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feeders for adult Ts

kormath

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I don't want to be feeding half a dozen lateralis to my genic or LP when they're fully grown. I'd rather get larger species and feed them one (or 2).

I'm thinking the lateralis, maxing out at just over an inch in size, will work for all of my T's up until they're about 3" dls or so, right? The A. chalcodes we have is 3"+ and she takes down 3 mature (3/4-1") lateralis with ease. Where lateralis max out at roughly 1.5", a 6" T would need 5 or 6 for a meal i'm thinking if they eat like the chalcodes does.

When the LP or genic become full grown they'll need even more than that. So i'm looking at cost effective feeding options for the adults. Sure i could give them 6 or 8 lateralis from my colony, but that would go through my small colony fairly quickly. B. dubai roaches get a bit bigger at roughly 2" adult but still that'd 4 or 5 for a meal right?

Looking at the larger species of roaches they're pretty spendy. Hissers selling for 4-10$ each (nymph) depending on species, and colossus 15-30$ for 8 mixed sizes. Kind takes all of those out of the feeding plan except for maybe a treat now and then.

Anyone use B. discoids? I see they get up to almost 3" adult and are a heavy bodied non climbing feeder. I'm guessing they burrow though like dubia. So my Ts will have to quit being lazy and start digging up their food when they're older ;)

Any other ideas/suggestions for adult feeders?
 

MassExodus

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kormath I give my big spiders one adult dubia every two weeks or so, sometimes once a month if the spider is obese. The only time I would give mine more is like when I powerfeed my females. You should get a few hundred dubia to start your colony off right. They really are great feeders, they come in all sizes and breed well, and they get quite fat. I had no issues using them exclusively for several months. I just like to use superworms for variety. Hissers are relatively expensive to buy as feeders, and so far they seem to be breeding roughly half as fast as my dubia. My lats are reproducing like maniacs.
 

Chubbs

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Most of my tarantulas woudln't take the discoids when I tried them. I just use large crickets (banded not the typical domesticated type as these live longer), or superworms for my larger species. Most tarantulas will accept dubia from what I've seen so they are one of the best options for those who have access to them. I've never seen a tarantula refuse crickets. I only use the superworms with certain individuals since some will not take them, and of course I crush the head slightly so they still twitch but won't burrow.
 

kormath

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hmm okay i figured you'd feed them more than that as adults. I'll have to order a starter colony of dubia and see how they go. Now that my slings are a bit bigger they may take them. Previous they wouldn't touch them, and they were too lazy to dig them up after the dubia burrowed.
 

Chubbs

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hmm okay i figured you'd feed them more than that as adults. I'll have to order a starter colony of dubia and see how they go. Now that my slings are a bit bigger they may take them. Previous they wouldn't touch them, and they were too lazy to dig them up after the dubia burrowed.

Adults don't need to be fed very often at all, they actually should be fed a lot less frequently than slings and juveniles, which are constantly growing. If by more you mean more of a variety, well that's not really a necessity with invertebrates like it is with reptiles and amphibians. Some people (like myself) like to give their inverts more of a variety of food-items. Banded crickets I personally find to be the best feeder insect all around, and the fact that like all crickets they've got a good amount of meat on them and are accepted by virtually every animal makes buying them well worth it. For adults I usually give them about 2-3 crickets depending on the size of the tarantula and the cricket, and how recently the spider was last fed. Ones that are closer to premolt and thus have large plump abdomens I don't feed many at one time, unless I'm power feeding it, which is something I only do with slings or with females that I am planning on mating after they molt. The really massive species I will give them 4-6 large crickets, but I do not feed them nearly as frequently, unless of course they have molted very recently and need the extra nutrients.
 

kormath

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Adults don't need to be fed very often at all, they actually should be fed a lot less frequently than slings and juveniles, which are constantly growing. If by more you mean more of a variety, well that's not really a necessity with invertebrates like it is with reptiles and amphibians. Some people (like myself) like to give their inverts more of a variety of food-items. Banded crickets I personally find to be the best feeder insect all around, and the fact that like all crickets they've got a good amount of meat on them and are accepted by virtually every animal makes buying them well worth it. For adults I usually give them about 2-3 crickets depending on the size of the tarantula and the cricket, and how recently the spider was last fed. Ones that are closer to premolt and thus have large plump abdomens I don't feed many at one time, unless I'm power feeding it, which is something I only do with slings or with females that I am planning on mating after they molt. The really massive species I will give them 4-6 large crickets, but I do not feed them nearly as frequently, unless of course they have molted very recently and need the extra nutrients.
Right, i didn't plan on feeding the adults as often as i do my slings. The tiny ones i feed twice a week now, the larger ones eat once a week.

The chalcodes i guess you could call a juvie at just around 4 inches. She eats once a week. Either a 2" superworm or a couple of the larger (3/4-1") roaches. Figured i'd feed them as adults the same as this juvie, just an extra or 2 roach. Unless i use the dubai then a couple adults of those should be plenty.
 

swimbait

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Dubia! If only I didn't just sell what I had for sell I would have hooked you up! Just sold about 4000 variety sized dubia for 150$ to someone local
 

kormath

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My T's won't eat them, other than the GBB and that's probably just cause they get caught in her web. I've tried in the past and they ignore them or the dubia burrow before they can be eaten, then the Ts are too lazy to dig them up. I'll find it just under the surface the next feeding day.

So what's the trick to get the Ts to eat the dubia?
 

swimbait

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My T's won't eat them, other than the GBB and that's probably just cause they get caught in her web. I've tried in the past and they ignore them or the dubia burrow before they can be eaten, then the Ts are too lazy to dig them up. I'll find it just under the surface the next feeding day.

So what's the trick to get the Ts to eat the dubia?

Well if you are confident they are hungry, crush the dubias head a little bit and it will still move around and cause commotion but won't burrow. Sometimes, however, if you crush the head too much on the big ones they just die lol
 

kormath

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Lol. Okay i'll order some larger ones with the T's and see if the chalcodes will eat them.
 
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