my crikets are dying

[scotttaylor]

my crickets are dying like flyes i have clean out the tank, they are very soft when dead and im feeding like normal and letting them drink as normal it has never happen be for any ideas

[Colin D Wilson]

Two things come to mind
1) have you rinsed out the tank with boiling water if you've used any cleaning materials (detergent or similar) even a residue can cause a problem.
also if you used a container to put them in whilst you cleaned their tank, was that clean and free from chemicals?
2) have the crickets been exposed to an insectaside (fly spray, wasp spray, ant powder etc etc)

Are you certain the water and food you used were not contaminated, i know you said you've fed them as normal but just an idea

[Larry Shone]

hmm, strange as I do quite well with crickets(too well sometimes!)
I lost the rest of my locusts tho,they just died.

[Sonny Howdle]

how have you cleaned your crix out?
i put mine in clean tubs with kitchen roll and chopped apple. if you put fruit in for them make sure you peel it first cos the fruit skin can have germ on from pestysides and stuff.
where did you get your crix from? if the place you got them from has some germs it could get into the crix you got. even if the place you get them from is ok that doesent mean that sometimes they get germs in there crix.
i hope your crix will be ok.

[scotttaylor]

for years when i was a kid i had them with just soil in there and put karuts and lattice etc in a plastic flat top that is small so i can take it out and clean it and re stock it. i use washing up water and make sure it has all gone. i have never had this problem there is like 3 dying a day.
i think i will bye a heat mat for it

[mat thomas]

I've only had problems when there's too much humidity.I feed mine on fish food flakes as its packed full of nutrients and grass which provides all the moisture they need

[Jimmy Dale]

I have been told about a disease which can wipe out entire cricket stocks pretty rapidly, incidentally this is not good if passed on to your spids. Does anybody know any more about it? Mine seem to be dying more than usual at the mo too and i've not altered the keeping method i've succeded with for the last year.

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi Jimmy,

Jon Coote (the main man of the IHS and T Rex products) had an article in the TITAG Spineless times about a parvovirus that directly effected crickets (Acheta domesticus)

read it here.......

http://www.titag.org/newsletter/issue1.html

[Glenn Wilkinson]

Dead crickets

I managed to kill a batch of crickets last week by putting them in my conservatory on the one day the sun came out
I guess they didn't take kindly to the excess heat and the whole lot died.

[Mikhail F. Bagaturov]

Hi Scott!
Does they smell disgustingly after death?
If so You may have the "nosema-tosis".
If so - change the cricket-dealer, inform him and be sure never buy again.
FOR Last 1-1.5 years in Russia and Ukraine with the nosematosis ALL crickets were infested over here...
One thing may stop the growing - keep the cricket absolutely dry as nosema need some humidity for the development.
Believe me, if this is what I'm talking about You would soon have epizootic in UK and lost most crickets in culture... "(

[Jimmy Dale]

Cheers for that Colin. The more i read about cricket problems the more i wish i used cockroaches! I think my next purchase is going to be a colony of some feeder roach and see how that works over the crickets. It sounds like a more reliable and cost effective solution.

[Rich.Harrington]

Cheers for that Colin. The more i read about cricket problems the more i wish i used cockroaches! I think my next purchase is going to be a colony of some feeder roach and see how that works over the crickets. It sounds like a more reliable and cost effective solution.

Take the roaches, drown them, cook them, feed them nuclear fallout if you want. The things will still march on and breed.

[Colin D Wilson]

Rich, had a giggle there,
reminded me what my late dad used to say.
"after a nuclear war there'll be three thing left, Scorpions, Cockroaches and Mk2 Landrovers"

Colin

[scotttaylor]

i got a heat mat for them now and finger crossed lol they are rubbing there leg and making the bloody cheeping sound now lol