feeding slings ants?

[Demon187]

does any one know if i could feed my slings local ants from my back garden? the reason i ask is because the micro crickets are far too expensive considering only 10% arrived alive, and after feeding the 3 slings once the remaning few have died too. also they are a nightmare trying to pick the little buggers up and getting them into the vials unharmed. what do you think? the ants a roughly twice the size of the micro's and probably 1/3 the size of the slings.

 

[MadCat2k3]

Not really a good idea, they could end up bringing their entire colony after your slings. Though in reality, that doesn't really happen with the odd ant or two, as long as the rest are far, far away. You have to be careful that the ants haven't been near any pesticides or anything. I wouldn't recommend it personally.

 

[sylverbullit]

the only thing that I would watch out for when feed w/C insects , would be pestisides.

 

[Zoltan]

I don't know what species that ant is your talking about, but I would not feed them to T's - they could bite, sting and some of them possess acids that could be harmful. Try mealworm slices.

 

[Londoner]

I personally wouldn't try this. There's a significant chance those ants will be contaminated with pesticides or garden chemicals. Even if your garden is totally organic and free from pesticides, the gardens around you probably aren't. Slings are delicate enough as it is, so I'd scrap the idea.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Not only are ants probably the most likely to have been exposed to pesticides (second to cockroaches maybe), but those suckers bite. I wouldn't feed anything venomous to my pets - what may be mild discomfort for a human could kill something much, much smaller.

In general, do not feed anything you got from outdoors. It's not worth the risk of killing your pet in the process.

Can you not buy crickets locally from a pet store? You can also kill live crickets in the freezer and store them frozen, which takes all the trouble out of the equation.

 

[M.C. Exotics]

Plus you never know what the ant ate.
Prime example is Tomato Worms. Bred in captivity and fed a certain food they are great for T's and lizards but something about them eating tomato plants makes them toxic.
Alternatives would be to breed your own crickets which is stinky or breed roaches. Personally I like the B. dubia since they aren't really good climbers, fliers, and if I remember right need higher temps to breed.

 

[Travis K]

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=1165502&postcount=191

Please dont try it.

 

[Miss Bianca]

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=1165502&postcount=191

[YOUTUBE]tsrHJ3RQof8&e[/YOUTUBE]

Please dont try it.

what the HECK was that??

 

[Aurelia]

Those were ants near Talkenlate04's house that died soon after the video was taken. He's been having a strange problem with his slings dying lately, and the ants are dying too.

 

[Widowman10]

yah, i'm with everyone else, either cut up mealworm, or freeze crix. my slings LOVE thawed crix.

 

[BurrowDweller]

Any type of large feeder can be chopped up and fed to slings. They do not seem to care if their food is moving or not.

 

[Jhoelb]

What if the sling was wild caught? And lived near the ant colony?

 

[Mirandarachnid]

What if the sling was wild caught? And lived near the ant colony?

It all still applies. If you want your sling to live as it would in the wild, release it where you caught it. If you want to keep it and do everything you can to extend it's life, do what you would do if you bought it.

I'd say feed with captive feeders.

 

[Jhoelb]

It all still applies. If you want your sling to live as it would in the wild, release it where you caught it. If you want to keep it and do everything you can to extend it's life, do what you would do if you bought it.

I'd say feed with captive feeders.

Caught it inside my house, so I may keep it. I'll feed him captives then. Thanks

 

[Mirandarachnid]

Caught it inside my house, so I may keep it. I'll feed him captives then. Thanks

I wish I had slings wandering into my house

 

[Dennis Nedry]

What is this, thread necromancy?

 

[FrDoc]

I opine getting involved in this hobby necessitates some investment, albeit minimal, of both time and finances to provide for our animals. Don’t do things that may cut corners, but pose several potential problems. Feed your slings mini mealworms, flightless fruit flies, or pre-killed segments of larger feeders. I personally love watching slings wrestle mini mealies.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

What is this, thread necromancy?

Come on bro, it's not that old, if this thread was a human it would still be afraid of "cooties"

 

[darkness975]

Aside from the risks of wild-caught prey having pesticides, ants are pretty defensive and likely would fight back