Tong Feeding, Safe or NOT?

[viper69]

I often read/see people using forceps of varying sizes to feed insects to their Ts. Is it really safe? I have wondered because the forceps are metal, and I wonder if it's likely a T's fangs would get damaged. Surely if it struck hard enough of course they are likely to break.

I only drop my crickets/roaches in, and let them hunt.

I'm wondering if people have heard/observed any negative side effects of tong feeding?

 

[catfishrod69]

I tong/tweezer feed almost everything, from .5" to 8". Never had any problems. If you hold the feeder in the right spot, theres a lot less likely chance the tarantula will grab the tongs.

 

[Poec54]

I'll tong-feed freshly dead crickets to my spiders, but it works MUCH better with juveniles. Adults tend to grab the tong too, with their legs, and once they realize their mistake, usually drop the cricket and run. To me it's just not worth it for larger spiders. With a smaller spider, it's far more likely they'll just grab the cricket only.

 

[viper69]

I'll tong-feed freshly dead crickets to my spiders, but it works MUCH better with juveniles. Adults tend to grab the tong too, with their legs, and once they realize their mistake, usually drop the cricket and run. To me it's just not worth it for larger spiders. With a smaller spider, it's far more likely they'll just grab the cricket only.

My concern is they'd go in and fangs would hit steel. Yeah I could see them back off and not eat for another day haha.

 

[Poec54]

My concern is they'd go in and fangs would hit steel. Yeah I could see them back off and not eat for another day haha.

Yes, I'm also concerned about fang injury with tong-feeding larger spiders. They're a lot stronger and hit the tongs harder. T's scoop up prey and pull it close to them with their front legs so that they can insert their fangs, and that's what makes tong feeding tricky. The bigger the spider, the larger the 'scoop area.' Some spiders are too secretive or too high-strung for me to try to tong feed. As it is, it takes enough time to feed my spiders (I break it up and feed different sections on different days) and tong feeding slows the process way down. I'll dump half a dozen crickets in an adult's cage and move on to the next one. Some of the spiders are in their retreats or spooked by me opening the lid. With slings, feeding is slower anyways because of selecting the right size crickets; I don't want taking any longer than it already does.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Apart from the potential fang injury factor, I don't think I've ever seen an OBT tong-feeding video. Are OBTs too aggressive to tong-feed? Would they try to run up your tongs and bite you?

 

[Poec54]

Apart from the potential fang injury factor, I don't think I've ever seen an OBT tong-feeding video. Are OBTs too aggressive to tong-feed? Would they try to run up your tongs and bite you?

Definite possiblitity. Not a good idea.

 

[McGuiverstein]

I'll tong-feed freshly dead crickets to my spiders, but it works MUCH better with juveniles. Adults tend to grab the tong too, with their legs, and once they realize their mistake, usually drop the cricket and run. To me it's just not worth it for larger spiders. With a smaller spider, it's far more likely they'll just grab the cricket only.

+1. Out of my collection, there are only a few spiders that I still tong feed. After a little tug of war incident that nearly resulted in an injury to my ~6" cambridgei, I only do it with my younger spiders and the ones that I know are less high strung. For those that haven't fought over a pair of 10" tongs with a spider, you don't know how strong they can be when they're hungry....

---------- Post added 12-18-2013 at 11:24 AM ----------

Apart from the potential fang injury factor, I don't think I've ever seen an OBT tong-feeding video. Are OBTs too aggressive to tong-feed? Would they try to run up your tongs and bite you?

I don't recall seeing any either, and I'm not going to volunteer to make one haha. My OBT feeding protocol involves: open top, drop in cricket(s), close top, observe carnage through side of container. No sense in giving them an unnecessary opportunity to make me a side dish.

 

[MarkmD]

I don't tong feed any of my T's, most hunt them down or if skittish then they will find the dead pray, for me it's just in case they damage thair fangs etc. Not saying it doesn't work cause i'm sure it does and probably well, the fact being is they don't need it cause thay are equipped with everything they need to hunt, even the skittish types will eventually start hunting after a few molts or less.

 

[LordWaffle]

Apart from the potential fang injury factor, I don't think I've ever seen an OBT tong-feeding video. Are OBTs too aggressive to tong-feed? Would they try to run up your tongs and bite you?

It could happen. That's how my friend got bitten when he was new to OBTs. He wasn't feeding, but he had tongs in the cage cleaning it and the spider got spooked.

 

[catfishrod69]

I use a pair of 16" hemostats to feed my adult female. Not at all as bad as it seems. She grabs they roach and heads to her hide.

Apart from the potential fang injury factor, I don't think I've ever seen an OBT tong-feeding video. Are OBTs too aggressive to tong-feed? Would they try to run up your tongs and bite you?

 

[BobGrill]

I use tongs to feed my A. metallica. If I just drop the crickets in, she never finds them because she's always up high and they either stay on the ground or hide underneath the cork bark. It's much more efficient in case she decides to pull a surprise molt, that way I don't have to worry about any crickets being left in with her.

 

[Mysteryavic]

I also use 8in tongs to feed all my T's. Take note all but 2 of my Ts are still quite small 3" or less. I have come to like them because if the T does not eat the cricket right away i see them laying eggs in the T enclosure some times and it drives me crazy. Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance.

 

[shebeen]

I also use 8in tongs to feed all my T's. Take note all but 2 of my Ts are still quite small 3" or less. I have come to like them because if the T does not eat the cricket right away i see them laying eggs in the T enclosure some times and it drives me crazy. Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance.

If your substrate is dry, the eggs won't hatch.

 

[just1moreT]

I tong feed alot of my stuff scrops and Ts and even centipede, my obt is a very aggressive girl, but she is a sweety, you can pretty well tell when a T is ready to feed, the web builders forsure.

 

[Beary Strange]

I "tong" feed (disc foreceps) almost all of my Ts, with the exception of the babies and the OWs. I've had a few adults grab onto my foreceps, but most let go in favor of the food. I did have an incident a couple days ago when one of my newish female rosies not only grabbed my foreceps but proceeded to try and nom them. I was certain she was going to break a fang because I could see and feel her get them between her fangs, but we got her to leg go and she was a little shaken up, but otherwise fine-she even went after the meal worm I had been trying to give her afterwards. From the way she grabbed them in her fangs (got them in between and squeezed, rather than striking onto them) I actually wonder if she really could have hurt herself though...

 

[viper69]

ought over a pair of 10" tongs with a spider, you don't know how strong they can be when they're hungry....

What species and size of the T?

 

[Jebbles]

I throw the cricket at my big spiders. They have a pretty good reflex. For my juvies I just put a cricket in and let them hunt for it. For my slings I feed them prekilled and put it in with tweezers.

 

[Curious jay]

What species and size of the T?

~6" P. cambridgei, he mentioned in the same post I'm guessing.


Personally I don't tong feed at all, no reason just preference.

As for the lack of tong feeding videos for P. murinus I imagine its due to the fact they have such great appetites there is really no reason to tong feed.

 

[MarkmD]

Why do some people tong feed them???, i get thay maybe slings, if so freshly dead pray will do?,, I understand if thay can't feed/missing fang or legs etc, they were born to hunt/stalk pray wether its WC or CB, the only reason i can think of is you like it (nothing wrong with that), or is it you don't think thay will eat unless they are tong fed??. its more of an inquiry than needing answers.