- Housing/Caging: You have many options when it comes to housing crickets. You can keep them in a LEE’S CRICKET KEEPER, which come with built in tubes, one of EXO TERRA’S CRICKET PENS, or an EXTRA LARGE CRITTER KEEPER (sold on the LLLReptile website). 10-gallon glass tanks, rubber storage tubs with ventilation holes, or a 5 gallon bucket with a lid and vent holes will work as well. If using a tub or bucket, be sure to cover your ventilation holes with a fine metal mesh to prevent escapes or pest insects from entering. Be creative, and pick something that works best for you. Always be sure to provide adequate ground space to allow room food and water dishes, while still allowing of plenty of standing room for the crickets.
- Feeding: Crickets have a large digestive track and is the biggest portion of their body. A good way to look at crickets is as a stomach with legs! Whatever you feed them goes directly into your animal. With that in mind, you will want to feed the crickets a food source that is very nutritious. This process is known as “gut loading”. A good way to gut load your feeder insects is with pre made gut loads such as NATURE ZONE TOTAL BITES, or FLUKER’S ORANGE CUBE COMPLETE CRICKET DIET, which are a vitamin supplement, food and water source all in one. You can also use a two-part system that incorporates a food and water source separately. REP CAL CRICKET FOOD (dry) and NATURE ZONE CRICKET WATER BITES (moist) are two products that work well together. If you have a picky herp that won’t touch its dry pelleted foods, try feeding it to the crickets instead, as they will eat anything. This way the diets are still being used and transferred to your animal with the feeders being none the wiser. Additionally, you don’t waste anything. Don’t use things like fish flakes or dog food and cat food; it wasn’t designed for your reptiles, and they can cause your animal more harm than good in the long run.
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