Ishah
Well-Known Member
Hi,
Just wondering, I'm attempting to breed crickets, and apart from having to rescue the remaining few a couple times (have put more in when this has happened) from ants dismembering them alive and effectively killing them and dessicrating my colony... I seem to also still be finding a lot of dead and dismembered ones after eradicating the ant invasions via surface spray around the base and lid (both done whilst the crickets were in a different room) :? My last save was in the early hours of last night... in which I went mad with the surface spray and left it (their original tub) to air out and dry... and they have been in a temporary container since then, in which I hadn't put their carrot etc back in as I had to work all day today an it was still covered in ants and didn't have the time to sit there fiddling... I did chuck a few ant-free egg cartons in there for hides though...
Anyways, enough of the background story, Do crickets eat and dismember each other in the absence of another food source? If not, what would be doing it if the ant problem is no longer and there is no evidence of other insects etc entering or leaving or still dismembering the crickets? Would the stress of the ant invasion and not being in their normal tub cause them to do this if they are?
I usually have them in a 28L tub, with a bowl of gutload, bowl of watercrystals and the rest of the floor covered in egg carton and a secton with a second layer with an empty feeder tub of the vermiculite that comes with them in it and another with breeders choice in it so they can chew it up and make their nests or whatever, I also have sections of the tub on a heatcord which is timed to be on at night only... I also chop up a whole carrot and put it in there and replace it when needed... And the lid is flyscreen...Like the ones you take out of windows, not the original tub lid chopped up and modified... That is all the information I can think of atm to help you help me:lol:
P.S. If you are wondering why I have attached a poll... It is so if you can't be bothered with a detailed answer or even posting, you can just click yes, no, not sure... And I will still get the answer I'm after, also it saves people having to read everyones post to get the answer also...But if you choose yes, it would be greatly appreciated if you say why, as I can't understand why this is happening and it really is tempting me to not even bother and just bite the bullet and pay $8.50 a tub twice a week... :? The reason I'm attempting this (breeding crix) is I am expecting 8 geckos soon and feel it would be MUCH cheaper to breed my own instead of paying for 4 tubs a week of crix for my geckos and beardie...
I'm not even going to bother with breeding woodies as they smell WAY too much and I dont want to risk the escapee's breeding and giving me a roach problem to deal with as well as an ant problem etc... Plus I HATE roaches, they gross me out!... they may not make noise, but they more than make up for it with their smell and everything... I would much rather the chirping of crickets in my room (reminding me of night all day everyday lol) than the smell and the discust that comes with woodies...
I'm really feeling that its almost not worth the effort anymore... So if anyone knows where you can buy bulk crix that are willing to freight which works out cheaper than buying a tub of 50 for $8.50 etc, shoot me a PM....PLEASE!
Haha also bolded the important part so you don't have to sit through the "prologue" to find the question:lol:
Just wondering, I'm attempting to breed crickets, and apart from having to rescue the remaining few a couple times (have put more in when this has happened) from ants dismembering them alive and effectively killing them and dessicrating my colony... I seem to also still be finding a lot of dead and dismembered ones after eradicating the ant invasions via surface spray around the base and lid (both done whilst the crickets were in a different room) :? My last save was in the early hours of last night... in which I went mad with the surface spray and left it (their original tub) to air out and dry... and they have been in a temporary container since then, in which I hadn't put their carrot etc back in as I had to work all day today an it was still covered in ants and didn't have the time to sit there fiddling... I did chuck a few ant-free egg cartons in there for hides though...
Anyways, enough of the background story, Do crickets eat and dismember each other in the absence of another food source? If not, what would be doing it if the ant problem is no longer and there is no evidence of other insects etc entering or leaving or still dismembering the crickets? Would the stress of the ant invasion and not being in their normal tub cause them to do this if they are?
I usually have them in a 28L tub, with a bowl of gutload, bowl of watercrystals and the rest of the floor covered in egg carton and a secton with a second layer with an empty feeder tub of the vermiculite that comes with them in it and another with breeders choice in it so they can chew it up and make their nests or whatever, I also have sections of the tub on a heatcord which is timed to be on at night only... I also chop up a whole carrot and put it in there and replace it when needed... And the lid is flyscreen...Like the ones you take out of windows, not the original tub lid chopped up and modified... That is all the information I can think of atm to help you help me:lol:
P.S. If you are wondering why I have attached a poll... It is so if you can't be bothered with a detailed answer or even posting, you can just click yes, no, not sure... And I will still get the answer I'm after, also it saves people having to read everyones post to get the answer also...But if you choose yes, it would be greatly appreciated if you say why, as I can't understand why this is happening and it really is tempting me to not even bother and just bite the bullet and pay $8.50 a tub twice a week... :? The reason I'm attempting this (breeding crix) is I am expecting 8 geckos soon and feel it would be MUCH cheaper to breed my own instead of paying for 4 tubs a week of crix for my geckos and beardie...
I'm not even going to bother with breeding woodies as they smell WAY too much and I dont want to risk the escapee's breeding and giving me a roach problem to deal with as well as an ant problem etc... Plus I HATE roaches, they gross me out!... they may not make noise, but they more than make up for it with their smell and everything... I would much rather the chirping of crickets in my room (reminding me of night all day everyday lol) than the smell and the discust that comes with woodies...
I'm really feeling that its almost not worth the effort anymore... So if anyone knows where you can buy bulk crix that are willing to freight which works out cheaper than buying a tub of 50 for $8.50 etc, shoot me a PM....PLEASE!
Haha also bolded the important part so you don't have to sit through the "prologue" to find the question:lol:
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