Cricket size and Bulk Buying

[nitrous12]

The breeder I just got my 2 month old dragon from has crickets in all sizes so I can buy exactly what is appropriate for him. He is a bit far away from me though so I want to figure out some other ways to make sure I have live food.
The breeder did say Petco and the like will only have small or large and the smalls are too small and large too large for him right now. Can they be too small? Can I just feed him more?

Buying bulk seems to be an issue as the amount of time it takes him to get to the later part of the batch the crickets may outgrow what is a safe size for him. So I am curious how others handle sourcing the right size crickets economically.

Thanks!

 

[PatsyB]

I go by the rule of thumb, as long as the WIDTH of the feeder is no bigger than the space between their eyes then they should be fine. You can start out by ordering a small amount like 250 and see how you do with those. 2 month olds eat A LOT so you should go through those in like 2 weeks! Also, crickets don't grow as fast as say a hornworm does so it takes a few weeks or so for a cricket to get too big for your bearded dragon.

 

[nitrous12]

Any recommendation on where to get them if I order online? And is it possible to have them shipped in winter months?

 

[PatsyB]

Ghann's is good, I order from Josh's frogs because they are close to me. A good company will pack them for winter. Mine come double boxed with heat packs. Another person here ordered Dubias and they came insulated with styrofoam and heat packs. Most will ship if the temps are in the 30's, they may have restrictions if the temps are lower than that. One time last year I ordered from Josh's and they called me to tell me they were holding my order for a day that the temps were a bit higher (it was in the teens). I only had to wait a couple more days.

 

[nitrous12]

I live in Rochester NY where we haven't been above the teens in a while. Looks like I will have to wait.

 

[PatsyB]

I wonder how your pet store is doing with getting their crickets. Last year was one of the worst winters we've had with it being below zero and snowing for weeks at a time and even our pet stores were having problems getting their shipments. One weekend I tried 4 different stores and they were all either out or not willing to part with them because they needed to feed their own animals.

Once you start buying them in bulk you'll be able to figure out how long you can keep them and then next winter you can plan your shipments. This year I ordered 500 crickets and 500 super worms in November right before the weather started to turn. I was able to keep them alive until the end of January and then watched until there was a break in the weather and ordered another big shipment.

 

[nitrous12]

Good point. Petco and PetSmart certainly don't breed their own crickets. I went to both today and the selection looked pretty bad but I never looked at them before so I don't know if they are worse off than normal.
Fluker farms says the ship down to 15 so I may be able to use them at times when we catch days a little warmer.
I guess it is good that I do have the local breeder I can get to.

Are you buying bulk for an adult? I think if I buy too many they will outgrow my beardie, no?

 

[PsycoMenace]

I goto petsmart they are the cheapest, and I get the small for my 4 month old. Like patsy said size goes by the distance between there eyes. So I been with the small. But it is costly 4.30 cents for 30 of them and they go quick. I would buy in bulk online, they have insulated boxes and heatpacks they put in the box so the crickets will still be alive when they arrive to your house. Im on long island so temps are the same. buying in bulk will save you a ton of money. Just find a nice reputable place and they will serve you right.

But I never had a issue with petsmart always give a lil extra and never had any dead ones in my package. The crickets wont outgrow your lil guy they take months to grow up, and you will prob go thru all you buy at a time, Just buy like a weeks supply and see how many you go thru and then you could order more for the future.

I would recommend looking into dubia roaches as they are a better staple and your lil guy will grow much faster. They are easier to keep and easier to clean. I have a great site where I got mine and they have insulated box with heatpacks and it is all covered in your price. I got 100 for 13 shipped. Plus they are way easier to breed and start your own colony if you want to go that route which Ill be doing very soon.

 

[nitrous12]

What site do you get the roaches from?

 

[PsycoMenace]

What site do you get the roaches from?

http://buydubiaroaches.com/dubiaroaches.html

Tell them Christian Ny Sent you they will hook you up

 

[Mushuandcricket]

Do you have a reptile show close to you? We have one here its about 40 min. drive for me and is once a month. I can order large amounts of crickets there. The reason I don't do that is I don't want to come home with another reptile ! If you do this might be a good cold weather option.
Another thought is have you considered breeding them? There are youtube how to which I have not personally done but plan to give it a try someday.
Here is another cricket website. http://www.hungrylizard.com/crickets/

 

[nitrous12]

Do you have a reptile show close to you? We have one here its about 40 min. drive for me and is once a month. I can order large amounts of crickets there. The reason I don't do that is I don't want to come home with another reptile ! If you do this might be a good cold weather option.
Another thought is have you considered breeding them? There are youtube how to which I have not personally done but plan to give it a try someday.
Here is another cricket website. http://www.hungrylizard.com/crickets/

Yeah the reptile guy I got our dragon from has crickets in all sizes as he breeds them there. He is 50 min from my home and 20 from my work so I can make it happen when I need to.

 

[omarmald]

Okay guys I messed up! I braught 2000 pinhead for my bearded she's 8" so yea way to small, is there a way to balk up the pin heads and how so the can get to 1/4 to 1/2 inches and how long will it take?

 

[omarmald]

O yea their at my place already........

 

[PatsyB]

Okay guys I messed up! I braught 2000 pinhead for my bearded she's 8" so yea way to small, is there a way to balk up the pin heads and how so the can get to 1/4 to 1/2 inches and how long will it take?

There's no quick way to bulk up crickets. It takes them a few weeks to get to a bigger size.