what are all of my options to feed my T's?

[Spidersfrommars]

I've been feeding my tarantulas crickets and honestly the chirping is driving me mad!

Whats something I can feed them that are easy to care for and don't constantly make annoying noises?

I've seen these weird bright green worm looking things at a reptile shop before, are those for reptiles only?

 

[EulersK]

The bright green worms are hornworms, which eventually turn into moths. Not exactly easy to cultivate on a small scale.

Dubia are exceedingly easy to raise, and have almost no odor or noise. They absolutely will reproduce quicker than you can feed them off, so you'll either need to give them away or make a drowning pool to cull the colony every so often. You could also get meal worms or super worms, both of which are very cheap and live a long time. Just be sure to crush the heads on either kind of worm, as they can pupate into a beetle that could kill your spider.

 

[Spidersfrommars]

hey, thanks! and thanks for the info on the hornworms.

only fear I have with the roaches, is escapees and an infestation in the house, maybe I'll try super worms. I have meal worms which I feed to my sling and I know they can be kept in the fridge, are super worms the same way?

 

[EulersK]

hey, thanks! and thanks for the info on the hornworms.

only fear I have with the roaches, is escapees and an infestation in the house, maybe I'll try super worms. I have meal worms which I feed to my sling and I know they can be kept in the fridge, are super worms the same way?

I wouldn't worry too much about the roaches infesting. They're extremely slow to mature (for a roach), and your winters would likely kill off anything unlucky enough to be caught out of the colony. I believe @cold blood lives in your state, maybe he could shed some more light on that.

Super worms can't be kept in the fridge, no. But they live for months and can be bought online for very cheap. You could also try out your local bait shop and see what they have on offer.

 

[Rob1985]

Definitely dubia's. They're easy to care for, breed easily and practically don't stink.

 

[Ungoliant]

only fear I have with the roaches, is escapees and an infestation in the house

I've been keeping dubia roaches in an aquarium for over a year, and I have had zero escapes. They're much easier to manage than crickets, since they don't move very fast, climb smooth surfaces, or fly. (Mature males can glide a bit if dropped. Juveniles have no wings, and mature females just have little wing stubs that don't allow flight.)

In comparison, when I had crickets, I would invariably lose one or two when they jumped away while adding them to the keeper or removing them for feeding.

Dubia roaches are a tropical species, so I would not expect them to last long in a Wisconsin winter even if they did get out.

 

[EulersK]

I've been keeping dubia roaches in an aquarium for over a year, and I have had zero escapes.

And on my front, I have escapes all the time A few inevitably get thrown out of a colony when I'm shaking them off for a sale. I find a dead dubia or two just about every time I move a piece of furniture. They don't last long at all outside of the colony, I've never once found a dead adult. Only dead mediums, which are what I sell.

All of those escapes, plus 22 thriving colonies, plus an utter lack of pesticides in the home, and no infestation to speak of in my ~4 years doing this. I wouldn't call them a durable roach by any means, at least not in a dry environment. It's why I love them so much as a feeder.

 

[PanzoN88]

Superworms and mealworms, though if you get roaches you'll have a reason to add to your collection. Same with the other aforementioned feeders.

 

[Theneil]

i've had a few escapes too and no signs of colonization.

 

[Spidersfrommars]

Hey everyone, thanks for the replies, they make me feel a lot better about the roaches. I think I will give super worms a shot first, then roaches next (I don't see them at pet stores really)

 

[cold blood]

yeah, the reason dubia are popular feeder is that they are both super easy, and because theyre tropical, they dont carry the potential to infest....i wouldnt go starting a colony of German roaches...but dubia present no such issues.

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• cold blood
• Nov 20, 2016
• 2

dubia roaches

 

[Jason Russell]

Blatta Lateralis are also an alternative. Very unsightly but very active. I've personally had big issues with the dubias playing dead or burrowing, so I gave them a try. They're much more "roachy" looking but are mostly just as harmless as the dubias, no climbing, flying, or chirping of any kind. Colonization is unlikely since they need elevated temps and humidity (especially humidity) to engage their breeding muscles and incubate their ooths. They are also the most prolific feeder in the market. They pretty much just run around until they get eaten lol.

 

[StampFan]

Add to the list: Waxworms, silk worms, black soldier fly larvae, earthworms, grasshoppers/locusts, some moths, butterworms.

 

[Ungoliant]

And on my front, I have escapes all the time A few inevitably get thrown out of a colony when I'm shaking them off for a sale. I find a dead dubia or two just about every time I move a piece of furniture. They don't last long at all outside of the colony, I've never once found a dead adult. Only dead mediums, which are what I sell.

That probably just boils down to a difference in handling. You are regularly shaking out quantities for sales. When I remove roaches, I am just selecting them one at a time with tweezers in order to give them to my spiders.

 

[viper69]

I've been feeding my tarantulas crickets and honestly the chirping is driving me mad!

Whats something I can feed them that are easy to care for and don't constantly make annoying noises?

I've seen these weird bright green worm looking things at a reptile shop before, are those for reptiles only?

Bright green worm— how specific hahaha


Mealworms are good!

 

[EulersK]

Bright green worm— how specific hahaha

Is there another common bright green worm feeder I'm unaware of?

 

[Theneil]

Is there another common bright green worm feeder I'm unaware of?

Gummy worms.

 

[viper69]

Is there another common bright green worm feeder I'm unaware of?

There are different types of hornworms, both are bright green. OPs description is not specific enough to identify which one s/he saw.