A mother's concern

[kokoimloco]

Hello all I have a question about stubborn feeders. Now I have a classic Brachypelma smithi. and it's a female. I've had her since she was eight years old and she's now fifteen, so seven years. My concern is she hasn't been eating right for about three months now, and it's not because she's molting. She is simply refusing to eat anything except for crickets.
The feeders I've been trying to give her are medium sized dubia roaches (smaller than a quarter or equal to). She just won't eat them. The reason I switched is because it's a healthier alternative to crickets and they also don't die after a few days. Is there any way I can get her to switch to the more nutritious dubias and wean her off of crickets?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Not all Tarantulas will eat dubias and there's not really much you can do about that, you might have better luck with red runners if you can get them (they get about the same size as crickets, are more nutritious than crickets and they don't play dead or burrow like dubias).

I'm not sure how everyone has this same problem with crickets dying in droves, I keep mine in a basic setup and hardly any die off.

 

[kokoimloco]

I will most certainly try that and see if she takes to those more easily, thank you so much for the suggestion. Kinda of feel dumb for not thinking of them in the first place! x.x

Honestly with the crickets though I think it's the pet store because I've gotten some from expos before and those lasted two months without any issues.

 

[darkness975]

I will most certainly try that and see if she takes to those more easily, thank you so much for the suggestion. Kinda of feel dumb for not thinking of them in the first place! x.x

Honestly with the crickets though I think it's the pet store because I've gotten some from expos before and those lasted two months without any issues.

I get my crickets from a chain store, but not one of the larger ones like Petco or Petsmart. I have noticed that they do last a lot longer than the ones from those larger chains, even though I don't always take the best care of them ( I get lazy sometimes).

 

[cold blood]

Since tarantula nutrituinal needs are basically an unknown, its just an assumption that roaches are "healthier"....Crickets are definitely not an unhealthy option.

If it wants crickets, feed it crickets....im sure the t is more aware of its real needs than we are.

 

[EulersK]

Not all Tarantulas will eat dubias and there's not really much you can do about that

A good starving will change their mind eventually. I've had adults refuse dubias for nearly a year before finally getting hungry enough to eat. After that first dubia, they never have an issue with them again. You just have to be more patient than the spider, which is a tough feat.

 

[Rittdk01]

I know I can't keep crickets alive very long. Good thing I'm much better with tarantula husbandry than cricket I buy a dozen every other week and throw them all in with my adults right away, so there's no die off.