# Smelly Crix



## labmad (Sep 23, 2007)

Hi guys

how do you all reduce the smell from the crickets you gutload/feed to your reps:crazy:........Mine have been munching on greens etc for a couple of days or so but now it is STINKING in the spare room :bash:

Should I change the food more often or will that not make any difference or is it just a case of putting up with the smell from the little blighters:bash:

cheers


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## ANT (Nov 11, 2007)

hav eyou cleaned all the poo out?...i usually add th egreens in a little bowl and change it daily


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## labmad (Sep 23, 2007)

Is the poo the tiny black specks in there?......if it is how do you get it out without all the crix escaping?


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## ANT (Nov 11, 2007)

ye sthose little black dots are the poo!! you may laugh at what i am going to say next but it does the trick :lol: i use a usb hoover! it sucks up all the poo and dirt of the floor of the faunarium


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## labmad (Sep 23, 2007)

I have mine in one of those cricket keeper boxes, but if I attempt your technique the crix will end up in thehoover too LOL......and the poo is wll over the place


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## ANT (Nov 11, 2007)

dont you have a spare cricket tub,the ones they come in? you hcan then tranfer them into that and clean the cricket keeper


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## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

i found it was the veg that made the most smell with my crickets so i changed what i gut loaded them with.
now i gut load with fish food(this contains d3) and the smell has pretty much gone and the crickets love the fish food :no1:


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## labmad (Sep 23, 2007)

Will any kind of fish food be ok?


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## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

i would say so aye.....tetra flakes smell quite nice...for fish food id make sure it contained d3 tho.


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## labmad (Sep 23, 2007)

Fish food it is then....with D3......happy daze 

Many Thanks

phil


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## zirliz (Nov 15, 2006)

Ah, interesting I do this but they still smell a bit


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

I keep mine in a big plastic bucket on my landing and i dont put a lid on which helps ventillation, i usually buy 500 at a time yes there is a small odour but my wife hasnt complained yet lol, just dont allow them to get wet and keep well aired and i find this helps stops the smell.


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## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

labmad said:


> Fish food it is then....with D3......happy daze
> 
> Many Thanks
> 
> phil


oh forgot to say.............you will have to provide some water for the crix.
i use a milk bottle top...with sponge or tissue soaked in water placed inside it.the crix can go drink without drowning.lol
:2thumb:


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## BELIAL (Nov 10, 2006)

Get hold of some dermestid beetles and introduce them to the cricket colony..they eat the dead/decaying crickets which cause the smell and only leave the exoskeleton behind. It's the larvae you want really but a few adult beetles will breed and keep you with a good supply. (the larvae are the hairy caterpillars you find in with the crickets when you buy them) The more in there the less the smell...


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## zoe6660 (Jun 3, 2007)

i breed brown and black crickets and the black smell the most.
i keep them in a large plastic tank no substance on the floor everyday i spary the tubs with water and wipe with tissue, i give them fresh food everyday and they dont smell to much but still smell i think thats the only way u can stop it.
keep them clean everyday.


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## adamntitch (Jun 17, 2007)

tropical fish food is better than goldfish food


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

BELIAL said:


> Get hold of some dermestid beetles and introduce them to the cricket colony..they eat the dead/decaying crickets which cause the smell and only leave the exoskeleton behind. It's the larvae you want really but a few adult beetles will breed and keep you with a good supply. (the larvae are the hairy caterpillars you find in with the crickets when you buy them) The more in there the less the smell...


Thats really interesting and for some more info on these beetles take a look at Dermestid
They are used to clean the skeletons of small mammals.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

a bag of activated carbon from the pet shop really works to absorb oders. i used aquaclear brand.


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## Fill (Nov 24, 2007)

When I had crix here I fed them on bran and then had a bowl with the greens in so that I could remove it easier to clean. I think its the greens that makes them smell even worse lol


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## scotty123 (Sep 16, 2007)

the only way ive found is to just clean them out every other day. i have 3 tubs on a 'rotation'. by the time the first tub is gon its been a couple of days so i clean the empty tub. put the crix form one of the other dirty tubs into the clean on then clean the dirty one. put the last box in this then clean the last on then buy another tub of crix to fill up the last box then off we go again! 

its a pian having to spend so much time cleaning out the livefood but ive found by doing this the smell is reduced and theyve always got a clean environment to live in.


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