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Cricket Care Sheet

Cricket Care Sheet

Developed with and approved by a qualified veterinarian.

cricket care sheet

Overview

Crickets are high in protein, and their active nature helps entice finicky eaters. These easy-to-care-for staples of your reptile’s diet come in a variety of sizes that all need to be housed separately.  Only feed crickets that are no bigger than the space between your reptile’s eyes. Feeding food that is too large may cause a reptile to refuse to eat or not eat as much if swallowing is difficult or painful.

 

Typical appearance and behavior

  • Will reach adult size in 6 weeks
  • Crickets can chew through many materials, including plastic screen, and escape out of surprisingly small holes; make sure your habitat is secure
  • Crickets are active and able to jump up to 3 feet, so always keep a lid on your cricket habitat

 

Characteristics

Care Difficulty Beginner
Average Life Span Up to 8 weeks
Average Adult Size ½-2 inches long
Diet Herbivore
Minimum Habitat Size Medium Critter Keeper or larger depending on number being housed

 

Habitat

 

Habitat size

  • Appropriately sized habitat for crickets to be able to move about freely.

 

Building your habitat

  • Habitat – Place egg cartons in the habitat to provide ample hiding and climbing space for crickets; insert egg cartons vertically, leaving enough space for a food and water container; maintain good ventilation
  • Temperature – Crickets should be housed between 70 and 75°F. Avoid temperatures below 65°F and above 80°F

 

Cleaning your habitat

  • Replace food and cricket quencher regularly
  • Clean and disinfect the cricket habitat when empty but every other week at a minimum using a reptile-safe habitat cleaner or 3% bleach solution
  • Remove deceased crickets as soon as possible to prevent additional loss

 

Feeding

 

What to feed your crickets

  • Many commercial cricket foods and quenchers are available. These diets provide vitamins and minerals that enable you to gut load your crickets to help provide optimal nutrition to your reptile. Cricket quencher provides a drown-free water source, with some even offering an additional source of vital calcium

Things to remember when feeding

  • Commercial cricket food should be available at all times
  • Fresh cricket quencher or an alternative water source should be available at all times

 

Care

  • Only coat crickets in calcium and multivitamin supplements just prior to feeding them to your reptile, as breathing in the powdered supplements long-term can be fatal to crickets
  • Always wash your hands before and after touching crickets or their habitat

 

Where to buy

Crickets are available for purchase at Petco online and in-store. If visiting your local location, please call ahead to check availability.

 

Supplies

 

Habitat mates

  • House crickets with other crickets of the same size only

 

Health

 

Red flags

  • Very strong odor in habitat
  • Mites or flies in habitat
  • Large numbers of dead crickets

 

FAQs

  • What do crickets eat? There are commercially available cricket diets that come in granular form as well as moist bites. These diets provide vitamins and minerals that enable you to gut load your crickets to help provide optimal nutrition to your reptile. Cricket quencher provides a drown-free water source, with some even offering an additional source of vital calcium.
  • How long do crickets live? Crickets typically live up to 8 weeks.
  • Why do crickets chirp at night? Crickets make a chirping sound to either attract a female or to repel another male.
  • How many crickets do you feed a bearded dragon? Bearded dragons benefit from a varied diet comprised of live foods (crickets, roaches, calci-worms, wax worms, mealworms, superworms, and hornworms) as well as vegetables and fruits. Commercially manufactured bearded dragon food and treats are also available to provide balanced nutrition. Juveniles need far more live insects than adults. Depending on the age and size of your bearded dragon, you will typically want to add 15 to 20 appropriately sized crickets at a time in addition to the various other insects, vegetables and fruit to provide a nutritionally balanced diet.
  • How many crickets do you feed a leopard gecko? Leopard geckos benefit from a varied diet comprised of live foods (crickets, roaches, calci-worms, wax worms, mealworms, etc.) Depending on the age and size of your leopard gecko, you will typically want to provide five to seven appropriately sized crickets at a time in addition to the various other insects, vegetables and fruit to provide a nutritionally balanced diet.

 

Notes and resources

Ask a Pet Care Center associate about Petco's selection of products available for the care and happiness of your new pet. All products carry a 100% money-back guarantee.

Because all invertebrates are potential carriers of infectious diseases, such as salmonella, always wash your hands before and after handling your invertebrate or habitat contents to help prevent the potential spread of disease.

Pregnant women, children under the age of 5, senior citizens and people with weakened immune systems should contact their physician before purchasing or caring for invertebrates and should consider not having an invertebrate as a pet.

Go to cdc.gov/healthypets for more information about invertebrates and disease.

 

The information on this Care Sheet is not a substitute for veterinary care. If you need additional information, please contact your veterinarian as appropriate.

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