Feeding help quick!

[Rookie]

Okay, I decided to try and feed Peso, but I only have one cricket left. I thought it was a little big, but i tossed it in anyway. Peso's appetite is back because he tried to tackle it, but the crick got away. He's tried again since then with the same result. He's hungry, and done with the post-moult process, so Peso is the predator, but is he safe, or am i taking a risk?
Please answer quickly.
Thanks,
Paul

 

[Rookie]

He caught him but the cricket is struggling a lot. Should I kill it, or not interrupt the feeding. Help!!

 

[Code Monkey]

Once more, relax. Peso can easily get out of the cricket's reach unless the cricket is *much* larger than he is, and I'd still put my money on Peso. If it really worries you, crush the cricket's head. Peso will have no problem catching it and the cricket certainly won't be making any coordinated attacks. Or just skip right to the finish and split the bugger lengthwise and feed it to Peso.

 

[Rookie]

OKay, the feeding is going on, and the cricket keeps attempting to get free, and he's kicking with those hind legs alot. Peso still has it in his fangs, but the crick is taking a long time to go down. I'm tempted to open up, crush its head now, while Peso still has it, and put the lid back down. I'm really kinda panicking here, I don't want Peso to lose a leg (or worse) because of me.
Paul

 

[Nikos]

DOn't kill it since many predators in the wild like to play with their prey before eating it.

If your T doesn't kill it in max 3 hours then either he/she is not hungry or she cannot kill it.
THen remove it and replace it with a smallet cricket.
If you haven't got any other crickets then we got to plan B.

Either go and buy some new OR
take a small piece of meat (at the size of your T usual cricket diners) and tie it on a piece of yarn, then move it a little bit in front of your T and the rest is the usual story......

Meat can be a life saviour if you ever run out of feeder insects.
I tries it a few times out of curriosity and is working very nice and my b.vagans seems to like it.

Good luck.

 

[Code Monkey]

@vardoulas: some misleading advice there.
Tarantulas don't "like" anything in the way you imply. You've got to have a much more sophisticated concept of the world before "food=good" can become "food that kicks=fun, food that doesn't kick=not so much fun".

Further, there is no need to tease them into eating dead prey. Ts will readily eat dead prey they come across. My standard after-moult treat is a thawed pinky. All you have to do is set the dead meat, cricket, etc. where the T will come across it. If they're hungry - particularly slings, which Peso is - they'll eat it without missing a beat.

@Paul, don't worry. If Peso has the cricket, Peso will get the cricket subdued. If it does gets away, yank its damn legs off so it can't get away the next time Peso nabs it. Don't try doing anything so rash as trying to crush the cricket while Peso has it. At best, you'll scare Peso away from the Prey, at worst, you'll injure Peso. It is very unlikely that a sling gets injured tackling prey, and losing a limb for sling is like you cracking a nail. I've got a 6 legged tigerrump sling (got it that way) that has no problems taking down prey larger than it is. It's a second instar and will probably be good as new on the next moult in a few weeks. Stop obsessing, you'll be dead before Peso

 

[galeogirl]

You could always try keep a supply of chopped beef heart in your freezer for those times when you don't have a feeder that's the right size for Peso. All of my slings and some of my adults will readily take meat when it's offered.

 

[AlbinoDragon829]

Dude, it's just one cricket... chill.

 

[Rookie]

Haha, thanks everyone,
I must admit I overreacted quite a bit this morning. It was just the first instance I had ever witnessed of a cricket almost fighting back. I'm just not used to watching nature unfold right below my nose, which, aside from the fact that 'nature' takes place in a deli cup, and i supply the food, is exactly what I am watching, IMHO. Just a little shocking, that's all. The cricket struggled because it didn't want to die, and it did die because of a little thing called the food chain. After reading some of your responses I looked up 'predator' and 'prey' in the dictionary, had a shot of tequilla (to relax) and calmed down. Now as I glance over, I can see that Peso is hunched over his meal.
Next time, I'll feed him something smaller, first of all, and I'll relax second of all.
Lastly, I appreciate everyone's suggestions for avoiding this catastrophe, but I had read them all before. I was panicking just because I wasn't sure if I should kill the cricket, or let Peso finish the job, which CM cleared up quite well (as usual).
Thanks again everyone,
Paul

 

[Alonso99]

I cant imagine once Peso is grown up and you try a pinkie, the attack of the killer pinkie