Anyone's Ts not liking worms?(meal and supers)

AHMR

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Is it possible for a T NOT to like something as food?
My 6" g.porteri seems generally scared of super worms. So much so that if I drop one in her tank,she turns tail quick and runs up the glass. Every time. Mind you she has NO interested in eating as she's 3wks post molt. But with crickets she just turns and walks away. Ignores it. Doesn't climb glass to get away.
Then my 1" n.chromatus won't eat meal worms. I feed with the head crushed and throw it in(as it won't eat while I'm in the room). Left it 24hrs(still alive,wiggling but head crushed). Removed it. Waited 2 days and tried again with a new worm.(it eats averagely every 3days a small cricket the size of its abdomen usually.)
Waited 24hrs. Worm was still there. Took it out and threw in a small cricket with head crushed.(I kill the food right now as I don't know it's molt pattern so don't wanna chance it by having prey in there when it decides to molt.)
Anyways within 30min I went back into the room and the cricket was gone.
So I'm assuming he doesn't like worms?lol
So my question is easy...do Ts have food preferences?
Also....should I just stick to crickets or still offer worms?(as I'd prefer a worm diet as it's easier to maintain with only 2 Ts)
Thanks.
Edited cause I hint enter to soon.
 

Kodi

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Believe it or not there are definitely tarantulas that are picky eaters. Some T's have a change of behavior after a molt so maybe you could try every molt or so.
 

AHMR

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Believe it or not there are definitely tarantulas that are picky eaters. Some T's have a change of behavior after a molt so maybe you could try every molt or so.
Well my porteri I got her 3 days post molt and she hasn't eaten for me yet. Last owner only fed her crickets and roaches I'm assuming from the dead bugs I found in the enclosure that came with her.(Altho roaches are illegal in Canada). His ad also said she "only eats 3 crickets a week" so I'm assuming she's never been fed a worm. She literally climbs walls to get away from it lol(it was quite comical really lol big old 6" spider scared of a 1.5" worm).
Where as my chromatus was fed 2wk old crickets according to the breeder. So I'm assuming it's never had a worm either.
So I may just have to stick to stinky crickets ugh lol
 

Jones0911

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If that's all you want to feed them then just wait until they're hungry.

they won't starve themselves to death unless it's a MM that refuses to eat.


Otherwise try horned worms
 
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AHMR

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If that's all you want to feed them then just wait until they're hungry.

they won't starve themselves to death unless it's a MM that refuses to eat.


Otherwise try horned worms
I couldn't do that lol as I'd feel bad in "starving them" just cause I don't like their food preference.
I'll have to look into horned worms tho. I haven't seen them tho(Altho haven't really looked). The ones I've seen easily available is crickets,meal worms,super worms and wax worms. But the size of the wax worms would make it so I'd have to feed like 15+ of them to my 6" girl. As they were super tiny(meal worms were 2-3x bigger then the wax).
But if I have to do crickets,worse thing I'll just have to do frequent visits to the pet store(as one closest to me sells bulk/individually). Just more hassle then I counted on ugh lol
 

cold blood

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Is it possible for a T NOT to like something as food?
My 6" g.porteri seems generally scared of super worms. So much so that if I drop one in her tank,she turns tail quick and runs up the glass. Every time. Mind you she has NO interested in eating as she's 3wks post molt. But with crickets she just turns and walks away. Ignores it. Doesn't climb glass to get away.
Then my 1" n.chromatus won't eat meal worms. I feed with the head crushed and throw it in(as it won't eat while I'm in the room). Left it 24hrs(still alive,wiggling but head crushed). Removed it. Waited 2 days and tried again with a new worm.(it eats averagely every 3days a small cricket the size of its abdomen usually.)
Waited 24hrs. Worm was still there. Took it out and threw in a small cricket with head crushed.(I kill the food right now as I don't know it's molt pattern so don't wanna chance it by having prey in there when it decides to molt.)
Anyways within 30min I went back into the room and the cricket was gone.
So I'm assuming he doesn't like worms?lol
So my question is easy...do Ts have food preferences?
Also....should I just stick to crickets or still offer worms?(as I'd prefer a worm diet as it's easier to maintain with only 2 Ts)
Thanks.
Edited cause I hint enter to soon.
Rose hairs are known to be one of the pickier eaters. My porteri won't touch worms of any kind. Its not afraid, just not interested in eating it. They are also one of the ts that fast the most frequently and for insane lengths of time...like a year plus is almost common.

While its not unusual for a porteri to not eat mealies, I've never seen a chromatus refuse mealies (or any prey really)....unless its pre-molt (and even then not always). I'd bet yours is just full, it will probably demolish a mealie a week after its next molt.

I couldn't do that lol as I'd feel bad in "starving them" just cause I don't like their food preference.
I'll have to look into horned worms tho. I haven't seen them tho(Altho haven't really looked). The ones I've seen easily available is crickets,meal worms,super worms and wax worms. But the size of the wax worms would make it so I'd have to feed like 15+ of them to my 6" girl. As they were super tiny(meal worms were 2-3x bigger then the wax).
But if I have to do crickets,worse thing I'll just have to do frequent visits to the pet store(as one closest to me sells bulk/individually). Just more hassle then I counted on ugh lol
You have to get this "starve" thing out of your mind, especially if you plan to keep that porteri. Fact is that they have about the lowest food requirements of any t in the hobby...like ridiculously low. Most in captivity are grossly over fed, which only serves to encourage these annoying fasting bouts.

When mine refuses, I simply stop feeding until I see her in a hunting posture...this could be months....especially in winter, when many of them just stop eating till spring.

My advice is to really slow down your feedings once she molts (or starts eating again). I feed mine 2-4 large crickets per month and have for a couple years now. She still stays plump, but fasts a whole lot less. For the first 13+ years I had her I fed like most do, that is, way too much and way too often. She regularly fasted for 6 months to a year and almost never ate during winter.

Look at it this way, an adult female may only molt every 2-5 years (mine's always been on a 4-5 year cycle), so basically you have 2-5 years to fatten the t up...there's no hurry.....these aren't mammals, they don't need food that often and it would be tough to starve one to death, you'd almost have to try.

Your chromatus is the polar opposite...very fast growers, rare fasters, and when young and a much higher need for food (as adults this isn't quite as stark, as they can easily become spectacularly obese)....I'd feed a chromatus sling about twice a week, although once a week would be plenty to be honest. I feed my adults once a week to once every 2 weeks depending on the size of the previous meal and where the t is in its molt cycle.

Wax worms are very fatty and are a bigger meal than they may appear...my porteri is the only t I own that refuses them.

It doesn't matter what you are feeding really, it only matters if the t is picky and shows a preference for a certain prey item.
 

Andrea82

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My MM P.cambridgei also doesn't like superworms. He will pounce on it, but as soon as the worm starts wriggling fast, he'll let go and rear up in threatposture and backs away. I must say they wriggle quite violently when picked up, even without their heads.
He takes locusts well when he is hungry, which is once a month or so :p
The not-starving-thing takes some getting used to, since most people are accustomed to mammal pets, who require food for their speedy metabolism. Tarantula have veeeeery slow metabolism overall, some even as slings. (Looking at you E.sp.Red!)
 

Estein

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Rose hairs are known to be one of the pickier eaters. My porteri won't touch worms of any kind. Its not afraid, just not interested in eating it. They are also one of the ts that fast the most frequently and for insane lengths of time...like a year plus is almost common.
My porteri evidently hasn't gotten this memo--she has never refused food unless in premolt. I'm just waiting for the day she starts her first big fast and throws my whole understanding of her personality out of whack.
 

Trenor

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I think how hungry the T is affects how 'picky an eater' it is. I often over feed my Ts and that makes them less likely to quickly pounce on new food items the next week.

I started out with feeding slings dubia roaches the same size I would offer if I were feeding crickets. Dubias are denser in food stuff per size IMO. People were feeding crickets every week and getting a good jump from their T and that seemed the norm. I was feeding dubias the same cricket size to my Ts and they were slow to take them the next week. If I waited two weeks I got a good feeding responses. Then I down sized the dubias I was feeding to a size or two down and get good responses every week.

I think we expect them to eat on a schedule just like a dog or cat or some other pet and that's not how it works. They eat a lot when food is plenty till they have enough stored up. Then they will bypass food till they need to eat again. With us offering food a lot more regularly than they would have it in the wild they hit more periods where they are just not in need of food. Then we attribute it to them being picky.

I have noted that some of my slings who have only ate roaches without legs act a little freaked out/cautious when pouncing on ones with the kicking legs. So some of the odd behavior could be how the food is acting.
 
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Jeff23

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With me using crickets as my standard feeder, none of my T's have been willing to eat the Super Worms I bought. I would like to try some Meal Worms at some point.
 

cold blood

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My porteri evidently hasn't gotten this memo--she has never refused food unless in premolt.
The memo?:rofl: Its a generalization, not a hard and fast rule...just like there are calm OBTs or angry G. pulchras.

What's your feeding schedule? If you feed at a very slow pace, like trenor mentioned, you will get that better feeding response much more regularly. The people that see the most frequent fasts generally are "binge" feeders, feeding a lot when the t is "on".

How long have you had it? I see a lot of people say this, then I find they've only had it for 5 months...lol....Once you have 2 molts (gone through the entire cycle), chances are you will have seen this....I mean, if you got it and it had just molted recently, its not gonna fast for a pretty long time...then one day it will...lol.

I think how hungry the T is affects how 'picky an eater' it is. I often over feed my Ts and that makes them less likely to quickly pounce on new food items the next week.

I started out with feeding slings dubia roaches the same size I would offer if I were feeding crickets. dubias are denser in food stuff per size IMO. People were feeding crickets every week and getting a good jump from their T and that seemed the norm. I was feeding dubias the same cricket size to my Ts and they were slow to take them the next week. If I waited two weeks I got a good feeding responses. Then I down sized the dubias I was feeding to a size or two down and get good responses every week.

I think we expect them to eat on a schedule just like a dog or cat or some other pet and that's not how it works. They eat a lot when it's plenty till they have enough stored up. Then they will bypass food till they need to eat again. With us offering food a lot more regularly than they would have it in the wild they hit more periods where they are just not in need of food. Then we attribute it to them being picky.

I have noted that some of my slings who have only ate roaches without legs act a little freaked out/cautious when pouncing on ones with the kicking legs. So some of the odd behavior could be how the food is acting.
Agree completely. This is why I always try to explain that the larger the food item, the longer you can/should wait till the next feeding. When I feed larger dubia roaches, I almost always wait an extra week to feed. Dubia do seem to offer bigger meals, odd though, cause they also leave the largest bolus I've seen.
With me using crickets as my standard feeder, none of my T's have been willing to eat the Super Worms I bought. I would like to try some Meal Worms at some point.
For picky terrestrials I find you often get a better response if you hold the wiggling prey just above the t for a little bit (how long depends on the t, but maybe 10-20 seconds), then drop it right into the strike zone from a short distance. If they sense the prey before it drops, they're less prone to be spooked by its sudden appearance and more prone to react in a predatory manner.
 

Chris LXXIX

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After all of those years of experience with T's (started in '92) I can say without further doubts, that no hungry T's will refuse a cricket. They are by far always the best prey to offer, IMO. Sort of T's genuine "steroids" :)

I also breed B.dubia and I have noticed in those years that obligate burrowers and NW bulky T's really love those, but a bit less arboreals (I've saw 'Pookies' choosy with those, but anyway, depends).

As far as "worms" are concerned, is a rare event when I offer one of those to mines. I don't like them that much, at all.
 

Estein

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The memo?:rofl: Its a generalization, not a hard and fast rule...just like there are calm OBTs or angry G. pulchras.

What's your feeding schedule? If you feed at a very slow pace, like trenor mentioned, you will get that better feeding response much more regularly. The people that see the most frequent fasts generally are "binge" feeders, feeding a lot when the t is "on".

How long have you had it? I see a lot of people say this, then I find they've only had it for 5 months...lol....Once you have 2 molts (gone through the entire cycle), chances are you will have seen this....I mean, if you got it and it had just molted recently, its not gonna fast for a pretty long time...then one day it will...lol
Heh, that was my attempt at a joke but I guess it fell flat. :embarrassed: But since you ask...

I've had her for a little over two years and she has molted twice in my care. The first time she molted with me, I'd had her for about 14mo. The second molt was just 8mo after that, which surprised me because she's fairly well grown (5" now). She gets 1-2 mealworms a week. She could definitely go without for a looong while, but as long as she keeps up her appetite I haven't seen a reason to change her schedule--she's a little chubby but, IMO, not overly so (her abdomen isn't much larger than her carapace). I'd love to hear any thoughts you have though.
 

Storm76

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Normal. I've had an A. avic that used to bite them and throw them away. Naturally, when I offered roaches she was all over them!
 

Misty Day

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My P.cambridgei hates crickets. She'll bite them and throw them away straight after. (Here's a video of her doing so)
)

Some T's just prefer some prey items over others.
 
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Jeff23

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My P.cambridgei hates crickets. She'll bite them and throw them away straight after. (Here's a video of her doing so
)

Some T's just prefer some prey items over others.
Nice looking Psalm. Mine are small slings. I can't wait until they get bigger like that.

What type of prey does yours prefer?
 

Misty Day

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Nice looking Psalm. Mine are small slings. I can't wait until they get bigger like that.

What type of prey does yours prefer?
Thanks! The girl in the video prefers any type of worm, mealworm, superworm, hornworm, but whenever it comes to roaches or crickets she'll just do exactly as she does in the video. My P.cam sling will eat anything that moves so at least that's a plus.
 
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