Only the best for our T's

[dGr8-1]

Being a newbie in having a pet Tarantula, thier diet is my primary concern lately. I've been doing some research over the net and discovered Lobster Roaches (Nauphoeta Cinerea). It's said to have a higher meat to shell rationSo, here's the question: Which is really best for my T's?
1) Crickets
2) Superworms / mealworms
3) Lobster Roaches
4) Pinky Mouse (I really don’t want to feed them these. I read it in a book that the smell is unforgettable)
5) Lizard (no idea about lizards yet)

PS. I even recently thought of sprinkling powdered multivitamins on the crickets. Maybe it’ll do them some good. Though I haven’t tried it yet.

Hope to hear from ya’ll.

 

[Whiskeypunk]

Being a newbie in having a pet Tarantula, thier diet is my primary concern lately. I've been doing some research over the net and discovered Lobster Roaches (Nauphoeta Cinerea). It's said to have a higher meat to shell rationSo, here's the question: Which is really best for my T's?

If you have 1 T then roaches aren't really valid unless you can find a pet store that sells feeder roaches. Otherwise you will end up with 10 billion roaches.

1) Crickets

The standard. Ts have been raised successfully for many, many years on crickets alone. They can carry diseases, they can be difficult to manipulate, and they can cannibalize eachother more then other feeders.

2) Superworms / mealworms

These work too, but have a tendency to burrow into the substrate. I prefer mealworms to superworms. These things are super easy to raise as T food.

3) Lobster Roaches

Bugchick can explain these way better then I can. Burrowing roaches are irritating, however, and many T keepers are having better luck with Blatta Lateralis. more on roaches.

4) Pinky Mouse (I really don’t want to feed them these. I read it in a book that the smell is unforgettable)

I don't feed verts, but at least one user here has had success feeding multiple T. Blondi nothing but mice. However, he raises his own mice and feeds them crickets.

5) Lizard (no idea about lizards yet)

Expensive. If you find one cheap enough to feed your T, it will probably be WC parasite carrying buggers. They have more calcium then mice.

As for 4 and 5, there is some ancedotal evidence that high calcium from verts may cause fang loss, bad molts. However, there isn't really any tested experiments showing this.

PS. I even recently thought of sprinkling powdered multivitamins on the crickets. Maybe it’ll do them some good. Though I haven’t tried it yet.

This is considered unecessary, and I'm not sure how effective this is based on the way spiders eat.
It is better to gutload your feeders with some sort of cricket/roach nutritional food, even if it says high calcium, and you believe the calcium/fang loss connection.

In conclusion: I prefer roaches. My B. Discoidalis make decent feeders, but soon I will be switching to Blatta Lateralis. Originally the switch was going to be lobsters, but B. Lateralis looked better.

 

[metzgerzoo]

Well, when it comes to what's best for the tarantula, consider what it would get in the wild and use common sense in captivity. Like was said, only having one tarantula, feeding roaches could be very costly and not the wisest investment. Crickets are the most common both in captivity as are mealies. Vertebrate prey should not be fed as a staple diet. Mice, lizards, etc. are not a standard part of their diet in the wild so why spend the money to feed it in captivity.
The meat to bone/shell/etc. ratio doesn't really matter because many tarantulas only eat the inside of the prey anyway and leave the shells.
Me personally, I despise crickets, not only because they are nasty, smelly, filthy little beasts but because they are more prone to be carriers of nematodes.
I raise roaches and mealies for my tarantulas and other inverts, but, I've got a lot more than one.

 

[dGr8-1]

Whiskeypunk: Thank you for taking your time out to point everything out one by one. You certainly shed light on the issue.

Metzgerzoo: Thanks for the advice as well.

For ya both. Here's the problem... First and foremost, I have this unexplainable fear for roaches. As i have researched, i saw this lobster roach to be ever so slightly tolerable. now my problem is that it's so hard to source for feeder roaches... mostly i hear Tarantula keeper's just feeding them crickets. Now, for the past three weeks of reading Barron's "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" and "Tarantula's and "Tarantulas and Other Small Insects" (something like that; don't have the book with me) and i'm really nervous about the whole molthing thing. Now that Whiskeypunk mentioned something about the relationship of crickets and bad molts... I'm stumped.

so what am i to do? The breeder who sold me my B.Smithi and H.Lividum advised me to use variety of Crix, and worms. He'll just inform me if he can get his hands on some roaches. (my fear would be another issue) YUCK!

 

[PhilR]

I breed and keep lobster roaches, and I keep nearly 50 t's ranging from slings to adults. To be honest with you, I'm struggling to keep the numbers down, and have nearly come to the point where the colony will have to be split to try and keep it in check. They are absolutely PROLIFIC breeders, so bear this in mind

There is evidence that lobster roaches can be left in with moulting tarantulas, and they will not attack the spider, so that's another advantage of using them.

 

[David_F]

Now that Whiskeypunk mentioned something about the relationship of crickets and bad molts... I'm stumped.

Crickets are fine. What Whiskeypunk was referring to when he said

As for 4 and 5, there is some ancedotal evidence that high calcium from verts may cause fang loss, bad molts. However, there isn't really any tested experiments showing this.

was that it's thought that high calcium levels from vertebrates (mice and lizards) may contribute to fang loss during molts.

With only one tarantula crickets and mealworms are probably your best bet. Lobster roaches breed like...well, like roaches. You'll soon be overrun with them.

 

[GailC]

I really like lobster roaches for T's, I also have Lateralis but not enough to start feeding any off yet. If you ever decide to try roaches maybe you can just get a few young lobsters and feed off the any winged adults to keep them from breeding, or buy many more T's

 

[elliot]

basically don't worry about it too much. if you want to just feed your spiders nothing but crickets, it is fine. there's no real evidence that gutloading/vitamin power does any good, and there's not even any evidence that a varied diet is benificial. criks and roaches are both good, i hate worms because they disappear and pupate. very annoying. as for vertebrates, it's a personal choice, and certainly not necessary.

 

[MindUtopia]

I would suggest getting into the habit of feeding whatever is least expensive and most accessible for you. As your collection grows, it will become a little more difficult to find the time to track down more hard to find prey items and if you have 50+ T's it can start to get a bit expensive. Finding something now that is affordable and easy to find in your area will make it more likely that your T's will receive proper care long-term. I think this is much more important than finding the perfect prey item or the perfect balance in diet. Food is food. Personally I feed an all cricket diet and don't gut load because it's easiest and cheapest for me and my T's are healthy and grow like weeds. Find something that works similarly well for you and your T's will do just fine.

 

[dGr8-1]

PhilR, David F, waldo, elliot, and MindUtopia. Thanks to you all. I'll heed to all your advices. I really appreciate it.

I'm now exploring the idea of importing those lobster roaches here in the Philippines. No one here has that yet. Afterwhich, i'll have my seller/breeder/friend take care of it. Then, I'll have a constant supply. bwahahaha!

I guess the idea of "finding something that works similarly well" for me is ok. I haven't tried feeding mealworms or superworms yet. Like i said... i'm fairly new with all these.

 

[jeremyisugly]

Mmmm.

As I only just now have begun trying T's, I have little to no experience with them, but I've kept Wolf spiders for quite some time.

For my T, crickets.

For the wolves: anything that moves.

My wolves tend to love beetles. This obviously goes against the general theory that their shells are in some cases too tough to penetrate, or even worse can harm the fangs of the spider. Because of that, and my lack of experience with T's, that is in no way a recomendation however!

What do you T folks think about moths for the younger ones? Are non-arboreal T's capable of catching them with much accuracy? They're probably the favorite (most aggresively hunted?) food of my wolves.

 

[Whiskeypunk]

My wolves tend to love beetles. This obviously goes against the general theory that their shells are in some cases too tough to penetrate, or even worse can harm the fangs of the spider. Because of that, and my lack of experience with T's, that is in no way a recomendation however!

I've fed mealworm beetles a couple times. My tarantulas were uninterested. Considering how some species can chew through metal mesh tank lids with their fangs, I wouldn't be too worry about fang damage. I also dislike mealworm beetles because they burrow.

What do you T folks think about moths for the younger ones? Are non-arboreal T's capable of catching them with much accuracy? They're probably the favorite (most aggresively hunted?) food of my wolves.

They work ok. Wild caught moths you should be careful with, as fly around, and may have been exposed to pesticides. You can also raise waxworms to moths and feed them to Ts. My Theraphosa Blondi has taken a couple wax moths in her time.

 

[dGr8-1]

will those superworms still burrow even if i meticulously clip off their legs?

 

[dGr8-1]

Yoohoo? was that a stupid question?