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Crickets are one of the most common feeder insects for reptile pets. You’re almost guaranteed to find them in any pet shop, and many reptile owners use them as their staple feeder without thinking too much about it.
As feeders, crickets are average in most respects. But what most pet owners don’t know is that there are actually several species of crickets sold as pet shop feeders. The two most common you’ll see are the brown house cricket and the banded cricket. And while they look similar, they have a few key differences.
In this article, we’ll compare the two main species of feeder crickets in terms of nutrition, health, and husbandry to find out which is best for you.
The Brown House Cricket
The brown house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is the standard cricket you will find at the pet shop. They measure ⅔ of an inch to ¾ of an inch at adulthood and have an even tan color. They were originally native to Southeast Asia, but have spread broadly due to their use as feeder insects.
Nutritionally, brown house crickets are good, but not fantastic.
Brown House Cricket Nutrition Facts
Protein: 21.4%
Fat: 6.9%
Moisture: 66.1%
Ash: 1.6%
Fiber: 3.9-7.5%
Calcium to phosphorus ratio: 1:10
Brown house crickets are what we call a “lean protein,” with a good protein content and low fat. The main issue people run into with crickets is their high fiber content, which can cause impaction in reptiles with sensitive stomachs, like bearded dragons. Like most feeders, they also have a low calcium content, and need to be dusted before feeding.
The Banded Cricket
The banded cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus) is a distant cousin of the brown house cricket. These insects are native to South Asia (primarily India) but have also spread beyond their native range throughout most of tropical Asia. They can reach one inch at adulthood and have a pattern of horizontal dashes on their backs.
There is less information available on banded cricket nutrition, but they are also a lean protein with a similar protein and fat content to brown house crickets. They have slightly lower fiber than brown house crickets, because their exoskeletons are softer. However, they lack the necessary calcium reptiles need, so we recommend dusting them and watching your pet’s digestion if you choose to use them.
Biological Differences
There is a lot of debate on the merits (or downsides) of keeping either cricket species. There are some minor size differences, and a few nutritional differences.
Brown house crickets are commonly noted to be more cannibalistic than banded crickets, which can hurt their health as a colony (more on this later). Pet owners also note that banded crickets are heartier, smell less, and are much more active.
A heartier, less smelly feeder insect is obviously a plus. Higher activity may be better, depending on whether your pet prefers to hunt prey, or is older and less active.
Health Differences
The biggest difference between banded crickets and brown house crickets is in the health issues they have. Brown house crickets do significantly worse in confined spaces, and this makes them prone to many more health problems. Brown house cricket colonies will often collapse from infectious disease and parasites.
The main health issues that brown house crickets can have include iridovirus, cricket paralysis virus, and densovirus. All three of these viruses can cause mass die-offs of crickets. Brown house crickets are also prone to parasites like nematodes.
Each of these issues usually has something to do with the conditions in the insects’ habitat. If the conditions are too humid and wet, or ammonia is building up too rapidly, or your crickets are too crowded, health problems are likely to happen.
One of the easiest fixes for most of these disease issues is to simply switch to banded crickets. Compared to brown house crickets, banded crickets are much heartier and don’t have nearly as many health problems. As we mentioned, they’re also not as prone to cannibalism, which can spread disease very quickly.
Husbandry Differences
There are a few differences in how you should keep banded crickets and brown house crickets.
For starters, crickets are moderately heat-tolerant, and will ship okay in the summer. Crickets can survive into the high 90°F-100°F range. However, if they are left sitting on a hot porch for long stretches, they can overheat and die fairly easily. Confinement will also cause brown house crickets to eat each other.
One thing pet owners commonly talk about is the smell of crickets. This is due to the buildup of ammonia from their bodily functions, and any untimely deaths in your colony. Brown house crickets are generally known to be more smelly, producing more ammonia in their waste. This spreads disease, as we mentioned, and also creates a smell.
This means you will have to work twice as hard to keep the smell of your brown house crickets down. They need to be kept in a well-ventilated container, especially in the hot months. You will also need to clean their container more often.
This is the main way to keep disease at bay with brown house crickets. Changing substrate is good, but you will also need to deep clean your crickets’ container once a month or so, moving them to a different storage bin and bleaching their spare home.
Banded crickets require less maintenance. Yes, you should still clean their container, and yes, they will still need ventilation. But you won’t have to watch them quite as closely, as they produce less ammonia and deal much better with life in a confined space.
Which Cricket is the Best Feeder Insect?
In summation, the banded cricket is a slightly more nutritious feeder with more active habits. It is less prone to disease, smells better, and requires less labor than its counterpart, the brown house cricket.
Most of these differences are marginal - but the banded cricket’s resistance to viruses makes it a much more worry-free feeder.