[GothicCorpse]

Hey i been breeding crickets but some died so i bought some more. But since iv added the new crickets there seems to be a spread of some kinda mold fungus stuff like brown spots all over there bodys and heads. Seems like its eating them since they all seem kinda weak now and have weird looking wings etc :?? dont really know what it is or what to do about it. Also is it still ok to feed them to reptiles and tarantulas ;?? or do i have to burn all the crickets or something and start a totaly new coloney ?:S hope not.

Many Thanks GothicCorpse

 

[Graham]

Sounds like a humidity problem, what are you keeping them in and feeding them? Do you keep them clean?

I'd ditch the lot, disinfect the container or get a new one and start again.

 

[GothicCorpse]

i keep them in faunarium rather big mm i only add bug dry food with maybe the odd dog food and water crystal gels i try and clean them as much as i can just hard since theres alot of baby pinheads and i dont want to end up killing them while i clean??

 

[GothicCorpse]

Bump! any other opinions ?

 

[SeanReptiles]

Food gone off? Also one thing, cold can do that to crickets.

 

[GothicCorpse]

o0o could be cold since i dont have a heat mat under them now since i nicked it for my roaches ;? o0o0o mmm got any ideas how to keep crickets warm with out a heat mat?

 

[Blaptica]

I wonder if you are simply looking at a different species of cricket to the ones you are used to.

 

[GothicCorpse]

doubt its a different species since it looks like the normal brown ones i get , but they all look like somethings growing on them as its killing them off :?

 

[Blaptica]

Having thought about this more I bet its mites. If the cage isn't cleaned out enough, especially when its damp (more likely with no heat mat to keep everything dry) mites can take over. When they are in large numbers they can form brown patches on the crickets. They will also attack them and kill them off. Have a really close look !

 

[GothicCorpse]

mites :S nasty hope not what happens if they had mites and i didnt know and i fed my pets the crickets before the crickets got brown spots :S

 

[GothicCorpse]

yep definely mites white i think i have some pictures i shall post in a second can see the small little ,,,,ers moving :S nasty and these are live crickets not dead ones:S? thought mites only want to eat death things and live on them? and i clean my cricket tank basicly everyday

http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m596/GothicCorpse666/100_7214.jpghttp://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m596/GothicCorpse666/100_7214.jpghttp://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m596/GothicCorpse666/100_7214.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Tehanu]

I was going to say mites?

I get it occaisionally on hatchling crix up to three weeks old, generally when someone has overwatered the nest boxes. The crickets get covered in tiny brown mites, they congregate on the head especially and the crickets will seem lethargic before giving up and dying.

My only solution has been to completely remove affected tubs from my breeding room whenever it occurs, but I've never seen them spread far anyway. I've seen adult dubia roaches which made their way into these tubs get overwhelmed too though, very odd.

 

[GothicCorpse]

 

[Tehanu]

Yup that's them!

 

[GothicCorpse]

i may just dump crickets and start trying to breed locusts since they look cooler dont smell so much nor make any noise and cant escape so easily and have better meat ratio anyone breed locusts and have any good tips or? thx

 

[Blaptica]

The mites would be harmless to your reptiles. If I am right all you need to do is clean the cricket cage out with hot soapy water. Start with fresh stock and make sure you remove uneaten food from the cricket cage every few days.

 

[GothicCorpse]

so what i need to do is bin all the crickets and everything in the cage and restart again think that is going to be the best idea, and stay with crickets would do locusts but seems like they take agesssssss to breed and so on i think i wash the cage out with watered down hot water with bleach and let it dry for couple days before i buy a new batch of crickets would just breed roaches only but they breed to slowy grr

 

[Blaptica]

Yes I think that is the best idea. What you need is more than one cage for Crickets or locusts. That way every few weeks you can start with a fresh cage for a new batch of hatchlings.

Locusts and crickets take the same time pretty much to mature if kept correctly.

 

[GothicCorpse]

what would you recommend crickets or locusts i have 2 leo geckos 2 beardies 4 tarantulas to feed i like locusts better for one looks dont smell so bad and noise but wont i need a other heat mat rolls eyes why are heat mats so expensivvvvvvvvvveeeeeeee

 

[Blaptica]

Crickets shouldn't smell if kept correctly. Black crickets maybe have an unpleasant odour but also are the loudest species of cricket available.

Heat mats last pretty much forever, so I think it will cost less in the long run to bred crickets compared to the light bulbs that are best for locusts.

Locusts I think also are more work.