Let's discuss feeders

[Paiige]

I use crickets for my picky Ts (about 7 cents a piece), feed them with a cricket food that also provides water. I hate them, they stink, I spend more time maintaining their enclosure so it doesn't mold or smell than I do my Ts enclosures (for the record keep mostly NW terrestrials).

I feed dubias to everyone else - don't have enough Ts to warrant a colony so I purchase them from a LPS. Depending on size they range up to 90 cents a piece. I usually buy a larger quantity of smaller ones since they do grow and it's cheaper to let them get bigger than it is to buy large individuals. I feed them whatever fruits I have on hand and mold hasn't really been an issue. I've tried tossing some of the cricket cubes in with them and they don't seem to care about them.

 

[boina]

Blatta lateralis or Shelfordella lateralis? I think Shelfordella is the more recent name, but I'm not sure.
I breed Dubias and I've constantly more than I need. Crickets I buy for those picky eaters that won't take dubias. Maybe I should get Whatever lateralis and see if that takes care of the not-eating-dubias problem.

 

[Tanner Dzula]

My experiences are much like above.
Crickets smell and chirp, Dubias Tend to burrow(crush the heads) Mealworms should be refrideged to keep them from growing quickly.

But what i havemt seem mentioned yet, something i personally find great, are Horned worms.

Atlas here where i live in AZ there has been a Big influx of horned worms at all the local shops, as there has been somebody growing massive colonies of them here.
I find these guys great for a few reasons.
1. the size difference, they can range from anything as small as tiny mealworms to being longer and thicker then adult Dubias.
2. they make a lot of movement. Normally, like meal/wax worms, you gotta crush the head/mouth/mandible part of them(and the horn if they are already not cut, locally here the breeders have them send out with them already cut so its absicly a flat stump) and when this happened they flail around wildly, so much so that even my pickiest eaters cant ignore them and pounce.

and 3. they just look so cool.
dubias and crickets and such are a much better Staple feeder of course, but i still keep a Few cups with dozen or two horned worms around and they look so much nicer to people that are not in the hobby. a bright blueish/green and basically like hairless caterpillars.

now obviously horned worms are not a "everyday" feeder, meaning i don't use them for every feeding like you would with dubias and crickets, and there has been some discussion on their nutritional value, and its not very recommend to use them all the time, but i find as a first meal Post-Molt they seem to eb great.
they are very high in liquid/water content and they are very soft/squishy and T's especially seem to absolutely love them.

i usually use a mixture of dubia's/crickets(depending on species/size of the T) with a Horned worm of various size once every month or two, and usually as a first mean post-molt.

BUTTT and this is a big BUT if anybody is every interested in getting/buying them.
ONLY buy them from a trusted source who feeds them NON-TOXIC food(like Mulberry paste_
horned worms naturally feed on things such as tomato plants/tobacco and such that makes them toxic to most inverts.
this is avoided by most commercial breeders by feeding them non-toxic alternatives(this is very similar to Poison Dart frogs. they are ONLY toxic because of what they Eat) including Mulberry paste or a Paste mixture of Non-toxic vegetables, like greens and non-toxic fruits and such.

 

[BorisTheSpider]

Crickets , however I most note that my LPS is practically across the street and I only buy enough to feed one time and I don't keep extras on hand . I won't have a stinky noisy cricket enclosure in my house . Any over counts that I might receive are subdued and carefully placed in the huge spider webs that dominate my backyard and garden .

 

[KezyGLA]

I only use Dubia and waxworms. Both have loads of goodness to buff up the Ts and are a breeze to keep.

No nasty cricket stink. Never again

 

[cold blood]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't they have wicked mandibles? When I was a kid living in Miami, we'd get locusts every year. I know for a fact they could bite, because one took a small chunk of skin off of my pinky when I was playing with it

Keep in mind, what they refer to as locusts, aren't actually locusts, they're grasshoppers....similarly, what we tend to commonly refer to as locusts also aren't actually locusts, they're katydids, which are voracious hunters with massive mandibles.

A locust is a grasshopper that, due to crowding, has undergone a physical change, which induces swarming behavior.

 

[Venom1080]

.similarly, what we tend to commonly refer to as locusts also aren't actually locusts, they're katydids, which are voracious hunters with massive mandibles.
.

seriously? i havent noticed large mandibles on those, i have noticed them on the grasshoppers though..

 

[cold blood]

seriously? i havent noticed large mandibles on those, i have noticed them on the grasshoppers though..

https://books.google.com/books?id=H...AEIKTAF#v=onepage&q=katydid mandibles&f=false See how they refer to the katydid as "locust".

https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/lanista_annulicornis3.jpg

https://lizwason.wordpress.com/category/2013/
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4NcWz9SHg...8x0ao/s1600/5417Euconoc+br+mandi+best+use.jpg

https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/clonia_vittata.jpg?w=900

https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6070/6052970047_c4085c08f6_b.jpg

 

[Venom1080]

https://books.google.com/books?id=HeYTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA416&lpg=PA416&dq=katydid+mandibles&source=bl&ots=7MLCPSaPvP&sig=orjzb7x1DkEW26tdK5rvwA_75tA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjo__uJ5_zRAhXh54MKHVvRCoAQ6AEIKTAF#v=onepage&q=katydid mandibles&f=false See how they refer to the katydid as "locust".

https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/lanista_annulicornis3.jpg

https://lizwason.wordpress.com/category/2013/
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4NcWz9SHgas/TfWale-r_aI/AAAAAAAAB7I/3kC9WJ8x0ao/s1600/5417Euconoc+br+mandi+best+use.jpg

https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/clonia_vittata.jpg?w=900

https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6070/6052970047_c4085c08f6_b.jpg

i dont know what kind of katydids those things are but the ones in my area dont look like that. smaller, green, and smaller mandibles.

 

[cold blood]

i dont know what kind of katydids those things are but the ones in my area dont look like that. smaller, green, and smaller mandibles.

Smaller katydids, yes, but if they don't have mandibles like that, you are confusing a grasshopper with a katydid.

As the first link I posted explained, there are stark differences between the jaw structure of a hopper and katydid...hoppers are plant eaters, they do not have those large pincer type mandibles...it would be akin to a cow having canine teeth.....pointless. Just as blunt jaws on a katydid would be useless for killing other insects....like a lion with cow teeth.

 

[Venom1080]

Smaller katydids, yes, but if they don't have mandibles like that, you are confusing a grasshopper with a katydid.

As the first link I posted explained, there are stark differences between the jaw structure of a hopper and katydid...hoppers are plant eaters, they do not have those large pincer type mandibles...it would be akin to a cow having canine teeth.....pointless. Just as blunt jaws on a katydid would be useless for killing other insects....like a lion with cow teeth.

im 99.9% sure we're talking about the same insect. just didnt know they were carnivorous, i thought they were gentle plant eaters..

 

[cold blood]

This is a common looking, smaller species you probably are used to seeing.
https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/ruspolia.jpg

But yeah, hoppers can bite, but not like a katydid.https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N_6JLfTOw3Y/hqdefault.jpg

Its no joke when one gets ahold of you, they hold on like little pit bulls.

 

[Andrea82]

https://books.google.com/books?id=HeYTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA416&lpg=PA416&dq=katydid+mandibles&source=bl&ots=7MLCPSaPvP&sig=orjzb7x1DkEW26tdK5rvwA_75tA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjo__uJ5_zRAhXh54MKHVvRCoAQ6AEIKTAF#v=onepage&q=katydid mandibles&f=false See how they refer to the katydid as "locust".

https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/lanista_annulicornis3.jpg

https://lizwason.wordpress.com/category/2013/
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4NcWz9SHgas/TfWale-r_aI/AAAAAAAAB7I/3kC9WJ8x0ao/s1600/5417Euconoc+br+mandi+best+use.jpg

https://sixlegsphoto.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/clonia_vittata.jpg?w=900

https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6070/6052970047_c4085c08f6_b.jpg

The locusts i feed are Locusta migratoria, so i think it is safe to say they actually are locusts....

 

[cold blood]

The locusts i feed are Locusta migratoria, so i think it is safe to say they actually are locusts....

yep, here that's a grasshopper until it turns into a locust, this one is called a locust indeed....so technically, you're right.

A locust is simply a grasshopper that goes through what's known as a "gregarious phase" and a "solitary phase", in which they change and swarm...grasshoppers capable of these phase changes are known as locusts....many people refer to locusts as "swarming grasshoppers".....so technically we-re both right.

I mentioned what I did because I know many people here are picturing something different when they hear locusts...as people can see, its what we know as a grasshopper in the life stage you are using it as a feeder.https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/migratory-locust-locusta-migratoria-18990673.jpg

 

[TomKemp]

I keep and breed crickets and Dubia roaches. For my T's that can be slower with grabbing prey I use crickets because they won't burrow into the substrate. Those became a fun side "hobby" as well. It's exciting when you see literally thousands of them hatch and think of all the money you just saved with little to no effort. I also like them for slings because newly hatched crickets are super tiny and you can also crush the heads and let your slings scavenge them. As for Dubia roaches, I like that they breed like well, "Roaches". Two years ago I picked up some males and females for 20 bucks and now I have an unlimited supply of them. I have 8 bearded dragons right now and they are garbage disposals, lol. And for some of my bigger T's a fat dubia seems way more efficient than giving them 5-10 crickets during a feeding.

 

[Andrea82]

yep, here that's a grasshopper until it turns into a locust, this one is called a locust indeed....so technically, you're right.

A locust is simply a grasshopper that goes through what's known as a "gregarious phase" and a "solitary phase", in which they change and swarm...grasshoppers capable of these phase changes are known as locusts....many people refer to locusts as "swarming grasshoppers".....so technically we-re both right.

I mentioned what I did because I know many people here are picturing something different when they hear locusts...as people can see, its what we know as a grasshopper in the life stage you are using it as a feeder.https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/migratory-locust-locusta-migratoria-18990673.jpg

I have seen documentaries about this species turning into swarming pests. The change is really dramatic, in appearance and behaviour
Mother Nature at her best....

 

[Red Eunice]

My experiences are much like above.
Crickets smell and chirp, Dubias Tend to burrow(crush the heads) Mealworms should be refrideged to keep them from growing quickly.

But what i havemt seem mentioned yet, something i personally find great, are Horned worms.

Atlas here where i live in AZ there has been a Big influx of horned worms at all the local shops, as there has been somebody growing massive colonies of them here.
I find these guys great for a few reasons.
1. the size difference, they can range from anything as small as tiny mealworms to being longer and thicker then adult Dubias.
2. they make a lot of movement. Normally, like meal/wax worms, you gotta crush the head/mouth/mandible part of them(and the horn if they are already not cut, locally here the breeders have them send out with them already cut so its absicly a flat stump) and when this happened they flail around wildly, so much so that even my pickiest eaters cant ignore them and pounce.

and 3. they just look so cool.
dubias and crickets and such are a much better Staple feeder of course, but i still keep a Few cups with dozen or two horned worms around and they look so much nicer to people that are not in the hobby. a bright blueish/green and basically like hairless caterpillars.

now obviously horned worms are not a "everyday" feeder, meaning i don't use them for every feeding like you would with dubias and crickets, and there has been some discussion on their nutritional value, and its not very recommend to use them all the time, but i find as a first meal Post-Molt they seem to eb great.
they are very high in liquid/water content and they are very soft/squishy and T's especially seem to absolutely love them.

i usually use a mixture of dubia's/crickets(depending on species/size of the T) with a Horned worm of various size once every month or two, and usually as a first mean post-molt.

BUTTT and this is a big BUT if anybody is every interested in getting/buying them.
ONLY buy them from a trusted source who feeds them NON-TOXIC food(like Mulberry paste_
horned worms naturally feed on things such as tomato plants/tobacco and such that makes them toxic to most inverts.
this is avoided by most commercial breeders by feeding them non-toxic alternatives(this is very similar to Poison Dart frogs. they are ONLY toxic because of what they Eat) including Mulberry paste or a Paste mixture of Non-toxic vegetables, like greens and non-toxic fruits and such.

I've seen horned worms at many vendor's tables, usually selling geckos, in deli cups. Price isn't too bad, $4 a dozen, and various sizes. Might pick up some at the show on the 18th and give them a try.

@boina, last revision is Shelfordella lateralis, but many still call them Blatta lateralis. I just use "lateralis" or "lats", most know what is being referred to.

 

[Venom1080]

I like to use horn worms when fattening up a recently molted large spider.

 

[clive 82]

Sounds n

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't they have wicked mandibles? When I was a kid living in Miami, we'd get locusts every year. I know for a fact they could bite, because one took a small chunk of skin off of my pinky when I was playing with it

Sounds nasty! Ive not experienced anything like that yet but Ill definitely consider feeding something else if there is a danger of any Ts getting injured from a bite.

 

[Jeff23]

I use crickets. I try to treat my prey just like I treat my tarantulas.

They have almost no smell because I clean out any dead ones every day and keep the container wiped down to remove as much feces as possible. This can be accomplished easily by using a very large modified plastic tub to house them. I inserted screens on mine so the ventilation is good. I have never had any crickets try to to escape so I usually leave the lid off unless I want to shield them from light.

My crickets sometimes do provide hi fidelity audio but it is because I allow it to happen. It is easy to clean out the noise makers by feeding the large males to the tarantulas first. You can also avoid getting any noise makers by not buying the large size crickets.

Banded crickets do not bite. I quite often grab a single large cricket to provide to my female tarantulas. I can use the cricket counter to grab a bunch which I usually load up in a plastic vial with lid to carry to my feeding station (especially for the pre-kills - burrowed slings).

I keep mine at a lower temperature than recommended by most breeders. Most will recommend small crickets be in the 80's and adult crickets be in the high 70's at a minimum for best results. I keep mine at 74 F. I will need a heating device of some sort when I start to breed them.

I stopped using veggies and fruit for mine because it attracted too many gnats. I now use cricket feed and water only.