# Crickets: Black, Brown, Silent? or Locusts?



## LauraMartin (Apr 15, 2008)

i have always used black crickets in the past, but yesterday got a tub of browns because i got a baby beardie and the browns i saw were perfect size for him. anyway im not a long term herp keeper, so askin experienced people if there is any diferences between the 3 types? i know the blacks tend to bite, do the browns not do this? i prefer the blacks personally just cos they cant jump as high or run as fast as the browns, and the alleged 'silent' crickets just seemed to eat eachother, even when given plenty fruit/veg, water gel and cricket calcium pellets.

is there any nutritional differences? i used to use blacks and want to go back to them, but just wondering what peoples opinions is on the different kinds? 

or are locusts just as nutritional? i think apart from the 50 meter high jumps they can do, they are pretty much a more convenient feeder insect.


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## lnrak (Apr 19, 2007)

*They are more convenient to feed (locusts) - agreed. But they'll cost you a fortune in the long-term! I too prefer the blacks, purely because of, as you say, they don't jump like browns do. I think the blacks are a bit harder than browns, a little bit harder to digest. I think (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!) that if they're both gut-loaded, then nutritional value is almost the same.*


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## lnrak (Apr 19, 2007)

*Also - don't think the browns do bite. I know the blacks will nibble at your dragon given the chance.*


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## LauraMartin (Apr 15, 2008)

thanks, yeah i heard they are a bit harder to digest, but same as u, not 100% on that. hmm why cant we combine the good parts of them all, and create a super cricket!! none biting, none jumping, slow walking, none canabalistic, easy digestable, easy breedable, super cricket...


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## wacky69 (Apr 8, 2008)

LauraMartin said:


> thanks, yeah i heard they are a bit harder to digest, but same as u, not 100% on that. hmm why cant we combine the good parts of them all, and create a super cricket!! none biting, none jumping, slow walking, none canabalistic, easy digestable, easy breedable, super cricket...


 
if you ever find one give me a shout :lol2: we use black for the same reason easier, not as fast, easier to catch. we have found the same with the brown ones no matter how much food and etc you give them they always eat eachother which totally wastes ya money coz you go through more. and im sorry the so called silent thing is sooo wrong last lot of browns we got where noisy buggers they ended up in the kitchen cupboard and we could still hear them :bash:. guess its down to personal preference at the end of the day if peanut likes black and you prefer them then stick with what ya know


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## knighty (Feb 27, 2008)

as long as you gutload your crickets i dont think there will not be that much difference between them, i just think they are horrid little buggers, i always use locusts now as i cant bear to hear another cricket chirping all night.

locusts are more expensive, but are much better for me as all my reps, except 1, are aboreal and i find crickets just drop to the bottom, or chew my lil guys. 

i found that browns can nip, but are not as "agressive" as the blacks, i lernt this the hard way!
:bash:

other than locusts i use wax worms, cockroaches, flys and moths.


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## wacky69 (Apr 8, 2008)

we have tried everything wax worm meal worm and so on and the only thing he will eat are crix and locusts. we are thinking about switching to locusts too. never had one nip tho a few times ones been sitting on dobbys head and he looks none the wiser. but we alway make sure there are no crix left in with him over night


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## LauraMartin (Apr 15, 2008)

also locusts dont hide, first thing the crickets do is run into his cave or under his salad, the locusts seem to stay out and get caught easier. im breeding dubia roaches at the min, so hopefully by the time my colony is established, Peanut should be big enough to have them as staple. then maybe il ditch crickets all together and still buy the odd box of locusts now and then. yeah actually, just writing that i have convinced myself to do that, i can hear the crickets right now, they are horrid, things.

i actually fed peanut in the bath tub today, just cleaned it n dried it out, n put him in it with the crix , coz he just cant catch the brown ones very well in his viv, and they dont go slow when i put them in the fridge, they are just either fast or not moving, no inbetween, what a pain in the ass!


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## clc136 (Feb 14, 2008)

all crickets are little buggers! i use the blacks because the brown ones jump right up to the top of my cresties viv and cling onto the air vents where hes never guna find them :lol2:


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## -matty-b- (Dec 13, 2007)

wen i bought browns for my leos to try they couldnt even catch one of them lol


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## buddy (Jul 10, 2007)

me and the pther half changed to locusts since the beggining of this year and i swear it has cost me a bomb . we have gone back to buying abit of everything locusts was costing us just under £200 a month alone so we have given that up and when you buy in bulk i find some die really quick too 

just wish they were cheaper as they were great so much more convienient for me but now back to chirping crix 

x


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## cazzie (Jan 3, 2008)

like most i use black crickets :lol2: even though they are hideous and and mean and one bit me, also seemed like he didnt want to be eaten by the puffinator xD 

i used to feed him brown crickets, which was a bugger, because they run like hell fire when in the viv, puff was like Vwuah where'd he go? mind you he's like that when he eats something XD locusts are the prettiest and out of them all im more sorry to feed him locusts then crixs lol, but i do, not often tho they cost to much :/

but the reason we changed to black crix is because i heard they where meatier and possibly more nutritional then the brown, not sure it thats true but puff prefers them so i used them lol, only just got him eating morio worms and for his birthday may try him on a pinkie:whistling2: but all in due time, 

so yes i use black crix and i find the chirrping quite relaxing actually, even though sometime i panic because i think its coming from my cupboard lol, but ohwell rather nice i find


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## LauraMartin (Apr 15, 2008)

yeah i agree, the blacks are way better, as long as u use tweezers then they wont bite u and i really find that Peanut and my salamanders can catch them better. i have a load of browns now i dont want, they are useless, no one can catch them, and they jump and scare me :lol2:

so i think il go permenantly with roaches and the odd few black crickets and locusts.


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## Onlinebug (Feb 27, 2008)

Lol, im one of the few who use browns. Because I only buy the pre-pack tubs, i find I normally have enough for a good week and a half and they dont keep me awake during the night, some times I get the odd black in my browns but I try to catch him first  When I was going to get some browns yesterday, i always see the blacks gone first  And I was looking at buying some hoppers but it was literally £4 for a good 20 ! Where as I can get 100 crix for like £3!


Lew.


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## jrf23 (Mar 24, 2008)

LauraMartin said:


> Im breeding dubia roaches at the min


Where you getting them from? I want to try and breed locusts! I know it's going to be hard, but it's worth a shot as crickets just annoy me! Although, I do take great satifaction when they get munched!


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## daveysilcock (Aug 26, 2009)

*crickets*

if you put the brown 1 sin the fridge for a few mins it slows them right down, they are beter for lizards because there shell is softer and there wings are aswell


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## jillygirl (Feb 1, 2010)

I feed my 9wk beardie silent crix medium size.. they are sort of pale in colour suppose they could be brown... used to feed my leo locust coz i hate crix fullstop:bash:.. but my little fella eat crix really well so im loathed to change,, but would prefare to use locust... they are just plain daft :lol2: would sit right in front of my leo waiting to be eaten !!!


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## franiodanio123 (May 13, 2021)

Hi, I'm new to the hobby and i don't know which are healthier for the damon medius, the black crickets or silent crickets? I know this is a reptile forum but i did not know which are safer to feed with.


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