HOW WE CARE FOR FEEDER CRICKETS
Crickets - they're loud, smelly, and a popular choice for feeding pets. As someone who has kept crickets over the years, I've tried various methods and finally found a system that works best. If you're interested in how we care for our feeder crickets at Thrive Ecosystems, keep reading for an overview.
Feeder crickets are generally brown house crickets, which have a 9-week life cycle and are light brown in color. They're an ideal choice for pet owners as they're inexpensive, easily available, and offer balanced nutrition.
HOUSING
Housing is a crucial aspect of keeping crickets. We purchase 200 large and 150 small crickets each week and store them in 66QT and 27QT Sterlite bins, respectively. We use dry vermiculite as a substrate to reduce odor and replace it monthly. We also use egg crates, which we replace monthly as well. To clean the cage, we recommend doing it at least once a week or between cricket shipments, and use a kitty litter scoop for this purpose.
TEMPERATURE
Temperature is another critical factor to keep in mind when caring for crickets. The ideal temperature range is between 70°F to 75°F, both during the day and at night. This range helps the crickets' metabolism and immune systems to function correctly.
VENTILATION
Ventilation is also essential to ensure that your crickets stay healthy. If crickets die in their enclosure, they can release methane gas, which can cause other crickets to die out as well. To prevent this, we install several round insect vents into the tops of our enclosures.
To ensure that the crickets are healthy and nutritious for your pets, you should gut-load them with high-quality food 24 hours before introducing them to your reptiles. We make our feeder insect food in-house, which you can purchase through our website.
Finally, water is provided in water crystal form, which helps keep the crickets hydrated.
If you're interested in learning more about the products we use, please scroll down to the bottom of this post for links.
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