Cricket Care Sheet
Domestic crickets (Acheta domesticus) are the staple food and form the basis of the diet for almost, if not all, carnivorous lizards. The crickets you find in pet stores for sale as feeder insects are natively from North America. This type of cricket can grow to lengths of about 1 1/4 inches. You can generally find crickets of 3 (or more) different sizes at most pet stores, meant to feed lizards of different sizes and ages.
Please note that it is NOT recommended to feed your lizard wild crickets, as they tend to bite, or pinch, and will do so to your lizard.
Nutritional Information for Crickets
- Moisture: 75 %
- Ash: 1 %
- Protein: 17 %
- Fat: 6 %
- Other: 1%
- Calories/Fat: 87.73 %
- Calcium (ml/100 grs): 42.90
* Not a significant source of Vitamin D3 or Calcium
Food & Water
High protein baby salad flakes mixed with reptile vitamins, green beans, orange squash, parsnips, sweet potato, cantaloupe, apples, pears, carrots. You can also purchase Cricket Food from your local pet store, usually calcium enriched pellets. It is advisable to offer your feeder crickets a mixture of foods. Make sure to remove old food and replace with new food every couple of days to ensure a clean, healthy habitat. The healthier your crickets are, the healthier your pet lizard will be.For water, it is easiest to provide a section of a sponge, dampened with water. Crickets will tend to drown themselves if you provide actual water in a dish. This will keep their housing clean, as well as lower the death rate. They will also get water from the food they eat, like lettuce and fruits. You can also purchase a 'water-gel' from your local pet store.
Lighting, Temperature & Humidity
Your crickets should be kept in an area where the temperature is around 70-75 degrees F. They should be kept in an area with low humidity. There is no specific lighting needed for keeping crickets. They will survive in high to low light. However, if kept in bright lighting, make sure to include some upside-down egg cartons for them to hide.
Housing
An empty container will be enough to house crickets. A 'Cricket Keeper' available from pet stores is excellent (also has tubes for easy transport), but any plastic container will suffice. A deep container is ideal so the crickets can not climb/jump out. Make sure to throw in some egg cartons so they can hide, and to allow them more standing room. No substrate or bedding is needed. It will also be easier to move crickets from their housing to your pets habitat without bedding.