1st time feeding mealworms...

[Hiruma26]

So here's the senario, i always feed my Ts crickets and it's feeding schedule tonight. And to spice things up, i decided to buy them some mealworms just for variety. However, when i put the mealworms in, they acted like they have never seen a mealworm before! I saw my 2" G. Pulchra threw a threat pose, not to me, but to the mealworm, for the 1st time since i got him/her couple of months ago! S (he) stayed like that for good 2 minutes, then i decided to put a cricket behind him/her, s (he) immediately pounced on it like a starving wolf. My G. Pulchripes who always eat down its burrow actually ran outside when i put the mealworms in. I disnt get the chance to test it on my other Ts as i gave them the remaining crickets i have. Is this normal? Do they need to be accustomed to the feeders we give them? Please help. I dont wanna raise a thousand beetles in my room! Lol

 

[miss moxie]

Well, they might -not- have seen meal worms before. I find if you offer them a new prey item, try tong feeding them. Sometimes they won't respond to it dropped in front of them, but if you gently let the prey brush against their chelicerae their feeding response kicks in and they attack it. I feed a very varied diet to my tarantulas; crickets, wax worms, meal worms, super worms. The only thing I've yet to buy for them is roaches, but now that I've got a decent sized collection I'm considering staring a dubia colony.

 

[Hiruma26]

I see...yes i will try that on my next feeding schedule. Thanks for the tip! My L. Difficilis did not have any problem tho. S (he) ate the mealworm just like how i see Ts eat them on youtube feeding videos. Maybe it depends on species? Or my L. Difficilis is just hungry...i dont know. I'm fairly new to the hobby, i need to keep learning this kinds of stuff! Anyways, i will try to tong feed them next feeding! I'll post here what happens! Thanks!

 

[cold blood]

when i put the mealworms in, they acted like they have never seen a mealworm before! I saw my 2" G. Pulchra threw a threat pose, not to me, but to the mealworm, for the 1st time since i got him/her couple of months ago! S (he) stayed like that for good 2 minutes, then i decided to put a cricket behind him/her, s (he) immediately pounced on it like a starving wolf.

Much of a ts prey drive is motivated by prey movement...the faster movement of the cricket gets a reaction response, which is very fast....a mealworms movements are more subtle, so sometimes they will hover, or even put a foot on it for a while, then they just pick it up in an uneventful manner, completely different than the feeding response invoked by a frantic cricket.

They will eat mealworms, just crush the head and leave them, the worm should live and stay fresh for a day or three until picked up.

 

[Hiruma26]

Much of a ts prey drive is motivated by prey movement...the faster movement of the cricket gets a reaction response, which is very fast....a mealworms movements are more subtle, so sometimes they will hover, or even put a foot on it for a while, then they just pick it up in an uneventful manner, completely different than the feeding response invoked by a frantic cricket.

They will eat mealworms, just crush the head and leave them, the worm should live and stay fresh for a day or three until picked up.

That is actually what i did an hour ago. The meal worm dug from inside the burrow up to the upper side of the enclosure. I saw it curled on the side under 1/2 od substrate. I pulled it out, crushed its head, put it near the entrance. I just checked and saw my G.Pulchripes holding it. It noticed the light from my phone so s (he) dragged it down to its burrow like s (he) doesnt wanna share it!

 

[Charlie69]

If you have mealworms left over, put them in the refrigerator. They last much longer there.

 

[BC1579]

Just to add, superworms don't have to be refrigerated. I think they live at room temperature in their bran for quite a while.

 

[Devin B]

Just to add, superworms don't have to be refrigerated. I think they live at room temperature in their bran for quite a while.

I bought my superworms about 2 months ago and they are doing great living in their cup next to my T's. Room temp is great for these guys.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I've had them at room temperatures for months. They won't pupate unless they are kept separate.

 

[Hiruma26]

Just to add, superworms don't have to be refrigerated. I think they live at room temperature in their bran for quite a while.

does goes the same for mealworms too?

 

[JoshDM020]

Psh! Thats nothin! First time i gave my C. cyaneopubescens a mealworm, it bolted to the rim of its enclosure, did multiple laps around it, stopped, and gave ME a threat pose. As if to say "Wut?! Wut da heck is dat?! I know you got sum jumpy bugz, i hear em churpin! Get dat crap outta hear and giv meh da jumpy bug! Imma bit you!" He was about an inch at the time, though, so it was more cute than anything.
My Avicularia avicularia still sometimes just pushes em out of her hideout. Theyll just hang there and wiggle around until i grab em .

 

[Devin B]

does goes the same for mealworms too?

I think regular mealworms will pupate at room temp. I could be wrong however, i haven't had them in a long time. If you refrigerate them they will spring back to life one you warm then up in your hand.

 

[BC1579]

I think regular mealworms will pupate at room temp. I could be wrong however, i haven't had them in a long time. If you refrigerate them they will spring back to life one you warm then up in your hand.

I agree with all of this. I don’t know if it’ll slowly hibernate and kill them or just slows down the pupating. I just don’t do it.

I feel like superworms could just ride around with me all day. In cup. In a cup holder.

They’re cool like that.

 

[JoshDM020]

I agree with all of this. I don’t know if it’ll slowly hibernate and kill them or just slows down the pupating. I just don’t do it.

I feel like superworms could just ride around with me all day. In cup. In a cup holder.

They’re cool like that.

Im pretty sure it just slows em down. Im starting a colony (is that the right word for meal worms?) with some previously refrigerated specimens and within two weeks ive had six pupate. One has leveled up to beetle form and one died. But they just keep comin, so its all good on my end.
Edit to add: they were refrigerated for multiple months.

 

[Ungoliant]

I think regular mealworms will pupate at room temp. I could be wrong however, i haven't had them in a long time.

Mealworms definitely pupate at room temperature. Even in the winter, where the room I keep them in gets quite chilly due to the lack of insulation, they still occasionally pupate (just not nearly as often).

 

[cold blood]

does goes the same for mealworms too?

No, supers are tropical, so refrigeration will kill them....mealies go dormant in the fridge and can be kept there for extented periods of time.

 

[Sana]

Did someone mention that you need to make sure there aren’t any rogue worms in the enclosure? They can burrow and cause huge problems later for a molting tarantula.

 

[Hiruma26]

Did someone mention that you need to make sure there aren’t any rogue worms in the enclosure? They can burrow and cause huge problems later for a molting tarantula.

Yeah...i've read tragic incidents about molting Ts being eaten. I tong feed some of them, some took it some didnt. I crushed the heads of the mealworms and put it near the entrance of the burrow. All of them ate!

 

[Poec54]

I use superworms occasionally, and many of my spiders will only eat them when they've just shed and are starving. Once they've regained some weight, superworms can seem less appealing. Both mealworms & superworms have formidable mouthparts, can even injure adult tarantulas if the spider doesn't handle it right.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I don't offer superworms to her often, but the times I have, my LP has not turned them down. I give the worm's head a pinch to be on the safe side, like many others do. It has been quite a awhile since I've offered any, she may very well refuse them now But then, LPs are garbage disposals, so...
The rest of my tarantulas are too small to tackle one anyway.