How do i Handle Crickets better?.

[Misschloejenkins]

every time I go to feed my T when she is not hungry it is absolutely a massive sweat on to try and get the cricket out of her Enclosure, when I try to move the crickets towards her so she can attack it the cricket will just jump all over the place and sometimes even try to escape out from the front glass panel door which is a nightmare how do I solve this issue and stop the crickets from escaping and not try to hurt my T?.

 

[Ashlynn Rose]

Have you considered using dubia roaches or another feeder? I never liked how crickets jumped all over, either. I have a colony of roaches that are pretty easy to wrangle. I also feed my tarantulas superworms on occasion.

 

[draconisj4]

I don't feed crickets but red runner roaches which are so fast I can't catch them with my tongs. If I have a T that I'm not sure is going to eat I disable the roach so it still can move a bit but can't run . Crickets are slower, you could always remove the jumping legs or crush their heads. I don't really like doing it but it's a lot easier to remove the feeder if you have to. In my case unwanted feeders go into my isopod colony or if the T hasn't bitten it I'll give it to a different one so none are wasted.

 

[Misschloejenkins]

Have you considered using dubia roaches or another feeder? I never liked how crickets jumped all over, either. I have a colony of roaches that are pretty easy to wrangle. I also feed my tarantulas superworms on occasion.

no I have been using Crickets since I got her which was about 3 months ago, I'm thinking of switching too meal worms or just putting her on Roaches.

I don't feed crickets but red runner roaches which are so fast I can't catch them with my tongs. If I have a T that I'm not sure is going to eat I disable the roach so it still can move a bit but can't run . Crickets are slower, you could always remove the jumping legs or crush their heads. I don't really like doing it but it's a lot easier to remove the feeder if you have to. In my case unwanted feeders go into my isopod colony or if the T hasn't bitten it I'll give it to a different one so none are wasted.

Okay hun thank you for that advice

 

[Dovey]

I feel like crickets are the fast-food of the feeder world. Go for the dubias. You won't look back!

 

[Ashlynn Rose]

How big is she?

 

[viper69]

when I try to move the crickets towards her so she can attack it

WHY are you doing this?????????????????????????????????????????????????????!

All tarantulas have been hunters long before we were on the planet. Stop babying a tarantula that is clearly large enough to eat on its own.

Even slings of 1/8" eat live prey, and I don't baby them either.

All you need to do is drop a cricket in and leave the room, read a book, or watch nature in action.

That setup is too small from what I can see, it looks nice inside, but too small.

how do I solve this issue and stop the crickets from escaping and not try to hurt my T?.

Stop micromanaging your tarantula

 

[Misschloejenkins]

How big is she?

look at my Profile picture.

WHY are you doing this?????????????????????????????????????????????????????!

All tarantulas have been hunters long before we were on the planet. Stop babying a tarantula that is clearly large enough to eat on its own.

Even slings of 1/8" eat live prey, and I don't baby them either.

All you need to do is drop a cricket in and leave the room, read a book, or watch nature in action.

That setup is too small from what I can see, it looks nice inside, but too small.



Stop micromanaging your tarantula

I can't bloody win, first I was told that my first ever enclosure was too small for her then someone told me to get a bigger enclosure now someone is telling me that her enclosure is too small?? I don't even know why your having ago at me for I am still a beginner at this hobby and I've only had her for 3 months, I cannot leave the room because her enclosure is in the same room i'm in she's practically with me all the time as she's in the living room on a glass wooden table.

 

[AnObeseHippo]

look at my Profile picture.

There is no sense of scale in your picture. It tells us nothing about how large she is

 

[Teal]

then you cannot measure! she's about the same size of someone's palm.

Second off, nothing in your profile photo gives an idea of size. My palm is a lot smaller than an adult male's palm, so whose palm are we talking about??

Move your T into an appropriate enclosure, feed appropriate prey, and maybe not be so snide and snarky??

 

[PidderPeets]

The solution offered to you was use different feeders. I prefer superworms and roaches above all else. You can also disable the crickets and continue to use them if you so choose.

While the current enclosure is manageable, I agree that it's a bit too small. It will need a larger enclosure after it's next molt for sure. The most common rule of thumb I see is about 2x the spider's legspan in width and about 3x the legspan in length. I don't usually use any particular measurements like that, I just ensure it has enough room to stretch comfortably, walk around, and especially molt without facing any difficulty from the limits of the enclosure.

If that is a humidity gauge in the enclosure, it's completely unnecessary and can be removed. True humidity is completely irrelevant for tarantulas and many pet shops just tell you to buy them because they don't know better and because they want the extra money. In this hobby, unfortunately people often use the term "humidity" to refer to how moist the substrate should be. A tarantula that likes "high humidity" actually needs more moist substrate. A species that likes "low humidity" (which is what you have), just requires the substrate to be kept relatively dry.

If it's a thermometer, it's also unnecessary as long as the temps of the room don't get lower than mid 60s F (about 18 C).

When asking for measurements of a tarantula, it is typically best to offer the diagonal legspan (DLS) of the tarantula, which is from one front leg to the opposite back leg. Telling us to look at a picture without any frame of reference or saying it is about the size of a palm is not relevant. People's bodies differ. So do tarantula sizes and structure. Using inches or centimeters leaves absolutely no room for confusion.

Cursing is not allowed on these forums. The mods have to work hard enough as it is going through everything on here. Is it listed on the forum rules which can be found on the homepage. Because you're new and may need help in the future, I would hate to see you get banned just because you cursed or said anything that could be considered a personal attack (also against forum rules)

Finally, viper gets called out a lot by new members who don't seem familiar with his personality on here just yet. He is a very blunt person and wastes no time expressing any issues with setups. He also doesn't sugarcoat things. He is not personally attacking you, that's just how he responds. So you shouldn't get offended by it or take it as him attacking you because you're new. He is treating you no different than any other member.

There are many people on here that may come across as rude or abrasive. They may lack people skills or just don't care about offending people, but that's because they care more about the animals than they care about the person. It's worth it to listen to them, despite their bluntness, because they're some of the best people to give you all the information you need.

All that being said, welcome to the hobby, welcome to the boards, and I hope you continue to come here for any help you need. The more time you spend on here, the more you'll learn that the more prominent and experienced people on here may have rougher personalities, but they genuinely care for the safety of your animal.

 

[SonsofArachne]

I HATE crickets. Now that I got that out of the way, blatta lateralis roaches are the best feeder out there in my somewhat humble opinion. Very active, don't burrow, and don't put up any kind of a fight, so no head crushing.

 

[Venom1080]

WHY are you doing this?????????????????????????????????????????????????????!

All tarantulas have been hunters long before we were on the planet. Stop babying a tarantula that is clearly large enough to eat on its own.

Even slings of 1/8" eat live prey, and I don't baby them either.

All you need to do is drop a cricket in and leave the room, read a book, or watch nature in action.

That setup is too small from what I can see, it looks nice inside, but too small.



Stop micromanaging your tarantula

Lol.. I do the same. Speeds up feeding.
Setup looks okay to me, don't know if I'd try breeding in that however.
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Crickets are hard to catch. Patience and practice with tongs works best. What you're experiencing is the norm with crickets. I use them alot as roaches are illegal here for some stupid reason.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Go for the dubias. You won't look back!

Tried them, looked back. They elicit the probably the worst feeding response out of any feeder I've used.

blatta lateralis roaches are the best feeder out there

Co-signed.

 

[arachnidgill]

Lol.. I do the same. Speeds up feeding.
Setup looks okay to me, don't know if I'd try breeding in that however.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Crickets are hard to catch. Patience and practice with tongs works best. What you're experiencing is the norm with crickets. I use them alot as roaches are illegal here for some stupid reason.

Pretty sure I've seen Dubias for sale on kijiji lol. Out of toronto I think

 

[Venom1080]

Pretty sure I've seen Dubias for sale on kijiji lol. Out of toronto I think

Probably the cops

 

[FrDoc]

@Misschloejenkins take the above suggestions to heart and consider switching to more easily managed prey for your tarantula. However, to specifically answer the question of your post, which seems to presume that you are presently using crickets, pull their back legs off.

 

[InvertAddiction]

Toss the crickets and switch to roaches. I've used dubia, didn't like them for the fact they will bury themselves in my enclosures and will act dead if a T gets too close to them. I switched to red runners, they cannot climb nor can they fly. The adult males will flutter their wings and the adult females don't have wings. Yes, they are fast, but your spider will have no issue catching them, trust me.

As for the enclosure, I can't say if you should change it to a bigger size or not, because I only get to see 1 side of it. I can't be bothered to buy the fancy expensive enclosures, once mine get big enough (if terrestrial) they get put in a 5 gal tank, then to a 10 gal tank, where most of them live out the remainder of their lives. Now my arboreals are a different story, I have a few larger Exo Terra tall that I saved when I got out of the hobby a couple years ago, but one was at Goodwill for I think $3.99? I mean it retails for close to $80, so I wasn't gonna pass that up lol.

You're gonna need some thicker skin and not take offense to what some of us say on here. We are all here for the exact same reason, the well being of our animals and to give advice to help each other. Don't take it as a personal attack unless you're like a couple ppl who refuse to listen and yet whine and complain then get bitten BECAUSE they didn't listen.

Welcome to the boards and hopefully your spider will bring you lots of joy.

 

[Dovey]

Tried them, looked back. They elicit the probably the worst feeding response out of any feeder I've used.
I'll give you that. They are pretty inactive when they feel threatened. And I do have two spiders I'm switching to crickets because they have been fasting for longer than I am comfortable with. But they are a heck of a lot easier to manage than crickets, you have to give me that! And nutritionally, they are sound.


Co-signed.

 

[darkness975]

every time I go to feed my T when she is not hungry it is absolutely a massive sweat on to try and get the cricket out of her Enclosure, when I try to move the crickets towards her so she can attack it the cricket will just jump all over the place and sometimes even try to escape out from the front glass panel door which is a nightmare how do I solve this issue and stop the crickets from escaping and not try to hurt my T?.

You don't have to push the cricket towards the tarantula, leave it in there overnight and eventually if hungry it will go after it. If mine don't eat overnight I just grab the cricket out of there. I have so many crickets that I don't care if the tongs injure it.