How do i kill a Cricket for a baby Tarantula to eat?

[advan]

The slow freezing of the hemolymph is not pain free. Not very humane at all, even though commonly used. A clean head crush, or beheading is instantaneous. The cricket doesn't live on for several minutes.

Because live feeding is just as humane as head crushing, considering they don't die right away? I think I'd rather take a cold nap than fangs impaled in me but I'm not a cricket. I use the freezer method when feeding very small 2i species like Cyriocosmus. Crickets hemolymph is very sticky and when I crush the heads/dismember a cricket, I spend a few minutes per vial trying to flick the damn body part in the vial. When you have a lot of vials to go through, it is frustrating. Throw the small crickets in the freezer for 30 minutes, thaw and serve.

 

[awiec]

I just crush the neck for my small or suspect pre-molt specimens, it paralyzes them for the most part but they still twitch to entice the spider. From what I know of insect (and arachnid) anatomy, they don't have a very developed nervous system and have a very simple brain or ganglion; pain is not something to really worry about. That said, I don't take joy in feeding one animal to another but I accept it cause that is how it is; you can't prevent a lion from eating a gazelle cause you have ethical issues with it.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I don't get this. Doesn't matter the 'cold' or 'crush the head' issue. T's are predators, even as slings. Pinheads, the prey. Live food only here. It's my way or highway, and never betrayed me in 25 years (tough i'm not anymore into slings because after the ban i can't permit to have MM i can't breed, or have an hard time for breed them).

I always offered live pinhead to slings, not dead crickets.

 

[awiec]

I don't get this. Doesn't matter the 'cold' or 'crush the head' issue. T's are predators, even as slings. Pinheads, the prey. Live food only here. It's my way or highway, and never betrayed me in 25 years (tough i'm not anymore into slings because after the ban i can't permit to have MM i can't breed, or have an hard time for breed them).

I always offered live pinhead to slings, not dead crickets.

I only offered "paralyzed" prey when I didn't feel like getting pin heads, they can take larger prey items if they aren't intimidated by them.

 

[Formerphobe]

I offer live if I have appropriate sized prey. Otherwise, the smaller stuff gets fed prekilled or parts.

 

[ratluvr76]

I don't know about crickets, I feed mainly B. dubia or mealworms. It's pretty simple in either case. For the dubia, I crush the head, snip the body in half and offer half to 2 different slings. For mealworms, I snip the head off, snip the body in appropriate sized pieces and put them next to the sling. It's a nasty job but somebody has to do it

I messed with fruit flies once.... not an option for me hahhah

 

[advan]

I don't get this. Doesn't matter the 'cold' or 'crush the head' issue. T's are predators, even as slings. Pinheads, the prey. Live food only here. It's my way or highway, and never betrayed me in 25 years (tough i'm not anymore into slings because after the ban i can't permit to have MM i can't breed, or have an hard time for breed them).

I always offered live pinhead to slings, not dead crickets.

Have you ever successfully bred any species? Many fresh 2i are scared by their prey being their first meal. Have you ever kept 2i Cyriocosmus or Heterothele?

Try giving this spider(Heterothele villosela) a live cricket as it's very first meal.

 

[Chris11]

Ive found that many OW slings will readily take live prey, while a lot of NW slings are intimidated and flee, GBB and B. vagans are a few that are never afraid IME.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Have you ever successfully bred any species? Many fresh 2i are scared by their prey being their first meal. Have you ever kept 2i Cyriocosmus or Heterothele?

Try giving this spider(Heterothele villosela) a live cricket as it's very first meal.

Yes. Prior to the 2003 Ban (not those you mentioned, however). Not anymore after because it's no worth to breed something you can't sell or trade easily.

2 instars i owned always ate live micro pinheads without problems. The only "issue" was to catch those. They were always little than the spider/s, crickets more little than the Theraphosidae of your pic. It's a question of size.
I don't know if pinheads now is the right word for those (we call those micro crickets).

 

[Andrea82]

I also feed live crickets to my slings. Like chris said,the micro crickets. They are like 2,3 mm long.DDon't even know howsmall that is inches...as far as I can tell, everybody in the Netherlands feeds
live prey...

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I also feed live crickets to my slings. Like chris said,the micro crickets. They are like 2,3 mm long.DDon't even know howsmall that is inches...as far as I can tell, everybody in the Netherlands feeds
live prey...

The truth, Andrea82 It's only a question of size. If the cricket is little than the spider, there aren't issues. I use crickets so little they are almost invisible. Only cons they are too delicate.

 

[Andrea82]

The truth, Andrea82 It's only a question of size. If the cricket is little than the spider, there aren't issues. I use crickets so little they are almost invisible. Only cons they are too delicate.

I know....i generally herd them in a little vial to feed the slings. I tried picking them up with the thongs,but I squished them

 

[LuiziBee]

My wee baby Brachypelma smithi is the first sling I've ever had that won't accept live food. It won't eat fffs, pinhead crickets, nothing. I've resorted to just throwing it a large cricket leg whenever I want it to eat with great success. But I already have crickets for my entire collection. Just smoosh the head of a pinhead or something if yours truely won't eat like mine.