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- Aug 23, 2015
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The stench of dead crickets, the sound of them, the maintenance of them really gets annoying. What are good non-burrowing feeders that I could use for my growing Ts?
You'll not find many feeders that don't burrow, I would use either red runner or dubias, as long as you leave the tarantulas long enough to know they're going to take prey, then the burrowing shouldn't be an issue.The stench of dead crickets, the sound of them, the maintenance of them really gets annoying. What are good non-burrowing feeders that I could use for my growing Ts?
I use a critter keeper with petroleum jelly along the top inch or two and a piece of plastic wrap under the lid (with holes poked in it for ventilation). I put in pieces of egg crate and toilet paper rolls for hiding places, and I put in food and water gel dishes. Supposedly they can't climb smooth surfaces, but I hear that the nymphs can climb if the sides of the container get dirty or rough (hence the petroleum jelly and plastic wrap at the top just to be safe). So far, no one has tried to escape. To feed them off, I use a pooter to suck up the little ones. For the big ones (which I give to my tailless whipscorpion), I put a small cup in the critter keeper and shake a piece of egg crate over it until a big roach falls off. If little ones fall off too, I just scoot them out of the cup. It's working for me so far, but I'm sure other people here will have some experience to share too.How would you set up a red runner housing container?
I feed them an "insect chow" that I picked up at a local reptile show. I also give them Farmer's Helper protein crumbles that I feed to my bantam chickens, roach jelly, as well as fish food and whatever else I think might strike their fancy. I think you can probably gut load them with the same things you were feeding your crickets. This is just what I currently use.What do you feed them?
I suppose you could. I haven't tried that. I know roaches usually do like fruit, though, like bananas. I think variety is probably good, and I do think they need a little protein of some kind, like from fish flakes or chicken crumbles or something like that. The cricket cubes might be enough to sustain them, though, along with something like a piece of banana and some fish flakes.Could you use fresh vegetables?
I don't like the smell of their poop either. I keep my lids open for circulation which only helps a little.I've been using red runners ever since I got them and my scorpions like them since they are really active. Easy to breed and get to cricket size (and maybe a bit larger?). There are debates on whether or not red runners are pest species, they can be depending on your area and the resources around. In my short experience (I've had mine for about a month or two) with red runners, they cannot climb smooth surfaces or fly at all which is a plus. Some cons about red runners for me are that they smell pretty bad when I open their container but the smell doesn't go very far at all, and I need to feed them and water them frequently as they expend their resources rather quickly when the colony gets going.
Well if you don't provide much water nymphs might die or the roaches won't even breed. Best food you can use its carrot.I'm actually wanting to start a dubia colony but I don't have much space or specimens to feed. Is there a way I can make a small colony and maintain managable numbers? I kind of want DarkDens setup. I also don't know what temps to keep them at.