From Acheta to Banded Crickets : What We’ve Learned
Posted by The Fluker's Team on Jun 1st 2026
At Fluker’s, we have been raising feeder insects for a long time. As a third-generation, family-owned business, we have seen plenty of changes in the reptile and feeder insect world. Some changes come from customer demand. Some come from rising costs. Some come from hard lessons learned. One of those lessons is that traditional house crickets, also known as Acheta crickets, can be less stable, which has caused several facilities to have issues with their cricket colonies over the years.
That is one reason we have been so interested in banded crickets.
For customers, the goal is simple. You want crickets that arrive alive, stay alive, and get your animal excited to eat. After working more with banded crickets, we are seeing some a lot of success that should make you the customer really excited.
They Are Holding Up Better
One of the biggest things we have noticed is that banded crickets are doing better for us overall.
We are seeing better survival, better yields, and stronger crickets making it through the process. That matters because crickets go through a lot before they ever reach your door. They have to be raised, sorted, packed, shipped, and delivered.
A stronger cricket handles that journey better.
For customers, that means a better chance of opening the box and seeing healthy, active crickets. Although we fully guarantee every package of live insects and feeder insects that ship from our facility, bugs arriving live to your door is everyone's goal.
They Seem to Last Longer After Arrival
We are also hearing from customers that banded crickets are lasting longer once they arrive, and that is a big deal to us. At the end of the day, helping customers receive healthy and longer lasting feeders is exactly why we do what we do.
Most people do not feed every cricket the same day they arrive. You may need them to last several days, depending on how many pets you have and how often you feed them. Crickets that live longer give you more flexibility and less waste.
But care still matters. Crickets need proper ventilation, food, moisture, and temperature. Starting with a hardier cricket can make all the difference. Over the last several years dubia roaches have become more mainstream because of how easy they are to keep alive. While we like dubia roaches as a feeder option, they are often more expensive, so making crickets more durable and reliable benefits everyone.
They Are More Active
Another thing people are noticing is that banded crickets are active.
For many reptiles and amphibians, movement is what gets their attention. A cricket that moves around can help encourage natural hunting behavior and make feeding more exciting for the animal.
While some animals will eat anything, others can be very picky. However, active feeders can help trigger a stronger feeding response, especially for animals that enjoy chasing their food.
They Help Us Keep Costs in Check
Here is something most customers may not think about, but it matters.
We are seeing about a 20% drop in feed consumption with banded crickets. This means we now use tons less of cricket chow to produce the same (or more) bugs than before. This aids in our sustainability efforts as well as cut cost.
That helps us significantly. Feed, labor, shipping, packaging, and other operational costs continue to rise. When we can raise a stronger, healthier cricket while using less feed, it helps us better manage those increasing costs.
That matters to us because we want to keep feeder insects as affordable as possible. As a family-owned business, we know customers are feeling higher prices everywhere, and we are feeling them too. Our job is to keep improving how we raise and ship insects so we can reduce the need to pass those increases along to customers.
They Do Take a Little Longer to Grow
It is not all perfect.
Banded crickets take us about 7 days longer to produce compared to traditional Acheta crickets. That extra time matters on our end. It means more planning and a longer wait before they are ready.
But when we look at the full picture, the benefits are worth it.
Better survival, longer holding time, more activity, and lower feed use all help make banded crickets a strong option.
What This Means for You
For pet owners, the benefits are pretty straightforward.
Banded crickets can mean better live arrival, crickets that may last longer after delivery, more active feeders, less waste, and a better feeding response from some animals.
At the end of the day, we want to provide feeder insects that make feeding easier and more reliable. That has always been the goal.
Being third-generation and family-owned means we are not chasing every trend that comes along. We are looking for practical improvements that actually help customers and their animals. Banded crickets may take a little longer to grow, but we believe the tradeoff is worth it. Stronger crickets, better survival, and more activity are things customers can actually see when they open the box and feed their animals. That is what matters most to us and what helps us continue building trust with our customers.