Live food - Steppe crickets vers. Sizes

The steppe crickets (Gryllus assimilis) from the subtropics of South America, which are very widespread as food animals, grow up to 3.5 cm in size. Steppe crickets do not chirp as loudly as other cricket species. They are very suitable in various size stages as live food and rearing food for amphibians, lizards, birds, insect-eating snakes and turtles, for approach food-eating fish and also for spiders.

Steppe crickets stimulate the natural prey-catching instincts of terrarium animals through their movements in the terrarium. Steppe crickets are also good and easy to breed. Keep the steppe crickets at 26 to 30 °C in a large fauna box lined with egg cartons or paper towels until feeding time. Some sand will help keep the humidity in a comfortable range.

A well-moistened cotton ball has proven to be a good watering hole for crickets, as they can drown in open water dishes. Good food for steppe crickets is oatmeal, grass or dog flakes. Fruits and vegetables provide minerals, vitamins and necessary moisture. Fresh food that is not eaten is removed from the terrarium before it molds.

For breeding the steppe cricket, the faunarium should also have a temperature of 26 to 30 degrees and humidity of 60 to 65%. The terrarium needs good ventilation, but still must close well so that the crickets do not escape. Terrarium humus as a bottom substrate and pieces of egg cartons, pieces of cork bark or coconut shells as hiding places and branches for climbing are proven as furnishings for the breeding container for the steppe cricket.

In the breeding container, crickets are fed and watered as described above. Because steppe crickets are sometimes quite cannibalistic, you should feed your adult steppe crickets well to bring through as many offspring as possible. Little dry dog food can help as a feed supplement to meet the protein needs of adult steppe crickets.

If a cricket escapes from you, you can catch it easily with sticky traps from the pet store.

You can buy crickets in different sizes.
Small: 5-7 mm
Medium: 1,5-2 cm
Subadult: 2,5 cm
Large: 3-3,5 cm

Steppe crickets have a good nutritional composition. Their nutritional values on average are:

• Crude protein: approx. 17%
• Crude fat: approx. 6%
• Crude ash: approx. 1%

Suitable for: Reptiles such as bearded dragons, water dragons, chameleons, leopard geckos and other terrarium animals, for amphibians, for insect-eating snakes and turtles, for birds and for fish that eat approach foods.

Size / content
Small - 80 pieces
Medium - 60 pieces
Subadult - 50 pieces
Large - 20 pieces