People that tong feed really miss out

8 legged

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 25, 2020
Messages
1,069
maybe, he does like avics, but hes stil 110% right in his assertion.

Ive raised a ton of avic avics, like at least 8 sacs worth...i have yet to have any single individual avic need to be tong fed....its just not necessary at all, they hunt just fine.
Of course, or has anybody seen a "tong guy" in the wild, helping those poor creatures? 🤗
 

Sterls

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
449
maybe, he does like avics, but hes stil 110% right in his assertion.

Ive raised a ton of avic avics, like at least 8 sacs worth...i have yet to have any single individual avic need to be tong fed....its just not necessary at all, they hunt just fine.
Well mine wasn't adequately hunting; when a T's abdomen is nearly shivelled because it hasn't eaten for an extensive amount of time immediately following a molt, you try things you normally wouldn't. I followed viper's Avic guide to a tee, so it wasn't husbandry related. I understand this case is not typical.

Your experiences aren't universal you know - there's always exceptions.
 

Craig73

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jun 2, 2016
Messages
790
I will admit that my A. Minatrix is in an enclosure that is way to large for it (7”x11”) and haven’t lit the fire under my tail to rehouse it yet. The prey interaction takes forever. It was one of my first T’s and one I treat a bit bougie. All my other avics get the common class treatment. Roast away 🔥. Fully transparent I created the situation.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
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Jan 19, 2014
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13,223
havent found an exception...ive raised easily over 1000....soooo, still waiting on that one.

Heres the thing, with an avic, you can just leave roaming feeders, as they molt high, in protected web cacoons...so just drop in an appropriately sized cricket and walk away.
 

Timc

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
84
The one thing I’ve never understood about tong feeding is some tarantulas I have don’t eat unless it’s quiet and dark (looking at you A. chalcodes). I usually have to leave the prey item in and check in an hour or so. What do people do in this situation? Like, just keep pressuring the spider to eat and stressing it out? Give up and let a potentially hungry pet go without? I don’t get it.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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Dec 8, 2006
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maybe, he does like avics, but hes stil 110% right in his assertion.

Ive raised a ton of avic avics, like at least 8 sacs worth...i have yet to have any single individual avic need to be tong fed....its just not necessary at all, they hunt just fine.
Same here, they are able predators.

The one thing I’ve never understood about tong feeding is some tarantulas I have don’t eat unless it’s quiet and dark (looking at you A. chalcodes). I usually have to leave the prey item in and check in an hour or so. What do people do in this situation? Like, just keep pressuring the spider to eat and stressing it out? Give up and let a potentially hungry pet go without? I don’t get it.
Always feed appropriately sized prey! They will kill that which they want dead! There’s no pressure in such a situation, nor stress. Life in the wild is far more stressful than life in a box.

Also, each species and each soecimen is unique. ALL of my irminia only accepted smaller sized crickets despite having a large body size that other species had and that ate larger prey.

One cannot force a T to eat. One can increase the temps a bit to increase metabolism.

Some may die.
 

scooter1685

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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May 28, 2006
Messages
70
Several of my Ts are very enthusiastic when taking down prey. My geniculatas, chromatus, GBBs, T. apophysis, all three of my Pamphos... I only get to see the larger ones eat a couple times per month now, but it's always worth the wait.

The one I've come to appreciate the most is my Cyriocosmus elegans. She (hopeful) is dainty, almost delicate, when taking prey. She creeps up to the prey very slowly, even if it's struggling frantically. Once she touches it, she quickly wraps her front legs and pedipalps around it and bites. Then she slowly drags the prey, still struggling, down into the depths of her burrow to enjoy her meal in peace.

So far she's the only one of my Ts that is so deliberate and slow in her takedowns. It's fascinating to me because it's so different from the others.
 

thedragonslapper

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
72
When I first got into Ts it was neat watching my old but still kicking G porteri snatch live crickets when they inevitably came close to her. But as I got to my 2nd then 3rd T onward I rapidly grew weary of dealing with crickets and switched to dubia roaches. My porteri is currently the sole survivor of my Ts and these make up most if not all of her diet.

As all but the adult males were sluggish and had a tendency to “freeze” whenever anything touched them I would crunch their heads and place them close to my T. If she’s hungry she’ll accept it. Not direct tong feeding I know, but exactly the er, “natural” way either lol. I can understand the excitement of watching their natural hunting habits in action but I like to ensure my fat oldie gets her meal, assuming she’s interested in the first place. I don’t like the idea of leaving an unsupervised prey item in that goes unkilled by an uninterested T.

Wild animals though they are pet Ts are really just that. Pets. I feel it’s my responsibility then to make my pet eats when/if hungry. Of course this a porteri I’m talking here. Rivaled only by Brachys and perhaps Aphonopelma as unmatched fasters.
 

Metallattorney

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 24, 2019
Messages
38
My mature male GBB is fascinating to watch. He is not nearly as active any more for obvious reasons, but he still eats. How he does it is he sits motionless in his water dish and waits for the cricket to come up to take a drink and then tackles it.
 

Royalty

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 11, 2020
Messages
246
havent found an exception...ive raised easily over 1000....soooo, still waiting on that one.

Heres the thing, with an avic, you can just leave roaming feeders, as they molt high, in protected web cacoons...so just drop in an appropriately sized cricket and walk away.
I only had an issue when mine was small and I was using mealworms and it did not seem to go down for them. I just flicked it into the web. The are high up in the wild and may be used to prey most being at their level. That being said mien does roam when she is in the mood and will go down as well.

I actually really love her behavior as she has grown. She has a cute little hammock there I pretty much always see her now when I peek around the side. I think that if I had to keep only one T, a.avic would def be a consideration for it. Her takedowns are not the most spectacular all the time but I kind of like her chill behavior.

I got to "hand feed" my new h.mac today.

I have a hole in the top of the amac box that I can drop a mealworm through without it being big enough for the T to get out (mealworms are long and thin...too bad it does not work for crickets)

She was at the top near the hole and I carefully poked the mealworm in and she grabbed it. I do this for my Amac-box pokies as well. Sometimes they can tell the vibrations when I start to put the mealworm in and will bolt out and often catch it midair as it falls.

My p.metallica is a lot picker tho and I usually have to wait to see his take downs. It is funny when he does get excited tho.
 

cold blood

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had an issue when mine was small and I was using mealworms and it did not seem to go down for them.
ahhh, i see now. its true, worms dont always get a good response from avic slings....crickets or roaches are better.
I got to "hand feed" my new h.mac today.

I have a hole in the top of the amac box that I can drop a mealworm through without it being big enough for the T to get out (mealworms are long and thin...too bad it does not work for
I feed most of my ts through the vent holes when feeding worms...extremely effective. doesnt work in sling enclosures though...haha
 

Kibosh

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Messages
257
Meh I am not ashamed. Like I said I have experimented with various methods and my Avic doesn't hunt or feed if I don't lay it's prey somewhere near it. Only T I have that is this way. I don't like tong feeding nor do I encourage it, but that's how my MF A. Avic eats. If I don't then she doesn't eat that week and the cricket just dies and rots somewhere.

Gladly trained by my T of that means it thrives.
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
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Mar 7, 2012
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4,096
maybe, he does like avics, but hes stil 110% right in his assertion.

Ive raised a ton of avic avics, like at least 8 sacs worth...i have yet to have any single individual avic need to be tong fed....its just not necessary at all, they hunt just fine.
One thing that's kind of funny to do with the ones I'm raising (that you sent me as slings) is to stick a mealworm through the ventilation slot and watch her go nuts trying to grab it. (She always wins.)

The female is a bold, eager hunter and often runs toward the front of the cage if we're talking in that direction.

Her stubborn brother often prefers to take his sweet time hunting and stalking.

To me, Avic stubbornness is part of their charm.
 

Crazyarachnoguy

Arachnoknight
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Dec 11, 2019
Messages
180
Love watching the hunting behavior in all my arachnids.

Only one I have to tong feed is my A. Avic, cause if I don't put the cricket down right next to it then it never gets eaten and rots.
I have this same problem with my a.avic. All my other spiders can fend for themselves though.
 

Sterls

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
449
havent found an exception...ive raised easily over 1000....soooo, still waiting on that one.

Heres the thing, with an avic, you can just leave roaming feeders, as they molt high, in protected web cacoons...so just drop in an appropriately sized cricket and walk away.
I knew you'd raised a bunch, but over 1000....wow.

I did try leaving feeders in, mostly dubias. Maybe they just didn't incite a feeding response? If I crushed the head it just rotted. If I didn't crush them they usually loitered around the water dish, but a few could be found on the cork bark at times so I don't think it was an issue with them burrowing/evading the T. Those of us that experience this with avics definitely seem like the outliers whatever the case.
 

emartinm28

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 29, 2020
Messages
271
I knew you'd raised a bunch, but over 1000....wow.

I did try leaving feeders in, mostly dubias. Maybe they just didn't incite a feeding response? If I crushed the head it just rotted. If I didn't crush them they usually loitered around the water dish, but a few could be found on the cork bark at times so I don't think it was an issue with them burrowing/evading the T. Those of us that experience this with avics definitely seem like the outliers whatever the case.
I’ve definitely noticed this with dubias. None of my Avics have ever actually consumed a dubia, prekilled or otherwise. I’ve got a sub adult female who will grab them but immediately drop them. Gave up on feeding off dubias to this subfamily pretty quick.

Where crickets are concerned though, I used to tong feed but have now stopped. I find that my avics are more prone than other subfamilies that i have experience with to go on breaks. Most of my other T’s will take every meal until it’s time for premolt but my avics will eat for a few weeks then skip a few meals before getting hungry again. When they want the cricket, they will take it. But yeah, dubias have been rejected outright without fail.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
504
I didn’t tong feed my Ts that often to begin with, so once I started keeping centipedes, tong feeding did a Mace and went out the Windu
 
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