Can a tarantulas diet consist of anything else than cockroaches and crickets?

[Kapcivrt]

I'm curious cuz I do not want cockroaches anywhere near my house and I kinda don't want to feed tarantulas any crickets either because they're more like animals to me rather than insects, but I still rather use crickets as food than cockroaches. I heard tarantulas can eat mealworms but not really as a diet. More like a "treat" once in a while.

Sorry for asking stupid questions like that but I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Wolfram1]

honestly it doesn't really matter

if you want to feed them mealworms that is fine, where have you read that you cant do so?

mealworms are a bad staple diet for some reptiles because the exosceleton is too tough and it can cause gut problems, spiders only feed on the soft tissue, the exoskeleton becomes a bolus, which are leftovers that are not consumed...

 

[darkness975]

Meal worms

 

[IvanOoze]

I have fed all of my Tarantulas and scorpions solely on meal worms and super worms their entire lives. Less noise than crickets and easier to grab when it comes to feeding time (plus they only take up a tiny amount of space, even if you're breeding them)
Touch wood i have never had any problems and they will take them every time (Except when it time to go into pre-molt)
They don't really have a smell either unless there is dead left.
Meal worms/super worms are a Win/Win for me.

 

[viper69]

I'm curious cuz I do not want cockroaches anywhere near my house and I kinda don't want to feed tarantulas any crickets either because they're more like animals to me rather than insects, but I still rather use crickets as food than cockroaches. I heard tarantulas can eat mealworms but not really as a diet. More like a "treat" once in a while.

Sorry for asking stupid questions like that but I'm genuinely curious.

I’ve only used crix 99.999999

 

[spideyspinneret78]

Of course. There are several different types of feeders you can use. Superworms, crickets mealworms, hornworms, locusts, even nightcrawlers ( sourced appropriately) for larger terrestrial and fossorial spiders.

 

[Kapcivrt]

Oh thank you all for the replies! I've been holding off on buying my first tarantula for such a long time just because I heard that "only mealworm" diet is not a good diet for a T, now it turns out I could get myself a tarantula all this time... I already have all the equipment i need but not the food and T itself

 

[Wolfram1]

it doesnt hurt to give them a variety of feeders or even just to feed the mealworms themselves a more varied diet, but yes you were essentially waiting for nothing xd

happy keeping in the future

 

[BoyFromLA]

I heard tarantulas can eat mealworms but not really as a diet. More like a "treat" once in a while.

Whoever you heard it from, you can just go ahead and disregard that wrong information.

But of course, for larger size tarantulas, you will need way larger feeder insects than mealworms.

 

[Kapcivrt]

But of course, for larger size tarantulas, you will need way larger feeder insects than mealworms.

I'm planning on buying a dwarf T so that's why I thought that mealworm diet should be good enough (hopefully)

I don't really have much room for a larger tarantula yet

 

[fq314]

I'm planning on buying a dwarf T so that's why I thought that mealworm diet should be good enough (hopefully)

I don't really have much room for a larger tarantula yet

Large mealworms would work just fine for a dwarf t. Just make sure the mealworms are well fed and hydrated.

 

[Kapcivrt]

Large mealworms would work just fine for a dwarf t. Just make sure the mealworms are well fed and hydrated.

Are juicy fruits good enough to hydrate mealworms or do I have to give them a water dish or something along those lines as well?

 

[fq314]

Are juicy fruits good enough to hydrate mealworms or do I have to give them a water dish or something along those lines as well?

I just give mine sliced potatoes and they do fine with that. So yes, juicy fruits are good enough

 

[Kapcivrt]

I just give mine sliced potatoes and they do fine with that. So yes, juicy fruits are good enough

Noted
Thank you!

 

[Wolfram1]

as they are darkling beatle larvae they would mostly feed on starchy tubers in the ground

i would reccomend a diet on dry oats and some small pieces of carrot, potato or sweet potato or other vegetables on occasion

they will probably also enjoy pieces of mango or avocado seeds, i know my Zophobas morio (superworms) do.
don't cut yourself if you chop these up.

i'd stay away from too much "wet" feed, like apples or other fruits, though they do feed on them

 

[Kapcivrt]

as they are darkling beatle larvae they would mostly feed on starchy tubers in the ground

i would reccomend a diet on dry oats and some small pieces of carrot, potato or sweet potato or other vegetables on occasion

they will probably also enjoy pieces of mango or avocado seeds, i know my Zophobas morio (superworms) do.
don't cut yourself if you chop these up.

i'd stay away from too much "wet" feed, like apples or other fruits, though they do feed on them

Oof so fruits aren't good enough then
Thank you all for the tips

 

[fq314]

Oof so fruits aren't good enough then
Thank you all for the tips

It depends. Bananas are okay, but things like watermelon I would stay away from. And I just have oats as their bedding/food. So yeah, generally stick to veggies but some fruits are okay

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Of course. There are several different types of feeders you can use. Superworms, crickets mealworms, hornworms, locusts, even nightcrawlers ( sourced appropriately) for larger terrestrial and fossorial spiders.

Yep !! Perfect list although I’ve never got horn worms there expensive! And locusts only people in Europe get.

I'm curious cuz I do not want cockroaches anywhere near my house and I kinda don't want to feed tarantulas any crickets either because they're more like animals to me rather than insects, but I still rather use crickets as food than cockroaches. I heard tarantulas can eat mealworms but not really as a diet. More like a "treat" once in a while.

Sorry for asking stupid questions like that but I'm genuinely curious.

dubia roaches are a lot cleaner then you’d think . But for one t you don’t need a colony . Check out my various roach threads. Cricket are dirtier imo I’ve kept both Maybe just keep everything but roaches if they freak you out they can’t infest your house except pest species. Crickets are a good alternative except there better at escaping .

 

[MariaLewisia]

I think a lot of these myths about tarantula husbandry comes from the fact that people who are interested in invertebrates come directly from or at least trickle through the reptile keeping hobby/communities first before ending up with tarantulas. A lot of medical related stuff is particularly clear to me, as someone in exotic vet med. For example things like "only feeding mealworms is bad" and "crickets cause indigestion" which (to an extent) is true for say, keeping geckos, just sticks as fact for all exotic pets. Same goes for rigid temperature and humidity control, and the intense fear of mites. On the other hand, you can see other types of myths prevailing because some people come from keeping other invertebrates first. The "drowning in water" thing for example, which is true for a lot of insects but not tarantulas.

Anyway! A mealworm only diet is fine for tarantulas as far as I'm aware. Just make sure you gut load them and they should be plenty nutritious for a T. Oh and welcome to the hobby!

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

If this info helps in using crickets as feeders, although there is a debate on whether insects feel pain in some way or not, they do not feel pain in the way that we understand it. Out of the 8 traits counted for ability to "feel pain" in the nervous system, crickets only possess 3, while cockroaches have 6. (1)

(1) https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...-what-this-means-for-animal-welfare-laws.html

Do Insects Feel Pain? – Entomological Society of Canada

esc-sec.ca

Can insects feel pain? A review of the neural and behavioural evidence

The entomology literature has historically suggested insects cannot feel pain, leading to their exclusion from ethical debates and animal welfare legi…

www.sciencedirect.com