Tarantula food emergency.

[NatashaG]

We bought a huge box of crickets a while back now, and it seems like the majority have ended up dead. We watered them and fed them every other day, and they never went without, so I am a bit confused by this. We didn't use a cricket pen, but had set up a large plastic container with plenty of air holes and egg boxes (it was also kept in a cupboard in the kitchen), but I'm now just buying a cricket pen (which looks like it will be easier to get them out anyway.) I wanted to try my little T with something new and was wondering if I bought the cricket pen, would Locusts be okay to live in it, or do they need something more specific? And does anyone know of any good live food sellers?

 

[kormath]

crickets are notorious for dying off quick. It's the 2nd reason i don't buy them anymore, that and the smell. Numerous online vendors that will sell live feeders depending where you live.

Lateralis roaches are my main food source, that and crickets are all that my Ts will eat except for the LP. He's eaten 1 dubia but ran from the one i put in his enclosure last night, same size as the previous one he did the happy dance with.

Dubiaroaches.com, aaronpauling.com, rainbowmealworms.com and capecodroaches.com are the vendors i use. I've also bought some from Jamies but i don't like her shipping.

 

[NatashaG]

crickets are notorious for dying off quick. It's the 2nd reason i don't buy them anymore, that and the smell. Numerous online vendors that will sell live feeders depending where you live.

Lateralis roaches are my main food source, that and crickets are all that my Ts will eat except for the LP. He's eaten 1 dubia but ran from the one i put in his enclosure last night, same size as the previous one he did the happy dance with.

Dubiaroaches.com, aaronpauling.com, rainbowmealworms.com and capecodroaches.com are the vendors i use. I've also bought some from Jamies but i don't like her shipping.

I'm glad to hear that to be quite honest, I was looking about to see if I had done anything wrong but I had followed stuff I read online properly and they were very well looked after (for a box of crickets anyway.)
I have just purchased another small box of crickets, just to tide me over until I look into creating something that last a bit longer. I've seen that so many people feed their T's ****roaches and I would be interested in starting something with them, when I figure out where I can house them and such.
I had noticed a smell off them, my parter more so as he is the one who does the feeding. Do ****roaches smell?
Thanks for the advice!! Thats some sweat off my brow at least!!

 

[kormath]

If you don't keep the poop and shed skin cleaned up with a cleaner crew or you doing it they can smell, but it's no where near as overwhelming as the cricket smell.

THey don't die either you have to try hard to kill a roach. My problem is my colony wasn't large enough to support all of my Ts so i'm having to order adult roaches to feed the big Ts, i have tons of small nymphs and pinheads.

Super easy to care for also. Lateralis (red racers) and Dubia can't climb smooth surfaces, so just keep them in something like a sterlite storage container with holes for air, a few cardboard egg crates to hide in, food and water sources. I use ground dog food, fish food, and veggies now and then, and a water gel so i don't have to refill a water dish or have the little guys drown in one. Plus you can get the Fluker's Orange gel to use if you don't have veggies to give them regularly. I use that, since my son and i aren't big fruit and veggie eaters.

 

[NatashaG]

If you don't keep the poop and shed skin cleaned up with a cleaner crew or you doing it they can smell, but it's no where near as overwhelming as the cricket smell.

THey don't die either you have to try hard to kill a roach. My problem is my colony wasn't large enough to support all of my Ts so i'm having to order adult roaches to feed the big Ts, i have tons of small nymphs and pinheads.

Super easy to care for also. Lateralis (red racers) and Dubia can't climb smooth surfaces, so just keep them in something like a sterlite storage container with holes for air, a few cardboard egg crates to hide in, food and water sources. I use ground dog food, fish food, and veggies now and then, and a water gel so i don't have to refill a water dish or have the little guys drown in one. Plus you can get the Fluker's Orange gel to use if you don't have veggies to give them regularly. I use that, since my son and i aren't big fruit and veggie eaters.

I had tried my best to keep the crickets clean, they were all fed with ground up fish food or oats and had the water dish with a sponge in (which was washed every time I cleaned the tub out) BUT THE SMELL It's not so bad because it is in a large cupboard on it's own but even I had managed to get the odd whiff.
Do the ****roaches need any special equipment? Because they sound ideal. I had the crickets in a large plastic tub/storage container, which would probably be ideal if I choose to do it.

 

[kormath]

You can use a heat mat if you want them to breed faster, but lateralis breed just fine at room temps, dubia will also but at warmer temps, ideally for breeding you'd want dubia 85F or so, they're an East African tropical species. I'd get rid of the sponge, they're just bacteria traps. If you're worried about them drowning in the dish put in pebbles or marbles or something they can crawl out of the water onto. With water gels you don't have to worry about that

 

[NatashaG]

i've heard that about the sponges, and in my T enclosure I have pebbles, so I will get rid if it is going to be more trouble than it's worth. Will look into the gel too, thanks for the tip!!!
The other half seems keen on the ****roaches, and since he does the feeding, more than likely we will end up with them Seems a silly question, but is there any food that is more nutritious for the T than the others? or does it not really matter?

You can use a heat mat if you want them to breed faster, but lateralis breed just fine at room temps, dubia will also but at warmer temps, ideally for breeding you'd want dubia 85F or so, they're an East African tropical species. I'd get rid of the sponge, they're just bacteria traps. If you're worried about them drowning in the dish put in pebbles or marbles or something they can crawl out of the water onto. With water gels you don't have to worry about that

 

[kormath]

variety is best i think. and others here have agreed. i feed mine mainly the lateralis roaches. They get the best feeding response from the Ts. Dubia burrow, so if the Ts aren't on them quick they burrow away. They play dead a lot too, so they're not attracting the Ts to munch on them. Lateralis run almost constantly and quickly draw attention to themselves. I mix in crickets like once every couple months just for the variety, i only buy enough that i can feed them all off at once

I have an order of Little Kenyan roaches that just arrived, i'll have to see how well they do as feeders.

 

[NatashaG]

variety is best i think. and others here have agreed. i feed mine mainly the lateralis roaches. They get the best feeding response from the Ts. Dubia burrow, so if the Ts aren't on them quick they burrow away. They play dead a lot too, so they're not attracting the Ts to munch on them. Lateralis run almost constantly and quickly draw attention to themselves. I mix in crickets like once every couple months just for the variety, i only buy enough that i can feed them all off at once

I have an order of Little Kenyan roaches that just arrived, i'll have to see how well they do as feeders.

I wanted to that myself, but couldn't find a seller that was willing to give over say 10-15 crickets at a time (I only have the one T, so to buy a box of 100 or so is bound to be way to much.), but will be buying something else as a more permanent food source. I'd rather be able to keep a little colony going than have to buy a new box of crickets every few weeks!
Zoltan has eaten again tonight, but that was the last of them. I have a different type of cricket coming and will be spending the weekend trying to figure out where we can keep a larger container, maybe an excuse to have a shuffle around and buy some new furniture

 

[kormath]

i get the crickets from the lps here, they sell them by the dozen, and don't dust them with calcium unless you ask.

 

[Entity]

Word of warning about the red runners. they can infest in your house if u let them get loose. just to throw that out there.

 

[Kymura]

I wanted to that myself, but couldn't find a seller that was willing to give over say 10-15 crickets at a time (I only have the one T, so to buy a box of 100 or so is bound to be way to much.), but will be buying something else as a more permanent food source. I'd rather be able to keep a little colony going than have to buy a new box of crickets every few weeks!
Zoltan has eaten again tonight, but that was the last of them. I have a different type of cricket coming and will be spending the weekend trying to figure out where we can keep a larger container, maybe an excuse to have a shuffle around and buy some new furniture

Or make room for more T's

 

[VanessaS]

The guy that I bought the two G. pulchripes from had the dubia roaches. He said he would even set me up with a colony for free if I wanted. The problem is that they are illegal in Canada. Not just a by-law thing like the tarantulas are, but a CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) big deal thing. And while they wouldn't survive outside - they will do just fine in a warm apartment building.
If they got out and got into another apartment - I would be on the hook for extermination fees and even relocation fees for other tenants.
As much as I hate crickets, and I really do, I will stick with them over any of the roach options.

 

[NatashaG]

i get the crickets from the lps here, they sell them by the dozen, and don't dust them with calcium unless you ask.

Are any of them based in the UK? I'm having trouble locating ****roaches here!

 

[NatashaG]

Word of warning about the red runners. they can infest in your house if u let them get loose. just to throw that out there.

Oh gosh, don't thin I would be too good with the idea of that, I'm already terribly creeped out by the crickets!

 

[NatashaG]

Or make room for more T's

Might have brought this up with the other half yesterday (puppy dog eyes, the whole lecture of how it would make a lot of sense to not waste...) and he seemed alright with it I'm really enjoying having my first T, I definitely would have another

 

[NatashaG]

The guy that I bought the two G. pulchripes from had the dubia roaches. He said he would even set me up with a colony for free if I wanted. The problem is that they are illegal in Canada. Not just a by-law thing like the tarantulas are, but a CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) big deal thing. And while they wouldn't survive outside - they will do just fine in a warm apartment building.
If they got out and got into another apartment - I would be on the hook for extermination fees and even relocation fees for other tenants.
As much as I hate crickets, and I really do, I will stick with them over any of the roach options.

Hmm, I'm having a lot of trouble finding sellers in the UK, maybe there is something like that over here, will have to look into it. I can understand how they would be pests, but it does seem a harsh punishment for a little creepy-crawly. The whole 'them-escaping-and-me-finding-them-everywhere' situation is a huge fear of mine!! And not too keen if the roaches would still hang about after the escape

 

[Kymura]

That's what keeps holding me back. And the fact most of mine won't touch a dubia. Stupid things ate my cleaning crew though!! I'm a little mad at them at the moment. My T's are chubby and well fed. But they still ate my cute little crawlies

 

[Entity]

That's what keeps holding me back. And the fact most of mine won't touch a dubia. Stupid things ate my cleaning crew though!! I'm a little mad at them at the moment. My T's are chubby and well fed. But they still ate my cute little crawlies

what were u using for a cleaning crew @Kymura ?

 

[Kymura]

what were u using for a cleaning crew @Kymura ?

Porcellio scaber. poor little things. My mean Nhandu just killed them and piled them up. Three others actually ate them! And you know if I'm guilty of anything it's a tendency to overfeed :/