Considering a tarantula but overwhelmed by feeding

Agatha

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
4
Hello everyone!
I've been considering buying a tarantula for some time and I've decided about a species, too (grammostola pulchra). However I'm totally overwhelmed by keeping the roaches, crickets or mealworms for it! It seems keeping live food is so much more work than the T itself? I'm not sure I can buy live insects in my small town so I'd have to purchase online and probably breed them myself because the shipping is more expensive than the insects :D.
The videos I saw on YT seem like the insects take up so much space and time! People keep them in very large boxes and they get huge colonies...
Is there a way to only keep a very small colony of insects, just for one T? I live in a small flat so I would really appreciate something small, and not smelly.
Which insect would be the best and easiest to care for?
The T I'm considering to purchase is 2cm.
Or is really keeping live insects a difficult chore? Should I just forget about tarantula because of this?
I'm sorry for such a stupid question, I'm a total newbie.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
First off, are you certain that there are no places around you that sell feeders? Even bait shops for fishing sell mealworms that would work just fine for your tarantula.

Secondly, assuming there is absolutely nothing for you to get food, just stick to mealworms. You can buy over 1,000 on Amazon for under $20 including shipping (yes, I know you're not in the States, but still). I wouldn't suggest maintaining a colony just for a single spider. Huge waste of time.

But really, search your area for bait shops.
 

Little Grey Spider

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 14, 2017
Messages
262
A feeder colony for one spider? Seems like overkill in my opinion. This spider won't eat that much and will also have fasting periods. I would consider thoroughly researching local pet stores first.
 

NukaMedia Exotics

#1 Tarantula Vendor in the USA! Ships Nationwide.
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
695
Honestly if there is really nowhere around that sells anything you can use as feeders (crickets, mealworms, roaches, fruit flies, or even worms possibly) then I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to buy a T. I probably wouldn't want to have to get feeders online, but if you're willing then go for it. If you can find the feeders then keeping them is very easy, all you really do is drop in some food once a week...
 

Agatha

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
4
There are only 2 pet shops here and I'm sure one doesn't have any live food and the second is even smaller although maybe a year ago I heard someone saying they do have crickets. I'll have to go there and ask. Though I'm hesitant to go there because I have a couple of negative experiences with that shop.
If I purchase the mealworms and keep them in the fridge for a few weeks (I've read you should feed them once a week?) will that be OK for the T? I mean will that be good enough nutrition?
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
a 50 count of mealworms would feed a t for 6 months....they keep for about that long in the fridge. When refrigerated, they go dormant...a dormant critter has no feeding requirements at all....buy a little cup and put them in the crisper drawer or wherever convenient.

Just crush heads before feeding....i would also let them warm up for 20 min before feeding.
 

Sinned

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
144
Mealworms go dormant while in the fridge and don't require feeding & water, I have kept them like this for at least a month+. But the T bug got me good and I quickly got more T's. So I have no clue on how long you can keep doing so.

Edit:
a 50 count of mealworms would feed a t for 6 months....they keep for about that long in the fridge.
thanks @cold blood :p
 

Sinned

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 23, 2017
Messages
144
Oh and I'm guessing here, but probably not the only one. I actually like my little (red runner) roach colony, it's not a chore for me and it doesn't take up a lot of room.

Still, with only one T... you are going to end up with a surplus that is going to get out of hand quickly (depending on the temperatures you keep em at).

There is the one solution that solves a lot of the problems new keepers run into. Spider burrowing and/or hiding for longer periods, surplus feeders and the like.

Get more T's :p Come on, you know you want to. ;)
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
Keeping livefood isn't really that much effort tbh, I have mealworm and roach colonies and they're not that time-consuming at all IMO.

Depending on where you are in Europe, livefood doesn't cost any extra to ship, I don't pay shipping on my superworms.

That said, mealworms are probably the easiest, just keep them in a ventilated tub of bran in the fridge and they'll last for months, they're not even that difficult to breed if you ever decide you want to give it a bash.
 

starnaito

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
96
Some pet stores have feeders, but they are kept in a back area. If they're selling reptiles there, you can bet they've got them hiding somewhere. Usually they don't want them out it the open because they're not great display creatures. :)
 

Dave Jay

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
294
Mealworms are by far the easiest to keep and/or breed. When keeping them in the fridge the main problem is condensation, you should remove some worms rather than leave the whole tub out for any amount of time, it'll warm up and you'll get condensation when it's back in the fridge which can make the bran or oats wet. A mealworm colony is as easy as putting oats into a kritter keeper , adding some hiding places (egg cartons) and dumping a tub of mealworms in, then you add veggie scraps, carrot ends are ideal.
Personally I'd rather have a container like that than one in the fridge. I have been keeping lizards, frogs, fish, scorpions and now tarantulas for years, I haven't bought mealworms in over 20 years, just a pack of oats every 6 months or so.
It might not be worth it for one tarantula, but we all know that you can't stop at one!!!
 

krombo

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 8, 2018
Messages
8
I say go for it, I bet the pet shop would start stocking a few crix if they knew you'd be buying them every couple weeks, meal worms are super easy to keep and last for ages, I've had them breed a few times without even trying to breed em
Or if I buy crickets just buy a big tub give em some food and water, that's it job done :)
 

Dave Jay

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
294
How to keep mealworms:
Step 1: put mealworms in fridge
Step 2: there is no step 2
Step 3: dig around the tub and realise that there aren't enough mealworms
Step 4: waste more money and effort driving to the shop to buy more because pouring oats into a kritter keeper was too much work for you. ;)
 
Last edited:

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
Step 3: dig around the tub and realise that there aren't enough mealworms
Step 4: waste more money and effort driving to the shop to buy more because pouring oats into a kritter keeper was too much work for you. ;)
Not enough mealworms for one tarantula? How?
Also was that a joke about how I spilled a tub full of superworms in my car? Because if it was, that’s funny.
 

Dave Jay

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
294
Not enough mealworms for one tarantula? How?
Also was that a joke about how I spilled a tub full of superworms in my car? Because if it was, that’s funny.
It wasn't, but I do remember hitting the brakes and mealworms going everywhere now you say that! What a mess! Probably in the early nineties, the last time I bought mealworms. :)

What I'm doing right now is a hassle though, sorting out the sexes in a tub of crickets! Males go to the frogs and fish, females stored for the later. Honestly , it's a wonder crickets haven't become extinct with all the racket the males make! If I was a wild animal I'd hunt them with a vengeance just to shut them up and get some peace!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top