Crickets On The Loose!

[williamsbr]

Does anyone have insight on keeping crickets in a glass exo-terra terrarium? We added an adult Red Eyed Tree Frog to the family over the holidays which we have been feeding a variety of crickets (medium), meal worms, and earth worms...not sure there is a preference. The frog is eating which is good. Over the past week we have been finding several crickets around the house...more than could have accidentally escaped the transition from keeper to cage. Though just part of the engagement as far as I am concerned, my wife is in a panic that they will lay eggs and we will have an infestation. :-)

The clearances on the terrarium seem pretty tight and cannot fathom these guys squeezing out but some how they are. I am using a Lees Cricket Keeper which I have now moved outside and will not help the survival rate when the temperature drops again. We have some unusually warm weather in Atlanta this past week so ok for now.

[Pandora3d]

lol, sneaky little guys aren't they?! i myself have had some escapees, luckily my cat LOVES to find/eat them. i don't think you'd have to worry about the infestation problem, but i don't know for sure. someone will let ya know more i'm sure - in the meantime, i'd just keep the suckers outside, i believe they go dormant when it gets too chilly.....have fun!

[Mentat]

Exo-Terra's habitats have a set of holes on top back end for routing cables and tubing into enclosure; right above where the foam background fits. If not using access holes and sliding door on them is open; it's possible a sub-adult cricket could get out thru them. Hope this helps; if not the case, no idea how they are getting out. Good luck!

[williamsbr]

Great thought and one of the first items I checked. I am using several ports on one side but have cables arranged to that I can close off the remainders. The other side is complete closed. It is worth a double check.

[williamsbr]

Good to know that the cool weather will not wipe them out. I read on another thread where crickets can get out of a Lees keeper around the handle so will need to check that out.

[db8000]

Hi. I have the same combination and get a few escapees. I too think they can get out around the handle (the biggest gap on the keeper). They stopped escaping when I laid the handle flat and pushed it towards the middle to cover the gap at the handle's hinges.

In the exo terra terrarium, I found the crickets would hide in the small gap between the polystyrene background and the top. They'd sit there and eat the background safe from the frogs! It is possible then they could squeeze out by the wires.

Locusts (not an option in the US I understand) aren't quite as clever and are easily handled too.

Then there was the time (the only time!) that I ordered crickets through the post. The shop put the plastic tub in a much larger box. The tub rattled around and popped open inside the box in the post. My wife took delivery by the time I got home from work and opened the box most had escaped. The cat and I were finding crickets for weeks. My wife not impressed and almost the end of my frog keeping career!

[flybyferns]

Does anyone have insight on keeping crickets in a glass exo-terra terrarium? We added an adult Red Eyed Tree Frog to the family over the holidays which we have been feeding a variety of crickets (medium), meal worms, and earth worms...not sure there is a preference. The frog is eating which is good. Over the past week we have been finding several crickets around the house...more than could have accidentally escaped the transition from keeper to cage. Though just part of the engagement as far as I am concerned, my wife is in a panic that they will lay eggs and we will have an infestation. :-)

The clearances on the terrarium seem pretty tight and cannot fathom these guys squeezing out but some how they are. I am using a Lees Cricket Keeper which I have now moved outside and will not help the survival rate when the temperature drops again. We have some unusually warm weather in Atlanta this past week so ok for now.

Hi Brent,
I don't think the chilly weather will bother them either.
The may slow down a little. They won't breed in a the chill.

BUT--They'll breed in the house though !!!! Oh Boy --you're in trouble !!! lol

Just kidding-- They would need to mature, find each other, need food , water, and a damp warm spot etc.
I suppose if there were enough escapees it could happen !

Get a cat !

Seriously, I would transfer them to a much taller box, like a storage bin.
I think they could be getting out of the cricket keeper ( hitching a ride ) when you're reaching in?

Lynn

[GrifTheGreat]

They will die if they get too cold or too hot. They usually are to be kept at around 70 degrees. If it gets around freezing outside you'll probably lose them all. Frost will kill them. They usually die when they escape in the house. Might be some crumbs of food for them to eat but would most likely die of dehydration if they don't have a water source. Don't have to worry about them breeding.

[flybyferns]

Once, during a cricket breeding cycle.
I was transferring pinheads from one container to another. ( carelessly, I might add)
I was doing this over the tortoise table.
I manage to let a big bunch ( good lord knows how many) drop into my Russian tortoise enclosure.
It has cypress and coco husk substrate, nice fresh greens everyday, timothy hay, and big a basking lamp. Nice and cozy for a cricket.
What a mess!

Gif's right , to survive nicely, the like to be warm!

[GrifTheGreat]

Once, during a cricket breeding cycle.
I was transferring pinheads from one container to another. ( carelessly, I might add)
I was doing this over the tortoise table.
I manage to let a big bunch ( good lord knows how many) drop into my Russian tortoise enclosure.
It has cypress and coco husk substrate, nice fresh greens everyday, timothy hay, and big a basking lamp. Nice and cozy for a cricket.
What a mess!

Gif's right , to survive nicely, the like to be warm!

Lol! I'm sorry Lynn, but that is funny and yes a very very big mess.

[S13]

I recently had one little bugger get loose. As I was playing XBOX one night, I see one of the cats frantically chasing something around in my room. I flip on the light and sure enough it was that cricket. Scooped him back up and put him in the container with the rest of his pals :P

[heyjude2200]

I put my cricket keeper in the bathtub--when I'm not using it, of course. If any of them escape, they can't get out of the bathtub & they're very easy to catch.

[Small Pet Feeders]

Keeping crickets sealed inside ANY terrarium is damn near impossible. If there is the tiniest hole or crack, they're getting out, I promise you. I've spent many hours of frustration trying to seal up holes in my DIY screened enclosure for my chameleon before I finally gave up.

[flybyferns]

Hi All,

Sorry about your escapees. I would be looking for solutions if I were you ,too!!!
I have an exoterra. I feed 6 tree frogs every night for over 2 years?
Honestly, I can count on one hand how many times I found a loose cricket about the house?

( except - once I accidentally got pin heads got into the tortoise table ) yikes!


Crickets do not get out of my enclosure. How close is the substrate to the ventilation holes?
I have never seen them on a cord going up the back????

I keep the extras I am raising in storage bins. see the "Gourmet Crickets" thread.
There is a photo /bins size in that thread.

I still think they are hitching a ride on your cuff or hand on the way into the frog enclosure!

They are soooo annoying !!!! lol

[skeet9924]

I too had some escapies from my exo terra..I duct taped the holes in the back until silly me just noticed yesterday when I was cleaning the terrarium that they have little doors to slide over and block the holes.

I noticed one poster mentioned the crickets hiding on top of the foam background eating it and hiding from the frogs...I have seen my crickets do this... How do you solve this problem? I dont want to take out my foam back ground because my frog really likes it...one of his favouorite places to sit...usually under a leaf that is hanging down over it. I know my frog is eating because I get regular daily poops..

[preludecurtis]

Old post but feel the need to share, I had two cricket escape issues.
1. The crickets were climbing the wall in the back of my exo terra terrarium and escaping through the wire holes
2. I bought the Lee's Cricket Feeder, and they were climbing out of the bigger holes in the top of the feeder!

I used whether striping(purchase at your local auto parts store) for the cage and just scotch tape on the big holes of the feeder!

[deeishealthy]

That's brilliant!

[kiario57]

I have one of these, Amazon.com: Exo Terra Glass Terrarium Small/Tall, 18 x 18 x 24 Inches: Pet Supplies and the same problem of crickets escaping. I put duct tape around all seams on the lid, and the vent things along the front and back. The crickets are escaping from EVERYWHERE. I didn't have a single square inch of tap that wasn't covered with small cricket carcasses.

[maxQ]

Escapee's also keep my cats busy and entertained, Ill be watching TV ad watch one hop by, its part of the love we have for Frogs.

[MsBlueRose]

Haha, loved the stories! I have similar problems with my crickets. Though it is true the cat helps keep them in check when they get out, but the cat also causes the problem from time to time. My kitten found my cricket keeper on the bookshelf one night when I was feeding, I had gotten up to answer the phone and by the time I was ending the call I heard a loud crash come from the living room. I knew immediately what I had just heard and came rushing in to find my cricket colony running for cover under my furniture... It took me and my fiance almost 2 hours to round up over 50 crickets! What a nightmare... I can't believe we recovered all of them, that was amazing! But lesson learned; never leave your cricket keeper unattended for even a moment around your cats! Lol, that's one night I will never forget!