superworm got away

kosh

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 10, 2002
Messages
508
my most recently purchased rosehair hasnt been eating since i changed out her substrate and cleaned her tank...(she was formerly the mother of all eaters and there is no sign of impending moult)...but every once in a while i throw some food in there to see if she will take it...and today i threw in a superworm that very quickly burrowed under the substrate.....i tried to get it out with chopsticks but the rosehair wouldnt let me...she kept striking at the chopsticks and so i had to let the superworm get away..
what are the implications of letting the superworm stay in there??
the only way i can get it out is to rehouse the spider temporarily and dig through all the substrate....
any suggestions?
 

Immortal_sin

Arachnotemptress
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 17, 2002
Messages
3,952
I have had MANY superworms get away. I find them a few weeks later as beetles or whatever the stage is in between. I only give superworms to Ts I know are not going to molt anytime in the near future.
I've never had a problem, but some here might have.
Holley
 

Joanie

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 4, 2002
Messages
205
I have had superworms get away also, and the only result was that the tarantula ended up eating the adult beetle instead of the larval superworm.

The only problem I can imagine is if the beetle is roaming around while the t is in the process of molting and decides to take a bite of soft tarantula. The escaped superworm and the next stage (pupae) shouldn't be a danger at all.
 

Valael

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
756
Superworms kinda suck, heh. They smell worse than crickets do, and like you experienced -- they love to escape.



They've got the jaws of a shark.. I've had them burrow into drift wood (I didn't know it at the time, I saw wood shavings, but whenever I ran water over it to wash whatever it was out, nothing came out) So I assumed a cricket was being dumb and dug in and came back out.


Eventually, I took the drift wood out of the enclosure because I no longer used it or the enclosure. Came back a week or so later and found a beetle running around in the bin I put the drift wood in.. heh.
 
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