So back in December I bought four crickets for my rose hair tarantula, "Rosie", and low and behold, she decided to start fasting out of nowhere, as is the norm for this species. So rather than freezing or otherwise euthanizing my crickets, I decided to give them their own little enclosure for the time being, at least until my tarantula was hungry again.
Well ironically, after a few weeks in their new setup, they started dying off, one by one. At first I thought it may be dehydration, so I increased moisture levels and offered more fruits and veggies. That didn't work at all. I also thought it might just be territorial disputes, but when the population dwindled down to one cricket, and then it died too, I knew that wasn't the cause either.
After some research, I finally found out the culprit: the temperature. The temperature in my house was set to 68F°, and apparently Acheta domesticus need it slightly warmer to survive, around 74F° at least. I've inadvertently reared nymphs of this species from eggs to adulthood before, so I know the gist of their general care needs, but I had previously kept them in a warm closet where the ambient temps were in the mid to high 70s, never thought these would die when kept below those temps!
Anyways, I took some pictures of them on a whim a week after getting them, so here they are:
Well, at least I know better now, and I hope you all do too! 😅
Anyways, that's gonna be it for this post, hope it educated or at least amused some of you! Thanks for reading, see you all next time! 😉
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