Various Feeders - nutritional value?

[Phases]

I use the following to feed currently. I am hoping for some responses on peoples opinions on how much a T might need of one, relative to another, I guess if generally the same size. Using crickets I guess as a baseline.

For example, I see people say "I feed 2 dubia roaches or 12 crickets a week." or "I feed 1 dubia roach or 5 crickets a week".Clearly those people would think a cricket is 20% nutritional value as a dubia.

Cricket
Red Goblin
Red Runner (do not yet have nor tried, but plan to)
Pallid
Lobster
Dubia
Mealworm

Any insight appreciated!

 

[Nightstalker47]

For example, I see people say "I feed 2 dubia roaches or 12 crickets a week." or "I feed 1 dubia roach or 5 crickets a week".Clearly those people would think a cricket is 20% nutritional value as a dubia.

I don't it's a nutritional value issue, more the size difference. Dubia roaches are much larger then crickets, so they make for a much more sizeable meal, 5 crickets is probably around the same weight as a large male dubia. That's why larger Ts can be fed several crickets instead of a single dubia.

I do believe that a varied diet would be beneficial, although there is nothing that really proves this. Some have raised their Ts on a single type of prey item alone, apparently there wasn't any issues.

I do still think it's healthier for them to be offered different prey items, as all feeders are nutritionally different. I would imagine that there are differing beneficial nutrients present in all sorts of feeders and that they are all unique in their physical composition.

 

[Trenor]

I think it has more to do with the food amount than it does nutritional value. Dubias just have a lot more innards than a cricket so feeding one of those gives the T a lot more food. Since most animals store up food when it's available (so they live during the lean times) the Ts eat the whole dubia (or several over weeks) plumping up. Once they hit a place where they have stored up a lot of extra food they will often refuse food till some of the reserve is used up.

When I started I used to think along the lines of I need to feed a food item that is X size Y times a week. This lead to very plump (fat) Ts that regularly refused food. Now I feed my Ts as they need it. I don't wait for them to be skinny but I don't feed them if their abdomen is too large. Some species slim up more quickly and get fed more often. Others (usually older Ts) are not growing as rapidly and don't need to consume as much and I feed them less often.

I don't think one feeder is better nutritionally than any other feeders. Some have stated that feeding fattier meal worms has caused faster growth in slings but there are a lot of other factors in growth that I think matter more.

 

[Phases]

Oh I agree. I see things like "excellent nutrition" and "high in protein" for Dubias and assume that's for a reason, though I suppose it could be a sales tactic or applying to things other than Ts.

I have read mealworms are basically fat and pretty useless, so to be used as a treat. I think it was mealworms.. maybe it was something else.

But if it's mostly about size, mass, well.. hmm.

 

[Trenor]

Oh I agree. I see things like "excellent nutrition" and "high in protein" for Dubias and assume that's for a reason, though I suppose it could be a sales tactic or applying to things other than Ts.

I have read mealworms are basically fat and pretty useless, so to be used as a treat. I think it was mealworms.. maybe it was something else.

But if it's mostly about size, mass, well.. hmm.

This (IMO) comes into play more for reptiles than tarantulas. A lot of reptiles have more food requirements than bugs (tarantulas) do. My Bearded Dragon requires a lot more food consideration than my Ts do. If he doesn't get enough calcium and the light to absorb it he ends up with Metabolic Bone Disease. Then if it gets bad enough he loses the ability to walk. This is among a lot of other issues that come into play for reptiles. You don't get that with tarantulas.

So high calcium dubias are a great selling point for the BD but (IMO) less a consideration for tarantulas. Though they make excellent feeds for Ts and are pretty much all I feed.

 

[PanzoN88]

I can't comment on the topic fully, however I am one who does use a variety of feeders, by doing that I have been able to figure out what individual specimens prefer. For example, all three of my E. Sp. red will not eat roaches or crickets, therefore I only feed them superworms.

 

[Venom1080]

I only get crickets once every couple months. My younger spiders live on mealworms mainly, and my larger ones love on supers.

 

[nicodimus22]

Smurfs work really well. On average, I'd say 1 smurf = 6 or 7 crickets. However, they work a little TOO well sometimes...one of my Ts refuses any food except smurfs now, so I have to run out into the woods and grab them out of their little mushroom houses more often than I'd like to. Also, they bite, so a good sturdy pair of leather gloves (or at least tongs) is recommended when handling them.

 

[Phases]

Smurf?

 

[Trenor]

1 smurf = 6 or 7 crickets

This is rookie as anyone who grew up with Saturday morning cartoons knows that a smurf can be turned in the same amount of pure gold. This is clearly worth more than 6-7 crickets.

Don't waste those smurfs.. just feed the Ts dubias.

 

[Trenor]

Smurf?

It's a kids cartoon from the US where the villain (an evil wizard) is always try to catch the little smurfs and turn them into gold.

 

[Phases]

So, you're the Evil Wizard eh?

 

[Trenor]

So, you're the Evil Wizard eh?

What can I say.... I know the value of things. Besides... Who doesn't like gold?

 

[Phases]

What can I say.... I know the value of things. Besides... Who doesn't like gold?

GargaTrenor?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

For example, I see people say "I feed 2 dubia roaches or 12 crickets a week." or "I feed 1 dubia roach or 5 crickets a week".Clearly those people would think a cricket is 20% nutritional value as a dubia.

It's mainly to do with prey size or the meat/indigestible chitin ratio, a single adult dubia would provide the same amount of meat as several crickets because the crickets have a lower meat/chitin ratio.

I have read mealworms are basically fat and pretty useless, so to be used as a treat.

They're high in protein but also high in fat which is why they are not recommended as a staple food for reptiles but they have different dietary requirements than tarantulas.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I don't know if this chart will be of interest, and it doesn't cover all types of feeders, but take it for whatever it is worth. (It's a PDF file.)

 

[Phases]

I don't know if this chart will be of interest, and it doesn't cover all types of feeders, but take it for whatever it is worth. (It's a PDF file.)

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[Charlie69]

https://www.homesalive.ca/blog/reptile-feeder-insect-nutritional-breakdown/

 

[Ellenantula]

I also prefer to offer a variety of prey to my Ts (I'm another beardie keeper here). I feed predominantly B lats because I breed them. I sometimes offer mealies (which I am reluctantly breeding as I keep finding new larvae in the bottom frass/silt -- so I feed 'em and let 'em mature & cycle repeats lol).

I purchase crickets (I refuse to breed them -- they stink too much) and waxies (which I'd love to breed but their requirements proved too fussy for me). But Ts main diet is B lats.

I feel like variety ensures if one feeder has more protein and another has more moisture content, etc., I am offering my pets a more balanced diet.
That said, there are keepers with 20+ year old Ts that have never been offered anything beyond crickets -- and those Ts survived just fine.

For OPs original question -- I agree size of prey is reason for difference in quantities. I consider roaches a hearty rich meal.

 

[korg]

Different feeders have different compositions in terms of moisture, protein, fat, etc as indicated in the document Tim helpfully posted above... Unfortunately nobody really knows anything about the dietary needs of tarantulas (i.e. there has been basically no scientific work on that subject), so its hard to say whether those differences are necessarily relevant to their health/growth. Based on my personal experiences as a keeper, discussions with other keepers, and what I have read on these boards and elsewhere over many years, I have surmised that the differences are not relevant. Growth is going to be dependent on total volume of food consumed/frequency of feeding, temperature (since these are ectothermic creatures whose metabolism is closely tied to external temperature), and genetics. I won't hear any negative talk about superworms or mealworms! I use them almost exclusively as feeders for all my tarantulas at all sizes and have never had any issues.