First step for Cricket Care, is a "Cricket House." Your cricket house can be anything that is sealed really. I went out and bought a nice one. It's kind of small, but it works for me. I have friends that use ice cream pails, whipped cream dishes, and so on... Just make sure it is well ventilated with plenty of holes, and BE SURE IT IS ESCAPE PROOF. From my previous cricket house, I had about a dozen escapees, and they've been alive for almost a month now, chirping at night, hidden where I can't get at them. Just don't do what I did, and make your cricket house escape proof.
Second step is food and water.
-For food, you can use pretty much anything edible, but I like to feed a more nutritious diet to my crickets. It ends up that your lizards will become healthier by eating crickets that were healthy with vitamins and nutrients. You can use healthy cricket foods at pet stores, or you can use this wonderful cricket food recipe supplied by Reptile Rescue. I should probably use that recipe, but for now, I use healthy turtle food pellets. They provide the nutrients my crickets (and lizards) need. Feeding your crickets a highly nutritious meal is commonly know as Gutloading. Be sure to always have food available for your crickets in the cage, but if you are feeding juveniles, remove the extra crickets after about 30 minutes prior to feeding. If you always feed your crickets a balanced diet, then you don't have anything to worry about except dehydration, which brings us to giving them water.
-For water, you can use just an ordinary wet sponge. There are special cricket "water blob" things, that are like a blob of jelatin that can be easily consumed by crickets. Those provide an adequate amount of hydration, but are much more costly than "the sponge." In my opinion, dehydration is the #1 cause of death for all crickets. Be sure to always keep a supply of water in the repile cage as well, because they will need it in there too. You shouldn't have to worry about that though, because you should always have water available for your lizards anyhow.
The third step is to have Hiding Places for your crickets. Cut up paper egg carton works best ( in my opinion) but anything will work. (see pics. below) There should also be cricket shelter in the lizards cage. Even though it will benefit the crickets, and not the lizards when hunting, your lizards need the exercise. If you have good hiding places set up, then you should be fine.
Check back soon for Cricket Breeding. It will be available soon!
And now, what you've all been waiting for! Cricket Pictures.... |
