Earthworms

[Dee Pluck]

just my little experience...

months ago i dug up some earthworms of different sizes
to feed to my T's to see if they would take them,

i gave tiny ones to my slings and big ones to my juvies
and every single spider devoured them.

i dont do it every often as i like to use locusts but now and again
i give earthworms. (ok i've done it twice)
but they do seem to be liked alot by tarantulas

i now just think of them as my back up incase i cant get food
in the right size for the T's.

just thought i'd share. x

[James Box]

cheers Dee!
i think i may need to set up that compost idea mentioned before and try my spiders on worms for a bit

[Phil Rea]

Definitely let us know how you get on. I would think the spider will do OK on them, as tarantulas are opportunistic predators, so they'll pretty much eat anything they can overpower. I'm not sure about it changing the way we feed T's, but it will certainly be interesting to see the results.

Personally I breed cockroaches to (mostly) feed mine. Odourless as long as you keep the enclosures rotting food free, self sustaining, noise free, and a useful range of sizes, from the smallest baby lobster roach to the largest death's head roach. All they need is food (mainly fruit and veg and dry dog food in my case), a little moisture and some heat

I find them convenient, and as they're bred by myself, they're parasite free, pesticide free, and I know exactly what they've been fed, and where they came from.

[Craig Bellamy]

haha Phil,

Well It's bad enough keeping a spider in the house than having to raise Cockroaches or crickets too! At least with worms in the garden compost you won't have to worry. My T seems to be fine and I see no reason to stop now. So Mr T Its worms for you for the rest of your life.

[Phil Rea]

haha Phil,

Well It's bad enough keeping a spider in the house than having to raise Cockroaches or crickets too! At least with worms in the garden compost you won't have to worry. My T seems to be fine and I see no reason to stop now. So Mr T Its worms for you for the rest of your life.

I currently keep around 200 spiders, so a few thousand cockroaches in a couple of boxes isn't too much of a problem in my house

[Craig Bellamy]

Okie dokie, whatever you do Phil, don't tell a bird when you're trying to pull

I currently keep around 200 spiders, so a few thousand cockroaches in a couple of boxes isn't too much of a problem in my house

[Phil Rea]

Okie dokie, whatever you do Phil, don't tell a bird when you're trying to pull

Already spoken for Craig, so no worries there

[Steve McIntyre]

Hi everybody, I've fed a few of my T's on them before without any bad effects. One word of caution, however; as they are high in protein, this may have an effect on eggsac production (if you are trying to breed them. I mention this as I read an article ( by Guy Tansley, BTS Journal, August 2004, Vol 19 No. 4 ) about a meaty diet having a detrimental effect on eggsacs, with eggs, if I remember correctly (probably not!!) turning, or already, black, with a bad smell. Maybe worth thinking about if you are trying to bulk up your spider before mating / eggsac production.

[Colin D Wilson]

Steve
i would imagine that this is more specific to the enzymes in vertebrate fat, as far as i can recall these type enzymes aren't present in the phylum Annelida of which earthworms belong.

as always, i stand corrected if i'm off the mark.