Ok I need some help again…. We are having problems keeping our crickets alive! One day they are fine and the next they are dead. They are housed in a tall sterlite container with 3” X 3” square of screen on the both ends near the top for ventilation. Paper towel is on the bottom, they have their egg crates and we feed cricket gut load meal and water droplets. Ok years ago…(the first time around) we keep them in a 10 gal aquarium with about 2” of dirt in the bottom, had a small water bowl and threw in potatoes etc as food. Suggestions please.

I've heard (read) great things about cricketfood.com and its special gutload for crickets (and they make one for worms, too). Haven't tried it yet, but I've ordered some. Don't know if that would keep them alive better, though.

I've noticed (in my vast 4 weeks of experience, lol) that crickets seem to need a LOT of water. And they die fast if they don't have it. Maybe try giving them fresh fruit/veggie scraps as food and also for hydration? I give my crickets that nasty-looking "cricket drink" gel that comes in a jar from the pet store. It seems to be a decent way to keep moisture in the keeper witho introducing mold, at least. But I supplement it with fresh foods.

Maybe the crickets have some kind of parasite? Try buying them somewhere else (and sterilizing your container)?

Good luck!

Amy

What do you mean by water droplets? If you are misting your crickets thats probably the problem. Too much moisture will wipe themout quick. for water just put in a slice of potatoe or carrot. Also crickets have a very short lifespan. They only live for approximately 8 weeks. If you are getting adult crickets(they chirp) they may be dying of old age before you can use them.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Water drops are something the cricket companies sell. They are gel type thing with liquid in them. It seems that most of what died were adults.

I haven't bought any but that gel stuff seems to be a total scam. It's not the first time someone tell me that a couple of days later is crawling with bacteria.

For water I use a shallow jar lid with a large piece of crumpled kitchen roll paper to maximize the "wet" area. They need access to something humid otherwise they won't molt. When it gets too much pooped I replace it.
For the "main dish" I blend corn flakes, (dry) cat food, soy and some other cereals into a coarse powder where I mix some Ca+vitamins (same type I give the reptiles) and powdered milk. Instead of the ones listed above, dog food, chicken ration, whatever you got at hand will probably do but try to keep the proportion around 75% to 80% vegetable (cereals and stuff) and the rest animal (cat food, etc).
For desert they always have any fresh vegetable. You can give them a big leave of cabbage every other day for example.

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You can also provide water by using a small lid with cotton balls in it. This gives the crickets something to stand on since if there is any standing water at all the dumb things will manage to drown their silly selves!
Since it is the adults that are dying I suspect it's just that they have come to the ends of ther normal lives. if you are aquiring enough crickets to last more than a few days I suggest ordering the next size down. The crickets will grow quickly and you will not have as much problem with old age die off.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

When Im about to run out of crix I order around 500 3/4 inch crix, that way youre not out and it gives the new crix time to grow a bitas you finish off the old ones

A big reason for excessive death is an enclosure that is not suitable for the amount of crickets that are put in. Each cricket should have room to flatly sit on the floor of the enclosure and not on top one another. You probably don't have this problem but I thought I would add it. Also the gut-load drink that was mentioned as a scam, really does work. It is cost-efficient, cheaper the potatoes, and very effective at providing the proper hydration of your crickets. You can also make a drinking space by putting pebbles into a bowl and filling it with water, this prevents the crickets from drowning. Also the gut load cricket food you buy at petstores works wonders. They get meatier faster then any bread, cornmeal, or cat/dog food mixture I have seen. I had a big problem with the crickets cannibalizing on each other, however I put extra food in the enclosure which fixed the problem. Heating can also cause death, not too hot, not to cold. I have a heat lamp that keeps the enclosure at a safe 77-79 F, however they are all adults. Smaller crickets require more heat, 89-92F for pinheads and 90F for nymphs. 1/2 to 3/4 inch at around 83-86F. Keep the tank moist but not wet. They shed just like reptiles, molting around five times during there lifespan. Hope this helps!

You may be working too hard, Crickets live fairly simple lives, and are relatively hearty. I tend to agree with Merlin that they are just old and dropping off from that. Depending on what you are feeding them to, and how many you are buying, you should probably start smaller and work up by letting them grow. If you are concerned with the size problems, you can usually feed bigger animals small crickets, just more of them.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
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TKE:TT:118

What is the smell like? I've read many times that keeping crickets gives off a horrible smell. That doesn't have to be the case. High humidity and as already stated excess moisture will breed harmful bacteria that will kill them off quickly. Also any food that is in with them should be checked regularly and thrown out if mould is present. The crickets will eat the mould and pass it to your herps. It could cause serious health problems.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa