Hi all, I know this is a common question, but I'm not sure if I completely understand "no bigger than the distance between their eyes". Does that mean the length of the cricket can't be any longer than the distance between the eyes? I bought size 4s the other day for our juvie and they worry me. He ate a bunch yesterday and more this morning, and he didn't eat salad today, stayed in his cave a lot, and didn't poop. His belly also felt very bloated. I gave him a warm bath tonight and he pooped a lot , but when offered salad and crickets again tonight he rejected them. I've included a pic of the crickets but it's hard to tell actual size. They might be 1/2"?
Aww poo, Cheri's image in the Feeder Size FAQ section isn't working. That would have been perfect for you = / But yes, it is the length of the insect. So the cricket should be no longer in length than the distance between the dragon's eyes. There are some minor exceptions to the rule - for example, soft bodied worms like silkworms or hornworms can be quite a bit larger because they break down into soft mush once chewed a bit and eaten. I can't seem to see the pic - could you try uploading it to a site like http://tinypic.com or http://photobucket.com to make a link available for viewing? I'm glad to hear that he did poop for you after the bath; we'll see how his behavior is tomorrow and see if things improve now that he has everything out of his system. Removing the back legs of crickets can be helpful as well if they are just a touch too big, as these contain very little meat and are highly exoskelton... be sure to double check temperatures and everything husbandry wise again as well to be sure there isn't an issue there that might be causing a problem, as I know until recently you were having some issues with maintaining a high enough basking area.
Hope this helps with the size. I should probably just listen to my "gut" (heh) and get him some smaller crickets. Otherwise I'm going to keep worrying about it. He is acting more normal today. He's been basking all day. He ate some salad. I gave him another bath and he pooped again. He didn't eat very many crickets this morning though. I think the person at our local pet store may have actually sold me size 4 or 5s and I really think he probably still needs 3s to be safe. If you have any additional thoughts I'd love to hear them. Thanks, Sarah
Its incredibly difficult to tell without something for size reference; but its always better to go smaller than bigger. If you think their a bit on the large size, I would go ahead and look into getting a smaller batch just to be on the safe side. Also - I'm not sure how much your local store charges, but ordering crickets online is generally quite reliable and much cheaper. You can usually order 500 or 1000 quantity for ~$20 shipped. If you purchase a size thats just a touch smaller than ideal, it gives them some growing room so that all can be fed before needing to place a new order (keeping them in a cooler part of the house, like a basement, helps to slow growth as well). http://premiumcrickets.com Is where I always ordered from. If this is an option that interests you we can tell you everything you need to know about keeping such a large quanitity of crickets, etc. Is the dragon showing any signs of shedding? The behavior sounds normal, and he is having bowel movements. I'm not overly concerned about the loss of appetite yet so long as he is not being lethargic or showing signs of stress and illness. These larger crickets may just be filling him up a little better.
He was shedding about a week ago and may not be done. I did get a 150w bulb and the basking spot is now at 103.5 - 106. He pooped again this morning without a bath and ate some greens and some crickets. So I think he may be back to normal. I would like to learn about keeping large quantities of crickets. Basement would be perfect. It is incredibly expensive to buy $30 worth of crickets a week. If you have info about keeping crickets, please send! Thanks, Sarah
If you read the last part of the 2nd post in this thread, and look at the pictures in the 3rd post, you will see examples of how to setup a Roach bin - Crikckets can be kept identically to roaches, but don't require the heat that roaches do = ) http://www.reptileboards.com/threads/how-to-keep-and-breed-roaches-extensive.64560/ The 2nd post also goes into detail about feeding an hydration as well. But I can elaborate on any details if you wish = )
