Beginner feeding question

[Danekius]

Hey, guys so I am very new to this hobby I literally bought my first tarantula about 20 minutes ago. Don't worry though I have done a lot of research and I am very serious about keeping my little friend alive and "happy". So the tarantula that I ordered is a 1/4" Brachypelma Albopilsosum, it was the cheapest one I could find because I am a broke college student. Anyways I was wondering what size B. Lateralis should I get for feeding my tarantula?
and if you guys don't mind giving me some good tips on keeping B. Lateralis because I could not really find any good sources for it.

Thank you guys for the help and I am looking forward to being part of this community.

 

[Venomgland]

I'm not familiar with B. lateralis, but if they are anything like dubai roaches. Find the smallest ones you can and crush there heads before feeding them to the tarantula. Tarantulas will find them and do there thing from there. Hopefully more people will chime in that are more familiar with B lateralis.

 

[Danekius]

I'm not familiar with B. lateralis, but if they are anything like dubai roaches. Find the smallest ones you can and crush there heads before feeding them to the tarantula. Tarantulas will find them and do there thing from there. Hopefully more people will chime in that are more familiar with B lateralis.

Thank you for the advice I will start by doing that hopefully, it'll be interested in it enough to eat it

 

[Arachnophoric]

Honestly, for a sling so small, I'd recommend just using mealworms if you have access to them. You can usually buy small 100-count tins at a pet shop, and they're slow, don't smell, and are long lived. You can keep the tin in a fridge and literally be set for many, many months on food for your sling, and dice the mealworms up into the appropriate size as needed. The "rule of thumb" on prey items for smaller Ts is that you generally don't want to feed them anything larger than their own body size, though with prekilled/chopped up prey it's less of a concern since it's likely to not be moving and won't harm/scare your T. Slings will readily scavenge and feed on already dead prey items without issue.

 

[Danekius]

Honestly, for a sling so small, I'd recommend just using mealworms if you have access to them. You can usually buy small 100-count tins at a pet shop, and they're slow, don't smell, and are long lived. You can keep the tin in a fridge and literally be set for many, many months on food for your sling, and dice the mealworms up into the appropriate size as needed. The "rule of thumb" on prey items for smaller Ts is that you generally don't want to feed them anything larger than their own body size, though with prekilled/chopped up prey it's less of a concern since it's likely to not be moving and won't harm/scare your T. Slings will readily scavenge and feed on already dead prey items without issue.

I was thinking about using mealworms at first but I wasn't sure if I should stick to those or to just start off with B. Lateralis but alright I'll look into the mealworms. Thank you for the help!!!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

So the tarantula that I ordered is a 1/4" Brachypelma Albopilsosum, it was the cheapest one I could find because I am a broke college student.

They're the best readily available beginner species you can get anyway.

Also, Brachypelma albopilosum. Genus name is capitalised, species name is all lower case

Anyways I was wondering what size B. Lateralis should I get for feeding my tarantula?

Pinheads - small nymphs.

Tbh, I'd just get mini mealworms and keep them in the fridge, they'll take much longer to outgrow your sling and they'll last for months.

and if you guys don't mind giving me some good tips on keeping B. Lateralis because I could not really find any good sources for it.

Keep them in a tall, well-ventilated smooth plastic container, provide egg crates to hide in. I feed mine a mix of unmedicated chick feed and fish food, and water crystals for hydration.

 

[Danekius]

They're the best readily available beginner species you can get anyway.

Also, Brachypelma albopilosum. Genus name is capitalised, species name is all lower case



Pinheads - small nymphs.

Tbh, I'd just get mini mealworms and keep them in the fridge, they'll take much longer to outgrow your sling and they'll last for months.



Keep them in a tall, well-ventilated smooth plastic container, provide egg crates to hide in. I feed mine a mix of unmedicated chick feed and fish food, and water crystals for hydration.

Sorry for all of the grammar mistakes again I'm very new to this and also do you have a specific brand that you use cause I've been searching for about 2 hours and I can't really find a good deal. I tried looking at the Rainbow Mealworms but I'm afraid that if the weather is too high that some if not all may die before they get here.

 

[Kitara]

I would just find a local pet shop or reptile shop. Shipping isn't worth it for feeders. Otherwise, brand makes no difference I dont think. I do order my feeders online because I feed b. lats and they are not sold around here. Mealworms I can find easily . My smallest sling is a little over 1/2" and she takes live. 1/4" is teeeeeny tiny. That will be fun. I have never even seen one that small. Congrats.

 

[Danekius]

I would just find a local pet shop or reptile shop. Shipping isn't worth it for feeders. Otherwise, brand makes no difference I dont think. I do order my feeders online because I feed b. lats and they are not sold around here. Mealworms I can find easily . My smallest sling is a little over 1/2" and she takes live. 1/4" is teeeeeny tiny. That will be fun. I have never even seen one that small. Congrats.

Thank you for the info I'll try to head over maybe today to get the some of them just in case the spider arrives a bit early.

 

[Arachnophoric]

I would just find a local pet shop or reptile shop. Shipping isn't worth it for feeders. Otherwise, brand makes no difference I dont think. I do order my feeders online because I feed b. lats and they are not sold around here. Mealworms I can find easily . My smallest sling is a little over 1/2" and she takes live. 1/4" is teeeeeny tiny. That will be fun. I have never even seen one that small. Congrats.

Shipping can absolutely be worth it for larger collections or people who also keep reptiles/other exotics who eat larger quantities of the same feeders (such as myself). But yeah, definitely not worth it for one sling.

 

[Kitara]

Thank you for the info I'll try to head over maybe today to get the some of them just in case the spider arrives a bit early.

It will probalble not eat for a couple days after arriving anyway so you are good.

You asked how to keep b. lats so here's a picture of mine. The pinheads are in that one and the bigger ones are in the other one. They are not as easy as mealworms, but way better than crickets. I just feed them once a week and they eat overpriced processed food, like me.

 

[Kitara]

Shipping can absolutely be worth it for larger collections or people who also keep reptiles/other exotics who eat larger quantities of the same feeders (such as myself). But yeah, definitely not worth it for one sling.

Yeah I kinda laughed at myself because I said shipping isn't worth it and then in the very next sentence I said the I DO order mine online LOL. I did mean shipping not worth it for one cup of mealworms because they are (usually) so easy to find locally. I cant get b. lateralis locally so I have to order them.

 

[Danekius]

It will probalble not eat for a couple days after arriving anyway so you are good.

You asked how to keep b. lats so here's a picture of mine. The pinheads are in that one and the bigger ones are in the other one. They are not as easy as mealworms, but way better than crickets. I just feed them once a week and they eat overpriced processed food, like me. View attachment 317956 View attachment 317957

Thats a perfect setup for me for as I said I'm broke college student that lives in a dorm so the less space that the container takes up the better thank you for showing me a good example

 

[Kitara]

the less space that the container takes up the better

For you, mealworms will take up even less space. They come in a very small cup with like oatbran or something and they just live in that. I can't bring myself to chop them up so that's why I dont use them. I tried, but couldn't crush the heads for my bigger T so I just got rid of them and now only use b. lats. I dont have any slings as small as yours though. If I can get over my revulsion, I will get a Cyriocosmus elegans. I'm not there yet lol.

 

[Danekius]

For you, mealworms will take up even less space. They come in a very small cup with like oatbran or something and they just live in that. I can't bring myself to chop them up so that's why I dont use them. I tried, but couldn't crush the heads for my bigger T so I just got rid of them and now only use b. lats. I dont have any slings as small as yours though. If I can get over my revulsion, I will get a Cyriocosmus elegans. I'm not there yet lol.

Hahaha its ok I'm sure I'll struggle with it for a while

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

I was thinking about using mealworms at first but I wasn't sure if I should stick to those or to just start off with B. Lateralis but alright I'll look into the mealworms. Thank you for the help!!!

For 1/4" sling a mealworm is too big. You need to feed it stuff that is at least a little smaller than the sling, and you can try crushing the feeder's head before dropping it in if it doesn't eat the live.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

For 1/4" sling a mealworm is too big. You need to feed it stuff that is at least a little smaller than the sling, and you can try crushing the feeder's head before dropping it in if it doesn't eat the live.

A half mealworm would definitely suffice, though.

 

[viper69]

I have done a lot of research

Good, your pet's life depends upon it.

the Rainbow Mealworms

Used them for years in the MidWest, never an issue, even during 100F.