Description
Crickets - Acheta domestica
Crickets - full of protein, vitamins, minerals, and they're fun to eat!
From bearded dragons to anoles, tarantulas to red-eared sliders, just about every reptile, amphibian, and arachnid enjoys live crickets. Crickets are a good staple for their diets, and they're full of natural appeal. Shake a few crickets into their habitat, and watch your animal hunt, chase, and slurp them up.
Produced at our own cricket farm and are 100% virus free!
Farm-Raised Quality and Freshness
Songbird Garden delivers healthy, feisty crickets. By the time they arrive at your door, they've led a pretty good life - well-fed, well cared-for, growing up with millions of friends. True, shipping can be stressful for crickets, but we make a strenuous effort to make sure your order arrives alive, come rain or shine (or snow, or freezing temps). You can order Songbird Garden crickets with confidence, knowing that you'll get quality bugs - we have a 100% satisfaction guarantee!
The Ins and Outs of Keeping Crickets
So, once you have a box full of crickets at your doorstep, what do you do with them? In every order of live pet food we send, Songbird Garden includes detailed care instructions to help you make the most of your feeders. With a little care, you can make your feeders last longer and be a healthier meal for your animals. The basics, however, are these: your crickets need a clean, dry place to live, away from chemicals and extreme heat/cold; they need moisture, and they need food.
Whether you're keeping 500 crickets or several thousand crickets, Songbird Garden provides a full line of cricket care products that will enhance the life span and wholesomeness of our crickets. Our Cricket Aid is a complete feeder insect diet, enhanced with vitamins E, A and B12. Keeps crickets at their optimal nutrient levels. Feeds and hydrates crickets safely to keep them healthy. Our Easy Water is the cleanest and most convenient method of cricket watering, and our Cricket Power Food is great for everyday cricket meals and for gut loading the crickets prior to feeding them to your critters. In addition, we also offer two types of Miner-All, a dusting treatment that will enhance the nutritive value of your crickets.
Buy Cricket/Feeder Accessories...Click Here
Buy Easy Water...Click Here
Buy Cricket Aid...Click Here
Choosing Cricket Sizes
The best rule of thumb? Choose a cricket that's smaller in width than the animal's mouth. It's usually better to guess small on cricket size, rather than large - your animals will still eat a cricket that's smaller than its ideal size, but if the cricket is more than a mouthful, it's too big. Our customer service representatives can help you choose the right size or combination of sizes for the animals you keep. With ten sizes to choose from, we'll certainly have the size of cricket you need!
*Crickets Pictured Are Not Actual Size
Crickets shipped during cold weather may arrive in less than optimal condition or even looking dead. That's because the cold weather can cause them to become dormant. Just place your crickets in their container and allow them 3-4 hours to warm up. Do not apply additional heat. Room temperature usually perks them right up!
More Reasons to Buy Live Crickets from Songbird Garden...
We believe that you should demand more from your live insect supplier. Here are some of the reasons that set Songbird Garden's Live Crickets apart from the crowd:
Extreme Overcounts - Nobody gives you more! Every order you place includes an additional 20% more for FREE. You never again have to worry about the few crickets that are injured in the packing or shipping process.
Overnight Shipping -All orders shipped overnight to assure the delivery of your crickets in optimum condition. *Overnight Shipping $29.95 Flat Rate to Most Locations (500 box) + $6.00 each additional box. Please select 'Live Insects/Worms Only (Overnight)' shipping method at checkout.
*Surcharge May Be Added To Invoice When Shipping To Remote UPS/FedEx Delivery Locations
Heat Pack Option (Select at checkout)
If the night time temperature in your location or our location goes below 39 degrees, a heat pack is required for the Live Delivery Guarantee. You can check the temperatures by clicking here (you will be directed to weather.yahoo.com).
Please Note: Feeder accessories and all other products must be ordered and shipped separately. Standard UPS Ground rates apply for all shipped dry goods. We will email you to confirm any additional shipping charges before they are added to your invoice. Orders are shipped Monday through Thursday only (excluding holidays). Orders cannot be cancelled
Special Packaging - Our live insect products are shipped with temperatures in mind! We use heavier shipping boxes and warm packs, if necessary, during the months on November through March. In the summer months we will add cold packs to keep your insect comfy and cool. We monitior temperature conditions on every shipment destination to determine what packaging is required. We reserve the right to delay shipments during extreme temperature conditions. Customers are notified by email, if such delays occur.
100% Satisfaction/Health Guarantee - We are confident that you will be completely satisfied with the product you receive. However, if there is a problem with your order upon delivery, simply contact us for a replacement. Read our Live Guarantee Policy
Same Day Shipping till 2pm EST - Order by 2pm EST, and we will ship your order out that same day (Monday - Thursday only). Our central location in the heart of the country allows us to provide high quality and flexible customer service to all U.S. locations.
Our live cricket products are tested for nutritional value to assist the customer in providing a diverse and healthy diet. The nutritional make up of a live cricket is approximately 75.6% moisture, 16.8% protein, 5.6% fat, 1.2% ash and 0.8% other.
Who Eats What Guide Click Here
Cricket Care Instructions
Storage
Remove the crickets from the shipping box as soon as you get them. Keep the egg crates or partitions from within the shipping boxes to use within your own cricket container. These egg crates provide a climbing area for the crickets, allowing them to spread out, de-stress, and enjoy their new home. You can use our throwaway cardboard tubes to make it easier to catch the crickets for feeding. Crickets ½" and larger need to be kept in an 18-20 gallon container that is at least 15" tall. You'll need a container that's slick enough on the inside to prevent the crickets from climbing out. Also, crickets require a good amount of ventilation. If you use plastic tubs or aquariums as a cricket enclosure, don't use a lid. Remove any potato used in the shipping box. Crickets don't need bedding material; using it can actually harm their health and life span.
Ideal Temperature
The ideal temperature range is between 70°-75° F. Avoid temperatures above 80° and below 65° F. The cricket container should never be exposed to high humidity, direct sunlight, or cold drafts. Keep the container dry, and provide plenty of ventilation. Crickets shipped during cold weather might arrive looking dead; just release them into the container and allow them 3-4 hours to warm up. Cold temperatures can cause them to become dormant, but a few hours at room temperature usually perks them right up.
Food and Water
Always make fresh Cricket Power Food and Easy Water available in shallow containers (like our Easy Water Tray). Keep no more than a two-day supply in the container at any time, replacing the supply of food and water every two days. Following this rule will decrease your cricket mortality rate. Never mix the Power Food and Easy Water together. Avoid fruits, vegetables, or a bowl of water, which can cause bacteria growth, increased mortality, and a bad smell.
Cleaning
Keeping the cricket container clean will ensure a longer, healthier life for your crickets, and will allow you to keep them longer. To clean the container, remove any dead crickets, shed skins, and waste material. Wash the container out with hot water (you can also use a very mild bleach solution) between cricket shipments. Thoroughly rinse the container and allow it to dry before adding a new batch of crickets. Never expose your crickets or cricket container to any kind of pesticides or cleaning solution other than a mild bleach solution.
