In Alabama, every tank is $1 per gallon in every pet store, and it has been that way forever. Tops and heat pads are a bit pricy though! I have found in my years of reptile and amphibian keeping that pacs are a little less hearty than people say. the setup has to be just right for them to survive. I like to get them when they are really young so that they haven't been in the poor environment that is supplied by the pet stores long enough to feel the efects of the cold dry climate. Oh and they don't use calcium on they're crickets, what little crickets they are given.