Superworms

[Nephrite]

I can't find the picture now, I saw it months ago as part of my research on feeder insects when I first started into the hobby. The picture I saw was of a dubia eating a molting tarantula. I've also seen my dubias in my colony canabalizing any roaches that happen to die off in my bins. Perhaps I'm not giving them enough protein in their diet? idk, in any case, I know they can do it. It's not common but it does happen.

Well if the roaches are already dead, than that's just natural. Roaches decomposes dead and leftover material, so it's just doing it's usual task of cleaning up the environment.

 

[ratluvr76]

Well if the roaches are already dead, than that's just natural. Roaches decomposes dead and leftover material, so it's just doing it's usual task of cleaning up the environment.

I know. I was responding to this message.....

Not from any information I have seen. They don't even eat each other when one of them dies in the bin. Though if you have information that suggest otherwise lay it on me. I'll be glad to look it over.

Where Trenor says that they don't even eat each other when one dies in the bin.

 

[Trenor]

I can't find the picture now, I saw it months ago as part of my research on feeder insects when I first started into the hobby. The picture I saw was of a dubia eating a molting tarantula. I've also seen my dubias in my colony canabalizing any roaches that happen to die off in my bins. Perhaps I'm not giving them enough protein in their diet? idk, in any case, I know they can do it. It's not common but it does happen.

I'm not sure. I do feed mine a high protein diet with veggies as well as dry food. I had some mature males that I was feeding to my Bearded Dragons in a separate small feeder bin. I went to the beach for a week and left them for my sister to feed while I was gone. She got feeders from the main bin to feed. The small bin had no food or water for 15 or 16 days (I didn't know they were still in there) by the time I found them. Not a one ate the other. They just pounced on the food when I put some in there. I've been feeding these to reptiles for years and haven't seen them try to eat each other or their dead. I do sort mine into two colonies. I have a feeder colony and a breeder colony.

I'd be interested in seeing the photo if you could dig it up. I'll look around more and see what I can find as well.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Get a 6" forceps and use it for cage maintenance (picking up prey, water bowls, cage decorations, etc) and keep your fingers out of your spider cages. Even the calmest species can have sudden and violent feeding responses.

You can say that again. I have a suspect male E. campestratus that I would not put my fingers near. It charges everything that comes near it. Tongs, water poured into it's dish, etc.

In regard to burrowing superworms, I never crush their heads either, but the only ones I occasionally feed them to is the L.P. and VERY rarely the ravenous E. campestratus. I did have one manage to burrow under before I could get a grip on it with the tongs. I shrugged it off because I knew the L.P was nowhere near moulting, and decided that the risk was low enough that the disruption of the substrate and associated risk of disturbing the spider and getting a cloud of hairs flung at me outweighed my concerns. I did later notice a couple tunnels beneath the substrate along the glass, but if that superworm ever did morph it surely arose to a nasty surprise as I never saw a beetle and it has been a long time since the incident.

 

[blazeit505]

my husband feeds his T's superoworms. (We both hate touching the things.) They burrow so quickly though! How do you all keep them above ground long enough to become a meal?

I have a Avic that sucks at hunting so I tong feed