Best feeder inverts for G. rosea?

[LiamMail]

Hi all! New poster here on Arachnoboards! I've used information from this site's threads a lot in the past for my experiences with keeping invertebrates at work. Now, my girlfriend and I have found ourselves the owners of a Grammostola rosea who needed a forever home. The tarantula has done well feeding on crickets, but we were interested in keeping an invertebrate colony that she could periodically feed on so we wouldn't have to keep going to the pet store. I have offered it Gromphadorhina portentosa from our local pet store, and the T took it quickly the first time it was offered (granted, the hisser was not in its best shape and basically walked right into its pedipalps). We have since kept several of the G. portentosa as a colony, but haven't been able to get it to feed on any of them, even after fasting the T for about a month (both by offering a roach free-roaming in the tank and via tongs). The colony is probably at 40-50 individuals now and is kind of outgrowing its space, so these are the questions I'm posing...

1. Is there a way to easily get our T to eat the G. portentosa without causing the hissers stress? I've seen people suggest things like crushing the head so it doesn't bury itself or freeze up, but it seems pretty inhumane to us, especially if the T left it like that for a month plus. Would the T eventually eat the hisser if it got hungry enough to where we just need to provide the hisser with food in the T's tank?

2. Is there a different invert that's easy to keep/breed that is more similar to the house crickets she's eating that we could switch to keeping? I've been toying with the idea of Nauphoeta cinerea or other smaller roach species. Do T's do well with small roach species like this, or do they have the same prey responses of burying themselves or freezing up to where the T might not eat them? Should we be considering a totally different kind of invert all together?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[Devin B]

1. Unfortunately being slowly disolved and eaten alive is pretty stressful so killing it instantly by crushing its head is probably the most humane.
Usually if the tarantula is hungry, itll attack it as soon as you drop it in its enclosure, I only use prekilled prey on timid slings because the movment of live prey triggers the feeding response.

2. A lot of people keep dubia roaches as feeders. They are good because they can climb smooth walls of most enclosures and they are not likely going to infest your home if some escape.

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

If you want a feeder that acts like crickets and won't burrow, try red runner roaches. They breed incredibly quickly, never burrow, get about the size of an adult cricket, and are always moving. Very stimulating for a T. That rosea probably won't eat another hisser; adults are way too tough and strong. Usually, big adukt hissers go to 7"+ Ts, and een then they can have problems with them. If you need, you could just sell your extra roaches here or to someone near you A nice Christmas present for sure

 

[LiamMail]

1. Unfortunately being slowly disolved and eaten alive is pretty stressful so killing it instantly by crushing its head is probably the most humane.
Usually if the tarantula is hungry, itll attack it as soon as you drop it in its enclosure, I only use prekilled prey on timid slings because the movment of live prey triggers the feeding response.

2. A lot of people keep dubia roaches as feeders. They are good because they can climb smooth walls of most enclosures and they are not likely going to infest your home if some escape.

Yeah, I guess there's not really a super humane way to do it. We just knew the T wasn't super excited in eating the roaches and we didn't want them to have crushed heads for days on end.

We actually started with Blaptica dubia for the T to try to eat, but they would always burrow under the substrate and so they were never eaten. I agree that they're nice as far as containment though. Do T's eventually consume them whenever they make a break past the surface, or would this be another scenario where you'd have to crush the head first?

 

[LiamMail]

If you want a feeder that acts like crickets and won't burrow, try red runner roaches. They breed incredibly quickly, never burrow, get about the size of an adult cricket, and are always moving. Very stimulating for a T. That rosea probably won't eat another hisser; adults are way too tough and strong. Usually, big adukt hissers go to 7"+ Ts, and een then they can have problems with them. If you need, you could just sell your extra roaches here or to someone near you A nice Christmas present for sure

Are these Blatta lateralis? I had poked around on some other feeder threads after posting mine and it sounded like they could maybe be a good compromise. Literally the only downside I've seen thus far is my girlfriend doesn't think they're as cute as the G. portentosa roaches. If I couldn't find a local buyer for the roaches I have (I'm in the midwest, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of herpers out here), is there a guide on this site for shipping inverts safely/legally?

 

[Swoop]

A feeder colony for one G. rosea seems like a lot more effort than just buying crickets once or twice a month.

Way more feeders are going to mature and die than your T will ever eat. If your girlfriend likes the hissers maybe raise a colony for its own sake and feed your T an occasional nymph.

 

[LiamMail]

A feeder colony for one G. rosea seems like a lot more effort than just buying crickets once or twice a month.

Way more feeders are going to mature and die than your T will ever eat. If your girlfriend likes the hissers maybe raise a colony for its own sake and feed your T an occasional nymph.

We also like having them for just general disposal of our old fruits and veggies so someone gets some use out of them. We end up buying crickets once a week because of the mortality of pet store crickets, and sometimes they die en route if we don't have the car temperature where they need it to be, so it was partially just for our convenience. We've only had two G. portentosa (both founders) and one B. dubia (an adult male after his molt into adulthood...maybe the pet stores spray them with that poor molt hormone stuff pest control companies use on pest roaches?) die on us the whole time, but obviously we'll probably have more naturally die off than we could ever feed out. Is there an easy way to get the T to eat the G. portentosa nymphs? I'd initially assume the same issues as with the B. dubia with burrowing.

 

[Devin B]

Yeah, I guess there's not really a super humane way to do it. We just knew the T wasn't super excited in eating the roaches and we didn't want them to have crushed heads for days on end.

We actually started with Blaptica dubia for the T to try to eat, but they would always burrow under the substrate and so they were never eaten. I agree that they're nice as far as containment though. Do T's eventually consume them whenever they make a break past the surface, or would this be another scenario where you'd have to crush the head first?

If your T isnt super excited to wat the roach then I would wait a week longer and try again. This wont hurt your T at all as they can go months without eating.

What I do to stop the roach from burrowing is I get the T's attention with a straw by poking around its hide. This will get your T ready to pounce. When it looks like they are about to strike I drop in the roach and then the T gets it almost instantly.

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

Are these Blatta lateralis? I had poked around on some other feeder threads after posting mine and it sounded like they could maybe be a good compromise. Literally the only downside I've seen thus far is my girlfriend doesn't think they're as cute as the G. portentosa roaches. If I couldn't find a local buyer for the roaches I have (I'm in the midwest, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of herpers out here), is there a guide on this site for shipping inverts safely/legally?

They are Blatta lateralis As for properly shipping inverts, there are quite a few videos out on places like YouTube and probably a few threads here that talk about it. I have never shipped before, but from what I have seen you just need to be careful about the temperature of the package and making sure it is properly insulated. Guessing you are talking about extra B. lateralis, and if so you can usually just post a local ad for pick up. Lateralis are in pretty high demand, and I'm sure quite a few mid-westerners would love to get some

 

[Andrea82]

This species can go for months or even a year without eating. And if you keep feeding it every week and the size of prey like you have been offering; it will do just that, stop eating altogether for months.

How big is it? Adults need maybe two meals a month. @cold blood has had some success in keeping them eating by feeding small and few feeders.

 

[cold blood]

This species can go for months or even a year without eating. And if you keep feeding it every week and the size of prey like you have been offering; it will do just that, stop eating altogether for months.

How big is it? Adults need maybe two meals a month. @cold blood has had some success in keeping them eating by feeding small and few feeders.

actually large prey is more attractive IME.

These ts have a lower food requirement than just about any. Theyre also notoriously picky with prey items....mine for instance, wont eat any small prey, wont eat worms if any kind, although she always seems interested...and roaches are very hit or miss...mostly miss....but a huge roach might be more attractive.

Crickets always get the best response....same for hoppers if you can find them. If you get it to eat hissers, you would basically need to feed it about 6 a year.

 

[cold blood]

more midwest keepers out there than you think, i gaurantee that...hehe

 

[LiamMail]

If your T isnt super excited to wat the roach then I would wait a week longer and try again. This wont hurt your T at all as they can go months without eating.

What I do to stop the roach from burrowing is I get the T's attention with a straw by poking around its hide. This will get your T ready to pounce. When it looks like they are about to strike I drop in the roach and then the T gets it almost instantly.

Yeah, I get the impression on here that Grammostola species in general can go quite a while without feeding even compared to other T's. I'll have to consider the light poke option.

 

[LiamMail]

They are Blatta lateralis As for properly shipping inverts, there are quite a few videos out on places like YouTube and probably a few threads here that talk about it. I have never shipped before, but from what I have seen you just need to be careful about the temperature of the package and making sure it is properly insulated. Guessing you are talking about extra B. lateralis, and if so you can usually just post a local ad for pick up. Lateralis are in pretty high demand, and I'm sure quite a few mid-westerners would love to get some

Awesome! These guys seem like a good fit and I'm going to try and see if I can find some to replace our G. portentosa colony. I'll try and look through my local options first before doing any shipping, but I really appreciate the advice!

 

[LiamMail]

This species can go for months or even a year without eating. And if you keep feeding it every week and the size of prey like you have been offering; it will do just that, stop eating altogether for months.

How big is it? Adults need maybe two meals a month. @cold blood has had some success in keeping them eating by feeding small and few feeders.

Right, I see that a lot of people know that these guys can hold out a lot longer than the other T's. I would think from the size that this is an adult. The abdomen is about 2+ inches long and decently "plump". I offer it free-feed crickets pretty often and they get consumed pretty regularly...it's probably eating about 9-ish house crickets a week.

 

[LiamMail]

actually large prey is more attractive IME.

These ts have a lower food requirement than just about any. Theyre also notoriously picky with prey items....mine for instance, wont eat any small prey, wont eat worms if any kind, although she always seems interested...and roaches are very hit or miss...mostly miss....but a huge roach might be more attractive.

Crickets always get the best response....same for hoppers if you can find them. If you get it to eat hissers, you would basically need to feed it about 6 a year.

Mine definitely appears to have a greater response to smaller prey from what I can tell. To be fair, I don't see her eating the crickets in her tank, but like I told @Andrea82 she appears to eat about 9-ish house crickets a week when I free feed her. I find boluses in the tank, so I don't assume it's all crickets cannibalizing each other. I think I would like to try doing the Blatta lateralis roaches and see how the T fairs on them. Regardless if it's crickets or smaller roaches like B. lateralis, should I be feeding significantly less? Her abdomen doesn't appear overly distended, but I know how hard health concerns can be to monitor in these guys.

 

[cold blood]

I offer it free-feed crickets pretty often and they get consumed pretty regularly...it's probably eating about 9-ish house crickets a week.

Free feeding is a bad idea. First, its a lot of commotion for a t to deal with in an enclosed area...second, 9 crickets in one feeding...that's 6 months worth of food...literally. I recommend feeding one cricket per feeding. These things go many years between molts, so you have an incredible amount of time to fatten them....fatten then quick like you are, and you are setting yourself up for many long fasting bouts...not gonna hurt anything, but it makes for a more difficult (annoying) keep as you just never know when to offer.

Mine for example, molts on a 5 year cycle....think about that, she probably needs like 40 crickets to fatten (actually probably less)....over the course of 5 years, it needs less than 10 per year over that 5 year period. Feed it 40 in a year and its not gonna do much but sit there for the next 4 years and may only take a couple random cricket or two over that time...and will probably fast over a year prior to molting.

 

[cold blood]

Mine definitely appears to have a greater response to smaller prey from what I can tell.

Great, its good that you know your ts preferences...that's just one of the hurdles to owning a rosie.

Regardless if it's crickets or smaller roaches like B. lateralis, should I be feeding significantly less?

significantly less.

know how hard health concerns can be to monitor in these guys

Health concerns with ts are exceedingly rare, they don't get sick n the fashion that we do...issues usually lie with how they are being kept to be honest....and its usually just dehydration...which while serious, is also easily remedied if caught relatively soon.

 

[Rittdk01]

I use super and meal worms most of the time. Depends on the size of the tarantula which size worm they get.

 

[LiamMail]

Free feeding is a bad idea. First, its a lot of commotion for a t to deal with in an enclosed area...second, 9 crickets in one feeding...that's 6 months worth of food...literally. I recommend feeding one cricket per feeding. These things go many years between molts, so you have an incredible amount of time to fatten them....fatten then quick like you are, and you are setting yourself up for many long fasting bouts...not gonna hurt anything, but it makes for a more difficult (annoying) keep as you just never know when to offer.

Mine for example, molts on a 5 year cycle....think about that, she probably needs like 40 crickets to fatten (actually probably less)....over the course of 5 years, it needs less than 10 per year over that 5 year period. Feed it 40 in a year and its not gonna do much but sit there for the next 4 years and may only take a couple random cricket or two over that time...and will probably fast over a year prior to molting.

Thank you so much for the information! We will try to get the T on a much lighter cricket schedule and then see about getting her some similar substitute feeders we can keep in a colony. I really appreciate your advice!