What do you feed your Ts? And why?

WebBrowser

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Looking for some input. My collection is getting bigger slowly but surely and I'm trying to find out what the best T feeder is. I have a sustained colony of mealworms that are great for my slings, but they're just too small for my older Ts. I've kept a colony of super/morio worms before and managed to get a few generations in before I got tired of seperating them for pupation (I know, I'm lazy). So then I tried B. Dubia thinking "Oh, they're roaches. Roaches breed like wildfire". Wrong. Only found a handful of little guys. (Maybe I didnt do something right, I've seen plenty of people have success with dubias, just not me)

Life cycle may also be a factor. I love waxworms but hate having a hundred moths when the lucky survivors last to adulthood. Heard B. Latteralis might be a better roach and I've also seen people feeding beetle larvae...

So, what do you feed your T's? And why? I want something that I can just order a good quantity of, stick them in the corner and forget about them for the mostpart. So, low maintenance/high reproductivity/grows a little larger. What do you recommend?
 

nicodimus22

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So then I tried B. Dubia thinking "Oh, they're roaches. Roaches breed like wildfire". Wrong. Only found a handful of little guys. (Maybe I didnt do something right, I've seen plenty of people have success with dubias, just not me)
They need to be kept at about 90-95 degrees to breed successfully. As far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing...in the unlikely event that some escape into your house, you're not going to be looking at a huge infestation.

Back on topic: cricket pieces when they're scavenging slings, appropriately sized crickets when they're about 3/4 inch to 3 inches, and B. dubia over that (and big crickets a little more frequently if I'm momentarily out of dubia.)

Why? Well, I'm not really interested in breeding dubia in my small apartment, for a small number of Ts, so I'd rather just buy adults when I need them. Crickets are kind of a pain, but I have them on hand anyway for my geckos and toad, and they're an OK feeder for smaller Ts. There is no perfect feeder, really.
 
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Venom1080

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i breed my own mealworms as well, super easy and is a great food source for slings. i buy 100 crickets and 50 superworms every other month or so to feed the larger spiders.
 

Blue Jaye

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I feed mostly Dubia roaches. They come in all sizes can't climb plastic or glass. They gut load for 36 hours and are easy to breed. You can also feed them a variety of food they are not picky.
 

WebBrowser

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@nicodimus22 Didn't realize dubia need such high heat to prolificate. Good to know in case I try them again. @Venom1080 Yeah that's pretty much what I've been doing, using crickets/supers/waxworms supplementally every so often.

Best is a relative term, in this case I'm looking at the best breeder for the size. Mainly for my sub-adults. My slings and juvies do fine on mealies and supplemental insects. I'm looking for something thats bigger than a mealworm but breeds similarly. Little maintenance, all lifestages easily contained in the same enclosure. Guess I could just suck it up and seperate out some supers though... Just thought I'd see if there was anyone using something less common that they're having exceptional success with.
 

mistertim

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That's actually very good to know about dubia, but for the opposite reason for me. I didn't want to buy some and then have them breed when I don't want them to. I only have 11 tarantulas right now and the last thing I need is a hundred dubia roaches I have no clue what the hell to do with.
 

Rittdk01

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Oct 4, 2016
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Worms, crickets and Dubia. I'm trying to give them a variety. Going to start feeding night crawlers to my stirmi and lp as well. I like meal worms and supers the best. I'm not raising feeders, so I want what lasts the longest. I like supers best of all for my big tarantulas.
 

Matttoadman

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I use Elliptorhina javanica "Halloween hissers". They do not burrow. Yes they climb, but if your t is hungry they won't get a chance to. If it's not hungry they will climb to the top making it easy to remove. They don't get hard exoskeletons till they fully mature. But my hungry adult female Cyriopagopus sp. "minax" has no problems eating adults. The newborn nymphs make great 1/4 inch and above sling food. I bought 27 mixed nymphs in oct. 2015 and now have more than I could think about counting. They are kept dry and heated. I use a heat lamp. They are very fun to watch as well.
 

darkness975

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I feed almost exclusively crickets because I am lazy and I have no desire to breed any prey items. I have a tank that I keep crickets in but it is not a breeding colony. My collection is decent but it is not large enough to justify the effort in establishing a breeding colony.
 

CWilson1351

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Jan 23, 2017
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I'm very new to the hobby, but both of my slings have taken dubia already. I have a colony of them already for my geckos and they were the easiest one to offer. I am going to try other feeders though, hopefully I got lucky and my slings are just good eaters.
Side note about dubias the 90-95 degrees seems high in my experience. My colony has exploded in size over the past few months and it is kept around 80-85.
 

CWilson1351

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Jan 23, 2017
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That first link is from the place I started mine from lol Both definitely know better than I do. Just like my slings eating already, I'm probably just lucky. :cool:
 

Caseypm

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Jun 19, 2016
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I use dubia for my larger Ts, and Blatta (Shelfordella) lateralis for my smaller/arboreal Ts. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I prefer the dubia when possible cause they are much easier to handle. The lateralis roaches kinda have a funky smell and they are extremely fast.
 

Ungoliant

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I only have 11 tarantulas right now and the last thing I need is a hundred dubia roaches I have no clue what the hell to do with.
You can always sell the extras on Craigslist or Facebook.

I'm in the same position you are. With a small collection (currently seven tarantulas), it is getting less economical to use just the pet store crickets (which smell and don't live that long anyway), but I don't have enough tarantulas to justify ordering feeders in bulk.

Currently I have mealworms and some crickets (mainly for my elderly Avicularia avicularia, who usually rejects mealworms). The mealworms are breeding at a stable rate, and they aren't too much of a pain to maintain. The carrots I give them for moisture are the main expense for them.

I'd like to try dubia roaches, especially if there are some I can pick up at the next Repticon without having to pay for shipping.
 
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