Anywhere to buy crickets in Hilo? (home, organic, price)

[denge938]

Aloha all, anyone know where I can buy crickets in Hilo? I went to Stacey's Pets but at $3 for $20 crickets I wonder if I can find a better price somewhere else.

Thanks!

[hotzcatz]

Stacy's Pets behind Ben Franklin Crafts has them in an aquarium up by the cashier's stand. Are you feeding a Jackson's Chameleon? I've seen some folks put those critters in a wire cage along with something that would draw flies and bugs. The bugs go in the cage and the chameleon eats them.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Stacy's Pets behind Ben Franklin Crafts has them ...

Is that the same Stacy's Pets that OP said he wanted a "somewhere else" choice from? <snicker>

Sorry, I couldn't resist. You are always so helpful and so knowledgeable and so great about stuff that it made me laugh to catch you for once being brain dead like me sometimes.

[denge938]

I do need them for our Jackson. Right now he eats about a dozen or so every other day. We can't really try to entice bugs into his cage because the cage sides are very fine mesh, like window screens. I also dust the crickets with calcium powder, so I really need to have them in-hand before feeding. I thought about breeding them myself at home (it's supposed to be pretty easy - but I would think noisy as well!) so I might have to look into that more I guess. Thanks for the input though! I really don't hold much hope of finding anyone else that sells them, but hey, you never know!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

PetCo has them that you can order on-line. Don't know if they have them in their store in Kona.

[OpenD]

Crickets are easy to grow. Lots of information about it online... here's one:

Raising And Breeding Crickets

[hotzcatz]

Ooops! Yup, brain dead! Guess the coffee hadn't kicked in. Missed on the expensive crickets part. I had seen the crickets there and thought the price a bit high but I haven't ever bought crickets before.

My friend had a huge Jackson and she'd run through the grass with a net scooping up grasshoppers. That's more work, but if you have a field of grass available anywhere nearby you may be able to catch grasshoppers instead of crickets.

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

if you have a field of grass available anywhere nearby you may be able to catch grasshoppers instead of crickets.

Just be sure the grass has not been sprayed with a poison beforehand.

[hotzcatz]

About the only herbicide folks use around here is RoundUp, would that hurt chameleons?

[CyberCity]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

About the only herbicide folks use around here is RoundUp, would that hurt chameleons?

Maybe.

Health and Environmental Impacts of Monsanto's Roundup Pesticide

Monsano’s advertising campaigns have convinced many people that Roundup is safe, but the facts just don’t support this. Independent scientific studies have shown that Roundup is toxic to earthworms, beneficial insects, birds and mammals, plus it destroys the vegetation on which they depend for food and shelter. Although Monsanto claims that Roundup breaks down into harmless substances, it has been found to be extremely persistent, with residue absorbed by subsequent crops over a year after application. Roundup shows adverse effects in all standard categories of toxicological testing, including medium-term toxicity, long-term toxicity, genetic damage, effects on reproduction, and carcinogenicity.

PCO Directory: Non-Toxic Pest Management

[SIZE=2]Glyphosate use directly impacts a variety of nontarget animals including insects, earthworms, and fish, and indirectly impacts birds and small mammals. A study conducted by the International Organization for Biological Control found that exposure to RoundupTM killed over 50 percent of three species of beneficial insects – a parasitoid wasp, a lacewing and a ladybug. Repeated applications of glyphosate significantly affected the growth and survival of earthworms. Studies have also shown that glyphosate, and in particular the inert ingredients in the formulation of RoundupTM are acutely toxic to fish.[/SIZE]