Feeding T's meal worms?

The wife picked up some meal worms as well as locusts.....we put one in and zumph it went straight into the sub...so we put another in..in a shallow dish it kept trying to escape lol so haD a rethink and could only think of using feeding tongues...so had a go and the resident gut bucket took it without hesitation how ever she clanger her fangs on them and we're worried if we carry on she'll bust a fang and don't want to risk covering them in foam and her inadvertantly eating any....how do you guys do this?

I also don't like the idea of them being in the sub and either growing and busting out and attacking our T's or them just dying under there and attracting mites and things lol

Lol they do like to burrow, easy fix is to crush the heads with tongs then put it in, they will usually still try burrowing but not as successful or not at all.

let us know how you get on.

Mealworms and superworms have strong jaws, which can chew holes in tarantulas, especially when they're molting. They also have the habit of instantly burrowing in the substrate when put in a spider's cage. These are drawbacks. On the upside, they last much longer than crickets and can tide you over. They add variety to a spider's diet, but really shouldn't be the primary food.

Only give them to spiders that are very hungry and large enough to overpower them. Some tarantulas won't eat them, or will only eat them post-molt when they're starving. I don't crush their heads because sometimes they don't get eaten and then a have a decaying mealworm/superworm. I drop the next to a spider's front legs, and if they're not scooped up in several seconds, I take them right out with a 6" forceps.

True +1 Poec54.

Some T's will love them others will not, I usually only give my T's super/meal worms as a treat every so often, good to feed them a week+ after molting or as Poec said if theyr really hungry etc.

Poec54 said:

I don't crush their heads because sometimes they don't get eaten and then a have a decaying mealworm/superworm.

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Supers yes, but I have not found that to be true with mealworms. After crushing their heads they actually live for days and even weeks, so you do not have to worry about it breaking down. I've actually pulled uneaten mealies from enclosures that had sat in there for days, only to pluck them out still wriggling....after days in one enclosure they go right into another and get eaten. This is why I suggest crushing their heads, as opposed to decapitating them as some people do....as this will cause them to die, break down and decay almost instantly.

Cheers guys ill defo give the head crushing a go lol Syrup my A.gen loves them...she on them with in seconds in the tongs...its Gorgaroth my L.Para that likes to take his time eating hence the one buried some where in the sub....should I leave it or root around for it...only moved him to a bigger viv on Tuesday just gone so don't really want to disturb him again but also don't like the idea of it being able to poke it's head up and take a chunk out of him

Pancakensyrup said:

Cheers guys ill defo give the head crushing a go lol Syrup my A.gen loves them...she on them with in seconds in the tongs...its Gorgaroth my L.Para that likes to take his time eating hence the one buried some where in the sub....should I leave it or root around for it...only moved him to a bigger viv on Tuesday just gone so don't really want to disturb him again but also don't like the idea of it being able to poke it's head up and take a chunk out of him

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It really should be removed. Often you can lift the enclosure and find the worm as they often burrow right to the bottom, this could give you a nice clue as to where to dig.

I keep a small breeding container of mealworms handy for when I run out of crickets and can't or don't feel like getting to the store (plus I'm just gonna go ahead and admit it, I think the beetles are cute too). One thing I've noticed is when the bigger, older worms are getting ready to transition into a chrysalis they lay on top of the substrate and get all catatonic. If you drop them into the T's cage like that they just lay there and don't burrow right away if at all. I've had a lot of success dropping them right in front of the T's face and they grab them up right away.

And I would go ahead and try to remove that burrowed one just to be safe. The beetles and mealworms will eat other worms' chrysali sometimes before they harden so it'd be a concern for a molting T.

The skull crushing worked thanks guys no more digging for them lol also found the 2 escapees lol