Feeding a B. albopilosum spiderling, considering food items

[octanejunkie]

Good morning fellow T Keepers!

I've placed an order for a B. albopilosum spiderling from
JamiesTarantulas.com set to arrive next week - expected size is 1/2"-3/4" along with a spiderling enclosure kit.
This will be a surprise for my daughter along with a copy ot the Tarantual Keepers Guide, schedule to arrive today, so she can "pre-research" the purchase *wink wink*

Our local pet stores only carry crickets, and I've been down that road before when I owned a house, keeping crickets as feeders, and I'm not keen on the idea in an apartment. I am contemplating ordering a colony (mixed size) of B. laterals, Rusty Red Roaches, to maintain a stable food source for our T.

Can anyone share any experiences with keeping B. laterals long term, including housing and food items required?
I'm open to other food item recommendations too.

 

[spidey noob]

hi & congrats on the new T (exallent choice !!!)
personaly i like to feed crickets only till there 1", then i swap them to locusts permantly with treats of mario worms/roaches every 3rd week.
best two staples feeders are (imo)
crickets
locusts (not readly avalible in us)
& u can add treats of
meal worms
mario worms
roaches
ect !!!
the reason for this is down to how rich the feeders are in nutrients, the first two are fine as there not that rich, but worms & espicaly roaches are super rich with nutrients. (its the same as u just eating fast food for every meal)

as for keeping roaches i have a small b,dubia collany in a
80lt tub with a vented lid & i keep the temp in the 80s constnaly !!!

 

[Therasoid]

B. albopilosum are a great starter T.
As far as the roaches, I stopped using dubia years ago, keep and breed Shelfordella lateralis (aka: Rusty Reds). They don't burrow and constantly move about, plus when properly kept don't stink. I have mine in a 10 gallon tank with 1 1/2" of topsoil w/h 20% sand mixed in. Use old paper tubes or egg cartons for them. Keep the temp around 80 degrees, they will breed, if you have too many, lower the temp or sell off the excess. Mature males haves wings but don't really fly. I feed a lot of males to my T's, try to keep a ratio of 6-7:1 (F:M), once established you'll have plenty of feeders.
I make feed by using rolled oats, crushed bran flakes and dry cornmeal mixed equally, a few cut up baby carrots and the occassional orange slices. They eat this ravenously.
Keep container in a dark area, they don't like light. Below is my colony, minus egg crates usually on top of the heavy tubes, it was feeding time. [emoji4]

 

[octanejunkie]

B. albopilosum are a great starter T.
As far as the roaches, I stopped using dubia years ago, keep and breed Shelfordella lateralis (aka: Rusty Reds)...
...Keep container in a dark area, they don't like light. Below is my colony, minus egg crates usually on top of the heavy tubes, it was feeding time. [emoji4]

Thanks for this info, Therasoid!
I have several spare 10G tanks I can choose from.

I'd read the males DON'T fly, and I assume a lid is nice but maybe not needed since they can't fly or climb glass?
Also what humidity do they need and do you keep a water dish in their enclosure?
Could I feed organic fruit and veg exclusively?

 

[Therasoid]

Thanks for this info, Therasoid!
I have several spare 10G tanks I can choose from.

I'd read the males DON'T fly, and I assume a lid is nice but maybe not needed since they can't fly or climb glass?
Also what humidity do they need and do you keep a water dish in their enclosure?
Could I feed organic fruit and veg exclusively?

The lid is needed to keep moisture in, just a 3"X5" screened area for some ventilation.
If your tank has any silicone in the corners they will climb to the top and possibly escape. Eliminate the silicone and I've placed clear packers tape all around the top just in case, no escapees.
Humidity needs to be high, I have condensation build up on half the glass always. Yes in the pic, the blue dish in front has water, they will drink it. The white dish in back is the food bowl, (4" across by 1" deep) and I feed twice weekly. Prior to feeding T's, I remove what I need and gut load them.
Btw, my 6" B. albopilosum female won't eat roaches, only crickets and super worms. Spoiled! Hope yours is not that way with roaches.[emoji4]

 

[Therasoid]

The lid is needed to keep moisture in, just a 3"X5" screened area for some ventilation.
If your tank has any silicone in the corners they will climb to the top and possibly escape. Eliminate the silicone and I've placed clear packers tape all around the top just in case, no escapees.
Humidity needs to be high, I have condensation build up on half the glass always. Yes in the pic, the blue dish in front has water, they will drink it. The white dish in back is the food bowl, (4" across by 1" deep) and I feed twice weekly. Prior to feeding T's, I remove what I need and gut load them.
Btw, my 6" B. albopilosum female won't eat roaches, only crickets and super worms. Spoiled! Hope yours is not that way with roaches.[emoji4]

Yes, they will eat most anything, I've even feed crushed high protein dog food in the past.

 

[AceTRetreat]

I feed my Curlies ... Dubia roaches, superworms, and mealworms ... all of which they eat readily ... with a sling you will need to most likely pre-kill unless can get very small live prey .. my slings have no problem scavenging on parts ... rosies, curlies, and B. vegans. I maintain a D. roach colony and buy the rest as needed ... could do mealworms but so cheap not worth breeding for number of T's I have

 

[AceTRetreat]

Alright .. I need to say that my T's are carnivores ... they do not live a lifestyle void of any animal products ... that should have been B. vagans .. lol!

 

[Therasoid]

Alright .. I need to say that my T's are carnivores ... they do not live a lifestyle void of any animal products ... that should have been B. vagans .. lol!

Lol!
The " crushed dog food " was in reference to feeding the roach colony. Didn't edit my post correctly. But you know what I meant. [emoji6]