Live crickets are one of the common feeder insects others being mealworms, roaches, grasshoppers, silkworms, hornworms, among others with some people prefer buying dead ones, i.e., canned or dried crickets.
Why live ones
- They are nutritious with a house cricket having 20.5% proteins, 6.8% fats, 2.2% fiber, and about 69.2% moisture.
- Most pets find them appealing when compared to dried ones, and they encourage activity as your pet hunts and eats them.
- Crickets are easy to raise or keep alive. You only require a keeping container, food to give them, and a few other things.
- You can gut-load to ensure they transfer most of their nutrients to your pets, and they gut-load effectively.
- They are readily available at local pet stores or online from many vendors.
- You can buy various sizes depending on what your animal requires.
- They will provide moisture to your pets
Downside
- They have a foul smell
- They are noisy
- They are expensive to buy and maintain when compared to dried ones but cheaper if you raise them yourself.
- They may carry parasites, especially pinworms.
- They leap and can easily escape, making these insects challenging to feed unless you have a suitable feeder.
Which types of feeder crickets to buy
The common species available are the house (Acheta domestica), tropical house, Indian or banded crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus), black, African or Mediterranean field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) and the Jamaican or silent crickets (Gryllus assimilis).
Which sizes to buy?
When buying crickets, you need to know which size you need. Therefore, depending on which pet you ware going to feed, pick the correct size. Typical sizes are as follows:
- Micro crickets or pinheads – Pinheads are about 1/16” and about two days old. Since they small a soft body, they are easy to digest and ideal for baby geckos, baby bearded dragons, poison dart frog, or any other small pets.
- Small: Their average sizes range from 3/16″ to 3/8”, typically, about 1-3 weeks old and are ideal for younger juvenile pets.
- Medium: They are the most popular size that people buy. Their size is about 1/2″- 5/8″ in size and usually aged 3-4 weeks old.
- Large: Their size range from 3/4″ & 1″, are adult whose age is about 5-6 weeks old. They have a hard and course exoskeleton that is not easy to digest
- Extra-large: Are adults that are above an inch in size. Their exoskeletons are tough and hard to digest.
Cheap live crickets
Look for deals where you get free shipping, discount on buying them in bulk, offers, and coupons. Also, compare prices and see who sell premium quality at affordable prices
Best places to buy live crickets
There are many places to buy premium brands. Some of the popular brands to purchase are:
1. Josh’s Frog
Josh’s Frog is one of the top vendors of banded crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus), which contain more protein than other species. They have a wide array of sizes and counts, i.e., their sizes are 1/8″ 1/2″, 3/4″, 1″ (large adults) available in counts of 72, 60, 120, 250, 500, and 1000.
Key benefits
- They are well-fed and gut-load to ensure these feeder insects pass on valuable nutrients to your pets.
- This Gryllodes sigillatus live longer and don’t die due to temperature spikes
- Most buyers are happy with their excellent packaging and refund in case they die.
- Value for money
Looking at how buyers have reviewed them, Josh’s Frogs 3/4″ Banded Crickets, 1000 counts are the most popular and highly rated among the different counts.
2. Basset’s Cricket Ranch
Based in California, the Bassett’s Cricket Ranch is one of the famous breeders in the United States of America. They sell pinheads, small, medium-size where you can choose 250, 500, or 1000 counts.
On Amazon.com, the Basset’s Cricket Ranch have mealworms, superworms, and waxworms that come in different sizes and amounts or counts.
3. BuyFeederCrickets
These vendors have a both the banded (Gryllodes Sigillatus) and house crickets (Acheta Domesticus) where you can choose pinheads (1/16”), extra small size (1/8”), small size (1/4”), 3/8”, medium size (1/2”), 5/8”, 3/4”, and large ones (1”). You can order 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 counts.
Their most popular count and size are the 500 Live Medium (1/2) Crickets (Acheta domesticus), which people are happy about owing to its study cardboard packaging, affordability, and delivery on time.
4. Reptile Centre in the UK
The Reptile Center has assorted banded and silent brown crickets that come in Mini, medium, small, large, extra-large sizes in various packages.
- Micro – Ideal for small spiders and manties as well as baby axolotls, toads, and frogs.
- Small-medium – Ideal for tea frogs, little spider and baby chameleon, bearded dragon, a leopard gecko, and baby crested geckos.
- Medium – Feed them to your frogs, toads, mantis, spiders, and juvenile geckos, chameleons, and bearded dragons.
- Large – Large sized ones are excellent for the axolotl, bearded dragons, water dragons, horned frogs, leopard geckos, and crested geckos.
- Standard – If you buy standard ones, give them to your leopard geckos, crested geckos, horned frogs, axolotl, and bearded dragons.
- Extra-large – Ideal for bearded dragons, water dragons, basilisk, skinks, monitor lizards, and turtle.
Depending on the size you choose, you may get counts of 25, 50, 100, 125, 175, 500, 250, 1000 pack jelly pots, and free insect food.
Key benefits
- They come in a jelly pot packaging with some insect foods, and you will receive them at your door.
- Quick delivery to your door
- Bred in ethical conditions
- Gut-loaded or pre-fed to ensure your pets get maximum nutritional benefits.
5. Fluker Farm – Order online
Fluker Farm is one of the most popular places where you can buy live crickets (Acheta domestica) and other feeder insects like mealworms, black soldier fly larvae, fruit flies, hissing cockroaches, superworms. Also, they reptile products, including accessories, heating and lighting, vitamins, calcium plants, vines, bedding, and foods.
Live crickets are available in counts of 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 in sizes of 3/16″ (a week), 1/4″ (2 weeks), 3/8″ (3 weeks), ½” (4 weeks), 3/4″(5 weeks), and 1″ (6 weeks) as well as a 250 count mix (varied sizes)
6. Predator Food
Predator Foods sell high-quality feeder insects, including crickets, giant worms, mealworms, and super worms, and they come in counts of 500 and 1000.
Key Benefits
- Guaranteed free live delivery in any area with temperature ranges between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Well packaged
- Value for money.
There are some complaints, especially of delivering them while they are dead.
7. Backwater Reptiles
Backwater Reptiles have affordable live vita and standard crickets at very affordable prices from sizes of 1/16″ up to adult sizes in either a pack of 500 or 1000 counts.
The live vita crickets are nutritionally enhanced to ensure they improve your pet’s health, coloration, and their immune response. They will also reduce the need to gut-load and dust them and have a higher amount of vitamin A, B, and omega 3 to omega six amino acids.
Finally, Backwater Reptiles have Dubia roaches, green banana roaches, hissing roaches, hornworms, mealworms, super worms, wax worm, silkworms, flightless fruit flies, among other bugs.
8. Swell reptiles (brown and black field crickets)
Swell reptiles live silent brown and black field crickets in pre-pack quantities of 25, 50, 100, 125, 175, 250, and 500 counts as well as bags of bulk bugs of 500 and 1000 counts. Their sizes are sizes of small (4-5mm), small/medium (6-8mm), medium (8-12mm), standard (12-18mm) large (15-20mm) and extra-large (20-30mm).
They come from UK based breeders who breed them ethically and feed them well. Furthermore, their tub packaging is from recyclable material, and they are very affordable. You can buy them at Amazon.co.uk or from their website.
9. Vmfeeders
The VmFeeders have live feeders that come in 1/4″, 1/2″, 3/4″ and 1″ sizes and 100, 250, 500, and 1000 counts.
10. Other places to get live crickets for sale near you
If you are looking for these feeder insects, check your local pet stores, any farms near you, on classified ads in your locality, reptile shows, or inquire from your veterinarians.
You can also search on search engines for any places near you or buy them online or for them in any of the below locations.
- In the US – Stores that sell live crickets in the US include Petco, PetSmart, eBay, and Walmart. You can also get them at Armstrong Cricket Farm (Glennville Georgia), Georgia Crickets, Rainbow Mealworms, Gann’s Farm, Critter Depot, etc.
- In the UK -Try Livefood UK Ltd, Livefoods Direct Ltd, Reptile Centre, Blue Lizard Reptiles, among others.
- In Australia – Livefoods Unlimited, Amphibian Research Center
- In Canada – The Worm Lady, Super Crickets, PetSmart Canada, Kijiji, among other places.