Do you raise or buy your feeders?

[RottweilExpress]

I have a stable Dubia colony, these are good feeders. Not every spider fancy hunting them, so sometimes you have to pinch heads and handfeed the spider (or almost). They doesn't smell, they doesn't make a lot of noice, and they doesn't attract any mites or parasites. I don't even hade a lid on the box, but I do get some escapees in form of adult males which can fly short distances. But I don't care much.

I also have a S. Tartara colony (lateralis in the states?). These little stinky buggers need a lid though, and that makes it harder to keep it clean and neat. They are the perfect feeder for any invert to hunt and kill. They all simply LOVE the tartara. They also climb around and doesn't hide or burrow, so they are perfect. Too bad they don't get too big though.

The big necessity for a succesful colony is HEAT. Keep a heatmat under half of the container and you're set.

No "£@$@ crickets mate.

 

[davegrimm1]

I sell feeders!

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=94335&highlight=davegrimm1

heres my post, I will be out of town till arachnocon is over on the 24th , but I can still answer emails while I am gone.

 

[Stylopidae]

Lobster roaches can climb, but usually don't burrow. They also have a tendancy to stay on whatever surface they were introduced on. Vaseline keeps them in line pretty easily.

Their nymphs are small enough for most slings.

Discoids can't climb but will usually burrow the second they hit dirt, so I only use them for terrestrials.

Pseudomops septrionalis don't dig and have temperment similar to lobsters except the adults can fly. I use them for thier nymphs, which are the size of fruit flies at the first instar. Unfortunately, these are just coming on the market and are somewhat hard to find and expensive when you do find them. Prices will eventually go down (give me some time), but in the meantime Shelfordella lateralis (S. tartara, B. lateralis...yet another name change but this one seems permanent) is a good substitute but is the most likely feeder species to infest your house.

If you keep these three, you will have roaches that will be able to feed just about anything.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Hey Cheshire are lobster nymphs smaller then Dubia? I have never kept lobsters but was considering getting a second feeder colony going I have to many mouths to feed!

 

[Stylopidae]

Hey Cheshire are lobster nymphs smaller then Dubia? I have never kept lobsters but was considering getting a second feeder colony going I have to many mouths to feed!

I think they're a bit smaller. Send me a PM when you get the chance.

 

[Drachenjager]

I've been buying the little buggers, but I've just made a cricket cage and thought I'd try my hand at rearing them, then moving on to some roaches as well. Also wondering what substrate to use for 'em. I've got the cage enameled and the inner bottom part is covered with a pond liner. Thanks for reading. Your posts would be appreciated.

to answer the title question YES lol
I am raising roaches, and i have some moist substrate in the cricket container so i can get some reproduction going , but i buy most of my crix and raise roaches which i bought as well. lol
no substrate for crix, use a tray with damp peat for breeding , leave for a few egg layings then put it in another container to hatch, repeat

 

[Danielson659]

I have a b. dubia colony they are really great, the only problem is that if your t doesn't hit them as soon as you give it to them, they are fairly quick to burrow. it is a lot of fun breeding them, ive gotten attached to my colony and almost feel bad feeding them...almost.

 

[ahas]

I raise fruitflies for my slings.

 

[syndicate]

i need to switch to roaches but currently im spending bout 10 bux a week on crix :/
also have cultures of fruitflys going for real small spiderlings.hopefully will make the switch to roaches sooner or later but im a lil skeptical with some species because i live in an aprtment building

 

[Feathers]

Well, I couldn't pass up the deal on these lobster roaches (fell right in my lap), and I'm pretty happy with the colony. They're easier to snatch than a cricket, don't stink and I haven't seen 'em on the sides either.

 

[ZooRex]

Man, all you guys with roach colonies are lucky! I got a few at a show once, brought them home, and hid them in the pet room. Long story short, my mom found out, and freaked. The woman who has allowed lizards, pythons, scorps, and T's had finally put her foot down, NO roaches. Well i understood and got rid of what was left, and promised not to get anymore.

Because of this, I buy my feeders. I go through 6-8 dozen crickets, 4 dozen supper worms a week. While I had my employee discount, feeders were no problem, now that I have to pay full price its getting kinda expensive. Yet now I'm just starting a colony of goliath horn worms so at least I won't have to mail order those. Shows are also really good places to stock up on feeders, I'll never for get the "1,000 superworms for $10" deal I once got. They lasted almost three months! ~ Rex

 

[Stylopidae]

The hornworms (probably manduca sexta larvae) are much harder and expensive to raise than superworms. There are instructions on how to raise roaches and superworms in the articles section.

 

[ZooRex]

The hornworms (probably manduca sexta larvae) are much harder and expensive to raise than superworms. There are instructions on how to raise roaches and superworms in the articles section.

Thanks Cheshire, but as I said above, I can't keep any roaches, much less a colony. And the hornworms are for my chameleon, not my Ts, he was really getting teird of the same old things (superworms) so I got 3 doz and hope to breed them. ~ Rex

 

[JMoran1097]

I buy my feeders every 2 weeks from my local petstore. I don't raise them because I just don't feel like it. it's part laziness, part hassle issue.