crix in the mail?

[Pookie]

The store i currently get my crickets from has been running out almost as soon as they get their shipment in. This is becoming very troublesome. I have been looking into ordering crickets online and having them shipped to my house. The place I would order from is probably somewhere around 5 hours from my house. My questions are...
1. Do a lot of people actually have crickets shipped to their houses?
2. How do they stay alive? Do they just sit at your door step?
3. Do I have to be home to accept the shipment?
4. If i buy a few hundred crickets, how long would they last? (Since i'm only feeding a couple geckos, 5 toads and a juvi chameleon. )

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Samba]

Ok, first things first, lots of people do have crickets shipped to their houses for convience and because you save money. Most of time Post Offices will return the packages to their office if no one is home to recieve the box. This depends on the carrier, however, so check around and see what pops up...

Crickets are easy to keep, but are messy and smelly. To keep them alive you only need to give them food (potatos, carrots, greens, and fish flakes). Just about anything healthy you can think of they will eat, and your geckos will get the benefit of gut-loaded insects. Do not feed the crickets dog or cat food!! Some pet foods contain a dye that could harm reptiles (this has been linked in snakes, but geckos could be harmed as well).

If you plan on buying a few hundred crickets, buy them at a young age, like two weeks. They'll live longer, obviously, but some animals (like a few I know) won't eat crickets that small... just not worth their effort I guess!

And, as a last comment, your pet store should be ordering more crickets... if they see that they seem to be running out all the time perhaps its better if they buy more to have in stock. Anyhow, I would venture to say that having crickets delivered to you house, and having you care for them is far more healthier for all your animals. Hope this helps!! =)

P.S. Crickets will get out and be around your house. Be prepared to throw them out, as they could be too contaminated to feed to your pets. =)