Are roaches better than crickets

[Jacobospider5]

So a while back i had some dubias but my ts werent into them as much. Are there some roaches ts prefer better and are roaches better than crickets for all ts? Thanks

 

[lunarae]

Roaches are better nutrition wise for T's and they are a lot easier to breed. If your's wont go for Dubia's I know that the other option people choose is Lats but some will crush the heads of the dubia so that they will flail enough to catch the T's attention, usually it's their playing dead that can make them difficult for a T to go for. Least from what I hear. I'm working on raising Dubias myself, I haven't had the opportunity to try and feed any to my T's yet.

 

[Jacobospider5]

Thanks are Lats easy to care for?

 

[lunarae]

Far as I know they have the same care as dubia. Though I think they can climb so you want to adjust for that. You can usually just do a vasoline barrier around the top rim or some people I think use that really slick packing tape around the top and they're not able to get a grip on that I think either. I think the packing tape is the one that works the best but I don't have personal experience so I'd double check that. Youtube them and I'm sure there will be plenty of care videos out there.

 

[Trenor]

I crush the roach heads and leave them in over night. My Ts love the dubias but I have heard of some who didn't. To be fair though dubias are all mine have ever known. I've used the b. lats once for really tiny Ts but didn't like them. They were really easy to care for but it was easier for me to work with dubias.

 

[Sana]

A diet of only one type of prey may not be healthier for tarantulas. A variety seems to work better so if your tarantulas eat both, use both

 

[scorpanok]

In my opinion roaches are better but I give my t's a variety.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Well, the roaches THINK they are so much better. Bunch of snobs, really.

 

[Poec54]

Every tarantula I've owned loves crickets. Some will not eat roaches. Crickets are cheaper and much more easily available, one of the reasons for their popularity.

 

[gizmosdeath]

I have B. Lats and Discoids and both seem to do really well as food for my T's and they are both extremely easy to care for. Neither can climb smooth plastic surfaces so you don't have to worry about that but the male Lats can kinda fly. It's more of a flutter and fall and only when they get really worked up. In three years of having them I have never had one "fly" out of it's bin. I personally hate crickets, they smell worse and are noisy in my opinion. You also have to worry about them attacking a T if you forget to pull an uneaten cricket out. B. Lats are great if your breeding T's as their nymphs are small enough to feed to most second instar slings and the adults get big enough to feed to adult T's. My GBB is an extremely finicky eater and she usually won't go for Discoids but she will eat Lats all day long. Hope this helps.

 

[shawno821]

Crickets smell,Dubias don't.
Dubias can't climb,crickets can.
Crickets are noisy,Dubias are silent.
Crickets are harder to breed than Dubias.
Crickets eat molting tarantulas,Dubias don't.
Some of mine didn't eat cockroaches at first,but they all do now.

 

[EulersK]

Every tarantula I've owned loves crickets. Some will not eat roaches. Crickets are cheaper and much more easily available, one of the reasons for their popularity.

I completely agree, but the benefits of roaches certainly outweigh that one downside. Not to mention, spiders that are raised with nothing but roaches have no trouble at all eating them. I've had a few spiders that refused the roaches at first, but a few months without eating eventually triggered a feeding response. If you can get them to eat a roach once, they're hooked for life! When I first get my MF B. emilia, I thought she was just fasting. Fast forward almost a year, and she finally took down a roach. Now she eats one every month. Turns out she just really didn't want a roach, but an animal will not starve itself.

So far my only exception is an A. avicularia that flat out refuses roaches... although, it's refusing crickets as well, so there's that.

 

[ArachnaeEsoterica]

I completely agree, but the benefits of roaches certainly outweigh that one downside. Not to mention, spiders that are raised with nothing but roaches have no trouble at all eating them. I've had a few spiders that refused the roaches at first, but a few months without eating eventually triggered a feeding response. If you can get them to eat a roach once, they're hooked for life! When I first get my MF B. emilia, I thought she was just fasting. Fast forward almost a year, and she finally took down a roach. Now she eats one every month. Turns out she just really didn't want a roach, but an animal will not starve itself.

So far my only exception is an A. avicularia that flat out refuses roaches... although, it's refusing crickets as well, so there's that.

Do they make slings grow faster?

 

[8Legs8Eyes]

I like the roaches, but I also like giving variety - I feed roaches, crickets, super worms, and wax worms. Also for some of my species, the crickets just work out really well because they are often on the move and can climb. Just depends on the size and species I am feeding what feeder I want to use.

 

[Tenevanica]

I use roaches, but I use Nauphoeta cinerea. Lobster roaches. They are about the same as Blatta lateralis (lats) but they breed faster.

 

[Poec54]

Dubias can't climb,crickets can.

Climb??? Smooth surfaces?

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Tell to 'Pokies'. They will take anytime a cricket rather than a roach. I use both, but 90% crickets. Crickets are the best food for T's.

Had seen a lot of P.metallica refuse a dubia. Never saw one refuse a cricket (P.metallica - blue T's rapture breeders i know here, because i don't want those shy Indians near me... 'Psalmos' for life)

 

[Pociemon]

I use dubia as main feeders and i am self sustainable. So that is a good and cheap solution. I feed them live and by adults i have allways dubia in there with them pretty much at all times. I use many different kinds of other feeders as a supplement for dubia. I believe strongly in a varied diet is best for the T´s.

 

[Jacobospider5]

How would you keep lats?

 

[gottarantulas]

Big picture: roaches are better nutritionally, given their better protein ratio and the fact that when you gut load them versus gut loading crickets, the contents of what they consumed remain in their gut longer, I believe it's 48 hours versus 24 hours. When I do order crickets (200 to 500 at a time), a good number seem to die off everyday. and with that die off comes odor, etc. When I order roaches, I don't have that problem. Whatever roaches I keep at a given point and time, whether they be lats,lobs ter or hissers...I keep them the same, slats of egg crate in a plastic tote, with a dish for roach chow or crushed dry cat food (a brand with the least amount of calcium) and one for fresh fruits/vegetables, because what your feeders eat, your T's eat.