# How to stop insects escaping?!



## Sunny_16 (Dec 1, 2011)

Hi!

I am looking for some advice about live food!

I own a leopard gecko named Albert and he does really well on mealworms, superworms and waxworms (as an occasional treat obviously). He came from the breeder with this diet and he is 2 years old and in super condition. 

However, I would quite like to vary this a little bit, and give him some hoppers/locusts etc. 

HOWEVER... My girlfriend (who loves Albert dearly) has a huge phobia of insects! She really hates the mealworms and leaves it entirely for me to deal with, and I know for a fact (from having previous reptiles 'pre-girlfriend') that crickets get absolutely everywhere! 

Now, what I am looking for specifically is come advice about how to ensure minimal live food escapism! I have seen some of those 'cricket keeper' tubs with the black tubes at either end. Are they any good? Or is there a particular species of livefood that is less likely to escape? 

Also, if I can prove to her that I can keep the crickets/hoppers securely, then she might also consider letting me get a beautiful adult female bearded dragon that I have been eyeing up in my local reptile shop for a while (multiple reasons for secure live food imprisonment!!)

Any advice would be absolutely super thanks! We both know it would be great if we could get Albert eating a more varied diet and my girl is trying not to be a wuss, but it is a genuine phobia that we are attempting to get around here! 

Clare x


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Unless you're blind you can't lose locusts  They are slow, stupid, and tend to sit in one spot even if they do jump out of the box so are easy as pie to catch back up. In the 3 years I've been keeping my four (cumulative 5) I've only lost one locust and that was my boyfriend's fault (it was his first time feeding and he didn't know how tightly he could hold them haha) We found it a couple of days later not far from where he let it wander off :roll:
I'm assuming with an adult leo Albert would be alright with size 4 hoppers... you can't lose those things at all :lol2: If your girlfriend is worried about escapees I would try and stay away from crickets, they are the devil! I'm having to feed my Tokay adult crickets at the moment while she's at an awkward stage of growth and they utterly repulse me and my other half (and they smell)... I accidentally dropped one the other day and he actually jumped on the bed yelling at me that he wouldn't come off until I'd caught the damn thing back up!
I don't keep my insects in anything special - just the boxes I buy them in!


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## Sunny_16 (Dec 1, 2011)

SUPER HELPFUL! 

Thank you very much! With the locusts, and all of the different worms, would you say that this is varied enough for an adult leo?

Now all I need to do is get working on the bearded dragon plan...:2thumb:

Clare x


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Sunny_16 said:


> SUPER HELPFUL!
> 
> Thank you very much! With the locusts, and all of the different worms, would you say that this is varied enough for an adult leo?
> 
> ...


Oh yeah, that diet would have plenty of variety! Locusts also are very stimulating to hunt as they actually walk and jump about, rather than worms that just tend to wriggle around : victory: 
Use the excuse that beardies also like their veggies so they're not 100% insect hoovers!


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## Sunny_16 (Dec 1, 2011)

Yes this is the plan! I think she will come round, the female BD in the shop is so beautiful (She is very red in colour) and she is really friendly too. I think a visit is in order to pick up some locusts...

Thank you for the advice!


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Well I do not know what locusts your feeding but mine are as a jumpy as anything:gasp:. Now I do agree that they are easier to catch than crix but the odd one does escape as they can jump away from you pretty quick and off under a unit wher they cannot be caught. It may depend on where they are kept and what temps they are kept at. All my livefood is kept in my reptile room which never gets below 80f so they are always warm and lively. You can of course keep them slower by storing in a cool room.

But I would bet that eventually your girlfriend would soon get over her phobia the more she sees them.


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Debbie1962 said:


> Well I do not know what locusts your feeding but mine are as a jumpy as anything:gasp:. Now I do agree that they are easier to catch than crix but the odd one does escape as they can jump away from you pretty quick and off under a unit wher they cannot be caught. It may depend on where they are kept and what temps they are kept at. All my livefood is kept in my reptile room which never gets below 80f so they are always warm and lively. You can of course keep them slower by storing in a cool room.
> 
> But I would bet that eventually your girlfriend would soon get over her phobia the more she sees them.


I keep my locusts on top of my Tokay viv just next to the heat lamp so they are nice and comfy :lol2: 
I never said they didn't jump (I can get some pretty crazy-hyper ones sometimes!), but they're darn easy to spot if they do jump ship and even easier to cover them with a hand to stop them going anywhere else until they are either put in a viv or returned to their box  
Locusts are just a bit dim really :lol:


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## BrianB (Oct 2, 2012)

I've not been keeping Beardies for long but i've found Brown Crickets are Fast and they hop pretty high whereas Black crickets although they hop they are no where near as energetic so i stick to black crickets. Locust as others have said are easy to spot when they do escape and even easier to catch :2thumb:

I've wondered about those cricket keepers with the black tubes as well, be interested to know if they are any good?

Brian


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## awh (Aug 20, 2008)

cricket keeper are a waste of time and money 
i keep my crickets in plastic fish tanks bought from wilkinsons 
i have about 10 of them as i buy black crickets in bulk to save money 
at present i have them all full (2 months worth) as i keep at least a month supply this time of the year as my bearded dragons do not brumate so i have seven mouths to feed and if we get bad weather then i have enough to see me through it


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## Alasse12 (Jul 29, 2011)

Just keep the crickets in a deep plastic tub with steep sides, they shouldn't escape from there. As for locust, yeah, keep them in a cool room or with a mesh lid.


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## Jono2411 (Feb 10, 2009)

Why not use dubia roaches...? Not only are they more nutritious than locusts and crixjets but they are also silent, they can't climb smooth surfaces (so no chance of escape) and they look like woodlice so people aren't as freaked out about them (I've found)...


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## Artisan (Mar 27, 2011)

i breed different roaches and also have crickets and locusts for my tarantulas and crested gecko....i put a bit of voile (you know that really fine shiny see through net stuff they use on curtains and bunches of flowers) over the top of whatever the insects are in - then put the lid ontop of that. havent had an escapee yet : victory:


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