Crickets!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Now that the caterpillars have changed into painted lady butterflies and have been released into our neighborhood, dd8 has convinced to get crickets. We have 15 crickets in our butterfly habitat with a sandy floor covered with leaves, moss, grass clippings and bark. I gave them a small saucer of water. Does anyone know what they eat and how long they live?

 

Our cat is crazy about them. He wraps his body around the habitat and stares longingly at them. When we lock him out of the room he cries piteously at the door. (I think he would like them for a snack).

[6packofun]

I don't know how long they can survive on this, but we give the crickets that we feed to our bearded dragons thick sliced potatoes--moisture and food in one. You need to replace them every few days or they get icky, though. They will eat mushrooms and lettuces, too.

[The Girls' Mom]

You can also get cricket food at the pet store that is food and water in one. It's relatively cheap too. (We used to have to keep crickets alive for our pet geckos)

[Jean in Newcastle]

I found out that our crickets love fish food!

 

And may I say, happy crickets are loud chirpy crickets! We've had to put them in the bathroom and close the door so we can sleep at night.

[newlifemom]

I found out that our crickets love fish food!

 

And may I say, happy crickets are loud chirpy crickets! We've had to put them in the bathroom and close the door so we can sleep at night.

 

That may be, but a happy dh means dead crickets. :D The ones on Long Island were noisy enough to drive a person mad.

[Starr]

I love chirping crickets.

[Jean in Newcastle]

They sort of remind me of the croaking of frogs that we heard at night from the rice paddies growing up. Or the buzzing of cicadas in the heat (though those are even louder!) It is a friendly sound. But if you're not used to it - it keeps us awake.