Whether you have a bearded dragon or a tarantula, it’s important to feed them gut-loaded crickets and insects for a healthy diet. Because of how often these sorts of animals need crickets, it’s essential to find stores that sell crickets at the most affordable price.

PetSmart does not sell the most affordable crickets, but they are still pretty cheap. A single live cricket from PetSmart costs $0.13 at the time this article was written. Because of the convenience of shopping at PetSmart, many people forgo the slight savings from other pet stores by getting crickets at PetSmart.

If you are interested in learning how much crickets cost at PetSmart, keep reading. This article fully explains their price and how they compare to other stores.

How Expensive Are Crickets at PetSmart?

PetSmart only sells one type of live cricket, but they also sell a variety of freeze-dried crickets. These crickets are intended for a variety of animals, including anoles, lizards, geckoes, chameleons, frogs, tarantulas, and scorpions.

Live Cricket Costs

At the time this article was written, a single live cricket from PetSmart costs $0.13. You can buy them one at a time or buy them in bulk. PetSmart often has sales for buying crickets in bulk. For example, you only pay $0.11 each if you buy 20 crickets, $0.10 each for 40 crickets, and $0.09 each for 60 or more.

Other Cricket Foods

In addition to live crickets, PetSmart sells a variety of freeze-dried and gourmet crickets too. One of the more popular options is Fluker’s Freeze-Dried Crickets. These cost about $7.50 for a 1.2-ounce container. Most other freeze-dried crickets cost about the same amount.

How Do PetSmart Cricket Prices Compare to Other Stores?

PetSmart sells their crickets for about the same amount as other convenient pet stores. For example, Petco sells their live crickets for $0.13 each, but they offer discounts if you purchase crickets and bundles as well.

Although PetSmart sells crickets for the same amount as other big-name stores, PetSmart crickets are more expensive than specialty stores online. Most specialty stores sell their crickets in bulk for about $0.08 per cricket. This means that their crickets are more affordable than PetSmart’s best bundle savings.

At the Critter Depot, for instance, you can get 250 crickets for $21. This means that each cricket cost about $0.085. Of course, purchasing your crickets from the Critter Depot means you must wait several days for the crickets to arrive, and they might not arrive alive if shipping is delayed or you live in extreme temperatures.

Still, PetSmart is more expensive than specialty stores, but it is the same amount as other big-name stores that offer ultimate convenience.

Where Should I Buy My Crickets?

Where you should buy your crickets depends on what matters to you most. You should buy your crickets from PetSmart if you are most concerned about the convenience. In comparison, select specialty stores if you want the most affordable price and don’t want to give your money to companies like PetSmart.

PetSmart

Hands down, stores like PetSmart and Petco are the most convenient place to buy your crickets. All you have to do is hop over to a local store to get the exact number of crickets you want. Then, it only takes a couple of minutes to get your crickets, and all of them arrive safely to your home alive.

For this reason, you should shop at PetSmart if you simply want a convenient place to buy your crickets. Given that you will need to be buying crickets frequently, there’s no shame in selecting a location based on convenience alone.

Specialty Stores

Specialty stores often offer the most affordable prices for crickets. If you want to save as much money as possible, we recommend shopping at specialty stores. Even though a couple of cents won’t make a big deal at first, those savings can add up over the entirety of your pet’s life.

Something else to consider is that PetSmart, Petco, and other large pet stores are sometimes associated with animal neglect. If you don’t want to fund these stores, you should buy your crickets from stores that are known for treating all their animals and creatures with respect.

Final Thoughts

Because of how convenient PetSmart is, its crickets are a bit more expensive than other stores. The price of PetSmart crickets is about the same as Petco and other large stores, but more expensive than specialty stores. Still, crickets are very affordable, no matter where you go.

Something to consider is purchasing your crickets from specialty stores because it will help you save some money in the meantime. When selecting specialty stores, be sure to read reviews and read about their shipping policies. That way, you can trust that your crickets arrive on time and alive to your home.

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Featured Image Credit: Robert Lessmann, Shutterstock