Locusts vs crickets

[jason holland]

well i just bought my b.smithi some locusts as they had run out of crickets, and ive always wanted to see wether or not he/she'd take them as ive heard about alot of peoples T's just get scared of them or just dont like them etc.

well my smithi loved them lol

(pics taken with a mobile phone so not best quality)



i was just wondering tho, compared to a nice juicy cricket, does anyone know wether there are any benifits from locusts? or are crickets better in any way etc...

[Simon Norfolk]

No idea- although locusts more readily feed on just about anything and they tend to be larger so I would have thought they would be more nutritious. I've just managed to feed my Rosea a pinky mouse which she took ages to devour but I think it was well received nonetheless. I would imagine small mammals make the best food for a tarantula because unlike waxworms they tend to have a lower fat content and a higher protein content. Also- the blood of a mammal has many more minerals and vitamins in it compared to an insect. So rock on pinky mice! (Anybody please feel free to correct/enlighten me)

[jason holland]

id completey agree with you there

[Rich.Harrington]

The fat to protein contents of mammals to invertibrates is actually the other way around. Insects and the like always have very high protien to fat ratio's, hense why it's a bad idea to feed a spider exclusively on mice or such. It will just create an obese spider, forcing faster moults ultimatly shortening the lifespan.

Small mammals are fine for a change or a "treat" but not more than once every couple of months or so.

As for locusts vs crickets?? well theres clearly only one winner...... Roaches.

[Peter Lacey]

There's a post on this forum within the last 4 months illustrating the benefits of the various insect foods, but as Rich suggests Roaches ftw!

[jason holland]

yeah ive been asking my local pet stores for roaches, but as i have to order them in im sticking to crickets and locusts for now

[Tom Forman]

go to www.dartfrog.co.uk

get some roaches and something else like waxworms both for 2.50(minimim order is 5 pounds) and they send it out for free as long as you only order live food.

2.50 pounds for roaches aint bad(or 5 pounds for adults). Still great offer considering postage is free.

[jason holland]

yeah does sound good. with wax worms how big can they be? cos i like to give my smithi something reasably big once maybe twice a week

oh and lol... you need to change ur web link

[Richard Shah]

My mum is hesitant of me having locusts, though she said yes - she reckons if they escape they will eat all her plants. She will never let me have roaches though - even though only few are actually considered pests!
Once I have tested crickets with Ice Cube (when she/he finally comes that is) and all of them have died and/or been devoured, I'll buy locusts.
BTW I bought a pot of food called 'Cricket Feed' - does anyone know if locusts will eat it too?
Cheers,
Rich!

[matthew spooner]

forget crickets and locusts, lobster roaches are the best way to go. i tried my b.smithi on lobster roaches and now she wont touch anything else, alot cheaper to use for food aswell, just get a couple and you will have a never ending colony of all size food

[Tom Forman]

well one of the reason I switched to roaches was so that I would not have to worry about the "feeder insect" crawling out of the tarantula enclosure like crickets do. Lobster roaches climb out of the enclosures too as far as I know.

I have now bred brown crickets and turistan roaches, currently also raising some orange spotted roaches and in my experience crickets have got the best escape record so far. Most of them are fairly stupid and will get caught but I have had one rather annoying cricket in my room for several months now and I can only hear him, never see him...

I have not yet lost a single roach, I have only been keeping them for a few months now compared to half a year for the crickets but I had lost lots of crickets in that time already and am still losing crickets atm, 5 baby crickets made a jump and a runner earlier on this morning.

I am so confident I am not going to lose a roach within the year that I made a bet with Peter on it

The main reason crickets escape so easily is because whenever you open their tank, they all start jumping about, then you stick your arm in to grab one and hey presto 10 jump on your arm and out into freedom. Roaches on the other hand all seek the nearest hiding spot and hide.


The one main advantage of crickets is how well they breed. I was quite astonished at how many baby crickets I ended up with and that is probably why they are so readily available in pet shops - because they breed in massive quantities.

For the hobby breeder who is not interested in the amount of profit he can make off his insects roaches are a far better choice as they are not going to eascape as easily, are also very good breeders and have got a better nutritional value.

[Dave Freeman]

The only advantages of locusts to crickets i can think of are that locusts come in a much wider size range and also that crickets are more likely to eat your spider than locusts should one hide in the wood and not get eaten.

[Richard Shah]

well one of the reason I switched to roaches was so that I would not have to worry about the "feeder insect" crawling out of the tarantula enclosure like crickets do. Lobster roaches climb out of the enclosures too as far as I know.

I have now bred brown crickets and turistan roaches, currently also raising some orange spotted roaches and in my experience crickets have got the best escape record so far. Most of them are fairly stupid and will get caught but I have had one rather annoying cricket in my room for several months now and I can only hear him, never see him...

I have not yet lost a single roach, I have only been keeping them for a few months now compared to half a year for the crickets but I had lost lots of crickets in that time already and am still losing crickets atm, 5 baby crickets made a jump and a runner earlier on this morning.

I am so confident I am not going to lose a roach within the year that I made a bet with Peter on it

The main reason crickets escape so easily is because whenever you open their tank, they all start jumping about, then you stick your arm in to grab one and hey presto 10 jump on your arm and out into freedom. Roaches on the other hand all seek the nearest hiding spot and hide.


The one main advantage of crickets is how well they breed. I was quite astonished at how many baby crickets I ended up with and that is probably why they are so readily available in pet shops - because they breed in massive quantities.

For the hobby breeder who is not interested in the amount of profit he can make off his insects roaches are a far better choice as they are not going to eascape as easily, are also very good breeders and have got a better nutritional value.

As soon as I open the tank, they all run like mad for their shelters, and when I stick my hand in, even more run for their shelters, some get themselves trapped like idiots and some just dnt seem to give a damn. They only jump if I want them too, and that is by me poking them, but I can very easily grab them and they do not care. I honestly don't see me losing one - ever!!!!!

[Richard Shah]

The only advantages of locusts to crickets i can think of are that locusts come in a much wider size range and also that crickets are more likely to eat your spider than locusts should one hide in the wood and not get eaten.

Yeah crickets are quite mad creatures; I stuck my finger in their egg crate shelter to annoy them, and one bit me and hung on to my skin. It didn't hurt at all, but it just shook me up cuz I was expecting them to all run out like mad!!!

[Matt Brett]

I like feeding ours crickets. They are little b**tards as they have such obnoxious behaviour, but they make our B.Smithi stay on top of her game. She will miss them sometimes as they are quite good at jumping at the last fraction of a second.
I like her going after difficult food as it means that firstly she has to make a big effort, and secondly it gives the crickets a chance. I feel kinda bad putting stuff in there to meet certain doom. But I have a rule that if the crickets are in there and alive after a couple of days, then they get freed.....assuming I can actually get them back out lol. Happens occasionally!

I have to be careful though. Our B.Smithi isn't docile at all, not timid either. She's not overly aggressive as in attacking anything that comes near, but she certainly lets me know if she doesnt want me around lol.
New water/food/cleaning is limited to sleep time