Current Events > All my crickets died...I am having a hard time taking care of animals.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I bought, 600 crickets. To feed to my Lizard, and I put them in the garage. Since I kind didn't want 600 crickets in my house. And like in a day they all died. I had food and water in there for them. I have never just keep messing up with husbandry like this before.

You married your lizard?

Don't blame yourself. Crickets are stupid as shit and they practically kill themselves all the time. It's a wonder how they manage to survive in the wild since they drown themselves in even the tiniest amounts of water.

cjsdowg posted...

I bought, 600 crickets. To feed to my Lizard, and I put them in the garage. Since I kind didn't want 600 crickets in my house. And like in a day they all died. I had food and water in there for them. I have never just keep messing up with husbandry like this before.

I'm pretty sure those things are meant to be eaten as soon as you buy them. They're usually for animals that only need to eat once every few months like spiders and scorpions.

Isn't there anything else your lizard can eat?

Forgot to poke holes, eh?

Did you put the crickets in those cardboard egg containers?

Also was your garage hot

So a quick bit of info on cricket care, I worked for Petco for nearly 7 years and keeping them alive was a pretty important part of the job.

First is the weird part. When a cricket dies, they release a chemical that can kill surrounding crickets. So if one dead one kills 5 more, it just spreads and spreads, which is why keeping on removing the dead ones from the bottom of the enclosure is very important, maybe twice a day if you can.

2nd point is they need to be very separated with a ton of stuff to climb on. I'd suggest like 3 or 4 open cardboard egg containers, that's what they use in the pet shops, it keeps them apart, and reduces pockets of death chemical from trapping and killing a bunch more.

They are pesky and irritating to care for, don't be frustrated or feel like you did something wrong because this happens a lot.

Thanks for the input all. And nope they had holes.

Tyranthraxus posted...

Isn't there anything else your lizard can eat?

He is supposed to to a few things. But it seems that he only eats live crickets. I tried givening some veggies, nope, freeze dried bugs nope. I have to run to pet store and get him so. It just cost more. But still 600 things just dead like that. I don't like killing stuff even by accident.

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I guess it could have been hote, but I work out in it , so I know it wasn't blazing.

Those things do kill each other off, but that really is crazy to have 600 die in one day. Must be temperature related or maybe there were fumes from your car or a gas can.

I personally prefer to feed things worms as opposed to crickets. I dont know if your lizard would eat meal worms, but there are super worms and horn worms if its bigger. Horn worms are gross, but I 100% agree about not wanting to keep crickets inside. Also, I would never buy that many. Not even close to that many.

Actually, what exact type of lizard is it?

A_Good_Boy posted...

Don't blame yourself. Crickets are stupid as shit and they practically kill themselves all the time. It's a wonder how they manage to survive in the wild since they drown themselves in even the tiniest amounts of water.

Crickets are r strategists.

Just saw MabusIncarnate's post. How in the hell can these things live? I mean what the hell. I am done with that. I will give the bodies to my turtles and get some new ones soon.

MabusIncarnate posted...

First is the weird part. When a cricket dies, they release a chemical that can kill surrounding crickets. So if one dead one kills 5 more, it just spreads and spreads, which is why keeping on removing the dead ones from the bottom of the enclosure is very important, maybe twice a day if you can.

Based off this comment in found you an extensive article TC.

https://www.thecritterdepot.com/blogs/news/why-do-my-crickets-keep-dying

I wouldnt feed them to your turtle because you dont know 100% how they died. If they breathed or ate something poisonous, they could be harmful. I would throw them out in the outdoor trash can and wash your hands

cjsdowg posted...

Just saw MabusIncarnate's post. How in the hell can these things live? I mean what the hell.

Because one cricket makes like hundreds of other crickets. As long as a few survive it keeps the species going.

A really big one got into my house the other day it freaked me out.

Damn, 600 crickets at once? How many days would those have lasted if the lizard ate them all?

About a month. And if you buy in bulk like that it is cheaper. So I was planning just to scoop some out each feeding section.

roaches is something that he might eat. But I am not there year. That is a pretty hard sell to take roaches into my home LOL.

He did like the hornworm. But they are not good for him besides a treat.

cjsdowg posted...

Just saw MabusIncarnate's post. How in the hell can these things live? I mean what the hell. I am done with that. I will give the bodies to my turtles and get some new ones soon.

Apparently they release ammonia when they die and are really sensitive to it. Especially in an enclosure, there's no where for that gas to go.

What about ordering silk worms? You can keep them in the container in the fridge, they are soft bodied and fine for both lizards and turtles. They generally are more expensive than mealworms, but if you are looking to reduce visits to the store for live insects, it's an option to consider. They are healthier than mealworms also.

MabusIncarnate posted...

So a quick bit of info on cricket care, I worked for Petco for nearly 7 years and keeping them alive was a pretty important part of the job.

First is the weird part. When a cricket dies, they release a chemical that can kill surrounding crickets. So if one dead one kills 5 more, it just spreads and spreads, which is why keeping on removing the dead ones from the bottom of the enclosure is very important, maybe twice a day if you can.

2nd point is they need to be very separated with a ton of stuff to climb on. I'd suggest like 3 or 4 open cardboard egg containers, that's what they use in the pet shops, it keeps them apart, and reduces pockets of death chemical from trapping and killing a bunch more.

They are pesky and irritating to care for, don't be frustrated or feel like you did something wrong because this happens a lot.

Not only this, but they seemingly die if any part of them gets submerged in water. So feed them with the moist food cubes and don't leave any kind of container of water.

What type of lizard is it?

Thanks for all the input again guys , I was getting advice as fast as I could type. I think I will try the Mill Worms. I have a upstairs fridge in the gaming room. I can put them in there. Since I don't want things that look like maggots near my food LOL.

The turtles will eat anything that I put in there now. As they eat older they are suppose to eat less meat. I have slowed down some. Since they are like 20. But they are still eating like crazy lol.

LightningAce11 posted...

What type of lizard is it?

A schneiders Skink, i have been having horrible luck with him. To the point at one time I was thinking of Rehoming. Since he never comes out. I have not seen him in a week. The time I saw him before that I dug him out just to make sure he was alive. And went right back in. I thought I was making head way. He was even walking with me for few days in row. Then jsut under ground. So I have box of dirt . I put food in there and I guess either at night or when I am at work he eats them.

You should try a Pac-Man frog. They're the laziest things alive. If you put it in the center of the tank it'll just stay there for weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RKwm6Wl47Qo

lol

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/2/5/AABqjYAAExsd.jpg

When looking for worms I found this t-Shirt LOL

cjsdowg posted...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RKwm6Wl47Qo

lol

Frogs don't even have teeth lol

Crickets are annoying insects, they are food for your other pets. Who cares?

Torgo posted...

Crickets are annoying insects, they are food for your other pets. Who cares?

In general I hate that they died for no reason, even if they were just bugs. They should have died as food. But I hate that I lost all those bugs and now I have to go out and get some food for him.

He must have heard me talking about him. The lizard come out of his hole after weeks of heading. He had new skin too.

If he was pre-molt it maybe explains hiding away and staying in the damper substrate. They are vulnerable when shedding and it can cause the eye caps to cloud restricting their vision.

Sounds like he's healthy too.

MabusIncarnate posted...

If he was pre-molt it maybe explains hiding away and staying in the damper substrate. They are vulnerable when shedding and it can cause the eye caps to cloud restricting their vision.

Sounds like he's healthy too.

I was worried for a tick since he was pale. Then I found his skin the other day. Then he popped out all shiny.