Heterometrus laoticus Cricket feeding advice

Benjamin Drew

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 9, 2019
Messages
3
Hello all. Just looking for some advice on feeding my Heterometrus laoticus. I am new to the hobby and was wondering with feeding the laoticus, is ok to simply drop the cricket in and then leave it or should I make sure that it feeds on it there and then?

If anybody can help with this point I would be very grateful.

Benjamin
 

undeaddeaths

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 9, 2019
Messages
70
Leaving feeders can always be a risk, especially crickets.
You should make sure your scorp eats then and there, or check on it shortly after and remove the cricket if it's not hungry.
I'd also suggest pulling the back legs off the cricket so your scorp can catch it better. It won't be jumping everywhere.
 

Outpost31Survivor

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2019
Messages
1,577
Hello all. Just looking for some advice on feeding my Heterometrus laoticus. I am new to the hobby and was wondering with feeding the laoticus, is ok to simply drop the cricket in and then leave it or should I make sure that it feeds on it there and then?

If anybody can help with this point I would be very grateful.

Benjamin
Some choose to hand feed their scorpions with tongs or hemostats. I usually coerce crickets closer to my scorpion with a small paint brush or straw, crickets crawling in my terrariums particularly those housing scorpions gives me OCD. I more or less supervise the feedings, once the scorpion has grabbed the cricket or two and actively feeding I move on with other things. If they are a larger species, when I recheck on the scorpion to see if they are finished I try another cricket or two depending if the crickets are medium or large in size.

Strangely I only do this with scorpions not tarantulas or centipedes. But I will remove all unwanted crickets from their terrariums.
 

darkness975

Latrodectus
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
5,610
Hello all. Just looking for some advice on feeding my Heterometrus laoticus. I am new to the hobby and was wondering with feeding the laoticus, is ok to simply drop the cricket in and then leave it or should I make sure that it feeds on it there and then?

If anybody can help with this point I would be very grateful.

Benjamin
If prey is not eaten overnight then remove it and try again in a week. No need to hand feed them like children. They will eat when they are hungry.
 

BelfastScorpion

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 21, 2004
Messages
152
I never understood the whole tong feeding thing. We do all we can to recreate their natural environment the best we can and then they are fed with tongs! I don't have any problem with those who want to tong feed. It is absolutely fine if thats your preference. But I let them catch the food themselves just like they would in the wild.
 

Outpost31Survivor

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2019
Messages
1,577
I never understood the whole tong feeding thing. We do all we can to recreate their natural environment the best we can and then they are fed with tongs! I don't have any problem with those who want to tong feed. It is absolutely fine if thats your preference. But I let them catch the food themselves just like they would in the wild.

I don't have issue with it really especially if you are feeding them mealworms or superworms. It prevents the feeder from burrowing into the substrate. But yeah, I let my pets catch their own food (though I may play a role to speedy the process - cricket corraling).
 

Rhino1

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Messages
490
Ugh it takes me around 2 hours just to do a basic clean, feed and water of my invert collection, the last thing I want to do is tong feed each one individually.
I sometimes will slightly crush the cricket to slow it down and drop it right in front of the scorp, does the job
 
Top