Drumsticks

bscheidt1020

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Messages
183
Hey just wondering what you have for experience when it comes to feeding cricket parts to slings….is killing a cricket that is too big and pulling it apart and feeding say half of it or a leg to a very small sling good for the spider? Does it provide enough nutrition or is it better to offer the full cricket, pre killed and let the spider latch on where he chooses? Experience raising slings off of pieces of cricket would be interesting to hear!
 

skippydude

Arachnobaron
Joined
Feb 3, 2013
Messages
487
Give it a portion that is about the size of the slings abdomen

---------- Post added 07-21-2014 at 06:42 PM ----------

I feed 7 slings with one roach ;)
 

dredrickt

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Messages
170
I chop up mealworms for very small slings, like skippydude said- about the size of their abdomen, maybe a little larger if that part of the larvae seems hollow.
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Staff member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
2,208
I've raised slings to adults on cricket pieces so I assume it's enough. I wouldn't pull them apart though, that can get too messy. I use small sewing scissors to cut them into bite size pieces.
 

shawno821

Arachno Pimp
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
172
For slings in vials,I just cut the head off a cricket a little larger than the abdomen and give them the whole cricket.
 

bscheidt1020

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Messages
183
For slings in vials,I just cut the head off a cricket a little larger than the abdomen and give them the whole cricket.
First I would like to thank you all for sharing your decapitation experience with me…only on arachnoboards! Second, what is the point of removing the cricket's head first? Just to kill it? I have been using a quick crush of the head with feeding forceps….then pulling the cricket in half, rolling it in a ball, or just throwing the whole dead cricket in the vial. Lastly, are there any opinions on the nutritional value of a crickets legs for tiny slings? I am thinking more about the rear, jumping leg.
 

arach619

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 26, 2014
Messages
24
Lastly, are there any opinions on the nutritional value of a crickets legs for tiny slings? I am thinking more about the rear, jumping leg.
It's enough to keep the little guys going in my experience. As long as the abdomen remains plump they're getting their fill.
 

shawno821

Arachno Pimp
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
172
I only cut the head off so the juices start coming out,crushing it does the same thing.I prefer whole crickets to parts,I think they should have the guts to feed on.Drumsticks are just chitin and muscle tissue.I know a lot of people use them,but I can't think of any reason they would be better than eating a whole cricket.
 

bscheidt1020

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Messages
183
I only cut the head off so the juices start coming out,crushing it does the same thing.I prefer whole crickets to parts,I think they should have the guts to feed on.Drumsticks are just chitin and muscle tissue.I know a lot of people use them,but I can't think of any reason they would be better than eating a whole cricket.
Any issues with extreme size differences between tiny slings and larger crickets? The slings ever avoid too large of a meal or have trouble feeding on something very large?

---------- Post added 07-22-2014 at 11:16 PM ----------

I've raised slings to adults on cricket pieces so I assume it's enough. I wouldn't pull them apart though, that can get too messy. I use small sewing scissors to cut them into bite size pieces.
I bought sewing scissors today...:coffee:
 

shawno821

Arachno Pimp
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
172
Any issues with extreme size differences between tiny slings and larger crickets? The slings ever avoid too large of a meal or have trouble feeding on something very large?

I'd say the smallest cricket you would need for scavange feeding is 1/4". Those are easy to come by,unlike pinheads,and most slings will take them easily.You can always pull out any part they don't eat,sometimes the tiniest slings (1/4") will leave the back legs or the area behind the head.That's another reason I feed whole is,given a meal too large,the slings eat the guts first. If all you have are too large,cut the cricket up with the scissors.
 

tweakz

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 14, 2014
Messages
57
Arachnids have an incredibly slow and efficient metabolism, people often stress the importance of "nutrition" but in reality as long as a T is getting it's fill from whatever the feeder might be(cricket, dubia, mealworm, etc.) it will surely get all the nutrients it needs.
 

bscheidt1020

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Messages
183
Three very tiny and happy Hapalopus Sp. Colombia Large slings perched on small cricket halves that I cut neatly with my new tiny scissors….Makes me proud and happy to see such tiny and fragile cuties eating like champs! Every time one of my spiders does something awesome, I find myself thinking "This might become one of my favorite species…" While I may have a handful that are favorites, I get a happy feeling seeing them all doing well, whether my 3 pumpkin patches, or a freebie B. Boehmei that I probably never would have purchased….Great hobby. Oh and my lil Genic was eating a cricket butt like a champ too but I never doubted that little glutton after my experience with my larger Genic sling…sometimes I think a good sized Genic would have a go at a grown squirrel if they came face to face….or a Chihuahua.:laugh: To heck with cricket drumsticks!
 
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