Various questions regarding feeder insects (choosing species, gut loading etc.)

[SwedishArachnophobe84]

Hello all you tarantula-people

At the moment I only have dubia roaches and mealworms at home. I am however planning on getting more feeder insects…just not sure which ones yet. I have had super worms/morio worms, field crickets (black) and waxworms before.

I am planning on at least getting super worms/morio worms and crickets (not sure which species at the moment) again. I am also planning on starting up colonies of sun beetles (P. marginata) and peppered roaches (A. tesselata) at a later point.

I have been thinking about getting another species (smaller and more active than the others) of roaches such as “red runners” (S. tartara) but I am hesitant due to their speed and the potential disaster that would happen if they escaped. I am not a big fan of insects and would prefer not to have them all over my apartment (and potentially becoming the most hated neighbor ever…if they somehow made it in to the other apartments in my building). Are these a good or terrible choice as feeder insects? What is your opinion?

Are there other species that is meeting my requirements and that would be suitable as feeder insects? I am looking for a smaller and more active species that are NOT glass/plastic climbers and that are NOT able to fly (I like dubia for the same reasons except the fact that they are prone to playing dead and hiding).

As for crickets, I would like to get some, but I am not a fan of the cannibalism going on and the fact that the crickets I usually get (G. bimaculatus); tend to last only a short period and that I in the end have around half as many as I bought too feed to my animals.

I would like to try a different species but I am not sure which one would be the best option for me. I am looking for a cricket species that can be stored together in greater numbers without it ending up with only a few still alive after some days/weeks. I tried breeding the species I usually get, but I did not even get one pinhead…so it would be great if there was an easier species to breed (not sure if I will want to but would like the option to breed my own).

Also, same as with the roaches goes for the crickets, I would like to avoid a disaster with a bunch of crickets ending up in my neighbor’s apartments.

I have been looking into the following species; A. domestica (seems to be able to become a problem, so the least interesting for me at the moment), G. sigillatus (seems like a good option according to what I have seen so far), G. assimilis (seen both crazy stories of aggressive crickets doing some real damage and that they are a good option, not sure if they are actually talking about the same species or if the terrifying stories are referring to G. locorojo “the crazy red”).

Little help here please, which one/ones do you prefer and why? I feel as G. sigillatus could be a very good option…but I have trouble finding them for sale here (in Sweden), the other species seems much more easily available.

Any other feeder insects you would recommend that I take a look at? I would like to have a variety of different species, to be able to provide my pets with as much variety in their diet as possible (I have lizards, a turtle, a frog, a bunch of different rodents and will later have a tarantula or…possible a few tarantulas).

Last but certainly not least, when it comes to gut loading the feeder insects before feeding them to a tarantula/feeding an insect that will at some point become a tarantula’s meal; is there anything that I should not be feeding the insects? Something that may cause the tarantula harm if ingested? I feel like that is something that I read about at some point, but I can for the life of me not find that information anywhere now. Help would be very appreciated as I do not want to risk hurting the tarantula.

Thank you all for whatever advice or information you can provide me with. I appreciate every tip I can get, since I am obviously a beginner at this whole tarantula keeping business. I am an arachnophobe (pretty much a given if you look at my username) but very interested in and fascinated by these amazing animals. I am extremely excited (and quite terrified, he he) by the thought of getting my very own tarantula and I want to give it the best life I possibly can.

/SwedishArachnophobe84

 

[Konstantin]

Hi
How many tarantulas you have(planning to have)
I have 13 atm and I dont keep any feeder colonies.I just get one tub( or two if I have slings that need smaller pray items) of feeders from my pet shop once a month or so( when needed) and thats more than enough for me.As long as they eat there is no need to worry about variety that much.
Regards Konstantin

 

[SwedishArachnophobe84]

Hi
How many tarantulas you have(planning to have)
I have 13 atm and I dont keep any feeder colonies.I just get one tub( or two if I have slings that need smaller pray items) of feeders from my pet shop once a month or so( when needed) and thats more than enough for me.As long as they eat there is no need to worry about variety that much.
Regards Konstantin

Hello and thank you for answering!

I only plan on getting one or a few (I have about four to five favorite species that I am considering) tarantulas, it all depends on how well…I can…eh…stop being terrified of them, he he. I will start with one and see how that goes and maybe get some of my other favorite species after that. I can not see how I would get more than at the max five tarantulas (partly because of space but also because of the fact that I have about a million other animals that requires my time and attention).

I am asking about opinions on feeders to give to my tarantula/s but I do (as previously stated) also have a number of other animals that live on an insect diet or that needs insects for some variety and stimulation; so I need a lot more insects than the small amount eaten by the tarantula/s.

This means (to me at least) that it makes more sense to have my own breeding colonies; at the very least for the insects that I use more frequently or that are more difficult to get a hold of where I live. Both for convenience and to save some money.

I have to travel by bus for quite some time to get to a pet store that sells live feeders and the feeders there are crazy expensive. To order online I would have to order in bulk (to even be able to get some insects, most online stores have a minimum of how many you need to buy) so…as I said, it makes a lot more sense to breed my own or at least (not sure about breeding crickets for example) to be able to keep them a live for longer.

The tarantula/s may not “need” variety, but I am guessing they eat a variety of different types of insects in the wild; and I want to be able to provide both the tarantula/s and my other animals with as much variety as possible, to make it more natural.

SwedishArachnophobe84

 

[octanejunkie]

I keep a colony of Blatta lateralis "red runner" roaches for my Ts and lizards. I have to give some away every few weeks as they over produce for my needs.

I like these guys for many reasons but for the Ts, they have great nutritional value and a low chitin content, unlike dubias, plus when raising them I have constant access to pinheads, nymphs, etc - all sizes for all size Ts

I do find variety of feeders can be a good thing and buy worms and crickets to mix things up every few weeks