How many crickets?

I just got my emp, and wow he's awesome. His name is Bubba. I want to know how often should I try to feed him, and how many crickets.. In the week and a half of having him he ate one cricket. Im just scared he is not eating enough. I dont want to be a bad mom.

they can live for well over A YEAR without eating, and they will show no ill effects.

I'd say throw 2 or 3 crickets in a week and remove anything that he doesn't eat. if he doesn't eat anything, don't feed him for two weeks then try again. if he doesn't, just leave it a bit longer and try again, just keep doing this and he will probably start eating again. I don't even feed the Emp that has fasted for over a year, I offer her food every few months. she never takes it.

yeah dont stress, when i got my first emp nearly 2 whole years ago (how time flies) he didnt eat for the first couple of months so realy tis nothing to worry about, once or twice a week is enough though.

To back up the others, see my signature . . .

By the way, what's your setup like? A lot of beginners mistakenly keep their emps in a desert habitat, when they come from tropical forests.

Definitely...DO NOT put these guys on just sand and low humidity...it will turn out bad. Check out the false bottom enclosures to get humidity levels right with minimal effort. Welcome to the forum!

I feed about 1-2 per week, if she decides she'll eat them. As others have said, dont worry about her not eating.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

To back up the others, see my signature . . .

By the way, what's your setup like? A lot of beginners mistakenly keep their emps in a desert habitat, when they come from tropical forests.

I just change his cage today. yeah..i put sand i put down some fir and sphagnum peat moss mix. And his has a stone house with a stone water bowl. Im slowly trying to get it perfect. But...Im not sure how to do the humdity. Also, I put a small cage heating pad right underneath the cage. My room is kinda cold and yeah. Im learning.

Yeah...that is a sweet link Abyss gave you. Good luck!

Move the heater to the side, and remove the fir stuff. With a few exceptions, softwoods aren't good for invertebrates. (That's why cedar is such a good bug repellent.)




If you're curious about the exceptions, the biggest ones are Centruroides hentzi, which can frequently be found under the bark of pine trees, and all manner of woodboring beetles.