• Are you a Tarantula hobbyist? If so, we invite you to join our community! Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your pets and enclosures and chat with other Tarantula enthusiasts. Sign up today!

How long can I keep crickets for my tarantula?

gonzalo99

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
1
Hello! I do not own a tarantula yet but I will next week (I've done A LOT of research so I know what type of tarantula to get and i know all it's needs) im getting a mexican red knee, and i wanted to know if I should buy a lot of crickets at once, so i can feed it one or two a week, or should I get the crickets right before I feed them to my tarantula? Thank you! =)
 

Memo537

New Member
3 Year Member
Messages
3
Well, since you're going to have one T I would strongly suggest to buy just 5 or 6 crickets everytime you go to the store, my red knee is a good eater and will eat 3 times a week so I think it's enough.
But if you're lazy like me you can buy several and keep them until you need them, probably when you buy a bunch at the pet store they will be in a plastic container with egg cardboard there, you can keep them in there but they're not going to last too long, just about 4 to 5 weeks before they die. But you can always buy a small terrarium and breed them, that way you won't have to buy crickets never again but you will have a hell of a lot of them haha
If you're interested read this: http://m.wikihow.com/Raise-Your-Own-Crickets
That's what I'm planning to do since my T's are voracious lol

Sent from my E2306 using Tapatalk
 

Ratmosphere

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
229
Get a cricket keeper and buy the cricket cubes so they can eat. I'd say buy 50-70 crickets at once and keep the keeper cleaned daily. I clean mine everyday with paper towels and water.
 

Johnnyp1987

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
543
Location
Bolton, UK
I think you would be better off buying dubia roaches. Depending on the size of spider you buy. If its a juvi you could get the small roaches, say 50-100. This would give you enough to feed it for quite a while, and as it grows they will be growing. If you plan on getting more Ts then it might be a good idea to start a mixed size colony then you will have a few different sizes available. Saves you the hassle of keep buying afew crickets every week, plus crickets dont live long, they smell, they chirp and they always escape lol
 

kormath

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
3,565
Location
Idaho
I think you would be better off buying dubia roaches. Depending on the size of spider you buy. If its a juvi you could get the small roaches, say 50-100. This would give you enough to feed it for quite a while, and as it grows they will be growing. If you plan on getting more Ts then it might be a good idea to start a mixed size colony then you will have a few different sizes available. Saves you the hassle of keep buying afew crickets every week, plus crickets dont live long, they smell, they chirp and they always escape lol
agreed. The lifespan of the typical pet store cricket, if it's a pinhead is 6-8 weeks. If you're buying medium or large you're looking at a few weeks till they die.

If you only can do crickets, i'd do like @Memo537 said and buy a dozen or so at a time. If you can order roaches where you're at Dubia or Lateralis is your best bet. You can't kill a roach even when you try ;) both of those species live for about 18-24 months. I wouldn't start a colony with just one T, unless you want to raise roaches also as a pet and feeder.
 
Top