Really Big Picky Eaters- Suggestions?

[Surfing Tigress]

I have some picky eaters and could use some advice... it's like having picky children that won't eat anything but chicken nuggets lol!

Species:
Poecilotheria metallica
Poecilotheria rufilata
Poecilotheria formosa
Avicularia avicularia
Heteroscodra masculata
Chilobrachys fimbriatus
*my Poeci's and Pinky have about a 3.5-5" leg span (about a year and 9 months old) and the two others are our newest additions to the family and still itty bitties only about 0.75-1" ish.

They will eat nothing but tarantula chicken nuggets... Aka Crickets....

My eight-legged babies are loved and very well-tended to.... I spoil all my pets something silly. I am a big believer in variety in diet but I have had no success at all getting my T's to eat anything but crickets. I thought my snake was picky but she's got nothing on my T's. Initially for the first year I fed them with tongs by directly feeding them by presenting the food right up to them and loved watching take the food and feed! Beautiful Creatures!! They would eat a few times a week. As they grew they became less interested in food on a regular basis and don’t eat off the tongs really. So now I drop the crickets in and they eat at their leisure… they eat 1-2 a week unless molting during which I withhold food for safety. All of them molt well (Well my big four, the two newest have only been with me a few weeks, are still settling in and have not molted yet). But I have done research after research and tried but have had no success getting them to eat anything else? I only keep large species (obviously) and they are all gonna need MUCH larger pray in the long run (lizards etc) and I am in desperate need of some expert advice on broadening their pallet because I really feel they are not getting enough…. ANY SUGGESTIONS??

If pictures are needed for any reason just let me know and I will post
THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME!

 

[Vanisher]

Try roaches and diffrent larvea, like superworms!

 

[Surfing Tigress]

So.... To clarify.... not so much 'what' to try because I know a plethora of options out there and have tried several....
My query is more directed at 'how'? Any suggestions on how to entice them to eat or get them to even try new things? It is literally like having a kid who is picky, they won't even look at or try new foods it seems like lol!

 

[Paul1126]

So.... To clarify.... not so much 'what' to try because I know a plethora of options out there and have tried several....
My query is more directed at 'how'? Any suggestions on how to entice them to eat or get them to even try new things? It is literally like having a kid who is picky, they won't even look at or try new foods it seems like lol!

The only way to entice them to eat is through movement. If the prey item moves and the tarantula is hungry it will react.

 

[Gh0st]

Personally, I don't think feeding exclusively crickets is terrible. It's obviously going to be more tedious because you may end up having to feed multiples, but as long as your are gut loading and feeding your crickets correctly, the spiders are going to get all the nutrients they need. I feed exclusively red runners but I always am alternating the food I feed my roaches. I feed a variety of apples, carrots, fruit scraps, oatmeal, etc and everyone of my tarantulas in my collection is thriving.

 

[Theneil]

Dubia and “worms” are the only feeders i have had refused. red runners and crickets both get great responses.


I do have one P. met who will eat red runners but doesn’t seem to fond of them, but she likes adult male dubia and also eats hissers very well.

 

[cold blood]

I agree with the above, if they like crickets feed them crickets it's not an issue.

That said, I don't know how your ventilation is set up, but I run Sterilite tubs mostly. For ventilation I use a drill bit that's just a little bigger than a super worm.

This way, when I want to feed all I have to do is put the prey item through the nearest ventilation hole to where the tarantula is and hold it there. They come right up and take it every time if they're hungry. And the best part about this is they can't break their fangs on the tweezers as the tweezers are on the other side of the tub. A nice safe easy way that gets a good reaction. Obviously if you don't have ventilation like this it won't work, but if you do........

 

[G. pulchra]

Interesting, I've never had a pokie that was a picky eater.

 

[darkness975]

I feed almost exclusively crickets with an occasional superworm and maybe a roach now and then.

 

[Surfing Tigress]

Cold Blood that a Terrific idea!!
If I do it I may need to hit you up on how to lol

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I'm not surprised at all: no hungry T's will ever refuse a cricket, but a lot of hungry T's (arboreals especially, in my experience, and isn't a coincidence that on your list majority are arboreal species) wouldn't eat a B.dubia and such

There isn't a "valid" explanation, for this. Seriously. For instance, I have yet to find a NW terrestrial that dislike roaches, still, with certain arboreal specimens I had during years, roaches were a nope.

This leads to a thing to do: offer to the 'picky' crickets. Yes they are smelly, enjoy cannibalism and noisy, but they do the job