Gresham Pet Supply Pet Care Guide
Crickets
Acheta domesticus / Gryllodes sigillatus
Why We Love Them: Crickets are the classic, universal staple feeder insect. While they require a bit more maintenance than Dubia roaches (and certainly smell worse if not kept clean), their erratic, jumpy movements are incredible at triggering the feeding response in picky reptiles and amphibians that refuse to eat slower-moving prey.
Lifespan
8 to 10 weeks
Adult Size
1/8" Pinhead to 1" Adult
Enclosure
Critter Keeper / Plastic Bin
Warm / Basking
75-90°F
Cool Side
Well-Ventilated Bin
Humidity / Water
Low (Keep them dry!)
Species Profile & Temperament
| Trait | Overview |
|---|---|
| Primary Use | Staple Feeder |
| Nutrition Profile | High protein. Must be gut-loaded and dusted with calcium. |
| Climbing Ability | No. They cannot climb smooth glass or plastic. |
| Flying Ability | No. Adults have wings and use them to "chirp," but they jump rather than fly. |
| Care Difficulty | 2/5 — Easy (But they are fragile and die off easily if kept damp) |
| Breeding Difficulty | 4/5 — Hard (Smelly, noisy, and difficult to incubate eggs) |
Nutrition & Gut-Loading
The Golden Rule of Feeders: An insect is only as nutritious as what it just ate. If you feed your reptile an empty insect, you are starving your reptile.
What is Gut-Loading?
Gut-loading is the process of feeding your insects a highly nutritious diet 24-48 hours before feeding them to your pet. When your pet eats the cricket, they digest the nutritious food inside the cricket's stomach.
Best Gut-Loading Foods
- Commercial Diets: Zoo Med Cricket Care or Fluker's Orange Cube, used as the label says.
- Vegetables: Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash.
- Dark Leafy Greens: Collard greens, mustard greens.
Foods to Avoid
- Avoid: Moldy or rotting food: Take out uneaten fresh food before it spoils.
- Bearded dragon owners: No citrus in the gut-load.
Hydration
- Water Source: Use gel or water crystals like Fluker's Cricket Quencher, or moisture from fresh vegetables.
- WARNING: Crickets are incredibly prone to drowning. If you put a water bowl in their enclosure, they will immediately jump into it and die.
Housing & Storage (Short Term)
If you are buying a bag of crickets and keeping them alive to feed off over a week or two:
Enclosure
- Type: A standard Critter Keeper (plastic terrarium with a slotted lid). They require massive amounts of ventilation.
- Substrate: None. Keep the floor bare plastic. Substrate holds moisture, which causes bacteria and kills crickets rapidly.
- Hides/Surface Area: Cardboard egg crates or toilet paper tubes. Crickets are cannibalistic; if you do not give them dark places to hide from each other, they will eat each other.
Environment & The "Smell"
- Temperature: Room temperature.
- Humidity: Keep them BONE DRY.
- Odor Prevention: The infamous "cricket smell" is caused by dead crickets rotting in a damp environment. Keep their enclosure dry, provide massive ventilation, and remove dead crickets immediately, and they will not smell.
Culturing & Breeding (Long Term)
Retail Note: We generally do not recommend customers breed their own crickets. The odor, the constant loud chirping of the adult males, and the difficulty of incubating the eggs make them far more trouble than they are worth. We recommend breeding Dubia Roaches instead!
If you absolutely want to breed them:
- Ask our team before you start. Breeding needs extra warmth, egg-laying dirt and careful hatching, and we can walk you through it.
Maintenance & Cleaning
- Daily: Remove any dead crickets immediately. One rotting cricket can set off a die-off in the whole bin.
- Cleaning: Wash the Critter Keeper with hot water and dish soap every time you buy a new batch of crickets. Do not mix new, healthy crickets with an old, dying batch.
What We Use & Recommend
These are products we use and recommend for this feeder. Stock varies by store, so ask us what we have in store today.
| Category | Product | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | Zilla / Exo Terra Critter Keeper | Slotted lids provide the massive ventilation they need |
| Gut-Load Food | Zoo Med Cricket Care or Fluker's Orange Cube | Use as the label says |
| Hydration | Fluker's Cricket Quencher | Prevents drowning |
| Hides | Cardboard Egg Flats | Prevents cannibalism |
Last updated: 2026-08-04
How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply
- Dry Bins All Year: Oregon furnaces dry the air from October through April, and that suits crickets. We keep our cricket bins dry and well ventilated, with no substrate and no water dish. Water comes from gel or water crystals, and we pull dead crickets right away.
- Room Temperature, No Misting: We keep crickets at room temperature and never mist their bins. Damp is what kills crickets.
- Shopping at Newberg & Gresham: For enclosures, cork bark, substrates, springtails and feeders at Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, ask us what we have in store today.
Common Questions (FAQ)
How do I keep my Crickets warm and humid enough during an Oregon winter?
Keep them at room temperature in a dry, well-ventilated tub. Use no substrate and no water dish. Give water through gel or water crystals, and pull dead crickets right away.
What size enclosure does a Crickets need?
A Critter Keeper or a plastic tub with a slotted, well-ventilated lid works well for a batch you will feed off over a week or two. Add egg crate or paper tubes so they can hide from each other.
Can I put isopods in a Crickets bioactive enclosure?
No. Crickets need a bare, dry tub. Isopods and springtails need damp soil, and damp kills crickets.
Where can I find Crickets, cork bark, and feeder insects in Oregon?
Ask us what we have in store today at our two exotic animal stores: Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).
Shop supplies for this animal
Everything for your Crickets setup, ready for pickup in store or shipped to you.
