Keeping prey alive while my t isn't hungry.

MissSary

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
33
Even though I've wasted only fifty cents in feeder crickets, I feel like there is something I'm missing in cricket care while my avic avic was getting used to her new enclosure. I keep them in a standard pet store cricket keeper with their egg carton piece and I put in a cube or two of the yellow gel food every day. Yet they seem to just up and die on me. What can I do to keep them alive?

Also, my T sometimes eats them whole, wonder how does she digest all that when I've been told they drink it?
 

litebritedeath

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
32
Crickets love to die. If you want to "keep" your T's food alive until it's ready to eat roaches are much hardier. Also there is probably little food balls of exoskeleton laying around your T's enclosure. Sometimes even with my larger T's it's a tiny little ball. It's called a bolus.
 

MissSary

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
33
So do they just spit it out when done? Because I saw the whole thing go in and last I checked, she was using her foreleg to stuff it in, so it seemed. That or she was preening, which I loved watching my phiddipus audax do. I'll check her enclosure later as I'm sure you're right.

---------- Post added 02-26-2014 at 01:32 PM ----------

I'm also having a hard time finding a detailed "map" of a Ts internal system.
 

klawfran3

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
645
Crickets love to die. If you want to "keep" your T's food alive until it's ready to eat roaches are much hardier. Also there is probably little food balls of exoskeleton laying around your T's enclosure. Sometimes even with my larger T's it's a tiny little ball. It's called a bolus.
I have a few T's that I have never ever found a bolus in thir tank. I'm pretty sure they bury them sometimes.

Also for th crickets, their life cycle is just a few weeks long, meaning that they will die soon after you buy them no matter how well you care for them. Roaches are super easy to care for, but it's kind of useless to start a colony for just one T.
IMO keeping one tarantula is more of a hassle then keeping twenty, just because you spend more money on gas getting to the store than you do buying crickets, only to have them die.
Here is a tip for keeping crickets alive a bit longer: KEEP THEM DRY! I can't stress this enough. They poop everywhere and any wetness will just start up mold and kill them within hours.
 

MissSary

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
33
Btw, I'll try to sway my family into keeping roaches, they already "adore" my spider. Lol.
 

klawfran3

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
645
Btw, I'll try to sway my family into keeping roaches, they already "adore" my spider. Lol.
My mother is deathly afraid of roaches, but after showing her some images and explaining how B. Dubia is non invasive and can not survive out side of a high humidity and high heat environment, she is fine with them and actually thinks they're cute.
 

macbaffo

Arachnolord
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Messages
652
As for crickets care etc there are plenty of threads. Maybe a search in the forum might give you new ideas.
 

litebritedeath

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
32
Another plus for B. Lat roaches is that they won't eat your freshly molted T like crickets can. I started out raising dubia years ago when I had a bearded dragon and you could not pay me to go back to crickets. I just got 1000 b. Lats today and ordered 10,000 more! What was supposed to be 1 to 3 day priority mail was 8 days. I truly thought they would all be dead. It was sub zero here in Kansas this morning and when I unloaded them into their tub I didn't find ONE dead roach. Arron Pauling is the go to guy for roaches in my opinion.
 

klawfran3

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
645
Another plus for B. Lat roaches is that they won't eat your freshly molted T like crickets can. I started out raising dubia years ago when I had a bearded dragon and you could not pay me to go back to crickets. I just got 1000 b. Lats today and ordered 10,000 more! What was supposed to be 1 to 3 day priority mail was 8 days. I truly thought they would all be dead. It was sub zero here in Kansas this morning and when I unloaded them into their tub I didn't find ONE dead roach. Arron Pauling is the go to guy for roaches in my opinion.
ten... thousand...
wow. how long will that last you? a month? two months?
 

litebritedeath

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
32
It will last me years! I live in the middle of nowhere KS and all the local pet stores have closed down. There are still plenty of people around with pet reptiles, amphibians, and T's that don't have a reliable place to get food for their pets. I'll be selling some locally to help other people out and add some variety to their pets menu. From my own experience a lot of people are relying mostly on mealworms and supers because they keep in the fridge for a decent amount of time.


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viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
I have a few T's that I have never ever found a bolus in thir tank. I'm pretty sure they bury them sometimes.

What size are your Ts???? I always see the bolus, never found buried, not saying they don't do that mind you, just never had that happen.

---------- Post added 02-26-2014 at 06:08 PM ----------

Even though I've wasted only fifty cents in feeder crickets, I feel like there is something I'm missing in cricket care while my avic avic was getting used to her new enclosure. I keep them in a standard pet store cricket keeper with their egg carton piece and I put in a cube or two of the yellow gel food every day. Yet they seem to just up and die on me. What can I do to keep them alive?

Also, my T sometimes eats them whole, wonder how does she digest all that when I've been told they drink it?
That yellow gel food won't last as long as other dry cricket gutloading feeds. You should switch, the dry feeds will last a decade or more!
 

wolflambda

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Messages
13
I have kept my crickets alive for extended periods of time by feeding them apples ^-^ they live healthily off of the natural sugars. Just be sure that they also have good ventilation.
 

MissSary

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
33
Last night, I spent the same amount on ten large feeder crickets. They seem to be doing just fine and I'm putting in a half sized piece of romaine in when I see it needs replaced. Also, my avic had zero problems finding the one I fed her...was awesome, yet kinda scary how she lept from her "spot" to get it. I was a bit afraid the cricket could harm her, but I noticed that it was just small enough to not pose a big threat. She is so fat now that I'll wait another six days before I get her next one. And this time, she made a bolus, which I find interesting to note that it was buried (like natural recycling).


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---------- Post added 02-28-2014 at 02:03 AM ----------

I have kept my crickets alive for extended periods of time by feeding them apples ^-^ they live healthily off of the natural sugars. Just be sure that they also have good ventilation.
They are in a standard, pet store cricket keeper...with the tubes. And I will certainly try an apple soon.


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litebritedeath

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
32
another thing I don't see people mention often is that you don't have to keep a whole colony of roaches. you can easily buy a few and they will live much longer than a cricket in a container with some food and water gel.
 

klawfran3

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 6, 2013
Messages
645
What size are your Ts???? I always see the bolus, never found buried, not saying they don't do that mind you, just never had that happen.


the biggest "mystery T" that I haven't found a bolus from is my 5" B. Smithi. he can get a whole adult dubia a week, and yet there has never been a bolus from him. haha I'm guessing that if I ever rehouse him and I dig around a bit I will probably find a whole graveyard of their bodies stashed under the sub xD!

---------- Post added 02-28-2014 at 08:01 PM ----------

It will last me years! I live in the middle of nowhere KS and all the local pet stores have closed down. There are still plenty of people around with pet reptiles, amphibians, and T's that don't have a reliable place to get food for their pets. I'll be selling some locally to help other people out and add some variety to their pets menu. From my own experience a lot of people are relying mostly on mealworms and supers because they keep in the fridge for a decent amount of time.


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that is a great idea. I absolutely love it when people from different hobbies work together. probably one of my favorite things is when someone has surplus babies of a tarantula or the like and just gives them out to anyone who will pay postage. I know I will do that if I can ever find a male for my G. Rosea! so many people have one already that there isn't too much of a point to sell them, because of how dirt cheap they are. That's why I'm going to send a few to any beginners who ask! get them a little kick start care package from the hobby!
 

lankfordjl

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 21, 2014
Messages
15
1. I buy fewer crickets than I used to so that there are not that many to keep, 2. I water them using a bottle cap filled with water beads. This way they don't get in the water or spill it. 3. I line the bottom of the keeper with paper towels to absorb moisture from their feces. 4. I feed them a protein only diet, 100% "chicken jerky" (dog food). Only a small bit at a time.

They usually last weeks...molt and grow. I rarely loose any. I change out the paper towel when it's dirty. And add water to the beads as needed. Don't feed them carbs (bread, crackers, etc). They will die early and stink!


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SuzukiSwift

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
1,208
I usually keep crickets in a kritter keeper with egg carton and oatmeal as substrate, that way they can literally eat the ground, saves you having to constantly feed them and it also means they wont eat substrate that will make them unhealthy. I spray the walls with water every couple of days for them to drink, I buy about 50 crickets at a time and they last me a whole month
 

kevp

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
65
Even though I've wasted only fifty cents in feeder crickets, I feel like there is something I'm missing in cricket care while my avic avic was getting used to her new enclosure. I keep them in a standard pet store cricket keeper with their egg carton piece and I put in a cube or two of the yellow gel food every day. Yet they seem to just up and die on me. What can I do to keep them alive?

Also, my T sometimes eats them whole, wonder how does she digest all that when I've been told they drink it?
Hi there.. I found an invaluable way to keep ur crickets alive and healthy.. I buy crickets once a month and keep them alive. I simply feed them dry protien pellets that are meant for my fish. These are bone dry and I feed them a litttle everyday and just drip a lil water into the opposite corner ever 2 days.. Just a few drips though and no more! Since I've been doing this I only lose say two percent of my crickets in a month other than feeding off. Hope this helps.. I've also got a youtube vid on this subject. Under my channel.. Kevin pearson. Hope this helps.
 

MissSary

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
33
Hi there.. I found an invaluable way to keep ur crickets alive and healthy.. I buy crickets once a month and keep them alive. I simply feed them dry protien pellets that are meant for my fish. These are bone dry and I feed them a litttle everyday and just drip a lil water into the opposite corner ever 2 days.. Just a few drips though and no more! Since I've been doing this I only lose say two percent of my crickets in a month other than feeding off. Hope this helps.. I've also got a youtube vid on this subject. Under my channel.. Kevin pearson. Hope this helps.
Do you mean the round pellets that fish seem addicted to? I wanna make sure I get the right ones. I've tried fruits and lettuce, but they all seem to die at the same rate. I honestly wish that pet stores would sell them in singles, and not by the tens.


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