Feeders

[rénee]

I obviously know that each T has its own preferences but I'm just curios as to what feeders work
best for your T's.
I can't get roaches, basically i have a shop who sells crickets, mealworms(my sling loves these), super worms, butter worms, phoenix worms and wax worms.

My sling is afraid of crickets for now so i just feed pre-killed meal worms, my Juvie hasn't eaten anything in my care, so i don't even know what it wants or likes. I tried crickets and super worms but no go. The only thing i don't like about worms is they dig.. Do you tong feed your T's with worms, or is this considered "bad practice" or whatever you want to claim it haha.

Im assuming that i will just have to try different things to find what they like.. just curios as to what others do/have done.

 

[Chubbs]

I obviously know that each T has its own preferences but I'm just curios as to what feeders work
best for your T's.
I can't get roaches, basically i have a shop who sells crickets, mealworms(my sling loves these), super worms, butter worms, phoenix worms and wax worms.

My sling is afraid of crickets for now so i just feed pre-killed meal worms, my Juvie hasn't eaten anything in my care, so i don't even know what it wants or likes. I tried crickets and super worms but no go. The only thing i don't like about worms is they dig.. Do you tong feed your T's with worms, or is this considered "bad practice" or whatever you want to claim it haha.

Im assuming that i will just have to try different things to find what they like.. just curios as to what others do/have done.

Crickets work best for me, you really can't go wrong with them. If a sling will take a prekilled worm, then it should take a prekilled cricket. I'm not a fan of using live mealworms or superworms, as those suckers can do some serious damage to a molting or freshly molted tarantula with their jaws. They also burrow out of sight really fast, sometimes before the tarantula can grab them, and they can remain in there for months, resurfacing at any time. I use them occasionally as a treat, but I usually crush the heads first.

Well tong feeding an OBT or an S.calceatum or a Pokie is definitely not a very smart idea IMO. Everyone has their own viewpoint on this, but I just don't see the point in doing it. I have heard that it is also somewhat risky for the tarantula, as they can break their fangs on the metal of the tongs.

 

[rénee]

Crickets work best for me, you really can't go wrong with them. If a sling will take a prekilled worm, then it should take a prekilled cricket. I'm not a fan of using live mealworms or superworms, as those suckers can do some serious damage to a molting or freshly molted tarantula with their jaws. They also burrow out of sight really fast, sometimes before the tarantula can grab them, and they can remain in there for months, resurfacing at any time. I use them occasionally as a treat, but I usually crush the heads first.

Well tong feeding an OBT or an S.calceatum or a Pokie is definitely not a very smart idea IMO. Everyone has their own viewpoint on this, but I just don't see the point in doing it. I have heard that it is also somewhat risky for the tarantula, as they can break their fangs on the metal of the tongs.

Ya I'm really not sure why the sling was afraid of the prekilled cricket? It eats the worms just fine, but when I put a dead cricket in it scurried to the top and didn't come down till I took it out, I offered the smallest cricket I could find, pre-killed and it seemed interested but still didn't take, but took the worm the next day lol.

I would just like to offer variety if I can, but like you said worms dig.. and can bite so I don't want to do that. It's all trial and error haha

 

[Chubbs]

If it's hungry enough it'll eat a prekilled cricket. I feel you probably could've kept the cricket in there a bit longer, I doubt the reason it remained up top was because it was scared of the cricket.

 

[kormath]

I don't agree with waiting until they're hungry enough to eat something. To me that's not being a responsible keeper. I guess you'd have to if all you had access to was one type of prey, but luckily none of us are in that boat and have access to a variety of food for our Ts. Find what they like and feed them that, keep them happy

 

[micheldied]

Roaches worked best for me when I could have them (god damned Canadian laws). Mealworms were great, cut up for tiny slings and plings, but live they would just burrow away if the T didn't get to them immediately.

I absolutely hate crickets. They stink too quickly after death (if prekilled), and don't get nearly large enough for large Ts. Haven't tried much of anything else.

 

[kormath]

Roaches worked best for me when I could have them (god damned Canadian laws). Mealworms were great, cut up for tiny slings and plings, but live they would just burrow away if the T didn't get to them immediately.

I absolutely hate crickets. They stink too quickly after death (if prekilled), and don't get nearly large enough for large Ts. Haven't tried much of anything else.

Yeah i hate crickets also for that reason, but i buy the theory mixing up prey is better nutrition for them. a couple of my Ts will only eat crickets and lateralis. I haven't tried meal worms yet, maybe i'll grab some this weekend and see who will eat them.

 

[micheldied]

Yeah i hate crickets also for that reason, but i buy the theory mixing up prey is better nutrition for them. a couple of my Ts will only eat crickets and lateralis. I haven't tried meal worms yet, maybe i'll grab some this weekend and see who will eat them.

I'd mix it up as well as often as I could, but both countries I've lived in don't offer much in the way of diversity.
I haven't tried any of the larger feeders available here since my Ts are still slings. In the past, I only had access to mealworms and crickets, and I bred my own Dubia.

 

[Chubbs]

I don't agree with waiting until they're hungry enough to eat something. To me that's not being a responsible keeper. I guess you'd have to if all you had access to was one type of prey, but luckily none of us are in that boat and have access to a variety of food for our Ts. Find what they like and feed them that, keep them happy

I think you misunderstood what i meant. I was saying if hungry enough, the spider will eat whatever prey is available for it. Never did I say that if it refuses one type of prey that you should only leave that one prey item in there and not offer it anything else.

 

[rénee]

Ya where i live roaches are illegal. So I'm stuck with crickets and worms. My Sling loves the pre-killed meal worms, but have just been debating on trying some other worms too yet, i mean us humans don't like to eat the same thing every time so if your T isn't picky i would love to offer variety

 

[SasyStace]

superworms are the devil- I am almost positive on this- I had one resurface last night and it crawled into a water dish and died (this brought me joy) IF I ever feed them again I will know better to chop the heads off- My Avic seems to favor those suckers.

 

[kormath]

superworms and wax worms i've read here and other places are well liked by Ts. I'd try them with the meal worms and crickets.

 

[kormath]

I think you misunderstood what i meant. I was saying if hungry enough, the spider will eat whatever prey is available for it. Never did I say that if it refuses one type of prey that you should only leave that one prey item in there and not offer it anything else.

Nope i got what you were saying i've just heard it stated other places also and used your quote. I'm sure everyone here wouldn't do that either, but the mood i was in at the time of reading your post had me reply to it It's all good.

 

[SasyStace]

superworms and wax worms i've read here and other places are well liked by Ts. I'd try them with the meal worms and crickets.

me too and my T's love them but boy oh boy do I hate dealing with them

 

[Chubbs]

Wax worms aren't bad, but the smell the dead ones emit is absolutely nauseating. Most tarantulas as well as other invertebrates will go nuts over them. The moths are great treats as well, especially for arboreals.

 

[kormath]

wax worms are the larvae of the wax moth. when they grow and pupate or whatever they turn into a moth.

 

[SasyStace]

wax worms are the larvae of the wax moth. when they grow and pupate or whatever they turn into a moth.

Thank you @kormath I appreciate you letting me know- I think I will go pick some up when I get off work and try them with my Avics

 

[MassExodus]

Nope i got what you were saying i've just heard it stated other places also and used your quote. I'm sure everyone here wouldn't do that either, but the mood i was in at the time of reading your post had me reply to it It's all good.

Our tarantulas are all well fed, that's why they have the luxury of refusing prey they don't particularly like. Roaches provide the same nutrition for one spider as they do for another, regardless of that spiders preference of prey. I spoil them as it is, so if I say they're eating dubia, they're eating the freakin dubia I may want to stop at a restaurant on the way to work, but if I'm saving my money, I eat in the cafeteria (horrible) with my employee discount or make a sandwich. If I can do it, so can they. They'll eat their dubia sandwich and like it.

 

[Chubbs]

I also highly recommend silk worms as well. They get much larger, over 3 inches in length, so are great for larger tarantulas, They are a bit more expensive though and more difficult to find, and you have to buy food to go with them or provide them with your own fresh mulberry leaves, as that is all that they eat, The moths they turn into are pretty big as well.

As for crickets, the one's that are most often sold in pet stores and online are Acheta domesticus, the domestic house cricket. A better yet more difficult to acquire cricket is the banded cricket Gryllodes sigillatus, which are reported to be a lot tougher and live a lot longer. Here's an article explaining the advantages of them:

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/catalog/...you-should-feed-banded-crickets-to-your-pets/

Also check out Gryllus assimilis aka the Jamaican Field Cricket, which are also used as feeders sometimes. They are larger than normal domestic gray crickets, but are said to be far more aggressive and have a very painful bite.

http://www.geckotime.com/jamaican-field-cricket-gryllus-assimili/

 

[SasyStace]

Excellent tips! Thanks for sharing. I have a silk worm breeder 5 minutes from me definitely going to look into them!