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I see what you're saying, and I don't disagree with any of it. Still, the experiment with the roaches was a waste of a good spider. I've been feeding dubia for at least four years, I've never crushed them, and if they escape, that spider does the digging, I don't. I find live roaches under or near the water dish all the time, and don't ever touch them. Eventually the spider eats them. Not once has there been any incident of predation on the spiders by the roaches. Granted, my collection is still small, compared to some, but 36 spiders still seems like a big enough group to make an informed decision about feeding dubia, I think. My slings get nymphs and halved superworms, juvies get medium dubia and full sized worms, and so on. I recently started hearing about superworms being dangerous as well, but once again, I've never had an issue with them..I would worry about those jaws feeding them to a sling, which is why they get cut in half, but juvies and adults deal with them easily, and I've never, ever witnessed a superworm that burrowed come to the surface again, so I don't see them messing with a molting spider..they burrow, and if the spider doesn't dig them up they pupate into beetles. The beetles worry me, because I've tried breeding them and they kill and eat each other sometimes. So when one surfaces, and starts fumbling around, entirely visible, I kill it. But as you pointed out, I have a small enough collection to give my spiders individual attention every day, some folks have a lot more to care for..I just don't think these two feeders are much to worry about...crickets are another story.

<blockquote data-quote="MassExodus" data-source="post: 55529" data-attributes="member: 4086"><p>I see what you're saying, and I don't disagree with any of it. Still, the experiment with the roaches was a waste of a good spider. I've been feeding dubia for at least four years, I've never crushed them, and if they escape, that spider does the digging, I don't. I find live roaches under or near the water dish all the time, and don't ever touch them. Eventually the spider eats them. Not once has there been any incident of predation on the spiders by the roaches. Granted, my collection is still small, compared to some, but 36 spiders still seems like a big enough group to make an informed decision about feeding dubia, I think. My slings get nymphs and halved superworms, juvies get medium dubia and full sized worms, and so on. I recently started hearing about superworms being dangerous as well, but once again, I've never had an issue with them..I would worry about those jaws feeding them to a sling, which is why they get cut in half, but juvies and adults deal with them easily, and I've never, ever witnessed a superworm that burrowed come to the surface again, so I don't see them messing with a molting spider..they burrow, and if the spider doesn't dig them up they pupate into beetles. The beetles worry me, because I've tried breeding them and they kill and eat each other sometimes. So when one surfaces, and starts fumbling around, entirely visible, I kill it. But as you pointed out, I have a small enough collection to give my spiders individual attention every day, some folks have a lot more to care for..I just don't think these two feeders are much to worry about...crickets are another story.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="MassExodus, post: 55529, member: 4086"] I see what you're saying, and I don't disagree with any of it. Still, the experiment with the roaches was a waste of a good spider. I've been feeding dubia for at least four years, I've never crushed them, and if they escape, that spider does the digging, I don't. I find live roaches under or near the water dish all the time, and don't ever touch them. Eventually the spider eats them. Not once has there been any incident of predation on the spiders by the roaches. Granted, my collection is still small, compared to some, but 36 spiders still seems like a big enough group to make an informed decision about feeding dubia, I think. My slings get nymphs and halved superworms, juvies get medium dubia and full sized worms, and so on. I recently started hearing about superworms being dangerous as well, but once again, I've never had an issue with them..I would worry about those jaws feeding them to a sling, which is why they get cut in half, but juvies and adults deal with them easily, and I've never, ever witnessed a superworm that burrowed come to the surface again, so I don't see them messing with a molting spider..they burrow, and if the spider doesn't dig them up they pupate into beetles. The beetles worry me, because I've tried breeding them and they kill and eat each other sometimes. So when one surfaces, and starts fumbling around, entirely visible, I kill it. But as you pointed out, I have a small enough collection to give my spiders individual attention every day, some folks have a lot more to care for..I just don't think these two feeders are much to worry about...crickets are another story. [/QUOTE]

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