- Messages
- 129
- Location
- Georgia
Working with alot of smaller species and breeding a ton of dartfrogs has given me a chance over the years to really use alot of smaller feeder insects. I still raise fruit flies for the display darts but for slings I use a few other things that have worked perfectly for small slings. The three main ones that I use are dwarf Isopods, peanut beetles, and surinam roach babies. Unfortunately I do believe in some states surnams are banned. The other two though work just as good.
To be honest the larvae of peanut beetles have to be at the top of my list for small sling feeders. They are essentially micro mealworms that start out dang near microscopic in size. They also breed very well and produce tons of offsprings. I don't believe I have any trouble having the right size larvae. Raising them is very easy. Exact same parameters as mealworms down to a substrate of rolled oats or wheat bran. The only thing you'll need to add to this is a big handful of roasted peanuts(not salted). I do add a few little pieces of sweet potato or squash for moisture every week.
Now to dwarf isopods. I've used both dwarf whites and dwarf purples with equal success. I still raise both in good numbers but prefer to use the purples. They do great on top soil or peat with a clump of moss on one end to help with keeping a spot in the setup moist. I break up a little cuttlebone to and add that in the substrate. Feeding them is pretty easy on fish flakes, little pieces of vegetables, and repashy morning wood. Spray one side of the enclosure and if you want to make it a little easier to collect them for feeders a few pieces of cholla or driftwood always become popular hangouts.
Now for Surinam roaches. These buggers are parthenogenic and can build numbers super fast. I literally just keep my colony in a container with a tight fitting lid(they do climb everything). The substrate is 4 inches or more of peat mixed with sphagnum moss. I keep it slightly damp but not soaking. I feed them the same as I feed my dubia roaches. They'll take anything but a good start is sweet potato, squash, various fruits, fish food, and any premade insect diet. An easy one to buy is any diet made for crickets or other feeder insects.
Ventilation in this tight fitting enclosure consists of to circular holes fitted with a cloth layer. This gives more than enough ventilation and also keeps phorid flies out. If you can have this species of roach where you live and you keep T's they are worth it. The downside is they burrow fast and very efficiently. I suggest either stunning or crushing the heads of them before feeding. For adult roaches(they are a little larger then a cricket full grown) I tong feed them or at the very least make sure I witness them being fed upon. Trust me they can live very well in the soil of your T enclosure and once they get large enough to start dropping offspring they can populate an enclosure quickly. Being that they can climb anything and the tarantula enclosure not being as secure as the roach bin they can/will get out.
I hope this helps in finding an alternative for your smaller tarantula slings or other smaller pets you need tiny prey items for. I've cultured fruit flies going on 25 plus years now and I understand how making cultures every 14 to 30 days depending on species of fly ain't fun. If anyone needs more info please feel free to ask and I'll try and get pics up in the next few days of everything I described above. Sorry for the super long post, but I hope it helps someone with finding an alternative feeder. Thank you for taking a gander.
To be honest the larvae of peanut beetles have to be at the top of my list for small sling feeders. They are essentially micro mealworms that start out dang near microscopic in size. They also breed very well and produce tons of offsprings. I don't believe I have any trouble having the right size larvae. Raising them is very easy. Exact same parameters as mealworms down to a substrate of rolled oats or wheat bran. The only thing you'll need to add to this is a big handful of roasted peanuts(not salted). I do add a few little pieces of sweet potato or squash for moisture every week.
Now to dwarf isopods. I've used both dwarf whites and dwarf purples with equal success. I still raise both in good numbers but prefer to use the purples. They do great on top soil or peat with a clump of moss on one end to help with keeping a spot in the setup moist. I break up a little cuttlebone to and add that in the substrate. Feeding them is pretty easy on fish flakes, little pieces of vegetables, and repashy morning wood. Spray one side of the enclosure and if you want to make it a little easier to collect them for feeders a few pieces of cholla or driftwood always become popular hangouts.
Now for Surinam roaches. These buggers are parthenogenic and can build numbers super fast. I literally just keep my colony in a container with a tight fitting lid(they do climb everything). The substrate is 4 inches or more of peat mixed with sphagnum moss. I keep it slightly damp but not soaking. I feed them the same as I feed my dubia roaches. They'll take anything but a good start is sweet potato, squash, various fruits, fish food, and any premade insect diet. An easy one to buy is any diet made for crickets or other feeder insects.
Ventilation in this tight fitting enclosure consists of to circular holes fitted with a cloth layer. This gives more than enough ventilation and also keeps phorid flies out. If you can have this species of roach where you live and you keep T's they are worth it. The downside is they burrow fast and very efficiently. I suggest either stunning or crushing the heads of them before feeding. For adult roaches(they are a little larger then a cricket full grown) I tong feed them or at the very least make sure I witness them being fed upon. Trust me they can live very well in the soil of your T enclosure and once they get large enough to start dropping offspring they can populate an enclosure quickly. Being that they can climb anything and the tarantula enclosure not being as secure as the roach bin they can/will get out.
I hope this helps in finding an alternative for your smaller tarantula slings or other smaller pets you need tiny prey items for. I've cultured fruit flies going on 25 plus years now and I understand how making cultures every 14 to 30 days depending on species of fly ain't fun. If anyone needs more info please feel free to ask and I'll try and get pics up in the next few days of everything I described above. Sorry for the super long post, but I hope it helps someone with finding an alternative feeder. Thank you for taking a gander.
