How many Superworms?

[krazyokami]

Hi there, just wondering how many superworms I need to feed my G. Rosea?
Just fed him (It) today. He ate one med/lrg and I just gave him another one. Compared to all the other pics I've seen, he seems rather small in comparison and I wonder how often I should feed him until he plumps up.
Here's a pic from today;

 

[Hersh77tess]

One meal worm a week is plenty. Your T does not seem malnourished but the pic isn't great. You do not want to over feed because this raises the chance for falling and rupturing the abdomen or a bad molt. However, Roseas don't usually over eat. It is very common for them to refuse food. How big is your T? I would stick with one mealworm every week and a half to two weeks.

 

[EightLeggedFreaks]

During normal feeding, one a week or every two weeks is fine. After a molt you'll want to feed it a couple 1 or 2 weeks afterwards just to fatten it up and give it some nutrients back. As long as you put enough substrate in, there should only be about 1.5 times its leg span from the substrate to the top of the cage, I wouldn't worry too much about a fall. Rosies are pretty hardy, just keep a water bowl filled! Tarantulas are little maintenance. I spend Sunday feeding and watering all my T's. Good luck!

 

[krazyokami]

One meal worm a week is plenty. Your T does not seem malnourished but the pic isn't great. You do not want to over feed because this raises the chance for falling and rupturing the abdomen or a bad molt. However, Roseas don't usually over eat. It is very common for them to refuse food. How big is your T? I would stick with one mealworm every week and a half to two weeks.

He seems to be at least 2in to me. Or maybe 2.5.
He accepted the second worm then ran to his half log. Alright. No next feeding him maybe next week or the week after that.

---------- Post added 07-10-2013 at 10:44 PM ----------

During normal feeding, one a week or every two weeks is fine. After a molt you'll want to feed it a couple 1 or 2 weeks afterwards just to fatten it up and give it some nutrients back. As long as you put enough substrate in, there should only be about 1.5 times its leg span from the substrate to the top of the cage, I wouldn't worry too much about a fall. Rosies are pretty hardy, just keep a water bowl filled! Tarantulas are little maintenance. I spend Sunday feeding and watering all my T's. Good luck!

Yes yes~ I'll be adding more substrate soon. He's...already taken a small tumble but that was my fault. I accidentally bumped against the tank when my cat wanted to give him a closer look. But he tumbled, didn't fall.
I'll remember that when he molts. not sure when that will be but maybe soon. Thanks!

 

[lancej]

Your t looks pretty healthy. I would recommend the same advice as above. One a week is plenty, with a little more for the first couple weeks post molt (once it starts eating).

 

[Hersh77tess]

Purchase "The Tarantula Keepers Guide". This book is cheap and is one of my most prized possessions. Almost all tarantula related questions and information can be found here. It is an enjoyable read too, not just facts and statistics.

 

[Scoolman]

All those spiders with "big butts" are fat and over fed. Your T is a very healthy size. Crickets, and roaches make better regular prey item than meal worms. You should always gut load you prey items for a dya or two before offering them to your T. You will only need to offer 1-2 crickets, or 1 roach, or 2-3 worms every one to two weeks at most.

 

[korg]

Crickets, and roaches make better regular prey item than meal worms. You should always gut load you prey items for a dya or two before offering them to your T.

There's no actual evidence that crickets and roaches are "better" in any real way. Also, there's no need to gut load tarantula feeders.

 

[Scoolman]

There's no actual evidence that crickets and roaches are "better" in any real way. Also, there's no need to gut load tarantula feeders.

Yes there is, on both accounts.
Granted this paper is about feeding insects to mammals and reptiles, with an emphasis on increasing calcium content, the crude nutritional analysis is valid for our purposes none the less.
What you feed your feeder determines their health and nutritional value.
Excerpt and table from:
FEEDING CAPTIVE INSECTIVOROUS ANIMALS:
NUTRITIONAL ASPECTS OF INSECTS AS FOOD
Joni B. Bernard, PhD Mary E. Allen, PhD Duane E. Ullrey, PhD
Department of Zoology National Zoological Park Department of Animal Science
Michigan State University Smithsonian Institution Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824 Washington, DC 20008 East Lansing, MI 48824
"Since live insects may be the only food offered to some species, nutritional deficiencies can quickly arise if the nutrient levels in the live prey are imbalanced.
Unfortunately, the few commercially available invertebrates are an incomplete nutrient package without
appropriate supplementation, and may adversely affect the dietary husbandry of species which consume
them as a substantial portion of the their total diet."

Here are the most common feeders used in the hobby:

.............................................% Dry Matter....Crude Protien.....Fat.....Minerals......Chitin......Gross Eenergy (kCal/g)
Cockroach, American................38.7.............53.9.....................28.4.....3.3.............9.4.......6.07
Cricket, domestic, adult............31.0............ 64.9.....................13.8.....5.7.............9.4.......5.34
Fruit fly...................................29.6............70.1.....................12.6.....4.5..............27.0.....5.12
Mealworm larvae......................37.6.............52.7.....................32.8.....3.2.............5.7........6.49
Mealworm larvae, king..............40.9.............45.3.....................55.1.....2.9.............7.2........7.08


So as you can see meal worms have the highest fat concentration, and lowest chitin concentration. Dry matter is indigestible material. Chitin is an essential element for the tarantula to properly develop new exoskeleton and prevent molting issues. You have to find a good balance between all of these elements. All of these factors can be greatly influenced by the diet of the feeder insect.

So, crickets and roaches really are the best choice for feeders.

 

[korg]

I don't want to get totally off topic here (plus this has been discussed to death a million times), but you haven't provided any evidence for your claims. Obviously there is a difference in the nutritional content of different feeders, but you have no idea what tarantulas require in their diets so there is still no way to say if one kind of feeder is better or worse. Many people have raised Ts to maturity solely on worms, so I think that qualifies them as a perfectly sufficient feeder. Superworms/mealworms need food to survive, but they don't need to be gut loaded in any particular way. Your claims that I quoted above are basically just old wives tales, in my opinion... people might agree with them more or less depending on their own experiences but they aren't based on solid facts or science related to tarantula nutrition.

 

[Scoolman]

OK you win. :sarcasm: