- Joined
- May 24, 2007
- Messages
- 177
I threw in a cricket this morning for one of my T's. I went to check on her about an hour or go to see if the little bugger was gone yet... Well it was in the fangs being eaten. I was satisfied, happy my girl was enjoying her meal and I noticed movement. ‘The dirt is crawling’ kind of movement. First thing that came to mind was mites. But I’ve never had a mite problem and never let anything decay in their spider dens. Un eaten food goes back to the cricket keeper at the end of the night.
So I busted out my sure-fire light and examined closer. To my surprise it was crawling with a good 3 to 4 hundred baby crickets. Probably about 2 or 3 millimeters long. I suppose the cricket I threw in this morning had released them in the 6 or so hours before she got snatched up. They are everywhere, each nook and cranny there is. Even dug down about a half inch through the top substrate. I just kept thinking "Why couldn't you have done this an hour earlier in the cricket keeper!" I think I even shook my fist at its limp body, dangling from the tarantula’s mouth.
So I have spent the last hour with spoon in hand, flashlight in the other meticulously scooping out tiny crickets into another keeper. There are more in the tank still but I grow tired of spotting them out. I have probably about 200 or so crawling about in the cricket keeper, a good majority of them.
I have never had the desire to raise my own feeders, but I don't see why I should waste these little guys. Anyone who raises their own feeder crickets, feel free to give me some input. How should they be kept and what should I feed them to optimize growth. I feed the crickets I buy potato wedges to keep them from cannibalizing.
Anyone out there had this happen? Out of all my years tending T's this is a first.
So I busted out my sure-fire light and examined closer. To my surprise it was crawling with a good 3 to 4 hundred baby crickets. Probably about 2 or 3 millimeters long. I suppose the cricket I threw in this morning had released them in the 6 or so hours before she got snatched up. They are everywhere, each nook and cranny there is. Even dug down about a half inch through the top substrate. I just kept thinking "Why couldn't you have done this an hour earlier in the cricket keeper!" I think I even shook my fist at its limp body, dangling from the tarantula’s mouth.
So I have spent the last hour with spoon in hand, flashlight in the other meticulously scooping out tiny crickets into another keeper. There are more in the tank still but I grow tired of spotting them out. I have probably about 200 or so crawling about in the cricket keeper, a good majority of them.
I have never had the desire to raise my own feeders, but I don't see why I should waste these little guys. Anyone who raises their own feeder crickets, feel free to give me some input. How should they be kept and what should I feed them to optimize growth. I feed the crickets I buy potato wedges to keep them from cannibalizing.
Anyone out there had this happen? Out of all my years tending T's this is a first.