Crickets everywhere

[StellaG]

How do you all control crickets? I tried using a tall slick dish that they can’t climb out of but they jump out and then they hide all over the enclosure. Stella will hunt the ones she can see but if they are still she doesn’t notice them. They seem to be what she is digesting the best so they are the bulk of her protein.

 

[Sadie]

How do you all control crickets? I tried using a tall slick dish that they can’t climb out of but they jump out and then they hide all over the enclosure. Stella will hunt the ones she can see but if they are still she doesn’t notice them. They seem to be what she is digesting the best so they are the bulk of her protein.

I switched to dubias it's better to feed crickets two at a time so you can keep count- you really don't want to leave in the tank over nite they will come out at nite and bite the dragon- you can always disable them by pulling legs off

 

[madchiller85]

I had the same issue. Now I just pull or break a leg and drop them in the food bowl. I'm working on a dubia roach colony, but it'll probably be a while before I've got enough to start using them as feeders.

 

[Sadie]

I had the same issue. Now I just pull or break a leg and drop them in the food bowl. I'm working on a dubia roach colony, but it'll probably be a while before I've got enough to start using them as feeders.

At least a year

 

[Skybug]

Have a large tupperwear for feeding time, dump as many as you want then dump in ur lizard and watch her co crazy

 

[StellaG]

She sleeps up high where crickets can’t get to so at least the loose ones are not able to bite and during day when she sees them she eats them. I will try just feeding less or feeding in a Tupperware. The thought of a dubia possibly getting loose in my house keeps me from keeping those. I bought them once but they are fast and slippery and squeeze into small spaces and climb walls. All a hard no for me.

 

[Hadenuffyet]

She sleeps up high where crickets can’t get to so at least the loose ones are not able to bite and during day when she sees them she eats them. I will try just feeding less or feeding in a Tupperware. The thought of a dubia possibly getting loose in my house keeps me from keeping those. I bought them once but they are fast and slippery and squeeze into small spaces and climb walls. All a hard no for me.

My dubia colony is just starting to supply my dragon. It took awhile. I was told by others that they find runaways near the colony bin dead from flipping and can’t get back on their feet. It would take two roaches to get out and mature and be of opposite sex and find a very warm place to breed. The chance of dubia roaches causing problems is very low I think.

 

[Bailey]

I hate crickets, they jump, stink, they are creepy, and very noisy.

I recommend dubia roaches as they have more nutritional value and they are relatively easy to get as well. You can find roach breeders who will ship them to you for good prices, such as https://dubiaroaches.com/ or I buy roaches off of a guy from my local town on Facebook, they always arrive next day after ordering.

Dubia roaches don't bite, jump, or fly. They also cannot reproduce is regular house-hold temperatures if they were to escape, they'd just die off quickly. I speak from experience, my dog let lose 150 of them once and we eventually had to sweep them up..

 

[StellaG]

I hate crickets, they jump, stink, they are creepy, and very noisy.

I recommend dubia roaches as they have more nutritional value and they are relatively easy to get as well. You can find roach breeders who will ship them to you for good prices, such as https://dubiaroaches.com/ or I buy roaches off of a guy from my local town on Facebook, they always arrive next day after ordering.

Dubia roaches don't bite, jump, or fly. They also cannot reproduce is regular house-hold temperatures if they were to escape, they'd just die off quickly. I speak from experience, my dog let lose 150 of them once and we eventually had to sweep them up..

Ah! I may reconsider. I’d have a heart attack if my dog did that. Ew! Well when we are done with the crickets I’ll give the dubia another run? I’m going to have to talk myself into it.

 

[Bailey]

Ah! I may reconsider. I’d have a heart attack if my dog did that. Ew! Well when we are done with the crickets I’ll give the dubia another run? I’m going to have to talk myself into it.

I hate bugs it was one of my biggest concerns coming into keeping reptiles, but dubia roaches are honestly not bad at all. They can't even climb smooth surfaces.

The best thing to do is when you get them in the cylinder container with the lid on top, crack the lid just a little bit, and shake them into a bowl and bam! Ez pz. I have never touched a roach in my life and I refuse to lool

 

[Bailey]

The roaches also live longer, crickets die really fast. You can also breed dubia roaches yourself and it is much cheaper, crickets are just a lot harder to keep alive and they bite your dragon

 

[StellaG]

The roaches also live longer, crickets die really fast. You can also breed dubia roaches yourself and it is much cheaper, crickets are just a lot harder to keep alive and they bite your dragon

I keep and breed crickets which is easy to do but I do like that if I lose a dubia that it won’t bite Stella. I have seen crickets jump on her but she shakes them off and chomps them down. However better if she’s not irritated by anything so certainly worth considering. It is a lot of work to prevent the cricket stink. I do a lot of cleaning and rotating of storage and supplies but it’s a lot of work.

If anyone does decide to do crickets or stick with them I can say that the ones from Rainbow Mealworms do not die off like the ones I’ve gotte. From pet stores and I used to show up to the pet store on cricket delivery day.

 

[StellaG]

The roaches also live longer, crickets die really fast. You can also breed dubia roaches yourself and it is much cheaper, crickets are just a lot harder to keep alive and they bite your dragon

Oh one more question, when I did feed Stella dubia she had some undigested in her poop. Is that normal? I don’t see anything undigested with crickets or when I give her wax worms or hornworms.

 

[Jrodkw]

How do you all control crickets? I tried using a tall slick dish that they can’t climb out of but they jump out and then they hide all over the enclosure. Stella will hunt the ones she can see but if they are still she doesn’t notice them. They seem to be what she is digesting the best so they are the bulk of her protein.

Now that my dragon is bigger and a little older he doesn't run after his crickets in his cage as much. I have to take him out, put him on the kitchen floor with the crickets.
The challenge with Dubias is that they don't hop around in the cage...they will find a place to hide making it difficult for dragons to catch them.

 

[Hadenuffyet]

Oh one more question, when I did feed Stella dubia she had some undigested in her poop. Is that normal? I don’t see anything undigested with crickets or when I give her wax worms or hornworms.

I’ve been feeding roaches for over 6 months. Never seen anything in the poo, even when I switched from crickets to roaches. Maybe stomach was trying to adjust or something.

 

[Skybug]

Oh one more question, when I did feed Stella dubia she had some undigested in her poop. Is that normal? I don’t see anything undigested with crickets or when I give her wax worms or hornworms.

Some parts are harder to digest than others, legs wings and “shoulder blades”” are what usually dont get digested, it shouldn’t be an issue though.

 

[Jrodkw]

Oh one more question, when I did feed Stella dubia she had some undigested in her poop. Is that normal? I don’t see anything undigested with crickets or when I give her wax worms or hornworms.

Good sign that it's passing through and not staying undigested in her stomach.