Newbie questions about feeding

waynerowley

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Messages
78
Hi there,

I am a newbie having bought my first T earlier this week. I have some questions on feeding which I hope don't sound stupid! I have read Tom's guide on feeding but would like to clarify:

- Is there a good time of day for feeding or doesn't it matter? Given that feeding is opening the container, dropping in the food item, closing the container and leaving it 24 hours, I would guess not, but wanted to check.

- In respect of the remove after 24 hours if not eaten - I wonder about the practicalities of this. I have dropped a small cricket into my juvenile c. versicolor's enclosure this morning and I very quickly 'lost' it. How do I know if it has been eaten if I don't see it? If I do see it moving about, to what extent do I try to get at it to remove it? I take it that we don't remove cork bark and everything it could hide behind/under to get it out, so what happens if I can't re-catch it (also see below)? Does this make sense to others?

- Now a question on 'cricketing'. I bought a tub of small silent crickets with the T which I then moved to another Tupperware container. I'm crap at catching the wotsnames! For the 1 that made it into the Ts enclosure this morning, there are 3 others roaming around the bedroom. Is there a knack of keeping and catching these, or is it just down to practice?

Many thanks,
Wayne
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Hi there,

I am a newbie having bought my first T earlier this week. I have some questions on feeding which I hope don't sound stupid! I have read Tom's guide on feeding but would like to clarify:

- Is there a good time of day for feeding or doesn't it matter? Given that feeding is opening the container, dropping in the food item, closing the container and leaving it 24 hours, I would guess not, but wanted to check.

- In respect of the remove after 24 hours if not eaten - I wonder about the practicalities of this. I have dropped a small cricket into my juvenile c. versicolor's enclosure this morning and I very quickly 'lost' it. How do I know if it has been eaten if I don't see it? If I do see it moving about, to what extent do I try to get at it to remove it? I take it that we don't remove cork bark and everything it could hide behind/under to get it out, so what happens if I can't re-catch it (also see below)? Does this make sense to others?

- Now a question on 'cricketing'. I bought a tub of small silent crickets with the T which I then moved to another Tupperware container. I'm crap at catching the wotsnames! For the 1 that made it into the Ts enclosure this morning, there are 3 others roaming around the bedroom. Is there a knack of keeping and catching these, or is it just down to practice?

Many thanks,
Wayne
1. I feed at night because they are nocturnal animals. They will more readily eat then. This true for Avics, including versi.

2. Depends - 24 hr is a “rule” of thumb. In truth, as long as your T is not about to molt (no one can predict when), putting in an appropriate sized prey(not oversized) item and leaving it in is a non-issue. The T will kill it if it wants to, even if it is not hungry. I’ve had crickets in for weeks.

Caveat to this- don’t leave many crickets in a container that is too small for many animals to be in simultaneously. This does put a T on the defensive unnecessarily..

Crickets will take out a T that is molting as crickets eat anything.

No harm in pulling the setup apart- they rebuild.

3. No
 

Neonblizzard

Arachnomoron
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
611
Hello! Welcome to the fuzz club!

How big is this juvenile? If it's only in a reasonable sized container it should be fairly straightforward to see if the cricket is still in there or not. If the cricket invades the T's hide, it will most likely kill it even if its not hungry.

It is incredibly important you don't leave any crickets in there alive for any longer than 24 hours, even if it is a pain to get them out.
If they cramp themselves into a corner / under something that you can't scoop, a sewing needle on the end of a pencil is good to harpoon them out.

Can't answer on the day/ night thing. Most Ts are more active at night so that would be the best time if you want to watch them in action.

Yes haha the cricket catching will come in time. If you have them in a tallish tub like a medium critter keeper, you can remove the lid and give you space to grab them without the risk of them jumping out of the container. I personally like to use plastic tweezers because it seems to be a bit more forgiving and not accidentally crush them. But yes haha its an art. After you master the tweezers you move onto chopsticks 🥢
 

Xharyel

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 23, 2021
Messages
38
Hi, welcome to the hobby!

- Is there a good time of day for feeding or doesn't it matter? Given that feeding is opening the container, dropping in the food item, closing the container and leaving it 24 hours, I would guess not, but wanted to check.
I don't think it matters that much, mine just eat whenever offered food. But if yours is a bit shy, maybe you could try feeding at night as they're more likely to be active.

- In respect of the remove after 24 hours if not eaten - I wonder about the practicalities of this. I have dropped a small cricket into my juvenile c. versicolor's enclosure this morning and I very quickly 'lost' it. How do I know if it has been eaten if I don't see it? If I do see it moving about, to what extent do I try to get at it to remove it? I take it that we don't remove cork bark and everything it could hide behind/under to get it out, so what happens if I can't re-catch it (also see below)? Does this make sense to others?
I wouldn't concern myself too much with it. Crickets aren't like superworms/mealworms, they won't dig or burrow in the substrate. They can surely hide but if your enclosure size is suitable, it shouldn't be able to escape your T.
When feeding, I like to watch the first few minutes to make sure everything goes well instead of just tossing the food and be done with it. Just make sure your T isn't in premolt.

- Now a question on 'cricketing'. I bought a tub of small silent crickets with the T which I then moved to another Tupperware container. I'm crap at catching the wotsnames! For the 1 that made it into the Ts enclosure this morning, there are 3 others roaming around the bedroom. Is there a knack of keeping and catching these, or is it just down to practice?
I never liked dealing with crickets, they're noisy, smelly, etc...You just gotta get used to it. But if I can avoid them, I'll gladly take the chance. I like dealing with mealworms/superworms (you can also keep mealworms in the fridge, a small box can last months).
 

Dry Desert

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Messages
1,552
Hi there,

I am a newbie having bought my first T earlier this week. I have some questions on feeding which I hope don't sound stupid! I have read Tom's guide on feeding but would like to clarify:

- Is there a good time of day for feeding or doesn't it matter? Given that feeding is opening the container, dropping in the food item, closing the container and leaving it 24 hours, I would guess not, but wanted to check.

- In respect of the remove after 24 hours if not eaten - I wonder about the practicalities of this. I have dropped a small cricket into my juvenile c. versicolor's enclosure this morning and I very quickly 'lost' it. How do I know if it has been eaten if I don't see it? If I do see it moving about, to what extent do I try to get at it to remove it? I take it that we don't remove cork bark and everything it could hide behind/under to get it out, so what happens if I can't re-catch it (also see below)? Does this make sense to others?

- Now a question on 'cricketing'. I bought a tub of small silent crickets with the T which I then moved to another Tupperware container. I'm crap at catching the wotsnames! For the 1 that made it into the Ts enclosure this morning, there are 3 others roaming around the bedroom. Is there a knack of keeping and catching these, or is it just down to practice?

Many thanks,
Wayne
Regarding best time to feed, I usually feed evening, just before dark then you don't need the lights on to feed, and inverts are usually active around that time. If you feed late at night then you need lights on and anything that's out will soon disappear. Regarding leaving feeders in the enclosure, if the invert is due to moly than having a feeder in the enclosure could result in a well fed cricket that has eaten the invert during the molting process. To prevent escapes of the whatsanames I take the feeders tank into the bathroom, plug the plug hole and have a smaller container to catch the required amount in. If you only have one or a few T's then use a spiderling pot and just catch 2/3 for that feed. Any escapees are running around in the bath waiting for recapture. Hope this helps with your questions.
 

waynerowley

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Messages
78
Thanks for this. I like the idea of the pin/pencil harpoon. I'll try that!

Part of my current concern is that I don't know how close the T is to moulting or whether it is in pre-moult. I've only had it for 3 days, and I do know that it did not moult while in the care of the pet store.

Any ideas from this pic:

IMG_2616.jpeg
 

Blueandbluer

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 17, 2015
Messages
495
No easy answer there I’m afraid. I’ve tried to teach my spiders to text or email me when they feel a molt coming on, but no joy yet. ;)

More serious answer... you will start to recognize the signs with time, but it’s always more art than science. Their colors will be usually be duller, the spider may seem sluggish, it may start fasting... but it also may do only some or even none of those things. Look for those signs, consider the age of the spider (young molt more frequently), and how long it’s been since the last molt and take your best guess from that.
 

Neonblizzard

Arachnomoron
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
611
Thanks for this. I like the idea of the pin/pencil harpoon. I'll try that!

Part of my current concern is that I don't know how close the T is to moulting or whether it is in pre-moult. I've only had it for 3 days, and I do know that it did not moult while in the care of the pet store.

Any ideas from this pic:

View attachment 381080
I wouldn't worry too much about it. There's not really anywhere for that cricket to hide so I'm sure you'll see it if she hasn't eaten it. I like to keep a diary on all my fuzzy children so i know what they've eaten, when they last ate / if they refuse, changes in behaviour, anything like that
 

Frogdaddy

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 13, 2019
Messages
1,067
Hi there,

I am a newbie having bought my first T earlier this week. I have some questions on feeding which I hope don't sound stupid! I have read Tom's guide on feeding but would like to clarify:

- Is there a good time of day for feeding or doesn't it matter? Given that feeding is opening the container, dropping in the food item, closing the container and leaving it 24 hours, I would guess not, but wanted to check.

- In respect of the remove after 24 hours if not eaten - I wonder about the practicalities of this. I have dropped a small cricket into my juvenile c. versicolor's enclosure this morning and I very quickly 'lost' it. How do I know if it has been eaten if I don't see it? If I do see it moving about, to what extent do I try to get at it to remove it? I take it that we don't remove cork bark and everything it could hide behind/under to get it out, so what happens if I can't re-catch it (also see below)? Does this make sense to others?

- Now a question on 'cricketing'. I bought a tub of small silent crickets with the T which I then moved to another Tupperware container. I'm crap at catching the wotsnames! For the 1 that made it into the Ts enclosure this morning, there are 3 others roaming around the bedroom. Is there a knack of keeping and catching these, or is it just down to practice?

Many thanks,
Wayne
Wayne, welcome to T keeping.
Don't worry too much and be patient, your T will be fine.

IMO I would have waited 5-7 days to feed your C. versicolor. This gives your T time to settle in to it's new enclosure and make it it's home.
Like most others I feed my T's in the evening as they are most active at night and that's when they're most likely to hunt and eat.
You shouldn't have to catch an uneaten cricket too often. Observe your T and they will tell you when they are hungry.

Soon your C. versicolor will build a web tube as it's home. Mine has built one that looks like the letter Y. I know when it's at the top of the web tube with it's legs at the opening it's hungry. All I have to do is drop an insect on the web near the opening and the T will get it. Super easy. No uneaten feeders to remove. Just watch your T and it will tell you when it's ready for dinner.
 

waynerowley

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Messages
78
Thanks for the advice and feedback. I have removed the cricket for now - it was quite easy in the end as it was at the top of the cork bark. The T has webbed itself up behind the cork bark and showed no interest. I wonder if it is in pre-moult but I don't know.

I'm going to leave it for 3-5 days and see what it does. Basically I want to wait until I can see that it is looking for food, either by seeing it out and about or seeing it near the entrance to it's web before trying again.

Might also switch to roaches - by all accounts they are a bit easier to manage.

Wayne
 

Dry Desert

Arachnoprince
Active Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Messages
1,552
Thanks for the advice and feedback. I have removed the cricket for now - it was quite easy in the end as it was at the top of the cork bark. The T has webbed itself up behind the cork bark and showed no interest. I wonder if it is in pre-moult but I don't know.

I'm going to leave it for 3-5 days and see what it does. Basically I want to wait until I can see that it is looking for food, either by seeing it out and about or seeing it near the entrance to it's web before trying again.

Might also switch to roaches - by all accounts they are a bit easier to manage.

Wayne
If you're going to switch to roaches, try Red Runners. Much better than Dubias IMO. I don't use crickets, I hate the things. Red Runners are much safer in the enclosure, and don't bury like Dubias.
 

Neonblizzard

Arachnomoron
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
611
Thanks for the advice and feedback. I have removed the cricket for now - it was quite easy in the end as it was at the top of the cork bark. The T has webbed itself up behind the cork bark and showed no interest. I wonder if it is in pre-moult but I don't know.

I'm going to leave it for 3-5 days and see what it does. Basically I want to wait until I can see that it is looking for food, either by seeing it out and about or seeing it near the entrance to it's web before trying again.

Might also switch to roaches - by all accounts they are a bit easier to manage.

Wayne
It can easily take a week or two before they settle in and be keen to eat. T's can go months without eating so i wouldn't fret about it. Just make sure they have water and all will be well
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
5,275
If you are new and only have one T, there’s no real reason when you feed and sit and watch to see if it takes the prey and not drop it in and walk away and wonder fot 24hrs, I recommend you do cause that’s half the joy in keeping. I have more than a few and I still choose to feed when I can watch to see if they take it, if they don’t, I don’t even leave in for 24hrs I just take it out after an hour or so and try again at a later time. Feed, sit, watch, enjoy, repeat.
 

Blueandbluer

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 17, 2015
Messages
495
Thanks for the advice and feedback. I have removed the cricket for now - it was quite easy in the end as it was at the top of the cork bark. The T has webbed itself up behind the cork bark and showed no interest. I wonder if it is in pre-moult but I don't know.

I'm going to leave it for 3-5 days and see what it does. Basically I want to wait until I can see that it is looking for food, either by seeing it out and about or seeing it near the entrance to it's web before trying again.

Might also switch to roaches - by all accounts they are a bit easier to manage.

Wayne
If it webbed itself into a secure area it is very likely in premolt. That's pretty classic behavior. But it may well take more than 5 days. My GBB once webbed herself in for 2 months before emerging with her new outfit on.
 

Postmalone35

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
87
Hi there,

I am a newbie having bought my first T earlier this week. I have some questions on feeding which I hope don't sound stupid! I have read Tom's guide on feeding but would like to clarify:

- Is there a good time of day for feeding or doesn't it matter? Given that feeding is opening the container, dropping in the food item, closing the container and leaving it 24 hours, I would guess not, but wanted to check.

- In respect of the remove after 24 hours if not eaten - I wonder about the practicalities of this. I have dropped a small cricket into my juvenile c. versicolor's enclosure this morning and I very quickly 'lost' it. How do I know if it has been eaten if I don't see it? If I do see it moving about, to what extent do I try to get at it to remove it? I take it that we don't remove cork bark and everything it could hide behind/under to get it out, so what happens if I can't re-catch it (also see below)? Does this make sense to others?

- Now a question on 'cricketing'. I bought a tub of small silent crickets with the T which I then moved to another Tupperware container. I'm crap at catching the wotsnames! For the 1 that made it into the Ts enclosure this morning, there are 3 others roaming around the bedroom. Is there a knack of keeping and catching these, or is it just down to practice?

Many thanks,
Wayne
I only remove after a day if I have easy access
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Thanks for this. I like the idea of the pin/pencil harpoon. I'll try that!

Part of my current concern is that I don't know how close the T is to moulting or whether it is in pre-moult. I've only had it for 3 days, and I do know that it did not moult while in the care of the pet store.

Any ideas from this pic:

View attachment 381080
No one will be able to tell you

One sign they are getting close. Ts lose their ability to stick to surfaces and fall at times
 

waynerowley

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 5, 2021
Messages
78
Feeding attempt 2: Dropped cricket in enclosure. This cricket - let’s call it Gavin - is smart. It stays on the back of the cork bark underneath the spider web and won‘t come out. The spider is webbed itself up and is not interested. But the only way I can remove Gavin is to remove cork bark and spider.

Suggestions?

8249F7B4-3D3D-442E-BDF1-34AD80AB31F1.jpeg
 
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