need advice on keeping large amount of crickets.

[Und3adPrinc3ss]

i currently get my crickets from a local bait shop. i get 100 at a time every week/week and a half and feed them dragon food pellets and a orange cube that supplies them with water and vitamins. i read on a previous post that someone kept them in a large plastic storage box and ventilated the top. i'm very interested in doing this because i can get crickets in bulk at reptile shows for much cheaper. does anyone have any advice for me? especially on keeping their crickets from dying as quickly. any advice is much appreciated =]

 

[SouthernDissolution]

I keep mine in a 10 gallon aquarium and it works pretty well, so if you got one laying around use that, they cant climb the sides and what not...if not they're just about as cheap as the Rubbermaid totes you're talking about...give them plenty of places to hide, like egg carton, paper towel tubes etc...and honestly, my trick to keeping them alive...Potatoes.

 

[richard]

i keep mine in a 106 quart sterilite tub. its almost the size of a 40 gallon tub. it easily holds 1000 or more crickets. i use grower starer chicken mash and potatoes for moisture. i stack eggs crates about three or four high and i dont use a lid or screen top. i keep the tub in my reptile room which stays about 80 degrees and they love it

 

[Dubya11]

What i do....Go to Walmart get a Rubbermaid tub, cut a little square hole in the lid. Get dry oatmeal, randomly throw it throughout the tub and then, set the box you obtained your crickets in on its side on one side of the rubber tub. On the other-side stack up some egg carts. In between the side with the box and the side with the egg carton put a higher quality paper palate. Wet a paper towel daily and place it on the paper plate, throw the dirty one away..Get frozen Peas and just every day go through and set 20 or so in the tank after you smash each them with your fingers. this is literally all i do and i haven't found one dead cricket out of my 1000 cricket sets. Actually i don't even buy crickets any more because once a batch of crickets is full grown i set in a little rubber-made dish of warm wet dirt. The females will lay THOUSANDS of eggs. Once i feel i have enough eggs i simply pick up the dish and move it into a different container and BAM!..2 months later you have another batch of full grown healthy crickets..it works out pretty well honestly.