Your Feeder Choices and Experiences

Jeff23

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Jul 27, 2016
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I was stupid enough to order 500 crickets so my colony was instant. At least the crickets cost a lot less than the shipping charge. I now have crickets, Dubias, e lateralis roaches, and super worms. Meanwhile ALL of my T's are on a hunger strike and laughing at me.
 

cold blood

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I was stupid enough to order 500 crickets so my colony was instant. At least the crickets cost a lot less than the shipping charge. I now have crickets, Dubias, e lateralis roaches, and super worms. Meanwhile ALL of my T's are on a hunger strike and laughing at me.
How many hundred ts do you have?
 

Jeff23

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I am not getting the same results when I crush the head of a super worm. It wiggles a few times but is completely still by the time I insert it into the T enclosure. I suspect it is still too early for my T's to feed but this is good practice anyway.
 

Haemus

Arachnosquire
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Feb 11, 2016
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I am not getting the same results when I crush the head of a super worm. It wiggles a few times but is completely still by the time I insert it into the T enclosure. I suspect it is still too early for my T's to feed but this is good practice anyway.
Wait until the T sinks its fangs in, then they'll thrash about again. It's like they get a second wind or something lol
 

cold blood

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6/100ths of a 100 plus a few more on the way :)
6 ts and you're breeding two species of roach, superworms and have a massive cricket colony....why?? That makes no sense...are you in the business of selling feeders?

For 6 ts I would just get a dozen crickets...twice a month.
 

Jeff23

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6 ts and you're breeding two species of roach, superworms and have a massive cricket colony....why?? That makes no sense...are you in the business of selling feeders?

For 6 ts I would just get a dozen crickets...twice a month.
I wanted to do it that way, but who will sell that many in tiny crickets to me? Here was my thoughts on it.....

Nobody local has small crickets. I have only found one online supplier so far and it is the one that required the huge number. Petsmart has them at 1/2" but that is still too big for a 1/4" spider isn't it? I know I can do prekill by cutting them in half but then I have to figure out how to put the gooey mess in a tiny deli cup without corrupting the substrate in a major way (mold and stink).

I bought two of the smallest size crickets available (1/8" and 1/4"). I currently just have the egg cartons and have put them into tall containers where I can just reach in and grab one without a bunch escaping. I may also be wrong, but I read somewhere that the crickets won't lay eggs unless there is substrate for them. I have no intentions to breed because that will take away from my focus which is enjoying the T's.

I am also offering part of them to family that I know does some fishing, but they are a little small to use for that purpose right now.
 

Jeff23

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Wait until the T sinks its fangs in, then they'll thrash about again. It's like they get a second wind or something lol
You are correct. I found the worm laying on the substrate this morning. When I grabbed it with tweezers it went crazy.
 

cold blood

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I wanted to do it that way, but who will sell that many in tiny crickets to me? Here was my thoughts on it.....

Nobody local has small crickets. I have only found one online supplier so far and it is the one that required the huge number. Petsmart has them at 1/2" but that is still too big for a 1/4" spider isn't it? I know I can do prekill by cutting them in half but then I have to figure out how to put the gooey mess in a tiny deli cup without corrupting the substrate in a major way (mold and stink).

I bought two of the smallest size crickets available (1/8" and 1/4"). I currently just have the egg cartons and have put them into tall containers where I can just reach in and grab one without a bunch escaping. I may also be wrong, but I read somewhere that the crickets won't lay eggs unless there is substrate for them. I have no intentions to breed because that will take away from my focus which is enjoying the T's.

I am also offering part of them to family that I know does some fishing, but they are a little small to use for that purpose right now.
You're way over thinking this whole thing....back when I only had one I used to buy crickets one at a time...anybody selling crickets will sell them by the dozen.

Who cares about the size, if theyre too big, just cut them in half....and you just cut them in half and drop them in with a tweezers (you should own several different sized tweezers). Heck one cricket can be fed to multiples, and you can even just remove one leg and feed that to your small sling, this way the cricket stays alive, then feed the other back leg next time...after that cut it in half and feed the head or body.

I find mealworms to be the easiest feeder for slings, just dice them into appropriate sized pieces...theyre great because they last about 6 months in the fridge with zero maintenance on your part....you could literally spend $2 on a 50 count of mealies twice per year.
 

Jeff23

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You're way over thinking this whole thing....back when I only had one I used to buy crickets one at a time...anybody selling crickets will sell them by the dozen.

Who cares about the size, if theyre too big, just cut them in half....and you just cut them in half and drop them in with a tweezers (you should own several different sized tweezers). Heck one cricket can be fed to multiples, and you can even just remove one leg and feed that to your small sling, this way the cricket stays alive, then feed the other back leg next time...after that cut it in half and feed the head or body.

I find mealworms to be the easiest feeder for slings, just dice them into appropriate sized pieces...theyre great because they last about 6 months in the fridge with zero maintenance on your part....you could literally spend $2 on a 50 count of mealies twice per year.
When you say meal worms will last 6 months in the fridge is that a special refrigerator set at a higher temperature or will they survive in the same refrigerator with the milk and sandwich meats (Hopefully I don't mistake them for last nights spaghetti when I blindly take leftovers out for a snack).
 

cold blood

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When you say meal worms will last 6 months in the fridge is that a special refrigerator set at a higher temperature or will they survive in the same refrigerator with the milk and sandwich meats (Hopefully I don't mistake them for last nights spaghetti when I blindly take leftovers out for a snack).
lol, no you do not need to buy a special fridge...put them right next to that spaghetti.;)

They go dormant when it gets cold.
 

Jeff23

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lol, no you do not need to buy a special fridge...put them right next to that spaghetti.;)

They go dormant when it gets cold.
That makes it easy.

It may be good that I bought that 250 pack of crickets. I went through about 20 each 1/4" crickets to get enough good ones to make another attempt for four T's. But guess what? I think I have a reason to be happy. I dropped one right on top of the 1/3" Eupalaestrus Campestratus. I don't know if it was being defensive and bit into the cricket or what but the spider ended up on top of the dead cricket. I think it is eating it but it is hard to tell with a spider this small.

Do smaller spiders need to be tong fed? It seems like they don't eat when I just lay it in the enclosure (can't find it??) Do T's have a sense of smell or do they need to feel movement to know something is edible?
 

Trenor

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That makes it easy.

It may be good that I bought that 250 pack of crickets. I went through about 20 each 1/4" crickets to get enough good ones to make another attempt for four T's. But guess what? I think I have a reason to be happy. I dropped one right on top of the 1/3" Eupalaestrus Campestratus. I don't know if it was being defensive and bit into the cricket or what but the spider ended up on top of the dead cricket. I think it is eating it but it is hard to tell with a spider this small.

Do smaller spiders need to be tong fed? It seems like they don't eat when I just lay it in the enclosure (can't find it??) Do T's have a sense of smell or do they need to feel movement to know something is edible?
Glad to hear it is eating. No need to ever tong feed IMO.
 

Jeff23

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Glad to hear it is eating. No need to ever tong feed IMO.
The one problem I am having with pre-kill is that the dead cricket sticks to the tongs or my fingers and won't fall off. If I try to swat it off it ends up in some random place. In this case my finger was barely above the spider when I got lucky and it fell off my finger. My other three crickets ended up not near the other T's so I fear they will never be eaten.

I am going to try to make myself a set of soft tongs with a straw and some of that liquid rubber/plastic available at the hardware stores. I am wondering if a smooth surface like a straw may release the feeder easier than metal tongs or fingers which have a rougher surface.

Edit* I also need to figure out how I can get prekill into the top of my Avic enclosures. They are never coming down to the base best I can tell.
 

BobBarley

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The one problem I am having with pre-kill is that the dead cricket sticks to the tongs or my fingers and won't fall off. If I try to swat it off it ends up in some random place. In this case my finger was barely above the spider when I got lucky and it fell off my finger. My other three crickets ended up not near the other T's so I fear they will never be eaten.

I am going to try to make myself a set of soft tongs with a straw and some of that liquid rubber/plastic available at the hardware stores. I am wondering if a smooth surface like a straw may release the feeder easier than metal tongs or fingers which have a rougher surface.

Edit* I also need to figure out how I can get prekill into the top of my Avic enclosures. They are never coming down to the base best I can tell.
Lol, maybe you're overthinking it again? Just hold the cricket by the tip of the back leg with the tongs and you should be fine. Also, if the enclosures are appropriately sized, there shouldn't be a massive problem if they end up "in some random place".
 

Trenor

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The one problem I am having with pre-kill is that the dead cricket sticks to the tongs or my fingers and won't fall off. If I try to swat it off it ends up in some random place. In this case my finger was barely above the spider when I got lucky and it fell off my finger. My other three crickets ended up not near the other T's so I fear they will never be eaten.

I am going to try to make myself a set of soft tongs with a straw and some of that liquid rubber/plastic available at the hardware stores. I am wondering if a smooth surface like a straw may release the feeder easier than metal tongs or fingers which have a rougher surface.

Edit* I also need to figure out how I can get prekill into the top of my Avic enclosures. They are never coming down to the base best I can tell.
Lol, maybe you're overthinking it again? Just hold the cricket by the tip of the back leg with the tongs and you should be fine. Also, if the enclosures are appropriately sized, there shouldn't be a massive problem if they end up "in some random place".
I do this too with prekill. When I crush the head, I then re position the tongs to an edge of the prey item. That way it drops off without the need to shake. Give it a shot, you shouldn't need to mod up something for this. Also don't put your fingers near the T. :)
 

Jeff23

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620
Lol, maybe you're overthinking it again? Just hold the cricket by the tip of the back leg with the tongs and you should be fine. Also, if the enclosures are appropriately sized, there shouldn't be a massive problem if they end up "in some random place".
What if there isn't much of a back leg? These are 1/4" and 1/8" crickets. I didn't see a leg to grip. Maybe it gets damaged when I try to grab the cricket? I'll try again on my next feed attempt.

The enclosure is a 5 oz deli cup with a 1/4" or 1/3" T in it. I suppose I could go with a medicine vial but that would be painful on the moisture control.
 

Jeff23

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I do this too with prekill. When I crush the head, I then re position the tongs to an edge of the prey item. That way it drops off without the need to shake. Give it a shot, you shouldn't need to mod up something for this. Also don't put your fingers near the T. :)
I think I need to rethink my whole cricket thing. If I reach in to grab them with my fingers crickets jump on my arm and then escape into the room. I already have a few chirpers lined up (if they live to adulthood). I guess I could consider a larger enclosure to knock strays off of my arm. Trying to grab them with my large metal tongs is probably causing too much damage to the cricket, but it safely keeps the rest of them in the kritter keeper. But I did ruin quite a few of them.
 

Tim Benzedrine

Prankster Possum
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BTW, you don't 'gut load' feeders. It's a stupid term in this hobby. You feed your feeders things that are good for them. Don't need a special name for that.
Not starting anything, I'm just curious, but is the term acceptable in OTHER hobbies? It is pretty widely used in the reptile hobby, for example. Seems more like a question of semantics to me. When something eats something it's guts ARE loaded, after all. So it is a reasonably accurate term, I guess, albeit an arguably unnecessary one.
 

Sana

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I think I need to rethink my whole cricket thing. If I reach in to grab them with my fingers crickets jump on my arm and then escape into the room. I already have a few chirpers lined up (if they live to adulthood). I guess I could consider a larger enclosure to knock strays off of my arm. Trying to grab them with my large metal tongs is probably causing too much damage to the cricket, but it safely keeps the rest of them in the kritter keeper. But I did ruin quite a few of them.
This actually made me laugh out loud and it's early so I'm surprised anything could be amusing. My son (6 years old) was helping me feed yesterday and had this exact thing happen. Please don't be insulted because it occasionally happens to me too but I thought I was the only one. At any given time there are probably a half dozen crickets wandering around my house. I'm sure the house spiders enjoy the free meal. I have had luck minimizing this issue by keeping my feeders in a big plastic tub that I have ventilation in the sides and top of. I pitch in a couple paper towel tubes and an egg carton for them to hide in. At feeding time I grab a tube and scoop some up, pour them into a cup or appropriately sized vial with a lid, and sort however many I need into a second cup by holding the two together and letting them run into the other cup. Since I have more tarantulas then sense I keep about a dozen vials hanging out in my work space. My favorites are the ones that are exactly the same size opening as the tube. It's a neat trick to knock thirty crickets into a vial from a tube, let them run into the next vial and the next {over the feeder bin so if I drop one it lands back in containment usually} and end up with three or four crickets per vial. Presto I have meals for a dozen spiders in two minutes.
 
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