# Tarantula Diet - Roaches vs Crickets



## Kathy (Apr 14, 2010)

Which do you prefer to feed and why?


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## super-pede (Apr 14, 2010)

roaches are healthier for your pet and are cleaner and less likely to carry diseases and most species won't harm your pet by chewing on them.crickets are way more available though.


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## Ryujia (Apr 14, 2010)

I currently use crickets, though I'm hoping to get away from them soon.

I have B.dubia roaches, and B.lateralis on the way, but I have no sustainable colony yet, so stuck with crickets I am.

I have to clean out my cricket keeper twice a week, and within 24 hours it's filthy. They're a pain to catch. I just don't enjoy keeping crickets. >< I've never cleaned my B.dubias for as long as I've had them (month and a half?). I feed them a piece of orange for water, and they're good!


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## Redneck (Apr 14, 2010)

super-pede said:


> roaches are healthier for your pet and are cleaner and less likely to carry diseases and most species won't harm your pet by chewing on them.crickets are way more available though.


Roaches can be just as available as crickets.. If you breed them.. I have had a colony for a little bit now.. I have not bought crickets in a while!

*To the OP..*

I prefer to use roaches.. As stated about roaches are better for your T than crickets.. They wont munch on your T if it gives you a surprice molt..

I offered my P. irminia an adult male B. dubia... I looked to see if she ate it.. I didnt see the roach so I thought she did.. Untill I seen it in there when I was removing her molt the other day.. She is still doing great..


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## BrettG (Apr 14, 2010)

I feed some of my larger spiders dubia's and everything else properly sized crickets.Some of my T's are scared to DEATH of the roaches,and would die before eating them.So I am stuck using both. I normally keep a few dozen crickets on hand at all times since we have frogs and whatnot,and only get a dozen or so roaches every couple months.


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## Kathy (Apr 14, 2010)

I have a ton of lateralis now, and my roaches love them - surprisingly the one c. sculpt scorpion I have won't go near the thing - but yeah, my avics especially jump right on them!


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## Herpetologydude (Apr 14, 2010)

I use crickets due to legal issues, In Florida we can't keep some of the better roach species (dubia, lateralis). I would like to get some Discoid roaches though but they're so darn expensive it seems


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## Scoolman (Apr 14, 2010)

I have been feeding primarily crickets with the occasional hisser. I have a small hisser colony, and just ordered 5 mles, 15 females, and about 50 nymphs to boost my colony. I will now be switching to feeding hisser nymphs regularly with the ocassional cricket for variety.


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## billopelma (Apr 15, 2010)

I've had feeder roach colonies going for over four years, dubia, lats, lobsters, hissers, distante...plus mealworms and superworms. At first the majority of things eat them but over time hesitation sets in and eventually the majority rejects/ignores them. Probably half of my enclosures have permanent resident roaches, they do at least make good cleanup bugs. Throw a cricket in and it's taken instantly with no hesitation, time after time, month after month.

 I don't seem to have the stink problem with crickets that others complain about either, just don't overcrowd them and keep things reasonably dry. They get fed pretty much the same stuff as the roaches so I don't see there being a big nutritional difference. Roaches are much easier to maintain as a continuous population but crickets are cheap for a few t's or in quantity's particularly if you can avoid shipping. I just picked up a 1000 for $10 at a show and everything is chowin' 'em down as if they haven't eaten in months. And I'll still have some two months from now, sometimes longer.

As I've said on many of the other cricket vs roach threads... Variety is certainly a good thing but more things I keep (bugs and reptiles) eat crickets more of the time than all the other feeder choices I have combined. 


Bill


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## micheldied (Apr 15, 2010)

roaches...if they were available for me.
i just hate the jumpiness with crickets...and their noise and smell.


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## gumby (Apr 15, 2010)

Read this I laughed so hard:
http://www.exoticfauna.com/arachnoculture/1/AC-i1a5-p1.html
keep in mind I prefer crickets mostly because I dont like the idea of having roaches in my home which I understand is silly but I having been thinking of buying some small roaches for all my slings. Its kinda a pain to have a good constant suply of pinhead crickets. So I think the roaches might work out better for my small slings under .5"


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## CAK (Apr 15, 2010)

gumby said:


> Read this I laughed so hard:
> http://www.exoticfauna.com/arachnoculture/1/AC-i1a5-p1.html


+1 I laughed too!  And yes, it is very true!


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## codykrr (Apr 15, 2010)

*Roaches by far*

why?- they stink alot less(with the exception of B. lateralis(which still aren't as bad)).

Easier to breed and with little to no cannibalization, except for some wing biting every now and again.

tarantulas take lateralis just as easy as crickets, without the fear of nematodes, or other unwanted pests.

and best of all NO CHIRPING NOISE!!!!   i am a country boy, i enjoy crickets chirping in the summer OUTSIDE, but not in the house.


my opinion is get your self 2 colonies. B. dubia for the really big T's like lasiodora or to just fatten a T up really quick after a molt, or egg sac.

then get some B. lateralis...for the stubborn T's that wont touch dubia. can be fed to all but not much meat for big T's   

and just mix it up so the T's dont get bored(because they will someday)


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## CAK (Apr 15, 2010)

codykrr said:


> why?- they stink alot less(with the exception of B. lateralis(which still aren't as bad)).
> 
> Easier to breed and with little to no cannibalization, except for some wing biting every now and again.
> 
> ...


Hey Cody, 

How do you keep your lateralis contained?  I am debating this one right now for my 80% of slings that refuse dubia....   I posted something on TOS (The Other Site) along those lines and one opinion said they can sometimes be escape artists....  You got any thoughts?

Joe


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## codykrr (Apr 15, 2010)

well, i have had a few get out. but not from my bin...they got out either through the vent on a Kritter keeper or got loose during feeding.

i just keep them in a clear sterilite bin with 4, 2inch by 4 inch long vent holes with screen glued down over the holes.

i just made sure the bin was kinda tall because males will jump/fly to the top every now and again. 

PS.- your user name is my initials...haha....CODY ALAN KERR...LOL


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## Kris-wIth-a-K (Apr 15, 2010)

Really?? Another one of these... Again. I prefer Crickets over Roaches... I can use crickets for more things such as fishing and what not...


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## CAK (Apr 15, 2010)

codykrr said:


> well, i have had a few get out. but not from my bin...they got out either through the vent on a Kritter keeper or got loose during feeding.
> 
> i just keep them in a clear sterilite bin with 4, 2inch by 4 inch long vent holes with screen glued down over the holes.
> 
> ...



Hahh!  Something in common!  LOVE IT!

Do your picky slings do much better with lat nymphs?  For instance, out of 10 to 15 pokie slings and 5 Avic slings..   I would have 2 pokies and 1 avic actually eat the dubia nymph.


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## codykrr (Apr 15, 2010)

to be honest, i havent had one T out of 60 plus that has refused to eat a lateralis.  really thats my primary feed right now. but i kept the dubia's for my larger T's because one big meal is better to me than 5 small lateralis. even a full grow female lat is a little small for 6 inch plus T's and up.  


and ive used B. dubia male roaches for fishing. caught a ton of crappie with them.  even caught a gar last spring with one. so there good for fishing too. plus they dont fall off the hook as easy.


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## KidChromatus (Apr 15, 2010)

Currently i'm using Super Worms, but normally I use crickets. I would use roaches but my parents would kill me if one escaped.


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## Stopdroproll (Apr 15, 2010)

Roaches are so easy to breed. You can neglect them and they still survive.


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## Beardo (Apr 16, 2010)

I've been feeding Lobster Roaches for the last few years....can't remember the last time I used crickets for my arachnids. Also never had a spider refuse a LR.


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## gromgrom (Apr 16, 2010)

i've had my emperors and flat rock get afraid of the speed of a lobster roach i bought.

thats why i have hissers now. slower, but cooler 

we'll see how they like hissers when the babies get bigger.

edit: i prefer crix because i can always purchase them and everyone eats them happily, i may not like crix, but they do.


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