Which do you prefer for feeders?

Which do you prefer for feeders?

  • Dubia

    Votes: 22 23.2%
  • Red Runner

    Votes: 34 35.8%
  • Cricket

    Votes: 24 25.3%
  • Mealworm

    Votes: 15 15.8%

  • Total voters
    95

Venom100

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 17, 2018
Messages
71
Would like to know what people choose for feeders. This is just a general question of what people use.
 

Atraxrobustus86

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
17
I like the Blatta/Shelfordella lateralis (Turkistan Cockroach) they breed like crazy above 80 degrees Fahrenheit have no smell and are quiet compared to crickets (same nutritional value for your T as well) Males can fly so make sure your enclosure is tight. They cannot climb smooth surfaces and your spiders will react to them every time if they are used to them and are hungry. They induce a great feeding response. I also like the Blaptica dubia or commonly known as the dubia roach, to mix things up for my B. albo.
 

Venom100

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 17, 2018
Messages
71
I like the Blatta/Shelfordella lateralis (Turkistan Cockroach) they breed like crazy above 80 degrees Fahrenheit have no smell and are quiet compared to crickets (same nutritional value for your T as well) Males can fly so make sure your enclosure is tight. They cannot climb smooth surfaces and your spiders will react to them every time if they are used to them and are hungry. They induce a great feeding response. I also like the Blaptica dubia or commonly known as the dubia roach, to mix things up for my B. albo.
Agreed!
-for me Dubia play dead to much.
-Mealworms are To sluggish
-Crickets are ok to me but strong smell when breeding.
-Red Runners easy to breed and always get a response during feeding.
 

Atraxrobustus86

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
17
Red Runners are my go to, I started with them as both my slings were to small to take anything else (I hate fruit fly's and chopping mealworms) when I got them. Dubia burrow, but often they burrow right into my spiders tunnels and she catches them within a day. I am a big Lat fan as they can be fed throughout the spiders life just like crickets and have very good nutritional value. I haven't tried anything else yet besides those.
 

Venom100

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 17, 2018
Messages
71
Red Runners are my go to, I started with them as both my slings were to small to take anything else (I hate fruit fly's and chopping mealworms) when I got them. Dubia burrow, but often they burrow right into my spiders tunnels and she catches them within a day. I am a big Lat fan as they can be fed throughout the spiders life just like crickets and have very good nutritional value. I haven't tried anything else yet besides those.
Def agree! Do you breed your own?
 

Atraxrobustus86

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 21, 2020
Messages
17
Yea I have to kill some because I only have 2 spiders. I don't let the colony get to large. It will get bigger as I get more spiders but I have to keep the colony viable to feed.

I have both lateralis and dubia about 100 of each.
 

LucN

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
315
Up here in Canada, roaches are a no-go, so I'm limited to meal/super worms or crickets. I prefer the latter because it makes for a more entertaining takedown. Often my Ts will stalk the cricket until close enough... And we're more likely to get a Happy Dance with crickets than worms, so there's another reason for my pick.
 

NorseDad

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
16
I use meal worms for slings/small juveniles. They are smaller, easier to cut into sections, and keep longer in the fridge. I live in Florida, so I am limited in cockroach species choices. I have a discoid roach colony for larger feeders.
 

KaroKoenig

Arachnobaron
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Messages
438
Locusts by a wide margin. I only feed crickets for variety, but in a crowded terrarium like my GBBs, they can be a pain if the spider doesn't strike at once.
 

Tarantula155

Arachnobaron
Joined
Dec 1, 2012
Messages
494
I truly believe red runners are the best, unfortunately I don't wanna risk keeping them due to infestation (even if it's unlikely). Crickets are cheap and almost always available but die off easily. Dubias are tough as nails and easy to keep, except they're super annoying when feeding time comes. The dubias will burrow or just freeze for hours (pinching the head fixes this issue).
 

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
Any and all roaches are illegal in Canada, so that eliminates 2/4. I could only ever get about 25% of my collection to eat the superworms (my preference), so I am left with crickets. Crickets are the only one that all of my spiders will eat.
 

Teds ts and Inverts

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 10, 2017
Messages
504
Crickets. Simply because they’re so cheap. They also cause a lot of vibration, so most inverts have an easy time detecting them. My stomach turns whenever I have to dump a container full of dead ones though. God damn do they smell....

Whenever I can find them, I always get Red Runners (B. lateralis) instead of Crickets. Not only are they just as active as Crickets, but they’re more nutritious, and they don’t smell as bad. I would be breeding them, but I don’t think I have enough inverts to feel the need to breed my feeders, and my Mom would KILL me if she found out I was breeding Cockroaches.

She’s tolerant of the fact that I own various Scolopendra sp. and OW Ts, but she drew the line at breeding Cockroaches.... She’s worried that we’ll get an infestation if they happen to escape, which is completely understandable. She puts up with a lot for me and my hobby, so the least I could do is respect her only guideline.
 

mantisfan101

Arachnoprince
Joined
Dec 26, 2018
Messages
1,755
Red runners by far. Fast growth, fast reproduction, nice size variation(I can use pinheads for my hapalopus slings and the adults for my vagans) and active, which gets all of my invert’s attention quickly. I tried dubias twice but gave up. They bred too slowly, played dead all the time, and usually burrowed out of sight. If you want large feeder roaches go for Eublaberus posticus, they breed quicker, are much more active, and imo have a much higher meat to shell ratio.
 

Braden

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Messages
193
Yea I have to kill some because I only have 2 spiders. I don't let the colony get to large. It will get bigger as I get more spiders but I have to keep the colony viable to feed.

I have both lateralis and dubia about 100 of each.
You should sell extras
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
I use mealworms for slings/smaller juvies, and red runners for pretty much everything except my biggest terrestrials which get dubia.

Yea I have to kill some because I only have 2 spiders.
Just sell any excess, that way they basically pay for themselves.

Basically whenever my colony starts to get out of control I'll sell a few hundred, use some of the money to buy their chow/egg crates and shipping supplies and then keep whatever's left over.
 

kylecelo

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
10
Hard pass on mealworms/superworms. Very boring to feed and burrows when the T doesn't notice it. Lateralis roaches are my go to since they run around like crazy and the T responds with an awesome takedown. :D
 

Liquifin

Arachnoking
Active Member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
2,110
I actually use everything listed and really anything of those will work. I primarily use red runners but only for the 4''- or smaller sized specimens in my collection. The only exception are the picky eaters that won't take anything else. Anything larger than 4''+ will get superworms and dubias because it's more filling of a meal than using a lot of red runners at once. Crickets are only used by me when the population runs short on the roach colonies. Mealworms are the staple for 90% of the slings I have so basically anything under 1.5'' will get meal worms.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
715
Dubia. If you drop them in a good place, it doesn't matter if they play dead...they're getting grabbed if the T is hungry.

Crickets have many flaws, and I'm not going into physical stores right now anyway since my wife is in a high-risk group for COVID.

Other types of roaches are a no-go because of infestation risk.
 

Craig73

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jun 2, 2016
Messages
790
Red runners over crickets. Did crickets for four years with a chameleon and they were noisy and stank. I’ll use them in a pinch, but the runners do the job of making themselves known once in the arena. Nothing like watching a T Albo sling chase one down, missing and going at it again like a dog chasing its tail.
 
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