# Feeders to avoid.



## FroggerFrog (Jan 11, 2021)

Hey guys.

Are there any feeders you’d avoid that are advertised for darts? Personally, I’d avoid crickets. They’re so smelly, you have to pick up their dead bodies for what feels like everyday, they’re escape artists, they are *loud* (which can stress out geckos but I’m not sure about frogs. most likely IMO.), they simply might be too big as a prey option, (pinheads maybe. They’re pretty small.) and there’s so much better alternatives.

Feedback is appreciated.


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## Captain Awesome (Jan 13, 2018)

Anything that can infest the house is a no for me. This includes many roaches, especially ones that can tolerate dry or cool conditions, many termite species (but not all) bean weevils flour beetles.


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

Crickets dont have to smell, escape or have a bad mortality rate. 

Its all in management and gear.


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## FroggerFrog (Jan 11, 2021)

Kmc said:


> Crickets dont have to smell, escape or have a bad mortality rate.
> 
> Its all in management and gear.


True, true. I’m actually not sure where the smell comes from but whatever it is, it stinks. Crickets are really jumpy and I’ve had times where they would jump out of the “dusting cup” without me noticing. Now, you could say that it’s my fault but in my experience, flightless fruit flies haven’t even came close. I have to put my hand on the cup so they don’t jump out. If you were thinking they were escaping the tank, I should of clarified that. Now that would be your fault if, let’s say the screen was damaged. Bad mortality rate is half on the crickets and half on me. Mostly on me for ignorance in care but half on them for having somewhat of a short lifespan and I suppose, how do I state this? Not dumb. Not non-adjustable. Well here’s the story and maybe someone can come up with a word. One day, I found the sponge in my cricket cage full of mold so I waited to replace it by adding a medicine cup with about 1/2 inch of water. I added a floating object so they wouldn’t drown. When I checked the cage the next day, about 5 crickets drowned in the cup. I could of improved the safety features but I still feel a little flabbergasted how they actually drowned. The object in the cup took most of the cup up and I’m guessing it didn’t support the weight of the crickets. I do agree with you KMC that lifespan is mostly on the management or care of your crickets, I’ll admit that. Maybe I should exclude that part.


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## Fahad (Aug 25, 2019)

I don’t use them all the time, but when I do, I buy a thousand quarter-inch crickets and have low mortality — not too much of a smell outside of the container itself maybe.

I manipulate and transfer them by dealing with their open containers within a large bin. Escapees are very, very few, and far between.

I’ve also dealt with them on and off for many years, so maybe experience is a factor in what I find to be their ease of handling. Flies are certainly easier, though, by an order of magnitude.

I’d never try culturing them. I just bought them in bulk 20 years ago when I raised a lot of lizards.

There’s nothing I really avoid other than mealworms which I don’t think are an appropriate food source for darts. 

Haven’t used roaches since years ago when I used them for varanids, but I’d be very careful about what species if I did, although in certain climates I don’t think most tropical species will live long.


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## FroggerFrog (Jan 11, 2021)

Fahad said:


> I don’t use them all the time, but when I do, I buy a thousand quarter-inch crickets and have low mortality — not too much of a smell outside of the container itself maybe.
> 
> I manipulate and transfer them by dealing with their open containers within a large bin. Escapees are very, very few, and far between.
> 
> ...


The container just smells… weird? I can’t really describe it.

Escapees are sort of rare. Happens every month or two.

I don’t culture them either. I go to my local pet store, use them, and then they usually die out after two months.


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## Fahad (Aug 25, 2019)

FroggerFrog said:


> The container just smells… weird? I can’t really describe it.
> 
> Escapees are sort of rare. Happens every month or two.
> 
> I don’t culture them either. I go to my local pet store, use them, and then they usually die out after two months.


LOL ... I think I burn through a thousand in 2-3 weeks. That’s likely why mine don’t “die out”.


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## FroggerFrog (Jan 11, 2021)

Fahad said:


> LOL ... I think I burn through a thousand in 2-3 weeks. That’s likely why mine don’t “die out”.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Welp, there goes 1,000 crickets down the trash! lol


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## SpaceMan (Aug 25, 2013)

Compared to crickets and other larger feeders, fruit flies and spring tails are just so much easier and pleasant to work with, that I will probably never again own an animal that requires crickets as a staple. You can culture crickets, but it's not quite as easy as fruitflies and sprintails. That's just me though.


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

If you really want to keep them, you have to be willing to give up some space. The pen plax critter keepers do not work. 

A 24x16 sterilite bin has proven out to work well. It doesnt matter what size crickets or if you start with 100 or a dozen. Smaller crickets or less populace you use the same size bin.

I use egg cardboard that i order in bulk from u-line as I also have a couple dubia colonies going.

I should say Bins as i use a pair and rotate them out for maintenence. The one not in use i put my aspen and cypress bags in. The rotating modality streamlines and neatens the crix care.

The cricket bin is heated on one end with a 16 watt zoomed uth fixed on a pane of glass which i lay on a piece of shelving. I just rather not lay it on the carpet though i probably could. As with all my heat gear its hooked into an ordinary slide lamp dimmer. I have the end of the bin propped up a cm over the pad with a slat. There is no lid. I break the egg crate in 4 or 5 " tall pcs and lean them on the warm side. How many i use depends on how many i have. I want an expanse of floor in the bin so i dont fill it gratuitously.

When you go to retrieve the crickets for feeding you are able to reach in the bin with your hands and forearms and manipulate them to the feeder cup _in the bin._

Never use any abrasives to clean the bin. Doing so will scar the plastic and make the bin more absorbent. It will also, in time, create enough texture for the crickets to climb.

I do not use a sponge but have a couple other ways I water but I use water. The easiest way is romaine, sprayed. It is kept on the cool end. The other way is a plastic plant dish aka fake terra cotta that i trim the lip off and line tight w bio balls.
The bin is easily spot cleaned daily with a tip and a thump another few thumps and a scoop. I will give it a wipe with a damp paper towel. The crickets are present when i spot clean. No need to move them.

When its time to wash the bin is when i relocate them to the other bin. I just lift the egg crate and move it over to the empty one next to it. Depending on how picky i want to be i grab stragglers or they become a small collateral loss during cleaning. I empty the used bin into the toilet and pour some of my chosen agent into the bin with some hot water. I go do something else for 20, 30 minutes and then rinse the bin and wipe it dry


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

I like to start with 1000 pins and raise them that way. 
A sterilite 24×16 or standard 20 aqueon tank will easily support 1000 adult banded crickets.

Again - the pins are started in same size bin. Not in a smaller container.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

If you don't want to invest in proper care, as @Kmc advises, here are my tips for being able to keep crickets in one of those small critter keepers for ~month or so with no issues:


Hiding places: Paper towel rolls cut down, or toilet paper rolls. Have them on their ends, not lying sideways. That way their waste falls the the ground and they aren't walking all over it. I cut little slits in the bottom so they can move freely in and out.
Food: I feed almost exclusively dried food. I use (long) expired Repashy Bug Burger, because it is cheap to buy expired stuff! I also use dog food, adding a couple pieces a week or as needed. I provide all food in a small plastic deli dish (used to feed geckos). I will occasionally feed some veggies, but less and less so, and I can assure you it is not entirely necessary. Top up as needed, usually once or twice a week depending on how many crickets are in there.
Water: *The most important part*, and the one that often kills many, and sometimes the whole colony. Lack of water kills. Too much water kills. Dampness and humidity kills. They are sensitive to water! Here is what I use: Test tube filled with distilled water, cotton swab plugged into the end. The cotton swab absorbs the water, but won't allow it to spill. I lay the test tube on its side and the crickets can drink as needed from the soaked cotton. Keeps working until the water is all gone.

Using the above simple points, I can keep around 250 crickets at a time for many weeks without losing a single one outside of feeding in a relatively small critter keeper. I usually buy them smaller, as they grow pretty fast like this. If you want to keep 1000 or something, you probably need to scale up!


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## FroggerFrog (Jan 11, 2021)

Chris S said:


> If you don't want to invest in proper care, as @Kmc advises, here are my tips for being able to keep crickets in one of those small critter keepers for ~month or so with no issues:
> 
> 
> Hiding places: Paper towel rolls cut down, or toilet paper rolls. Have them on their ends, not lying sideways. That way their waste falls the the ground and they aren't walking all over it. I cut little slits in the bottom so they can move freely in and out.
> ...


I’ll try KMCs and your advice. I only need like 2 dozen since I just feed them to my gecko.

By the way, have any of you used Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet?


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

Besides clean water, and being able to either completely rinse recepticle and bioball grid, or change out the romaine, heat is important to keep mortality down.
Combined with the egg carton in the heated area - which i read to mid to high 80s, readily attained by the "portable" uth, it keeps them glommed to the harborage. No lid is used. I feed them my own composite pastes applied in a line along the side so particles arent carried to the water area.
But heat, clean water and space i have found works well with 'lower threshold' feeders.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

FroggerFrog said:


> I’ll try KMCs and your advice. I only need like 2 dozen since I just feed them to my gecko.
> 
> By the way, have any of you used Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet?


I'd just say it is a rip off. I only use a commercial feeder because I can buy expired stuff. Otherwise, a good quality dog food works awesome.


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## Kmc (Jul 26, 2019)

I have wondered if the dog food, and other dry chow - which contained vitamin A palmitate that were fed routinely to crix was the saving grace for preventing hypovitaminosis A before the better supplements were available


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

My tincs and mantellas get about half their diet from pinhead crickets. The mantellas like the crickets slightly bigger than that even. I have never had a cricket grow to adulthood in any of my vivariums after 17 years. I use G. sigillatus, which are much, much easier to raise and breed than A. domestica. The smell comes from when you don't clean the water dish or from a lot of dead crickets. Most of the time G. sigillatus will consume their dead unless they are ill.

I do spend more maintenance tasks on crickets like sorting, cleaning, and making sure they have a steady source of fresh food and monitor egg containers so they are ready to move when they hatch. The hardest part is making sure to keep an eye on the pinheads as if they don't have a fresh slice of potato, carrot, or broccoli stem they can die quickly of dehydration. Also, cleaning the small nymph bin can be tedious because you don't want to accidentally throw away your new generation of crickets.

However, the production from a small herd of G. sigillatus is astounding and makes it worth the efforts. I grew my colony from just three dozen crickets that I didn't feed out to my mantellas. I can feed several tablespoons to all my frogs several times a week. I fed pinheads so often that I started to slide on my fruit fly culturing.


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