Tong feeding :)

[EpicEpic]

Never had much luck prekilling superworms for adult Poecilotheria. So yes, tong feeding is the most viable option.

Ok. Fair point. Here is my rebuttal. You opened this poll or should I say "can of worms" and obviously the results are overwhelming.

If you opened up a poll...will my adult T die by starvation before I get Crickets I assure you it will be 100% NO.

Maybe that's the best option!

Just wait.

 

[MBArachnids]

Ok. Fair point. Here is my rebuttal. You opened this poll or should I say "can of worms" and obviously the results are overwhelming.

If you opened up a poll...will my adult T die by starvation before I get Crickets I assure you it will be 100% NO.

Maybe that's the best option!

Just wait.

Maybe I am misunderstanding, are you suggesting leaving the T until it gets so hungry it will go scavenge for food?

 

[EpicEpic]

Maybe I am misunderstanding, are you suggesting leaving the T until it gets so hungry it will go scavenge for food?

No. I am saying a grown T can go a long long time without eating. If it was me, I'd wait to get crickets before tong feeding super worms. The spider is not going to starve to death like the OP said.

 

[MBArachnids]

No. I am saying a grown T can go a long long time without eating. If it was me, I'd wait to get crickets before tong feeding super worms. The spider is not going to starve to death like the OP said.

Just out of curiosity, do you test your pokies to see if they are hungry or do you just drop feeders on a schedule? If you do test, how do you do it?

 

[EpicEpic]

Just out of curiosity, do you test your pokies to see if they are hungry or do you just drop feeders on a schedule? If you do test, how do you do it?

I dont own pokies. I'm a New World guy. I dont feed on schedule. I feed on the size of the abdomen and by watching them. Their behavior and abdomen will both tell you how hungry they are. Plump T's don't need food for starters.

 

[MBArachnids]

I dont own pokies. I'm a New World guy. I dont feed on schedule. I feed on the size of the abdomen and by watching them. Their behavior and abdomen will both tell you how hungry they are. Plump T's don't need food for starters.

Glad you own T's that you see on a regular basis Haven't seen my P. Fasciata for a little over 3 months now. Should I dig her out to see if her abdomen is adequate?

You are basically laying down hard rules because of your situation and setup but unfortunately not everyone is in the same boat as you.

To be quite honest as well, my P. Regalis died last year because I had also been anti tong feeding because I wanted to fit in here...Looked the next day no cricket, the day after no cricket, presumed it was eaten right.... My Pokie never closed off her hide for molting and the cricket had itself a big old feast...

I am not trying to start a debate or to convince anyone so I'll leave the conversation here.. All I am saying is there are no hard rules and you need to adapt as a keeper...

 

[EpicEpic]

Glad you own T's that you see on a regular basis Haven't seen my P. Fasciata for a little over 3 months now. Should I dig her out to see if her abdomen is adequate?

No. This is where the behavior part comes in. She'll start hunting when hungry

I do have a little 1" C. leetzi dwarf I haven't seen a month (hopefully molted + bigger!). She unblocked her raised burrows (furrows) yesterday. I expect her to stroll out any day now looking for a meal.

 

[MBArachnids]

No. This is where the behavior part comes in. She'll start hunting when hungry

This is exactly what I am talking about though..I feed my pokies on a weekly basis, they are fat and happy. If I were to wait for them to start hunting that would probably take around 4-6 weeks from my personal experience. I would then much rather take my tongs, grab a worm by the behind, test for a feeding response and if I get one leave the worm and let the T do her thing. I have never actually had a T take the worm off the tongs though as when I get a feeding response and leave the worm on the flat part it takes no more than 1-2 seconds before it's gone.

Let's just agree to disagree, I am not willing to wait 4-6 weeks for my T to come out and look for food when they are eating weekly and you are not willing to tong feed due to the risks involved.

 

[EpicEpic]

This is exactly what I am talking about though..I feed my pokies on a weekly basis, they are fat and happy. If I were to wait for them to start hunting that would probably take around 4-6 weeks from my personal experience. I would then much rather take my tongs, grab a worm by the behind, test for a feeding response and if I get one leave the worm and let the T do her thing. I have never actually had a T take the worm off the tongs though as when I get a feeding response and leave the worm on the flat part it takes no more than 1-2 seconds before it's gone.

Let's just agree to disagree, I am not willing to wait 4-6 weeks for my T to come out and look for food when they are eating weekly and you are not willing to tong feed due to the risks involved.

Feeding them to YOUR needs and feeding them to THEIR needs are two totally different things.

Plump T's do not NEED food, and do not get "unhappy" when they don't get it.

They are OPPORTUNISTIC eaters, and are only eating because in nature they do not know when their next meal is coming.

If they are not hunting, they are perfectly content and "happy"....If they are not hunting they are not hungry.

If your T's are plump you are getting a feeding response from a T that doesn't need food.

That's just Tarantula 101. Obvious we'll agree to disagree if you don't know/agree with the above.

 

[MBArachnids]

Feeding them to YOUR needs and feeding them to THEIR needs are two totally different things.

Plump T's do not NEED food, and do not get "unhappy" when they don't get it.

They are OPPORTUNISTIC eaters, and are only eating because in nature they do not know when their next meal is coming.

If they are not hunting, they are perfectly content and "happy"....If they are not hunting they are not hungry.

If your T's are plump you are getting a feeding response from a T that doesn't need food.

That's just Tarantula 101. Obvious we'll agree to disagree if you don't know/agree with the above.

We clearly misunderstood each other and are on 2 different pages...

I can just as easily flip the argument by saying that the T is not unhappy getting food either and can refuse the feeder whenever they want, as they have done numerous times in the past. So it is by choice that the T is giving a feeding response and eating when it could of it's own free will refuse the food. Unless you are saying that I will overfeed my T and it will die because it doesn't know when to stop

You just took the conversation from tong feeding to feeding behavior because some of us make use of tongs to ensure the feeders don't disappear into our elaborate setups that we often have....

Like I said we all have our ways, and I am sure your T's are perfectly content as are mine, using this now to measure genitalia and a "who knows more" seems a bit over the top, wouldn't you agree?

Not everyone has to conform to your opinion and I know many members on here who have kept T's twice as long as you and have twice as many T's as you will ever have that feed on a weekly basis just like me. It's a choice, you choose to leave your T's until they have to go out and hunt from hunger and I choose to feed on a weekly basis if the T so chooses to take the feeder.

Good luck with your T's going forward.

Happy keeping

 

[Wolfram1]

i dont understand the issue, and i cant really answer the poll as is.

do i think tong feeding is a bad habit?

for lolz: thats just inviting trouble
for specific reasons: sure, u thought it throug, and work with what u got

i dont think its fair to tell someone what feeders they have to use ether, who knows whats the feeder quality in their lokal area is or their monetary situation?

anyways im polling "no" but be aware that that doesnt include situations where the keeper just enjoys feeding of the tongs without reason

 

[Venom1080]

Ok. Fair point. Here is my rebuttal. You opened this poll or should I say "can of worms" and obviously the results are overwhelming.

If you opened up a poll...will my adult T die by starvation before I get Crickets I assure you it will be 100% NO.

Maybe that's the best option!

Just wait.

For sure, but if tong feeding is safe, which so far i still believe is with a few additional practices, then theres no need for my 7" regalis who molted last week to wait.

 

[EpicEpic]

For sure, but if tong feeding is safe, which so far i still believe is with a few additional practices, then theres no need for my 7" regalis who molted last week to wait.

Then why did you open the poll? If 75% of this amazing source of information and great minds is not enough to sway you....then I don't see the point.

Best of luck either way!

 

[Venom1080]

Then why did you open the poll? If 75% of this amazing source of information and great minds is not enough to sway you....then I don't see the point.

Best of luck either way!

Parroted opinions and lack of evidence does not a great mind make..

 

[EpicEpic]

Parroted opinions and lack of evidence does not a great mind make..

If someone tells you dont drink and drive....that's not enough? The person telling you has to have DWIs and accidents to have an opinion?

This sites general consensus is smart enough to never START with bad habits

Most good owners here have enough substrate in their tanks....and not because they lost a T to a fall. Because they know better from hearing about all the problems it can cause not to.

Same with sharp/heavy objects.

Same with way too large tanks for slings.

Same with feeding way oversized prey.

And the list goes on...

 

[Garnet3942]

Im guessing u tong feed because worms have the tendency to burrow as soon as you throw them in and that you breed them yourself making swiching feeders inconvenient

i personally dont and while i understand the concerns regarding tongfeeding i feel like doing so with large worms would be the easyest way to make sure the spider really got its prey

i personally hate crushing heads, i feel way to bad doing that

Lol I don't crush heads because my sling loves the heads and how fun it is to wrestle with the worms it kinda funny to watch and it gives the tarantula experience! I kinda tong feed but my tarantula is chill so it never attacks plus I use mealworms they love to burrow! Oh and when I tong feed I don't bring it close to the tarantula I literally drop the worm in.

 

[Arachnid Addicted]

Then why did you open the poll? If 75% of this amazing source of information and great minds is not enough to sway you....then I don't see the point.

Best of luck either way!

Imo, knowing @Venom1080, he just started this to see different opinions and debate about it. Not to sway or be swayed.

Also, in this hobby, not always the majority is right. There are tons on information on the internet (and even in here) that is old, outdated and most people still believe it's the right thing, or the absolute true.

What I learned in all these years is that information changes all the time, and we need to constantly adapt to it.

I'm in the group who thinks its safe and harmless to tong feeding a tarantula, and I explained myself already. Maybe when people stop poking their Ts with the prey and/or try to forcing it into the spider, accidents wont happen anymore, who knows?

 

[Garnet3942]

Imo, knowing @Venom1080, he just started this to see different opinions and debate about it. Not to sway or be swayed.

Also, in this hobby, not always the majority is right. There are tons on information on the internet (and even in here) that is old, outdated and most people still believe it's the right thing, or the absolute true.

What I learned in all these years is that information changes all the time, and we need to constantly adapt to it.

I'm in the group who thinks its safe and harmless to tong feeding a tarantula, and I explain myself already. Maybe when people stop poking their Ts with the prey and/or try to forcing it into the spider, accidents wont happen anymore, who knows?

Honestly why would you poke your T with the food that's asking for an accident! I tong feed mine all the time you drop the food next to the T and boom it attacks it!!

 

[EpicEpic]

Honestly why would you poke your T with the food that's asking for an accident! I tong feed mine all the time you drop the food next to the T and boom it attacks it!!

Thats not tong feeding.

Tong feeding is when you hold the prey until the spider grabs it off of the tongs.

What you do is use your tongs to drop in prey or "tong drop"

 

[Garnet3942]

Thats not tong feeding.

Tong feeding is when you hold the prey until the spider grabs it off of the tongs.

What you do is use your tongs to drop in prey or "tong drop"

Oh okay thanks for correcting me! I honestly rather tong drop its simple and it does not cause problems.