Feeding question from a T noob

[whovian89]

At 3" that "suspect female" G pulchripes is a dude.

That is what I was afraid of. I am a noob and know almost nothing about ventral sexing thing. I tried to pinch grab her (or him) to take a picture but she didn't seem to be in a good mood. So I didn't try it. This was the best pictures I could get at the moment.

 

[whovian89]

Here is a better picture

 

[boina]

Here is a better picture View attachment 250176

The first pic was a bit blurry but from the second I'd also suspect female

 

[whovian89]

The first pic was a bit blurry but from the second I'd also suspect female

I will have to wait till the next molt to be certain. The upper box lungs far apart enough to look like a female but again the furrow (or whatever it is called) looks too straight ...

 

[Rittdk01]

^^ looks female. I said I would suspect male because any seller with any experience can sex them at that size from their molt. Any I have purchased "unsexed" from this sites classifides at that size have turned out to be male.

 

[whovian89]

^^ looks female. I said I would suspect male because any seller with any experience can sex them at that size from their molt. Any I have purchased "unsexed" from this sites classifides at that size have turned out to be male.

I did not actually buy a "suspect female"... The dealer, a very well reputed local breeder, had told me it was an unsexed juvie. It was not on any classifieds. I just got in touch of him and gave him my whitelist and this was what he had. It was only when I met him in person to pick it up that he did an on the spot ventral sexing and suggested it looked like a female. I trust him. He does not give false info. I got my A. seemani from him as well... that was at the local reptile expo where he is very well-known. My B. hamorii is the only one I got through the AB classifieds.

Well, if my G. pulchripes turns out to be a male when it molts, I will have to think of a different name

 

[viper69]

I am a T noob, just got into the hobby after nursing my interest for years. It's been just about a month now. I have three (and I am not getting any more for now):

1. Lottie, female A. seemani, approx 6"
2. Rani, female B. hamorii, approx 5"
3. Ashildr, juvie G. pulchripes, suspect female, approx 3" (my first one)

I have only been feeding them large crickets. Lottie molted the very next day after I brought her home - almost two weeks ago, and I have not fed her yet. I got Rani on Wednesday and she took two large crickets today. And I feed large crickets to Ashildr too - once a week - and she also takes two at a time. I plan on feeding Lottie and Rani every two weeks and Ashildr every week until she becomes an adult.

Like I said I have only been feeding them crickets. Shall I give them different feeders for variety? Like dubias, mealworms or superworms? I have heard mealworms and superworms can injure the T's. Is that true? Also, do T's only feed on live feeders or is there such thing as pre-killed feeders for T's? I have also seen some large species (including A. seemani) feeding on mouse pinkies. But I think I read somewhere that mice have too much calcium. Please advise on feeding and help this noob out. Your suggestions will be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Feeding a variety can never hurt. Whether there is a direct benefit in captivity in my opinion remains unproven because the captive insects aren't fed the diets they would eat in the wild. So a roach may be no better than a cricket, or rather not as good as a roach from the wild (minus parasites hah). However, larvae, such as mealworms, waxworms contain much more fat. Ts on high fat diets may grow faster than those on crickets only, at least as slings. I conducted a pilot experiment with Ts from the same sac on this one with @cold blood

Calcium, that's an internet MYTH. There's no concern on this one. Ts do dine on verts in the wild.