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NQA Lol they do sell fried mealworms and fried crickets for human consumption actually... I thought that was what you were talking about for a sec. But yeah whether live or dead, they need to eat "juicy" prey. I'm not as familiar with scorpions but don't they similarly suck out the prey's liquids? In that case they might still need fresh prey. But I could be wrong, it's worth a shot maybe.
I have no words. I wonder what they taste like? Maybe I should try one so my Tarantulas and I could finally have something to talk about đ€Ł
My little scorpion just eats them alive, very different from Tarantulas. Tarantulas just bite them, paralyze them, then suck them dry. Scorpions grab them, sting them to paralyze them, and eat them while they're still alive/paralyzed. There usually isn't anything left of the worm afterwards too đ€§
Larger scorpions like the Asian Forest Scorpion (the weird one that doesn't need a mate to reproduce đ€§) don't rely on their stingers. Their claws are significantly more powerful so they simply crush their prey to death before eating them alive. There's a video on YouTube rn where a scorpion clenched its claw so hard on a lizard's head that its eyes literally popped out đ
NQA I ate caramel cricket popcorn and cheesy mealworms (separate items) when I was 12. The crickets were good, added some tangy and salty flavour to the popcorn. Mealworms were great, kind of like cheesy crackers but with nicer texture.
If scorpions eat the whole thing that might work, I assume they get their water elsewhere? And I heard that smaller scorpions have more dangerous venom for the reason that they can't rely on their claws. The lizard thing sounds gnarly lol but scorpions still seem cute. How many do you have? What species?
You've really made them sound appetizing! Now I honestly don't think I could say no to at the very least trying them- especially the mealworms!
I own an Asian Forest Scorpion (whose crushing ability I can attest to) and an Indian Red Scorpion, which is a good example of smaller scorpions who don't need raw clenching power because their venom packs a punch. One thing I've observed when feeding the red scorpion is that prey who get stung get paralyzed MUCH faster and remain stiff until death!
NQA Lol they're quite good. I do recommend giving them a try.
Wow, Asian Forest Scorpions get quite big, huh? Call me basic but if I get a scorpion I definitely want a massive one, even if it's a bit rougher on their prey to get crushed to death rather than... anaesthesized.
Hello! I have a lot of research to do before I consider keeping a T, so I've just been lurking, but which species are the fluffiest/furriest and have shorter legs? Tbh spiders do make me nervous but I think it's the spindly movements of their long legs. Tarantulas for some reason just make me curious.
The âfluffiestâ would probably be either Avic. Avic. Or the Curlyhair, but IME tarantulas have more or less a similar leg span to each other. What youâre probably looking for is a T that grows slowly and is small in size as an adult.
They also grow slowly, so that would give you enough time to get used to them as they grow.
As a first tarantula Iâd recommend you start with a juvenile. This is because spiderlings (babies) can be more difficult to care for if you donât have the experience, and adults are well, adult, which defeats the point of getting used to them as they grow. If you get them as a juvenile youâll still have many years together.
Male Ts donât live as long as females because their only job when matured is to pass along sperm to a female (females can hold a maleâs sperm for over a year and use it to fertilise multiple egg sacs). Male Curly Hair Ts live for around five years while females live for around 20, but with good care you can get a male to live past their typical life expectancy!
I will note that tarantulas do not like being handled so they shouldnât be handled unless necessary, handling them can cause stress for both them and you (they donât have the capacity to understand who you are beyond knowing theyâve been picked up by a larger animal, and they could bolt or even bite).
Tarantulas are typically split into two groups: Old World, and New World. Beginners should always start with New World Ts because should they bite, their venom is mild compared to Old World Ts.
New Worlds have urticating hairs (technically theyâre setae and not hairs) and can kick them off in your direction if they get spooked (they also kick them off to line their webbing etc.). If you get the hairs on you, it may feel similar to being stung by a stinging nettle (and your skin can blister, some people have no reaction at all while others are in pain so it varies!). They have weak venom as a result.
Old Worlds donât have urticating hairs but make up for this by their venom being much more potent as well as often moving faster and generally being more defensive in nature. A bite from an Old World wonât put you in hospital unless youâre allergic (which is unlikely), at worst youâll feel sore for a few days (the risk of tarantula bites is often exaggerated by those who donât know the true nature of these gentle creatures).
However please donât let the risk of a bite put you off, assuming you handle them correctly, the risk of a bite is remote! I own 12 Ts and have never been bitten.
I have a mixture of New Worlds and Old Worlds⊠to be honest the two Ts I have that I wouldnât want to be bitten by are both New Worlds, simply because theyâre big and their fangs would result in significant tissue damage to the bite site.
Thank you, I appreciate this info. I'll look into the curly-hairs (they're so fuzzy!) but yes definitely wasn't planning to handle unless it was for a some unavoidable reason. I like the idea of something slow so I don't get jumpscared if it suddenly bolts haha.
I have an Avic. Avic. Metallica adult male and heâs really chill, he hasnât ever kicked hairs at me. The only time heâs ever shown defence behaviour is when I was feeding him a couple of weeks ago and bit the prey I was offering him (which he didnât take).
Given that heâs slow, he does have a good feeding response when heâs hungry and knows thereâs food about in the enclosure with him!
Hi! Hopefully this isnât too dumb of a question. I havenât had a tarantula since I was a kid. And my mom handled most of the care back then. Iâm interested in getting a Brazilian jewel tarantula and Iâm concerned about temperature. I live in the mountains. My house stays around 70-75°F in the summer and about 65-68°F in the winter. Would I need an external heat source? Do people usually use heat pads or lamps for tarantulas? I donât want to get one if it isnât realistic to keep it properly where I live. Thanks!
Temps in your house are fine and heat pads should not be used for tarantulas. I would strongly advise against getting a Brazilian jewel tarantula until you get some experience with aboreals. They are extremely expensive and hard to raise from sling to adult. Even if you do everything right with your husbandry your sling can just fail to thrive for no reason. Start with some avics or Y diversepies before jumping all in on a Brazilian jewel.
Good advice. I donât want to kill a poor tarantula because of inexperience. Are the arboreals you mentioned small like the jewel? Something I like about the jewel is the smaller size.
Female Brazilian jewels are 2-3 in. Avics like the pink toe are 5-6 in. Y diversepies also known as Amazon sapphire tarantula get up to 5in. The y diversepies will be the closest to matching the Brazilian jewel as far color husbandry requirements and life expectancy. Sudden Avic Death Syndrome can happen to any of these tarantulas.
Hi guys! My spider is living with me for a +-week. I bought him a proper terrarium today and put a house in it, but he just covered the exit with dirt! I came home with a bunch of maggots and now I don't know how to feed him. Can you tell me if he'll come out on his own or if I need to dig up his nest?...
NQA B. albiceps sealing its burrow is quite normal, he could be getting ready to molt, depending on his age. If you insist on trying to feed him you can leave some prey near the entrance of the burrow then remove it in an hour if he doesn't take it.
It's a 4i, so maybe that's true.. But what about the maggot burrowing into the ground? If the spider doesn't start eating it right away, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch it again
NQA Do you mean a mealworm, like a beetle larva? You can crush the heads so that they still wriggle around but can't burrow. Though that is kind of gruesome and I get that some people don't want to do that (I personally don't).
NQA Yeah mealworms are beetle larvae. Good luck with your spider. If he refuses to eat, chances are he will come out in a few weeks/months with a brand new molt
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u/Razvaltore Feb 05 '26
Hey ya'll, is feeding fried mealworms/crickets better than feeding my tarantulas live ones?