gobey
Arachnoknight
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- Jun 20, 2014
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Do you have a video of the doom choo? So I can better understand how it works.
Doritos or lays for tarantulas...
- Thread starter Spidergurl24
- Start date
awiec
Arachnoprince
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- Feb 13, 2014
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I would have to dig up a crappy video camera but I can probably take pictures of me doing the procedure if I can find one.
gobey
Arachnoknight
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- Jun 20, 2014
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don't feel like you have too man. I can still just do what I'm doing. Slings get fed, I don't get bitten. Crickets are just a pain lol.
Oh, I feel sorry for you chips vs crisps people with the crickets - all exoskeleton and barely any meat.
I used to be one of you, until I decided to try some dubias because I was getting something else shipped, and it wasn't that much extra for a handful. When they arrived having had babies en route, it changed my mind in a big way.
So what, if crickets are easy to get at any LPS - one still has to go there and pay and gut-load them overnight, and when one has a small collection of bug eating critters, one needs to get a lot. Then one ends up getting them shipped by the hundreds and let me tell you - they stink something awful even after a few days, but one needs them to last all month; and I've never had them reproduce either - just die. So many down-sides.
Growing the food at home when it's this easy is a no-brainer. Plus my roaches are interesting in their own right. While I did pick them for variety, none of the four species I keep can fly or climb smooth surfaces, and none of them ever smell, unless a large adult dies and I don't get it right away. Three of my four species are sexually dimorphic, so I have some control over level of reproduction. In addition, three species will not breed well without substrate, so I can put the brakes on that way. But I live a street away from an exotic animal rescue and they're happy to take my surplus. In retrospect, I wish I'd done this even when I just had one beardie - on a much smaller scale of course. In that case - knowing what I know now, I'd get dubias because they're so easy to sex (can separate mature adults to avoid over-reproduction), easy to feed (no special products - just what we and the cats eat), easy to breed - easy all around. As much as my lizards loved them, I will not keep lobster roaches (nauphoeta cinerea) any more though - they can climb, and they stink, and they're wicked fast. Shelfordella are also wicked fast, small nymphs can climb a little, and adult males can flutter short distances, but they don't smell, and they sure are popular with those of my animals who like a bit of action with their food.
I used to be one of you, until I decided to try some dubias because I was getting something else shipped, and it wasn't that much extra for a handful. When they arrived having had babies en route, it changed my mind in a big way.
So what, if crickets are easy to get at any LPS - one still has to go there and pay and gut-load them overnight, and when one has a small collection of bug eating critters, one needs to get a lot. Then one ends up getting them shipped by the hundreds and let me tell you - they stink something awful even after a few days, but one needs them to last all month; and I've never had them reproduce either - just die. So many down-sides.
Growing the food at home when it's this easy is a no-brainer. Plus my roaches are interesting in their own right. While I did pick them for variety, none of the four species I keep can fly or climb smooth surfaces, and none of them ever smell, unless a large adult dies and I don't get it right away. Three of my four species are sexually dimorphic, so I have some control over level of reproduction. In addition, three species will not breed well without substrate, so I can put the brakes on that way. But I live a street away from an exotic animal rescue and they're happy to take my surplus. In retrospect, I wish I'd done this even when I just had one beardie - on a much smaller scale of course. In that case - knowing what I know now, I'd get dubias because they're so easy to sex (can separate mature adults to avoid over-reproduction), easy to feed (no special products - just what we and the cats eat), easy to breed - easy all around. As much as my lizards loved them, I will not keep lobster roaches (nauphoeta cinerea) any more though - they can climb, and they stink, and they're wicked fast. Shelfordella are also wicked fast, small nymphs can climb a little, and adult males can flutter short distances, but they don't smell, and they sure are popular with those of my animals who like a bit of action with their food.
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Some of us can't get roaches where we live. It's illegal to have roaches shipped to certain states.
Poec54
Arachnoemperor
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Once you have a collection of spiders, you'll soon find that you can't possibly produce enough roaches to feed them. Plus some spiders will not each roaches. Adult female crickets have plenty of 'meat' to them, I don't know where you got that idea. They can also be kept alive for a while with proper basic care, and they will reproduce; how do you think breeders manage to do it? Your perspective is very limited and isn't applicable to many people here.
Okay, okay - I do see that they have shortcomings for some people. I do still feel sorry for those of you subject to these limitations, since I have felt extraordinarily liberated and even a bit enriched by my roaches. I apologize for being so pushy, but I can just be so easily triggered to rave about them.
Poec54
Arachnoemperor
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'Subject to limitations?' If you only want to feed roaches, your collection's subject to limitations brought about by not being to raise many and many spiders refusing to eat them. Don't pity us. You've limited how far you can go in the hobby. We're 'liberated' by having a food source that can purchased affordably, in large quantities, in any state. We can have a lot more spiders and a lot more species than you can. That's liberation, baby.
MatthewM1
Arachnoknight
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- Apr 27, 2013
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I'm team roaches all the way as well. When people say some T's wont eat roaches I think that's a bit too vague, what kind of roaches are you talking about? I know generally people who say this are speaking of dubia but not all roaches are created equal. I've never had a single T or any animal in my care for that matter refuse latteralis roaches. Sure with a collection the size of yours Rick breeding any feeders yourself isn't really feasible, but for most collectors it is extremely easy to breed enough to feed your collection and then some. It really doesn't take much space, time or effort to breed roaches by the thousands. And most roach haters seem to live in FL or Canada, just sayin' 
Poec54
Arachnoemperor
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I'm not a roach hater at all. Exotic species aren't legal in some states and countries, that's a drawback. How many T species do you have? There's plenty of posts here from people who say their spiders won't eat roaches; I don't know that the only ones they're talking about are dubias. I certainly wouldn't assume all tarantulas are going to eat lateralis. Sure, it's easy to breed roaches, but to breed enough to feed a decent sized collection of spiders takes a lot of roaches. How much space of the house do people want to devote to roach cages? There are a lot of spouses and families they don't want ANY roaches inside; another drawback. Roaches are not a miracle feeding solution by any means. Many people aren't allowed to use them, and for those that can, the size of spider collections are limited by what they can produce roach-wise, and the spiders that will eat them. I think roaches, and superworms, are both great supplements, especially for big NW terrestrials.I'm team roaches all the way as well. When people say some T's wont eat roaches I think that's a bit too vague, what kind of roaches are you talking about? I know generally people who say this are speaking of dubia but not all roaches are created equal. I've never had a single T or any animal in my care for that matter refuse latteralis roaches. Sure with a collection the size of yours Rick breeding any feeders yourself isn't really feasible, but for most collectors it is extremely easy to breed enough to feed your collection and then some. It really doesn't take much space, time or effort to breed roaches by the thousands. And most roach haters seem to live in FL or Canada, just sayin'
Absolutely!
I admit that it's primarily in the realm of providing meat to my bug eating friends, but since I have a number of those, it's quite a decent chunk of liberation. I understand that other people are fine with crickets, but I myself disliked them and the fact that I kept having to shell out money for them so much, that I kept trying other kinds of bugs, and those where all pricey and/or a pain to take care of. Liberated doesn't seem too strong a word for something that frees up my resources to the extend roaches have. I can't really imagine this level of liberation in any other realm of my life - a roomba maybe?
Poec54
Arachnoemperor
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You really need to get out more often.
Dude.... it's a cockroach I can't even wrap my head around how someone could be "Liberated" by a cockroach probably the most vile thing to ever walk the earth and after 3 months of trying to feed these things to my tarantulas with a total of 2 being eaten it looks like my tarantulas agree.
Liberated- given liberty; freed; released, this is what you have been liberated by
View attachment 130497
Liberated- given liberty; freed; released, this is what you have been liberated by
View attachment 130497
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I'm curious where you were buying your crickets from? Do mobsters run your cricket supply?? Crickets are literally, the cheapest thing I have EVER bought at a pet store. Say you have 30 t's, at about 5 per t per month, what does that come to? about 12 bucks a month, less than $10 if you buy all at once? I just don't get how cost is an issue with crickets. And if you learn how to keep them properly, they keep well.
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Not a fan of them myself. Although I must say that the green banana roaches are actually pretty cool looking. That's an odd exception though. The majority of roaches are are rather repulsive IMO.
I like the giant burrowing roaches that are like the size of my palm here in Australia, wouldn't mind getting one tbh. They're like an armored tank and they feel great on your hand.
View attachment 130501
No doubt about that, but I also think you underestimate roaches. My four colonies live in three 12"x17" flat critter keepers stacked, plus a bucket - it all takes up a space that's about an 18" cube, and I estimate I need to feed off about 300 roaches per week in order to not experience glut. There may be other good reasons not to keep them, but when you say that they don't reproduce fast enough, I think you must base that on hissers.
---------- Post added 10-05-2014 at 12:26 AM ----------
The roaches are free. I have not paid for bugs in years. They reproduce at a mad rate on first rate kitchen scraps.
It's all relative. I've got herps too. So we're talking more like 500 crickets per month. And frankly - anything free is just way cheaper than even $12 per month - can't argue with that.
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Since we are talking food , does any one feed wax worms or silk worms ? I know silk worms are pricey but wax worms are pretty inexpensive if you buy larger quantities . They seem like an easy feed and a tasty treat besides the normal roach , cricket or meal worm which is all I see talked about for food items . Isn't variety always better ?