Adding superworms to an enclosure

Gpappy31 · Aug 27, 2014

When I purchased my Chilean rose a while back I did a little experiment. Now this was most likely done in the past or there is already a thread on this, but i do not have the patience to search for this therefor I am still going to share my experience.

When I was adding substrate into the enclosure I added 4 super worms. I simply wanted to see if my Chilean rose would hunt them down and actually pull them out. She did and she ate all on her own. Every single superworm. My Chilean rose is in a 5.5 gallon tank, which makes this experiment a bit easier.

Now I have a few tropical species that I have not tested this out on simply because their enclosures are much larger and the substrate is much heavier/thicker. So for now it seems to work for dry species. I do have an A. ezendami T that I have tried this experiment on but have not actually caught her catching the superworm. I believe it's because she has much larger depth of substrate than my Chilean rose. The rest of my dry species are slings and cannot be tested yet.

So what do you guys think? I think this is a great way to keep tarantulas acting like they are in the wild and have to hunt for food. But I think it will only work for certain species....

cold blood · Aug 27, 2014

Gpappy31 said:
When I purchased my Chilean rose a while back I did a little experiment. Now this was most likely done in the past or there is already a thread on this, but i do not have the patience to search for this therefor I am still going to share my experience.

When I was adding substrate into the enclosure I added 4 super worms. I simply wanted to see if my Chilean rose would hunt them down and actually pull them out. She did and she ate all on her own. Every single superworm. My Chilean rose is in a 5.5 gallon tank, which makes this experiment a bit easier.

Now I have a few tropical species that I have not tested this out on simply because their enclosures are much larger and the substrate is much heavier/thicker. So for now it seems to work for dry species. I do have an A. ezendami T that I have tried this experiment on but have not actually caught her catching the superworm. I believe it's because she has much larger depth of substrate than my Chilean rose. The rest of my dry species are slings and cannot be tested yet.

So what do you guys think? I think this is a great way to keep tarantulas acting like they are in the wild and have to hunt for food. But I think it will only work for certain species....

First, 4 superworms is more than I'd feed that species in a month. One every 10 days is plenty, they are a large fatty meal.

Second, while many may be hunted, generally once they burrow, they are at great risk of never being found. There's very often posts of "what is this beetle in my tank" threads, and superworms are nearly always the culprit.

Also, I recently spoke to a guy locally about this very thing. He had a GBB that had molted, excited he checked the next morning to find a gash in the rump with several large black beetles feeding at the wound...GBB was very much dead....he had no idea what happened and sent me a pic....I instantly said, "oh, you feed superworms"....he had no idea that a superworm was the larval stage of a big old black beetle.

There's a reason many people crush their heads before feeding...not only does the worm have a nasty bite (keep in mind there's no food for the worm/beetle), but the resulting beetles are a reason as well.

Beary Strange · Aug 27, 2014

This sounds like an extremely unnecessary risk to me. Unless you've had her long enough to have a fairly good idea of when she's going to molt, this isn't really a great idea. If she had molted while this little "experiment" was going on, she could have fallen prey to the supers in her weakened, soft state.

And like cold blood said, 4 supers in a month even for an adult is a bit much (extra large terrestrial NWs notwithstanding).

Gpappy31 · Aug 27, 2014

cold blood said:
First, 4 superworms is more than I'd feed that species in a month. One every 10 days is plenty, they are a large fatty meal.

Second, while many may be hunted, generally once they burrow, they are at great risk of never being found. There's very often posts of "what is this beetle in my tank" threads, and superworms are nearly always the culprit.

Also, I recently spoke to a guy locally about this very thing. He had a GBB that had molted, excited he checked the next morning to find a gash in the rump with several large black beetles feeding at the wound...GBB was very much dead....he had no idea what happened and sent me a pic....I instantly said, "oh, you feed superworms"....he had no idea that a superworm was the larval stage of a big old black beetle.

There's a reason many people crush their heads before feeding...not only does the worm have a nasty bite (keep in mind there's no food for the worm/beetle), but the resulting beetles are a reason as well.

I should clarify...

I did all this AFTER he molted. And he was very very underfed when I purchased him. So i don't think 4 superworms in 3 weeks is that much food..

As for the beetles, I just did this experiment and never experienced any beetles. Probably because it was only done in a 3-4 week span. I've had superworms sit in their container for 2 months once and still no beetles, but I don't know how long it takes for them to change-over.

I probably won't continue to do this experiment only because of obvious reasons but since he was just fresh off a molt I figured now was the best time. Thanks for your input, this is exactly what I am looking for.

---------- Post added 08-27-2014 at 07:39 PM ----------

Also, he's unsexed so that's why I am saying he and she

cold blood · Aug 27, 2014

GBB "experiment" results

Here's the damage, the guy had no clue superworms had escaped or that there were resulting beetles anywhere in the tank. They can remain dormant for a very, very long time and they won't transform into beetles while in close proximity, like they are kept prior to feeding.

Gpappy31 · Aug 27, 2014

cold blood said:
Here's the damage, the guy had no clue superworms had escaped or that there were resulting beetles anywhere in the tank.

Wow that is awful. Like I said, this was done after a molt and I got lucky. This is something I will never do again though.

gobey · Aug 27, 2014

Yeah you "feed" superworms to tarantulas. But you don't "add" them to enclosures.

I don't feed them to any T I'm not sure is hungry and can't easily remove the worm.... I've wasted a lot of supers. The toughest was getting my Avic to eat one.

XBabysinX · Aug 27, 2014

cold blood said:
Here's the damage, the guy had no clue superworms had escaped or that there were resulting beetles anywhere in the tank. They can remain dormant for a very, very long time and they won't transform into beetles while in close proximity, like they are kept prior to feeding.

That...is...devastating...

When I got my first T (which sounds ridiculous because it wasn't that long ago but it feels like ages since I've learned so much) I had read a lot of terrible advise for T feeding and one was that superworms where ideal food, all the time... so naturally I went out and got some. I tossed one in and my b. Smithi didn't flinch so my dumb dumb husband took the superworms and said "He needs more!" And dumped several in, I was pissed, I didn't know alot but I knew that was a mistake. A few burrowed and each time I caught on resurface I'd hurry and grab it out, couple weeks go by and I find a beetle, plucked that sucker out and scolded my husband like a crazy person!

Poec54 · Aug 27, 2014

Superworms are a good food supplement but that's tempered by the fact that they have vicious mouthparts can easily wound or kill tarantulas. Grab one by the tail with tweezers and let it bite you. You have to use good judgment when feeding them to spiders, which many people don't. I occasionally feed them to my T's when I'm low on adult crickets, and then only to the hungriest ones that have recently shed. Some spiders won't eat them at all. If the spider hasn't grabbed it in several seconds I immediately remove the superworm; they can live for months in the substrate and can resurface at any time.

BobGrill · Aug 27, 2014

Poec54 said:
Grab one by the tail with tweezers and let it bite you.

I have before, it's fun.

My E.murinus, female P.regalis, and B.smithi love superworms. Well, the B.smithi will pretty much eat anything that moves, as will my GBB. However my P.irminia and my OBT don't seem to care for them much. I should also mention to the OP that if allowed to pupate, the adult beetles will most likely be ignored, as they admit a foul odor when disturbed. Seriously, the scent is absolutely nauseating and I have to hold back from vomiting every time I smell it.

freedumbdclxvi · Aug 28, 2014

The only species I give superworms to are my Varanus beccarii and Mephitis mephitis. No spiders get them. I've seen the damage they can do, and most of my spiders won't touch them anyway.

Akai · Aug 28, 2014

cold blood said:
.
There's very often posts of "what is this beetle in my tank" threads, and superworms are nearly always the culprit.

You got that right. I found one while cleaning my P. Irminia's cage recently. Although I knew the beetle was a superworm I was amazed at how long that beetle was alive in there since I hadn't fed superworms in months to my T's.

Smokehound714 · Aug 28, 2014

I used to use superworms as live bait for fishing. Several times They've bit me. Hard enough to draw blood. I no longer use them haha. I no longer use live bait at all now.. the more I think about it, the worse I feel

ratluvr76 · Aug 28, 2014

are mealworms the same in this regard? yikes, this is kinda scary!..

BobGrill · Aug 28, 2014

ratluvr76 said:
are mealworms the same in this regard? yikes, this is kinda scary!..

They're a bit safer to use. Smaller mouth parts and seem less likely to bite. Superworms make a great food source for larger tarantulas if you happen to be out of crix or roaches and can't get any for a while. The trick is that you can't simply just throw them in and let them wander about and hope that the spider finds them. I usually place mine right in front of the tarantulas legs/palps and it will grab it within seconds, before the worm has a chance to burrow. If one should happen to burrow away, I have noticed that they'll usually pupate underneath some type of object in the terrarium, such as the water dish.

Storm76 · Aug 28, 2014

For some reason, my A. geniculata loves the beetles. Also, as for "hunting", she likes to run them down in the enclosure to enventually crush them. The sound is, frankly - satisfying knowing what they can do.

As for the superworms themself: I agree to what has been said and I only feed them occasionally and to those I know are hungry. Maelworm on the other hand, can be just as bad - depending on the size of the T. Crush heads or feed only if you know the T will take them.

Gpappy31 · Aug 28, 2014

Interesting to see so many people against superworms. I understand the biting aspect but superworms and roaches are the only bugs I feed to my T's and never have had a problem. I do get a little "rough" when picking them up with tongs, I tend to crush their heads slightly for my Avic's.

Poec54 · Aug 28, 2014

Gpappy31 said:
Interesting to see so many people against superworms. I understand the biting aspect but superworms and roaches are the only bugs I feed to my T's and never have had a problem. I do get a little "rough" when picking them up with tongs, I tend to crush their heads slightly for my Avic's.

We're not 'against' them. We're against using them irresponsibly: 'adding superworms to an enclosure.' That can kill spiders. I use superworms myself and they're handy for hungry, freshly-molted spiders when you're out of adult crickets. They're great for that. My big terrestrials usually eat them, as do my Avics, but Poecs are hit or miss.

Mike41793 · Aug 28, 2014

I've gotten some once to change things up. As was already said, only certain T's got them though. The geniculata LOVED them haha.

edgeofthefreak · Aug 29, 2014

I like supers, but only because I started doing the head crush technique. I find I use supers much more "responsibly" now. Knowing that I'm the one killing them, if are not eaten, my act becomes a terrible thing. So I started off using them for my Emperor scorpion. When I open the lid, she darts and takes her hours to climb back up, and I can leave a super at her door. If it's still there by morning, I take it out, make sure it still has a bit of life left, and I give it the my B. albopilosum. She doesn't usually snatch em up too quickly, but within an hour or two, she devours it. Barely a bolus left.

I make sure not to go spider to scorpion with the same super, just due to the urticating hairs. My spider recently molted, so her world is currently a fiberglass deathtrap.

Adding superworms to an enclosure

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