....crx....crix. The guy I'm after has had a condo in the viv for quite some time.

Eviction notice is being served.....TONIGHT.


----------



## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Philsuma said:


> Glen,
> 
> I am trying to catch a large sized crix in my Azureventris viv as we speak...it started out as a 10 day old and now...its pretty big and elusive.
> 
> ...


I guess that was my point Phil. 10 day, two week old crickets are to old imo. We usually feed them out after 3 days of hatching. Sometimes as late as 7 but not very often. We been doing this for 6 months and yet to see a pinhead survive a Tinc. LOL Maybe it depends on what frog species you are feeding. We've never had and escape either. Not that we know of. We have water at the front of all our vivs. Maybe that's the deterent.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

hankat said:


> Feeding crickets can be a really good way to supplement the diet of the frogs. Because they can be gut loaded they can be a lot more healthier than fruit flies if you can find ones small enough. You'll want to guy load your crickets for 24 hours before feeding. I have many other reptiles which eat crickets and I've been using a gutload I purchased from progeckos.com. It's excellent, I've been using it for years.


Any gut loading diet should be fed for at least 48-72 hours to achieve the best benefits. 

water Energy protein fat
Food item % kcal/gram %DM
___________AF______ DM______________________________

Cricket 
Adult 62-73% 4.8 40-68 19- 44 
Juvenile 67% NA 40-50 10 

Fruit fly 
Adult 67.1 5.12 50 18 

Given that on analysis that fruitflies are really close to the protien and fat content of crickets, I'm not sure that statements of one being a more nutritious feeder than the other are accurate or correct. Analysis of the effects of gut loads on the actual values of feeder insects have shown that even within a group there is significant variations on the effectiveness of the gut loading diets. 

Ed


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

the ability to gut load is what I meant...


----------



## Ken (Jun 21, 2009)

How big do frogs (tincs in my case) need to be before eating crickets? I know it varies from frog to frog, even within species, but as a general rule?


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

frogfreak said:


> I guess that was my point Phil. 10 day, two week old crickets are to old imo. We usually feed them out after 3 days of hatching. Sometimes as late as 7 but not very often. We been doing this for 6 months and yet to see a pinhead survive a Tinc. LOL Maybe it depends on what frog species you are feeding. We've never had and escape either. Not that we know of. We have water at the front of all our vivs. Maybe that's the deterent.


I've used ten day old crickets as a staple food item for tinctorius, and other similar sized frogs for almost 18 years now without any issues. In all of that time, I've only had one or two crickets establish in the frog tanks. I think one of the reasons this occurs is when the frogs are fed to the point, where there is a lot less inclination to actively hunt the crickets. 

With respect to the geckos, as with other animals, one can condition the geckos that crickets equal food items only under certain conditions (recent opening of the cage) allowing crickets to establish themselves in the cage. Reducing the amount fed can significantly reduce this from happening. Crickets will only predate on the animals in the enclosure if the crickets are lacking food and/or water. If these are in the cage then there is little risk of cricket attacks. 

Ed


----------



## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Ed said:


> I've used ten day old crickets as a staple food item for tinctorius, and other similar sized frogs for almost 18 years now without any issues. In all of that time, I've only had one or two crickets establish in the frog tanks. I think one of the reasons this occurs is when the frogs are fed to the point, where there is a lot less inclination to actively hunt the crickets.
> Ed


Thanks Ed

That's a very good point. Something I forgot to mention. When we feed pinheads, we do not feed like we would flies. A dozen or so per frog. That way they're actively hunted down.


----------



## pa.walt (Feb 16, 2004)

i feed pinheads to my pumilios so they would be good for any size tinc. when you get true pinheads they are about the size of a fruit fly, smaller than a hydea. i also have never had a cricket escape. also when i feed out i also count my crickets. the good thing about crickets is you don't dump in a lot like you would with flys.


----------



## mcweaze (Feb 5, 2010)

frogfreak said:


> I do think 2 week old crickets are a bit large though unless they were kept fairly cool. This can have a dramatic effect on how fast they grow.


Well my store buys our crickets as 2 week olds, BUT I am not so sure they are, they are bigger than a pin head or fruit fly but, my froglet tinc seems to be having no problems, many of my customers comment that my smalls are smaller than what they are able to get at other stores and is what they need, unless they are smaller because they are locally farm raised crickets and being a cooler state they are on the smaller side, but I don't know


----------



## Roadrunner (Mar 6, 2004)

It must be the placibo effect then because there is some reason frogs fed crickets and ff`s do better than frogs fed only ff`s.



Ed said:


> Any gut loading diet should be fed for at least 48-72 hours to achieve the best benefits.
> 
> water Energy protein fat
> Food item % kcal/gram %DM
> ...


----------



## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

> It must be the placibo effect then because there is some reason frogs fed crickets and ff`s do better than frogs fed only ff`s.


Do you dust your crickets? I'm thinking it is the surface area/meat ratio and/or that the crickets "hold" supplements better...


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

joshsfrogs said:


> Do you dust your crickets? I'm thinking it is the surface area/meat ratio and/or that the crickets "hold" supplements better...


Most of the supplements on the market were designed for use with crickets, one study (referenced in Mader's Second Edition, Nutrition chapter) indicated that due to the smaller size of the fruit fly in proportion to that of crickets can cause over supplementation of some vitamins and minerals. 

Ed


----------



## Woodsman (Jan 3, 2008)

A member suggested to me recently that crickets can carry Coccidia species and that this is one way they get into dart frog collections. I am wondering if any other members have had experience with diseases that can be brought in by crickets (or other food items not bred specifically by the frog owner).

It's just something I heard. Don't beat me up!! Thanks, Richard.


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Woodsman said:


> A member suggested to me recently that crickets can carry Coccidia species and that this is one way they get into dart frog collections. I am wondering if any other members have had experience with diseases that can be brought in by crickets (or other food items not bred specifically by the frog owner).
> 
> It's just something I heard. Don't beat me up!! Thanks, Richard.


If the cricket cultures are exposed to infected pest insects like roaches, then yes you can get crickets transmitting coccidia to the frogs by eating the infected fecal material from the roaches.. This has been common knowledge for a long time but some people make a bigger deal out of it than it really is.. the reason is that many invertebrates can transmit coccidia to the frogs, and unless the enclosures are 100% sealed from insects getting in from the wild and you don't use any collected feeders like aphids or termites then your chances of getting coccidia are less than if you used crickets from a reputable breeder. At work we monitor for it and assume that at some point, pretty much any amphibian will get it... 

Ed


----------

