Feeder size vs Tarantula size

Icculus

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Oct 19, 2016
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82
That makes two of us lol I am going to be pushing my space limits just getting a MF on top of everything else. Giving them away would definitely be better, kind of. I have to admit, I much prefer the round number of 8 tarantulas to 7 :D
8 is definitely better than 7. I thought the orange tree spider he has was pretty cool. Don't know the scientific name off the top of my head or the husbandry but I thought it was a female??? Not positive though
 

darkness975

Latrodectus
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You are one of many that have said the carapace rule, what is the reasoning behind that method? Not disputing it being valid, just trying to learn more. Funny you mention your tarantulas being large in the abdomen, only one of mine seems that way currently and that is hard to tell because it is so small to begin with. About two weeks ago the 3 G. pulchripes all looked a tiny bit on the plump side but now that they have molted, even the two that have eaten since still don't look too large. 4 molts in 10 days or so will do that I suppose
Most of my collection are adults and sub adults. If I fed them the same way a sling should be fed they'd burst.

A larger feeder is harder to overpower, which creates a greater risk of accidental injury to the spider.

Also, larger meals will throw them into a fast.
 

user 666

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Messages
355
I keep the prey size smaller than the Tarantula's abdomen, the solution to your surplus MM dubia problem would be to purchase a 6"+ ravenous murder tank.
Indeed.

I have a curly hair that meets that description. It can kill its own weight in adult dubias each week.

The best part is that Houdini likes to put on a show. It always grabs the dubias so they are facing out.

I get to watch their little legs wiggle as they are eaten alive.
 

CWilson1351

Arachnobaron
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Jan 23, 2017
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454
8 is definitely better than 7. I thought the orange tree spider he has was pretty cool. Don't know the scientific name off the top of my head or the husbandry but I thought it was a female??? Not positive though
The T. gigas? Yeah they seem pretty interesting, though I have to admit, I have not done any research beyond looking at a few photos of them. I am pretty sure the gigas does get the biggest of that genus. His is only around 1.5in right now sadly. He also has a Pamphobeteus vespertinus 4" female for $120 Not sure if that is a good price or not. No matter where I get one from, I think I am going to be spending a lot of time digging through posts here about a few different species for the next week or longer.
 

CWilson1351

Arachnobaron
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Jan 23, 2017
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Most of my collection are adults and sub adults. If I fed them the same way a sling should be fed they'd burst.

A larger feeder is harder to overpower, which creates a greater risk of accidental injury to the spider.

Also, larger meals will throw them into a fast.
Well, you confirmed that me not feeding the Pokie again last night was a good thing, so thank you! All the others got fed since it had been about a week. None of them are even close in size to her/him however. I am probably going to try offering another MM dubia next friday. As for the overpowering, I have been keeping close tabs on the sizes of prey I offer with all of them. I know they are completely different, but that is something that keeping reptiles taught me very well. The only juvie/sling that gets even large crickets is my P. sazimai. Avic gets small (barely above pinhead) while the GBB and G. pulchripes trio gets medium. It makes sense that a large meal would send something that moves so little into a fasting state.
 

Icculus

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Oct 19, 2016
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The T. gigas? Yeah they seem pretty interesting, though I have to admit, I have not done any research beyond looking at a few photos of them. I am pretty sure the gigas does get the biggest of that genus. His is only around 1.5in right now sadly. He also has a Pamphobeteus vespertinus 4" female for $120 Not sure if that is a good price or not. No matter where I get one from, I think I am going to be spending a lot of time digging through posts here about a few different species for the next week or longer.
 

Icculus

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Sorry. My 3 year old hijacked my phone. He did have an adult t gigas last time i was there, must have sold it. The p vamp would be a nice number 8. I feel bad when i have to prekill my crickets so im not trying to sound mean but couldn't you just kill off the extra males somehow?
 

CWilson1351

Arachnobaron
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Jan 23, 2017
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454
Sorry. My 3 year old hijacked my phone. He did have an adult t gigas last time i was there, must have sold it. The p vamp would be a nice number 8. I feel bad when i have to prekill my crickets so im not trying to sound mean but couldn't you just kill off the extra males somehow?
No worries, I know how that goes when kids get the phone. I think I recall seeing the cage for the T. gigas one of my recent trips. I was only going by the website listing. I think the biggest hurdle I have in getting a MF of any species will be whether or not I can find a lot of info and if it is a species I feel ready for and have an interest in. I'm too picky... Hence why my genius self got a P. fasciata sling as only my 2nd T. :banghead:
Luckily it has gone very well thus far. I just don't want to push my luck further and bite on the 6-7" MF P. fasciata there.
I am very much the same about pre-killing feeders, I am going to catch up with an acquaintance who also keeps tarantulas on Monday. I may just bring him a container full of dubias and get it done that way. If it doesn't work out that way, or I'm not able to get that 6" murderous tank of a spider by July, I may just have to crush and flush some :(
 

Icculus

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Oct 19, 2016
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82
No worries, I know how that goes when kids get the phone. I think I recall seeing the cage for the T. gigas one of my recent trips. I was only going by the website listing. I think the biggest hurdle I have in getting a MF of any species will be whether or not I can find a lot of info and if it is a species I feel ready for and have an interest in. I'm too picky... Hence why my genius self got a P. fasciata sling as only my 2nd T. :banghead:
Luckily it has gone very well thus far. I just don't want to push my luck further and bite on the 6-7" MF P. fasciata there.
I am very much the same about pre-killing feeders, I am going to catch up with an acquaintance who also keeps tarantulas on Monday. I may just bring him a container full of dubias and get it done that way. If it doesn't work out that way, or I'm not able to get that 6" murderous tank of a spider by July, I may just have to crush and flush some :(

I just had a thought. Not sure how long they live so this may not be feasable. Maybe you could give the excess males their own container to live out their lives
 

Trenor

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Jan 28, 2016
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I'd need more than one murder tank to even get close to knocking back the amount of male dubias my colony puts out. I only feed my breaded dragon (and some of my larger Ts) male dubias and even with that I have to clean the extras out about every two months. My friend's chickens love them and I get free fresh eggs. If you have a decent sized colony it'll out pace any amount of Ts you might have.
 

Andrea82

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Jan 12, 2016
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The T. gigas? Yeah they seem pretty interesting, though I have to admit, I have not done any research beyond looking at a few photos of them. I am pretty sure the gigas does get the biggest of that genus. His is only around 1.5in right now sadly. He also has a Pamphobeteus vespertinus 4" female for $120 Not sure if that is a good price or not. No matter where I get one from, I think I am going to be spending a lot of time digging through posts here about a few different species for the next week or longer.
About T.gigas (have no new input on feeding size which hasn't already been mentioned).
Genus Tapinauchenius is the fastest genus of Theraphosidae there is. It can outrun your pokie :p
Luckily, their venom, though slightly stronger than Brachypelma, is not very potent, being less potent than say, Psalmopoeus. Temperament varies between individuals of course, but overall this genus chooses te run instead of fight, and isn't very defensive. Except for the T.gigas.
They are, imo, stunningly beautiful spiders with their velvet bodies and fluffy legs. Very underrated.
T.gigas looks good, but I also like my T.violaceus who has a velvet purple colour. She's fast, yes, but is very worth it. Just expect them to run every time you open the enclosure, never open it completely and keep catch cups ready just in case. I keep her in a front opening enclosure so she doesn't automatically zip out when startled. They like a bit more humidity I have noticed, so I spray down her enclosure when she's in her burrow every couple of weeks, adding water to the sub and I keep a large waterdish in there. She's out most of the time, usually at dusk until dawn, and often near her burrow during the day. Efficient hunter as well. I enjoy keeping her, and I don't keep Pokies (yet). :)
 

CWilson1351

Arachnobaron
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Jan 23, 2017
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454
About T.gigas (have no new input on feeding size which hasn't already been mentioned).
Genus Tapinauchenius is the fastest genus of Theraphosidae there is. It can outrun your pokie :p
Luckily, their venom, though slightly stronger than Brachypelma, is not very potent, being less potent than say, Psalmopoeus. Temperament varies between individuals of course, but overall this genus chooses te run instead of fight, and isn't very defensive. Except for the T.gigas.
They are, imo, stunningly beautiful spiders with their velvet bodies and fluffy legs. Very underrated.
T.gigas looks good, but I also like my T.violaceus who has a velvet purple colour. She's fast, yes, but is very worth it. Just expect them to run every time you open the enclosure, never open it completely and keep catch cups ready just in case. I keep her in a front opening enclosure so she doesn't automatically zip out when startled. They like a bit more humidity I have noticed, so I spray down her enclosure when she's in her burrow every couple of weeks, adding water to the sub and I keep a large waterdish in there. She's out most of the time, usually at dusk until dawn, and often near her burrow during the day. Efficient hunter as well. I enjoy keeping her, and I don't keep Pokies (yet). :)
:wideyed: So much info in there, thank you so much! Two part question about both gigas and violaceus, was I correct about the gigas being the largest of the genus and how big do both get?
 

Andrea82

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Gigas is the biggest, yes. I read that they can get to 6 inches legspan, but I have also read they get a little bigger. I don't keep this species so I don't know from experience. They don't get bulky, being arboreal and such. My T.violaceus is 12 or 13 cm, (5 inches or so) in legspan, I think she is close to adult.
Another member who's very much into Tappies is @CEC , he has more experience with them than I do :) so I think he'll be able to offer some in-depth info.
 

CWilson1351

Arachnobaron
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Jan 23, 2017
Messages
454
Gigas is the biggest, yes. I read that they can get to 6 inches legspan, but I have also read they get a little bigger. I don't keep this species so I don't know from experience. They don't get bulky, being arboreal and such. My T.violaceus is 12 or 13 cm, (5 inches or so) in legspan, I think she is close to adult.
Another member who's very much into Tappies is @CEC , he has more experience with them than I do :) so I think he'll be able to offer some in-depth info.
Nice! They really are very attractive. Not huge for an arboreal either. Well compared to some Poecilotheria at least. The speed part blows me away. I know my Pokie is quick, but I think my P. sazimai has it beat for now. Swear that little 2in maniac has turbo boosters on her legs :D
 
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