Flightless Fruit Flies as sling food?

[Tommydragon10]

I have a B Hamorii and Aphonopelma chalcodes sling. Both are super small. I've tried feeding them the smallest crickets I can get (Which are about half their size with the hopping legs missing). They haven't shown much interest. I happen to be getting some Flightless Fruit Flies for a bunch of baby toads I'm fostering. Does anyone know if they would be good sling food instead of the crickets?

 

[chanda]

I keep hearing the fruit flies are not as nutritious as crickets, but they will work in a pinch. I use fruit flies for baby whip spiders, true spiders, and mantises - but have not tried them for tarantula slings.

Have you tried offering your slings prekilled crickets, or even cricket "drumsticks?" Slings will usually scavenge on prekilled crickets or other feeders, such as half of a mealworm.

 

[Thekla]

FFF aren't the best choice, they don't have many nutrients. Better get yourself some mealworms. You can cut them up in appropriate sizes and they last forever in the fridge. Your slings will happily scavenge them.

 

[cold blood]

FFF aren't the best choice, they don't have many nutrients. Better get yourself some mealworms. You can cut them up in appropriate sizes and they last forever in the fridge. Your slings will happily scavenge them.

nom nom (Nhandu chromatus)

• cold blood
• Jun 8, 2018
• 1
• brazilian red and white tarantula chromatus feeding nhandu nhandu chromatus sling

 

[Asgiliath]

I tried them for a bit with one of my albo slings and it was fun to watch it take all of them down but the spider is growing much faster on crickets.

Not to mention, handling them is annoying as hell.

 

[EtienneN]

I tried FFF with my little C. versicolor when it was super tiny like 0.25" and they were definitely a pain. I didn't realise that they would readily scavenge on a quarter or half a mealworm. The sling ate them and moulted and did well, but when I got new tiny slings in November I gave them chopped up mealworms and that was so much easier.

 

[Goopyguy56]

I had good luck just prekilling small crickets and leaving them in the enclosure overnight. Or just rip the leg off a larger cricket and throw the leg in there. I have atiny b albiceps that has eaten a few cricket legs
I

 

[Mini8leggedfreak]

Breeding mealworms and feeding off the tiny ones work but if u only have 2 spiders it might not be worth it.
If u use the back leg of a cricket they will scavenge. Bean weevils is another option, super simple to keep

 

[Andrew Clayton]

They aren't much use as feeders for Ts I'd suggest using cut up or crushed head mealworm for slings that's what I use until the 1.5" mark then start giving them small crickets and roaches, maybe even try a tong feeding with a superworms but until then I don't want to risk anything g and only offer pre killed

 

[mack1855]

As you can see,FFF are not the way to go with slings.
I could post a boat load of pics of my slings over the years, chowing down on mealworm pieces,but @cold blood posted the pic that tells the story.
Slings not eating the offered items can have many different reasons.
And if you get a bunch on the loose,for whatever reason,you shall regret it.
Been there,done that.
Again,a sling not eating that cricket part,leg,head, whatever can have different reasons,from premolt,to just not hungry,to improper husbandry.

 

[EtienneN]

Yeah they are super hard to manipulate. I was in hospital for two weeks in 2017 and since my versicolor was still a blue spec back then my dad offered to feed all the baby Ts. He managed it fine with the two other slings I had at the time, but when it came to the versicolor it actually escaped on him and he said he literally almost peed his pants. Luckily my dad remained calm and captured the T again before it got off the shelf (luckily it was a big shelf) but he definitely told me the fact that the flies weren't very cooperative at all was the major reason the 'minor mishap' happened.

 

[Aarantula]

Do mealworms last longer in a Ts enclosure than small crickets? I find that small prekilled crickets will be dried up in a day or so. Would a prekilled mealworm last a day or two longer?

 

[Goopyguy56]

I would throw it out regardless after a day or two. If they don't eat it then they probably won't anyways. Biggest mistake I made with slings was keeping them in too big of an enclosure. Make sure they are in a small enough enclosure so it's easier to find food

 

[mack1855]

Do mealworms last longer in a Ts enclosure than small crickets?

I have found,IME,that a T,that is heathly,being cared for correctly,and not in premolt,will eat almost immediately,if hungry.
There may be folks that think otherwise,and that's fine,but if my spood doesn't eat almost immediately,start lookin at
environmental issues,i.e. water/temps/.I rarely have to pull uneaten prey animals out of my T,s enclosues,and
when I do,i look carefully at other things.Just my opinion,that nobody cares for.

 

[viper69]

Not recommended

 

[Ungoliant]

FFF aren't the best choice, they don't have many nutrients. Better get yourself some mealworms. You can cut them up in appropriate sizes and they last forever in the fridge. Your slings will happily scavenge them.

Just to be clear, you cut the mealworms immediately before feeding them to your slings, not cut the mealworms and put them in the fridge.

obligatory pics of slings eating mealworms:

Do mealworms last longer in a Ts enclosure than small crickets? I find that small prekilled crickets will be dried up in a day or so. Would a prekilled mealworm last a day or two longer?

I have one Avic sling that will sometimes wait 2-3 days before taking pre-killed prey, including mealworms. (Gross!)

 

[Thekla]

Just to be clear, you cut the mealworms immediately before feeding them to your slings, not cut the mealworms and put them in the fridge.

Oops, of course, that's exactly what I meant.

 

[Gogyeng]

For my Ts i prefer too mealworms.. Now, somewhat unrelated, are the FFF themselves potential vectors for other unwanted guests? Say, can the carry mites?