Best and worst feeder

[Marnus]

In your opinion and personal experience, what's the best and worst feeder? Personally I love giving my T's silk worms as a treat because they are slow, fat, easy to keep and they don't burrow into the sub.
The worst for me would be dubia roaches... I can't even count how many times those little buggers played dead and would lay still in the exact same position for ever... And also they seem to always dig... Unfortunately those are the easiest to get here where I live

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Worse - B. dubia: Once my tarantulas reach 2.5 to 3 inches they use them for a footstool or flat out ignore them. This includes my arboreals as well as terrestrials.

Best - B. lateralis: There're not called Red Runners for nothing. These are the fastest roaches I've seen which always trigger my T's to eat them.

This is with my T's and what they really prefer.

Still too early to form an opinion on my Eublaberus posticus roaches. I'm trying to breed them so not feeding off yet. I don't like that they burrow in sub in their enclosure when disturbed. Too much like B. dubia so too early to tell yet.

 

[Liquifin]

When it comes to feeders, usually I use either B. lateralis or D. dubia. Slings usually just get cut mealworms. So something like this for me:

Slings- Mostly fed on cut mealworms, with some exceptions of pinhead lateralis.

Juveniles & Larger Spdiers - B. lateralis or B.dubia.

 

[TJ 68]

I Breed Crickets so that the Main Feeder here but, There a Pain to get out when the don't get eaten.
My slings love the Cut Mealworms but, I always have extra that I give to My larger Ts. Most of them take them but when they Don't ... I Hate Darling Beetles.

 

[viper69]

best and worst-in what ways

 

[BoyFromLA]

Best feeder:

Feeder that is given when a tarantula is hungry​

Worst feeder:

Feeder that is given when a tarantula is going to molt or is about to molt​

 

[nicodimus22]

Best: Dubia. Quiet, hardy, comes in all sizes, easier to gutload. It sounds like some of you complaining about them playing dead and burrowing don't know about crushing their heads.

Worst: Crickets. Loud, smelly, fragile, pass gutloaded nutrients too quickly, not large enough on their own for some specimens (you need multiple crickets to get the same nutrition that a single dubia provides.)

 

[KillBoxSpider]

i never use crickets there dirty roachgang all the way

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Best: Dubia. Quiet, hardy, comes in all sizes, easier to gutload. It sounds like some of you complaining about them playing dead and burrowing don't know about crushing their heads.

Worst: Crickets. Loud, smelly, fragile, pass gutloaded nutrients too quickly, not large enough on their own for some specimens (you need multiple crickets to get the same nutrition that a single dubia provides.)

It's not about them burrowing or crushing the heads of B. dubia. My T's just hate dubia's. They were used either as a footstool or they just flat out ignored them.

I have no clue and my tarantulas are not telling me why they hated them.

 

[thedragonslapper]

None of my Ts have turned away from Dubias of varying sizes. To avoid them freezing/digging into the sub I crush their heads with tongs. Slings get cut/beheaded mealworms and my juvies get appropriately sized Dubias or beheaded superworms.

I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet but I think mice can be considered the worst feeder. Clean up is smelly and messy, live ones can potentially hurt your Ts, and frozen/thawed ones are often treated with anti mite stuff that makes them unsafe for Ts to eat (safe for herps tho).

If we’re going by worst feeder as in what you’re likely to use as a regular feed item (which mice are not) I’d say crickets are the worst. Nutritionally for the Ts, and inconvenient to us the keepers. I need not go into detail. We all know.

I personally have misgivings about using hornworms and silkworms too. Not because they aren’t “good” but because they grow way faster than your Ts are likely to finish them. And if they become moths you’ll have to dispose of them somehow. I’ve read they’re agricultural pests and should not be released into the wild. Oh and they’re kinda pricey too.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

None of my Ts have turned away from Dubias of varying sizes. To avoid them freezing/digging into the sub I crush their heads with tongs. Slings get cut/beheaded mealworms and my juvies get appropriately sized Dubias or beheaded superworms.

I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet but I think mice can be considered the worst feeder. Clean up is smelly and messy, live ones can potentially hurt your Ts, and frozen/thawed ones are often treated with anti mite stuff that makes them unsafe for Ts to eat (safe for herps tho).

If we’re going by worst feeder as in what you’re likely to use as a regular feed item (which mice are not) I’d say crickets are the worst. Nutritionally for the Ts, and inconvenient to us the keepers. I need not go into detail. We all know.

I personally have misgivings about using hornworms and silkworms too. Not because they aren’t “good” but because they grow way faster than your Ts are likely to finish them. And if they become moths you’ll have to dispose of them somehow. I’ve read they’re agricultural pests and should not be released into the wild. Oh and they’re kinda pricey too.

Great point, didn't even think about mice. I will never use mice and you make a good point.

I went off of what I actually used.

 

[Wolfram1]

B. latteralis all the way with the occasional L. verrucosa as a treat with crunch for the big girls

I do like using Z. morio occasionally, mostly i find the pupae is a great option for spiders i dont want to stress

 

[Tulip]

For me personally, the best are male dubias for bigger tarantulas (especially arboreals) and lateralis for any other tarantula size. Occasionally I like crickets for smaller arboreals but I am apparently incapable of breeding them so they always die off within a couple of months.
The ABSOLUTE WORST for me are super worms. They burrow in like three seconds, if they don’t get eaten you’ll never see them again and you’ll find a very aggressive beetle in the span of a month. I tried to breed them once, and I set up three different enclosures for the three stages of life, and it was going amazing. Eventually I had to get rid of them because they got infested with mites. I would still find beetles in my enclosures and around my room after months of getting rid of them. I even found them in my ball python enclosure and to this day I still have no idea how the got in there.

 

[Chris73G]

I do like Locusts, which are available as feeders here. My t´s like them, they don´t smell, don´t make noise, don´t burrow and are easy to catch for both me and the t. Perfect for my small (4) collection of t´s since their relatively short lifespan doesn´t matter when i always a small pack of then once a month or so.

 

[Marcostaco]

Whatever is available in my nearest petshop is best lol

 

[Stylopidae]

I mean, what makes a good feeder?

I'd argue one which doesn't burrow, one which won't eat the spiders, one which is drawn to the spider's nesting area, can be raised at scale, and one which will not infest your house.

B. dubia burrows, crickets can harm moulting spiders (and are a pain in the butt to raise at scale, compared to roaches), caterpillars won't seek out the spider's nesting area, and B. lateralis will infest. Bonus if the first instars are small enough to feed first instar spiderlings.

The only feeder which has met all of those requirements, including the bonus, (for me) were lobster roaches.

 

[Metal Webber]

Best: crickets(all though they can be a bit dramatic)
Worst: mealworms those slick shelled, twitchy, bitey worms will burrow away the first chance they get

 

[Hydrazine]

Shelfordella lateralis ("B.lateralis") don't burrow and are kept in containers with high walls so they don't escape.

Crickets are easily the worst because they don't keep very well or long.

Edit: oh, and honourable mention to Callosobruchus maculatus as the perfect food for tiny slings. They chug along at a sedate pace, not enough to spook the sling but enough to spark a feeding response, and absolutely harmless.

 

[Dry Desert]

I do like Locusts, which are available as feeders here. My t´s like them, they don´t smell, don´t make noise, don´t burrow and are easy to catch for both me and the t. Perfect for my small (4) collection of t´s since their relatively short lifespan doesn´t matter when i always a small pack of then once a month or so.

I agree.

I've tried all feeders overtime, including Butter Worms, but can be an unreliable steady source, so now I only feed locusts.
Easily managed, can be bred if done correctly, come in all sizes, and if some escape very easy to retrieve.

Please don't get me going on crickets !!!

 

[Frogdaddy]

This is a pretty subjective topic. For example you could say on one hand worst feeder, super worms because they burrow if not eaten immediately. On the other hand you could say best feeder, super worm with it's head crushed.