I may have made a mistake... (feeding w/roaches)

[annanlove19]

Neither of my guys like to eat from tongs, they both prefer to do it when I'm not looking. I just switched from crickets to roaches because they're 100% less annoying (i.e. don't jump out of their container and make me chase them down), and I dropped a roach each in with my b. albo and g. pulchra, and like always, they were not pounced on immediately.

What they did do immediately is burrow.

How am I supposed to tell if they've been eaten or not? Neither spider reliably makes a bolus (no idea why??) so that's out, and I don't want to leave them to rot, and especially with the albo, who may or may not be molting soon.

Help??

 

[shawno821]

I'm not sure what you can do about the burrowing,but if they're dubia roaches,you don't have to worry about them munching your molting spider.They don't eat spiders,unlike crickets.

 

[ARACHNO-SMACK48]

Take the spiders out. Then sift through the substrate and find the roaches. Then fix the enclosure back up and put the t back in. Easy...

 

[Sana]

This is why I dislike feeding roaches.

 

[annanlove19]

Oh hmm, I'm not actually sure about the type of roach! I'll call the shop tomorrow to see. I'll also do checks and stuff to see if either of them has a roach in their mouth; the pulchra likes to hang onto her kills for a while, just hanging out in her hide with a dead bug in her mouth. You know you love Ts too much when you find that adorable xD If there's no evidence of feeding, I'll do the sifting. Thanks for the help!

 

[LadyofSpiders]

Try using B. lateralis. They don't burrow and are more active. None of my Ts refuse them unless about to molt. Most of my ts refuse dubia. I breed both of them and prefer the lats.

 

[annanlove19]

According to the All Knowledgable Infallible Google Images*, I definitely have dubia. No signs of eating yet, but also no signs of tunnels yet, so we'll see. I'll do a sift check tomorrow first thing if it doesn't become obvious by then.

*ahahaha I wish

 

[JZC]

Dubias won't munch on a tarantula, the roach will probably come up sometime, and if the tarantula wants it it will eat the roach.

 

[annanlove19]

Okay, definitely not freaking out anymore. Every time I feel like I may start to have a hang of this whole tarantula thing, I suddenly have an OH NO THE WORLD IS ENDING AAAAAAA freak out that turns out I'm being dumb and ridiculous and way overreacting. You guys are the best for being super nice and helpful and not making fun of my attacks. :love:

 

[Medusa]

Dubias won't munch on a tarantula, the roach will probably come up sometime, and if the tarantula wants it it will eat the roach.

+1. Most of my Ts have a "pasture pet" Dubia roach in their enclosure that they don't eat, so I guess it's a companion. The roaches appear from time to time, slightly larger. (What are they eating?) I also have a Dubia breeding colony I'm not sure what to do with...

 

[Poec54]

You are aware that a number of tarantulas won't eat roaches, aren't you?

 

[Formerphobe]

Some tarantulas are just down right picky. Others go through phases of what they will eat or not eat. My P formosa used to take roaches of any kind with great gusto. Then she took a dubia for a pet a few months back. I frequently see them basking together side by side. Go figure..
I'll only get concerned if she puts a collar and leash on him and tries to take him for a walk.

 

[annanlove19]

Oh man, a pet would be so cute xD

I'll keep an eye on and make sure they're eating and if not, I'll switch back to crickets, or maybe try super worms.

 

[Poec54]

Oh man, a pet would be so cute xD

I'll keep an eye on and make sure they're eating and if not, I'll switch back to crickets, or maybe try super worms.

Everything eats crickets.

You can't just put superworms or mealworms in spider cages. They bury themselves in the substrate in seconds. If my siders don't grab them immediately, I take them right out with forceps. They WILL resurface later and chew holes in molting spiders.

 

[annanlove19]

You can't just put superworms or mealworms in spider cages. They bury themselves in the substrate in seconds. If my siders don't grab them immediately, I take them right out with forceps. They WILL resurface later and chew holes in molting spiders.

Eek eek okay! I don't know a ton about feeders, I just go to the shop and tell them what's up and then they recommend for me. They're really knowledgable and I'm positive they'd never let me take home something dangerous. For now I'll just see how things go and if there's a problem, I'll go back to crickets.

 

[Poec54]

I don't know a ton about feeders, I just go to the shop and tell them what's up and then they recommend for me. They're really knowledgable and I'm positive they'd never let me take home something dangerous.

Never 'intentionally' let you take home a dangerous feeder. It's rare that pet stores have employees that know anything about spiders.

 

[annanlove19]

Never 'intentionally' let you take home a dangerous feeder. It's rare that pet stores have employees that know anything about spiders.

Actually, it's an arachnid/reptile/amphibian shop, so they're really great. I don't go to general purpose pet stores for spider stuff because I'm afraid of both quality and lack of knowledge. All the employees there have a number of "exotic" pets, so I feel super comfortable there. Elsewhere, not so much.

 

[Sana]

I don't know why so many folks mind crickets. They don't smell if you clean the container once a week, they stop chirping twenty minutes after you turn off the light, and they're easy to toss to a spider. I've read that it is worthwhile to offer a variety of foods. It makes sense to me that anything that eats only one type of prey for it's entire life is likely to be missing nutrients. To that end I offer a different feeder for the first feeding after a molt, but otherwise I'm completely happy with crickets.

 

[14pokies]

I don't know why so many folks mind crickets. They don't smell if you clean the container once a week, they stop chirping twenty minutes after you turn off the light, and they're easy to toss to a spider. I've read that it is worthwhile to offer a variety of foods. It makes sense to me that anything that eats only one type of prey for it's entire life is likely to be missing nutrients. To that end I offer a different feeder for the first feeding after a molt, but otherwise I'm completely happy with crickets.

I vary the there diet whenever possible..tropical and arboreal ts love house gecko! I laugh every time I go the counter and someone in line hears the cashier say OK 50 geckos that will be 70bucks..and there like you must really love geckos or are you gonna put them all in one cage!!!! Hahahahah...if they only knew!

 

[annanlove19]

I don't know why so many folks mind crickets. They don't smell if you clean the container once a week, they stop chirping twenty minutes after you turn off the light, and they're easy to toss to a spider. I've read that it is worthwhile to offer a variety of foods. It makes sense to me that anything that eats only one type of prey for it's entire life is likely to be missing nutrients. To that end I offer a different feeder for the first feeding after a molt, but otherwise I'm completely happy with crickets.

I guess I'm just not very good at handling them yet, but it seems one always manages to escape every time I open the container and I have to track it down and ugh. I'd just prefer something that stays on the ground >.< But of course not at the expense of my Ts; switching it up seems like a great plan, especially since there's no reason not to, especially because the kind of crickets I get don't chirp (which is kind of a shame, I love the sound and was kind of looking forward to it ).