Roach preference
- Thread starter Pacmaster
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Amenagerie
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2009
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- 32
:? Hmmm. My H. lividum ate some lobsters when I first got her a little over a month ago. She was quite dehydrated from producing a sac. This week, she abandoned her burrow and I investigated to find the 2 dubia I had given her almost a week ago were in there. I had thought they'd been eaten. Not sure if it was taste preference or not, but she didn't eat them.
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- Dec 30, 2008
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- 956
I have a lateralis and dubia colony. I would say at least half of my t's dont even like the dubia. I actually think that the t's dislike the dubia. The t will stand right over them, sometimes even act like they are going to eat them, figure out what they are and refuse to eat them.
As for the lateralis, every t nails them. They do not hesitate. I have 10 roseas of different species, ie red, normal, and they aggressively attack the lats. I think its mostly the fact that the lats run around like crazy.
Edit: To cast my vote, I prefer lats.
As for the lateralis, every t nails them. They do not hesitate. I have 10 roseas of different species, ie red, normal, and they aggressively attack the lats. I think its mostly the fact that the lats run around like crazy.
Edit: To cast my vote, I prefer lats.
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- Sep 22, 2008
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- 3,112
yeah, ive been meaning to get some lats...but do they really stink bad? my Ts are kinda burtout on dubias i think.
Yeah, dubia are large and not very active. When they do move they tend to burrow. In my experience T's are very reluctant to eat them. A better feeder of comparable size is any of the Blaberus species, because they are more active. The young ones burrow like mad, but the adults are great, if you don't mind the crunchiness.
Lobsters are somewhat more active and somewhat smaller, so in my experience tarantulas prefer them by far. The downside I see in them is that they will burrow occasionally or climb to the roof and stay there for a long time.
But none of them is as good as lateralis for attracting attention. The lateralis are actually a little smaller than I'd prefer but they run around like mad and you will never find a T that doesn't relish them. They have a smell, but no worse than other roaches, except that they reproduce so much faster and seem to me to have a higher metabolism and shorter life. This means they poo more and die more. Both cause stink, but they aren't particularly bad. In fact, I think they are less smelly than lobsters. All roaches will eventually smell as their frass builds up. Lateralis get there a bit faster, in my experience. Still lateralis are by far the best feeder I have ever used. They never burrow except when tiny and they don't climb smooth surfaces.
Though from the point of view of tarantulas liking them, I do think crickets have a tiny edge over even lateralis. If a tarantula scares a lateralis it will run and hide in the corner for a long time (they are actually fast enough to escape a tarantula strike sometimes). A cricket will run away and then walk straight back and be eaten.
Lobsters are somewhat more active and somewhat smaller, so in my experience tarantulas prefer them by far. The downside I see in them is that they will burrow occasionally or climb to the roof and stay there for a long time.
But none of them is as good as lateralis for attracting attention. The lateralis are actually a little smaller than I'd prefer but they run around like mad and you will never find a T that doesn't relish them. They have a smell, but no worse than other roaches, except that they reproduce so much faster and seem to me to have a higher metabolism and shorter life. This means they poo more and die more. Both cause stink, but they aren't particularly bad. In fact, I think they are less smelly than lobsters. All roaches will eventually smell as their frass builds up. Lateralis get there a bit faster, in my experience. Still lateralis are by far the best feeder I have ever used. They never burrow except when tiny and they don't climb smooth surfaces.
Though from the point of view of tarantulas liking them, I do think crickets have a tiny edge over even lateralis. If a tarantula scares a lateralis it will run and hide in the corner for a long time (they are actually fast enough to escape a tarantula strike sometimes). A cricket will run away and then walk straight back and be eaten.
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- 994
Yup; it's all in the movement. More active prey items garner more attention, and while you can make a dubia more interesting if tong feeding, the majority freeze or burrow in the presence of danger, both of which generally result in disinterest from the T. Lobsters and Turkistans are both very active so they catch the T's attention quickly. I'm prefer the lateralis of the two since they don't climb glass and are thus less likely to escape my enclosures, but the T's jump on them with such gusto that I don't think it's much of a risk anyways.