What to feed Ts.

Ancistrus

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 29, 2016
Messages
2
I heard that feeding mice is not good for Ts because of the high level of calcium.
I heard that feeding mealworms is not good for Ts because of the low level of protein.

So what do most people feed your Ts?

Thanks.
 

clive 82

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Messages
204
I heard that feeding mice is not good for Ts because of the high level of calcium.
I heard that feeding mealworms is not good for Ts because of the low level of protein.

So what do most people feed your Ts?

Thanks.
I heard that feeding mice is not good for Ts because of the high level of calcium.
I heard that feeding mealworms is not good for Ts because of the low level of protein.

So what do most people feed your Ts?

Thanks.
I have no experience of feeding mice, its not really my thing but I'm sure others can help out here. Mealmorms are fine to feed, just crush the head first to avoid your T getting hurt. I understand that they have a high fat content, not sure how true that is so I tend not to use them all the time. I usually feed crickets or locusts, I have not used roaches although they are an excellent feeder so I understand. Just make sure the prey item is not too big, should be around the same size as the Ts abdomen.
 

salticid

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
Messages
10
Stick with insects. Crickets, roaches, and superworms are all healthy, easy to care for, and easy to find in stores. I don't know if feeding a tarantula mice is bad, but it's just unnecessary.
 

Kevin0610

PeanutButter&Jelly
Joined
Jun 15, 2016
Messages
12
On the contrary, mealworms are actually very high in protein from what I understand. As for mice and other vertebrates, it's theorized that the calcium may not be too good for Ts. I generally stick to insects and revolve around dubia roaches and superworms for all my Ts.
 

Rittdk01

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Messages
258
I feed meal worms and super worms a lot. Roaches are great if they are legal where you live. Crickets seem to be my tarantulas' favorite, but they don't last long. Worms and roaches usually stay alive until they are used.
 

johnny quango

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 17, 2013
Messages
260
My tarantulas have a very varied diet that includes waxworm calciworm crickets roaches mealworm morioworm and locust I always have a couple of different feeders just incase they fancy a change
 

KezyGLA

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
3,013
50% of the time I feed Dubia roaches. The other 50% waxworms.

These provide good nutrients and protein. The waxys are good for growth.
 

Moonohol

Two Legged Freak
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
115
Mealworms work great for me. Usually one small mealie is enough to fatten a 3/4" sling up enough for their next molt. It's very convenient when you don't want to have to keep pinhead crickets around all the time. Although my LPS just announced they're closing next month, so I'm finally gonna have to start a dubia colony I guess...
 

Rob1985

This user has no status.
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Messages
866
As others have mentioned, I feed mine crickets and B. dubia roaches.

That being said, this topic has been visited a lot over the years. To prevent clogging up of the boards, I suggest searching next time before creating a new thread.
 

boina

Lady of the mites
Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
Dubias are great for Ts with a good feeding response, they are a large meal that will last the T for a while. There are different species of crickets: Black crickets are the largest but difficult to keep and die soon. House crickets are the smallest, but easy to keep - they just need REALLY good ventilation. I use cricks for the slower Ts (Brachypelma...) that may not go for the Dubias. Morios on occasion and mealworms for small Ts that need fattening up after a molt. I may get a colony of lateralis roaches that may hopefully replace the stinking crickets. I like to experiment ;)
 

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
The mice and calcium thing is a myth. It's not true. The calcium does not affect the tarantula in any way. However it's still a bad idea to feed mice for several reasons. First of all, the mouse can hurt the tarantula during the struggle for power, but that can easily be averted by feeding either a frozen feeder mouse, or a baby mouse. But the tarantula could take up to two days to eat the mouse, and during that time, it'll start to decompose and smell horrible and could grow mold. Feeding a small frozen mouse every three months could be fine I guess. Lots of people do it, but keep those negatives in mind.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
Yeah, there's no proof that calcium has anything to do with tarantulas having any issues. That shouldn't be your reasoning, but rather everything @Moakmeister brought up. As another user recently said, I forgot who, feeding a mouse to a spider is giving them basically a year's worth of food in a single sitting. We all know how little these things eat. I see no benefit to offering anything but other invertebrates.

Personally, my spiders get 100% dubia, and the rare overly picky sling gets a cricket. As has been said, I know for a fact that my dubias are pesticide, parasite, and pollutant free. I also know exactly what they've been eating (an extremely protein and fat rich diet). When I see breeders online selling roaches, they almost universally have holes in their egg flats... that means the roaches are hungry and are resorting to the fiber they have available. Those are not healthy roaches.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
I heard that feeding mice is not good for Ts because of the high level of calcium.
I heard that feeding mealworms is not good for Ts because of the low level of protein.
On mice-- This is FALSE. Some species of Ts eat a variety of animals with bones in them, including small mammals. Though there is no need to do so
Mealworms are high in fat, one of the highest, tend to make a T grow at a faster rate in my opinion based on some anecdotal "evidence".
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,096
I feed my tarantulas mealworms (with their heads crushed) or crickets (for my picky old Avic). I am looking forward to trying dubia roaches.
 

Abyss

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 15, 2016
Messages
281
I feed superworms and occasionally crickets to probide a variety and every expo i bring home a few hornworms as a nice treat (sometimes i grab some from the pet store as well)
 
Top