Feeding

[Richard Shah]

Hey People!
Okay I've heard numerous ways of feeding crickets to your sling;

- Chopping a normal one in three of four pices
- Freezing it
- Amputating it

I even heard how to cut the head so that the dying cricket would run backwards (YOU know who you are lol *cough* *cough* Louise *cough*) Lol!! :P

What I was wondering was if I can feed my Chile Rose sling live pinhead crickets rather then going through all that mess of disection lol! ?? !
Also, how is it like managing them little buggers?

Cheers and thanks for the previous tips Louise !

Rich.

[James Box]

how big a G rosea is she? sorry can't remember if you got her yet or not?
if she's subadult or older, she can take fullgrown crickets
if she's little, make sure the crickets are not bigger than her bodylength. i think that's the rule of thumb.

[Richard Shah]

how big a G rosea is she? sorry can't remember if you got her yet or not?
if she's subadult or older, she can take fullgrown crickets
if she's little, make sure the crickets are not bigger than her bodylength. i think that's the rule of thumb.

Lol I haven't got him/her yet (I think I might call the T. Sam - it is a pretty much unisex name!). Well the website says 1cm approx., so I'm guessing Sam will be 1cm - 1.5cm big. The man at the pet store said they (the pinhead/micro/dust [as he calls them] crickets) are tiny, and I'm assumming that the experienced users here would know the general size of a pinhead cricket.

Thanks,
Rich

[Louise~Nichols]

I even heard how to cut the head so that the dying cricket would run backwards (YOU know who you are lol *cough* *cough* Louise *cough*) Lol!! :P

Cheers and thanks for the previous tips Louise !

Rich.

*coughs*...yeah Rich...I didn't say they ran backwards...I said the heads run off, and you did ask!!

As for pinheads...good luck trying to pick them up in tweezers matey!! *SQUISH* comes to mind... LOL

[Tom Forman]

Hi Richard,

generally as long as the cricket is no bigger than the spiders abdomen it would be ok to feed them alive.

1 cm slings are very small and can sometimes be fussy eaters. Crickets are pretty strong and vicious for their size.

Edit: I just measured my spiders and 1cm isn't that small actually. it's 0.5 cm slings that will cause you worry, you shouldn't have a problem with a 1cm sling and pinheads. However I thought I was getting 1cm slings when I ordered off the psidershop but when they say 1cm it means up to 1cm and can be much much smaller...

You would only need to kill the crickets if the spider is afraid of the cricket or if the cricket is too big.

That is where freezing them comes in play in case you don't want to perform the killing yourself...

What I personally do but again, this is not everybody's cup of tea, is drown the crickets till they stop moving. They pass out before they drown and if you take em out as soon as they stop moving, they will stay passed out for the next 2 minutes or so in which time I cut their legs off and dump em in with the spider. They wake up within 2 minutes or so but can't do any harm to my spider anymore...

[Richard Shah]

*coughs*...yeah Rich...I didn't say they ran backwards...I said the heads run off, and you did ask!!

As for pinheads...good luck trying to pick them up in tweezers matey!! *SQUISH* comes to mind... LOL

Lol, I remember you said 'something' like that - but my memory is pretty lousy! And I never said I didn't ask lol!
Are they that small they squash so easily????

Thanks,

Rich!

[Peter Lacey]

yep, tiny, 2-4mm is common. Just picking them up can kill them! The smaller you spiderling the smaller the food needs to be which is why I suggested a while ago that perhaps you should start with a slightly larger T, afterall you'll probably have between 20-30 years with a female G. rosea. Your best choice of size for your T should be measured by what size of food is readily available at your pet shop. If they only sell large crickets then you're faced with buying a box of perhaps 30 crickets and then quartering them to feed to slings. That means one box would last you a year! unfortunately the crickets won't last that long.

[Nicola Dolby]

There's a very easy way of moving crickets into your spiders tank. If you have one of those small pots that spiderlings are usually delivered in from online stores; just brush a cricket into one of those, put your thumb over the end and move it into the spiders tank from there. Dead crickets in my opinion have two dissadvantages. First they go off really quickly and then you have the problems of mites, smell etc and secondly the spider isn't getting the opportunity to use its natural ability to hunt. As for micro-crickets, I would recommend maggots instead every time, but dead ones as small spiderlings don't have sufficiently developed fangs to kill them.

[J M Clegg]

sorry folks, I know I am boring with this now but..............lobster roaches.

When they breed, the produce a small number of tiny nymphs that are perfect for feeding to slings, and as the sling gets bigger, so do the Roaches. As they breed, well like Cockroaches there is always plenty to go round.

I feed all my spiders more or less exclusively on Lobster Roaches now. I have spent around £2 on bags of porridge to feed the roaches in the last year. 60 or 70 spiders fed for the year on about £2 is great value!

I have a number starter colonies available if anyone wants one. £5 including delivery to your door?

I also have some larger Deaths Head roaches available for the same price. I feed these to my bigger spiders and they go down a treat.

Jay

[Peter Lacey]

£5 seems like a good buy. How many roaches would that be?
I don't have 60 or even 70 Ts but I do have a CWD that's become rather bored of crickets. Many people seem to sing the praises of the Roaches, I purchased 6, the klugi had one, the other 5 were fed to the CWD, the cat caught an escapee but I'm not sure what hapd to the rest (obvioulsy I hope they were eaten).
I know I've got to read up on these but do they require hot temperatures to breed? It would be reassuring to know if they do escape they're not likely to go forth and multiply!

[Richard Shah]

Hi Richard,

generally as long as the cricket is no bigger than the spiders abdomen it would be ok to feed them alive.

1 cm slings are very small and can sometimes be fussy eaters. Crickets are pretty strong and vicious for their size.

Edit: I just measured my spiders and 1cm isn't that small actually. it's 0.5 cm slings that will cause you worry, you shouldn't have a problem with a 1cm sling and pinheads. However I thought I was getting 1cm slings when I ordered off the psidershop but when they say 1cm it means up to 1cm and can be much much smaller...

You would only need to kill the crickets if the spider is afraid of the cricket or if the cricket is too big.

That is where freezing them comes in play in case you don't want to perform the killing yourself...

What I personally do but again, this is not everybody's cup of tea, is drown the crickets till they stop moving. They pass out before they drown and if you take em out as soon as they stop moving, they will stay passed out for the next 2 minutes or so in which time I cut their legs off and dump em in with the spider. They wake up within 2 minutes or so but can't do any harm to my spider anymore...

I very much like your method of amputation - I will do that. I don't think pinhead crickets are right lol!

yep, tiny, 2-4mm is common. Just picking them up can kill them! The smaller you spiderling the smaller the food needs to be which is why I suggested a while ago that perhaps you should start with a slightly larger T, afterall you'll probably have between 20-30 years with a female G. rosea. Your best choice of size for your T should be measured by what size of food is readily available at your pet shop. If they only sell large crickets then you're faced with buying a box of perhaps 30 crickets and then quartering them to feed to slings. That means one box would last you a year! unfortunately the crickets won't last that long.

I understand about your larger T. POV, but I'm def. getting a spiderling! The shop does everything I believe, although besides medium and reg. crickets, everything else has to be ordered a week prior to buying it, because of course of the fact that not many people require them. I will try amputating and quartering lol.
Thank you for giving me a general size btw!
Yes the crickets won't live long, but it doesn't seem too important to me, I'll just buy them every other month!

There's a very easy way of moving crickets into your spiders tank. If you have one of those small pots that spiderlings are usually delivered in from online stores; just brush a cricket into one of those, put your thumb over the end and move it into the spiders tank from there. Dead crickets in my opinion have two dissadvantages. First they go off really quickly and then you have the problems of mites, smell etc and secondly the spider isn't getting the opportunity to use its natural ability to hunt. As for micro-crickets, I would recommend maggots instead every time, but dead ones as small spiderlings don't have sufficiently developed fangs to kill them.

No way am I buying maggots lol! Dead crickets are only going to be used for the sling; and the term dinner and a show in this case is used as, dinner for the T., the show of how the T. eats for me!!

sorry folks, I know I am boring with this now but..............lobster roaches.

When they breed, the produce a small number of tiny nymphs that are perfect for feeding to slings, and as the sling gets bigger, so do the Roaches. As they breed, well like Cockroaches there is always plenty to go round.

I feed all my spiders more or less exclusively on Lobster Roaches now. I have spent around £2 on bags of porridge to feed the roaches in the last year. 60 or 70 spiders fed for the year on about £2 is great value!

I have a number starter colonies available if anyone wants one. £5 including delivery to your door?

I also have some larger Deaths Head roaches available for the same price. I feed these to my bigger spiders and they go down a treat.

Jay

That sounds really kl, but cockroaches aren't for me lol. I don't mind them, but I would NEVER want them escaping, and my sister (along with my mum) wouldn't let me have them anyway!
Thanks for the offer though mate, sounds like a really good price. Ill remember you in case I other change my mind!


Thank you to everyone else btw! Everyone has been a great help!

Thank you,

Rich!

[Rich.Harrington]

As much as she seems to enjoy the routine, I'm with louise on this one. I used to use some of my nymphs from the feeder colony of lobster roaches. However spending near 5-10 minutes chasing them around egg cartons while watching others don't escape is alot of effort.

It's far easier to just grab one adult, kill and chop. Messy yes, time effective, undoubtedley, and I can't think of any other practical way for anyone with more than a few slings to feed.

[Richard Shah]

As much as she seems to enjoy the routine, I'm with louise on this one. I used to use some of my nymphs from the feeder colony of lobster roaches. However spending near 5-10 minutes chasing them around egg cartons while watching others don't escape is alot of effort.

It's far easier to just grab one adult, kill and chop. Messy yes, time effective, undoubtedley, and I can't think of any other practical way for anyone with more than a few slings to feed.

Actually is's less then a few - one lol. I'm going to try amputation and quartering lol!
I was talking to a very helpful guy at the Spider Shop, and he said I should probably get a subadult. I'm so baffled as to what I want to do now, I mean I think I can raise a spiderling succesfully as I trust in myself; but I've been told by him and Peter Lacey that it will most likely die at its young age!
Also, I'm cheap (tbh )! I will buy the T. what it needs, inc. a heatmat if I think it is ever necessary, which right now I think it is not - and any decor items; but I'd rather pay £9 for the sling (Sam lol!) with p&p than £20.
So Sam an adult, or Sam a spiderling ???

Thank you,

Rich

[Peter Lacey]

I don't think I said "it will most likely die", if I did I apologise. What I meant was, as this is your first T its probably worth getting something a little larger than what you seem to be focussed on at the moment. The younger the T the more vulnerable it is and the more of an issue food is, especially if it takes a week to order! Spiderlings come in a variety of sizes, and my initial reply to your interest (when you were considering an adult) was to get a sling of a size that's easier to care for so that you can watch it mature. A 4th instar sling shouldn't cost more than £10 yet it would be sturdy enough to suffer a few mistakes as well as take small crickets rather than pinheads. Its enclosure and requirements wouldn't be too large or demanding and you'd have the joy of watching fairly regular molting.
You may get a sling that's younger than 4th instar and have no problems at all, one thing for sure you've certainy consumed a lot of info so you should be off to a good start whatever you choose as your first.

BTW, I notice you're from Greater London, whereabouts?

[Tom Forman]

I don't think you would kill a spiderling mate.
You don't need that much experience to not kill a spiderling and you have been researching this lots.

From my experience, the top tips I'd give you when you get your spiderling is:

-make sure your container has about 10 small holes for ventilation. Ventilation is important

-ideally you want the container set up and heated before you get the spider. This gives you a rough idea of how moist you should be keeping your soil(condensation on the sides means you could do with a drier soil). I find about 5ml of water per week to be good for slings in small containers.

-don't feed your spiderling for the first week, leave it somewhere fairly dark and quiet and disturb it as little as possible
(this last tip is going to be the hardest one to follow but any stress to the spiderling should be avoided till it has settled in, just check on it quickly every once and again and then leave it be)
Another reason why it is good to have the container set up in advance to avoid having to wipe away excess mositure with a tissue because your soil is too wet(this happened to me, wasn't the end of the world but still try and avoid it lol.)