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WHAT ARE CRICKETS? ARE THEY SAFE FOR PETS?

Updated: Nov 25, 2022

Crickets are a member of the family Gryllidae, one of the species from approximately 2400 species of leaping insect order Orthoptera which is worldwide in distribution. They are also known for the musical chirping of the male.


What are Crickets? Are they safe for pets?
Cricket

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

Crickets are medium to large-sized insects. They vary in length from 3 to 50 mm (0.12 to 2 inches) Like their families the grasshoppers and katydids, Crickets own chewing mouthparts, and their back legs are bigger and stronger than the front legs. Crickets have rounded heads, antennae that are long and thin, and their wings turn down on the sides of their body. Unlike katydids, crickets usually look flat, or at least the top of their body is flattened. Most of the crickets are brown, but some are black and some tree crickets are green with whitish wings. Most male crickets chirp by scratching their front wings together, their wings have unique structures for this. Both male and female crickets have ears and they are on their legs. They have smooth round structures on their lower legs. Female crickets have a thin round tube on the back of their stomach that they use to lay their eggs. This system is called an ovipositor. An ovipositor of female cricket is round in shape.


ARE CRICKETS DANGEROUS?

Crickets are not known to be harmful or dangerous. These insects are essentially just an irritant pest, especially if their concerts keep you awake at night. However, if they come inside your house, the field then these crickets may feed on fabric like cotton, silk, wool, fur, and linen. Crickets are like a fabric that’s been polluted by food or sweat. Large numbers of crickets can damage the clothing and other fabric items of your house. Camel crickets sometimes feed on paper, but not fabric.


WHAT DO CRICKETS EAT?

Crickets are actual omnivores, which means they will eat plants, proteins, and grains. In the wild, they eat insect larvae, aphids, flowers, seeds, fruit, vegetables, grasses, and just about anything else that will not eat them.

They are not overly choosy, which means you can find them in your garden or out in the forest — wherever they can see food, they can grow there.


HOW LONG DO CRICKETS LIVE?

The average age of crickets is only 8 to 10 weeks, even though you are fulfilling all their needs in captivity. The best thing is that if you are providing them everything that they need and have an adequate enclosure, they will keep laying eggs, and you will always have an endless supply of crickets.


WHAT IS THE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CRICKETS?

Crickets are a complete pack of protein and nutrition. They contain naturally near about 65% protein by weight. So in addition to crickets being raised in bearable modes, they provide a large amount of protein and additional vitamins and minerals like B12, Omega-3s, Omega-6s, and many more.


WHAT PETS CAN EAT CRICKETS AND HOW DO THEY AVOID BEING EATEN?

Most of the pets will be more than happy if you get crickets to dinner, or if you can make the crickets part of their dinner offerings. For some pets, crickets and other insects are the main part of the diet. But for other pets, crickets should only be given as an occasional treat.

Crickets hide during the day and are very alert to predators. They expect and run fast to get away if they need to.

ARE CRICKETS SAFE FOR YOUR PETS?

Crickets for Reptiles

Reptiles are likely at the top of the list when it comes to pets who love crickets. The pets like bearded dragons, lizards, and iguanas are all insectivores, which implies they will eat all types of live insects, including crickets. To provide the maximum nutrition, though, you will need to make sure you "gut load" the crickets before providing them to your pet reptile. Gut loading means covering up your crickets with high-quality food so that they will provide all essential nutrients to your pet reptile.



Crickets for Spiders

Small spiders probably will not be seeing and trying to eat crickets. However, most spiders kept as pets are of a large variety, such as tarantulas and wolf spiders. Like in the case of reptiles, crickets should be gut-loaded before providing them to your pet spider. Pet spiders simply need to be fed once or twice a week, so you don't need to keep lots of crickets around.



Crickets for Frogs

Frogs of medium to large sizes will be more than happy if you feed them crickets. They also eat cockroaches, locusts, and flies but you can't buy them at the pet store. So unless you plan on exploring your garden for insects, then crickets are the best option, as they are available from many pet stores.




Crickets for Tortoises

Tortoises can and should be fed commercial pet food. Because tortoise food bought from the pet store is well-balanced and provides all the essential nutrients required for your pet tortoise to stay healthy. In addition to their diet, you can also feed your tortoise fruits and veggies but only in small amounts.

Remember that about five percent of the total food intake of your pet tortoise should be in the form of protein, such as crickets or mealworms.





To learn more about crickets, mealworms, and superworms, how to feed them to your pets, or where to purchase mealworms, get in touch with Pro-meal. We are the supplier of mealworms, both live and dried, available for purchase. Also, we can answer all your questions about storage, feeding, and nutrition.



 

Why Purchase From Pro-meal?

  • Fresh and Healthy Worms- Our mealworms both live and dried are packaged fresh and at the peak of their nutrition cycle. 100% grown and processed in India.

  • Organically Grown- We feed our worms strictly Organic Feeds including fruits and vegetables. This ensures that you will get all-natural chemical-free worms for your pets.

  • Reliable Supply- Imagine you feed your pets mealworms for a week and next week there's no supply! URGH! Our production ensures regular reliable supply.

  • Pathogen Free- We regularly test all our batches of worms for pathogens like salmonella, Ecolli, and bacteria. This Live Delivery ensures 100% safe feeding for your pets!

Note- If you order live, you should get the worms live. We guarantee Live delivery of worms. If you receive otherwise, you are entitled to a replacement/ refund.


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