Removing extremely small uneaten food insects

[Will-batayte]

Ok so I am currently feeding my G. Pulchra 1"sling pinhead roaches. They are about 4 to 5 millimeters in length. The T. Is housed in a juvenile acrylic enclosure that's 4x4x5inches. Inside I have coconut fiber, a tiny cork bark hide (which I buried to look like a little cave) a piece of fake plant and a bunch of tree moss scattered around on the substrate. The sling pretty much dissapears into the background of the moss when not moving because of the natural camo. So as you can imagine a pinhead roach becomes absolutely impossible to find if it's not moving. So I gave the first roach yesterday and I didn't observe the sling feed. For a while I would see the roach here and there and know it was still running around alive. Since then I haven't seen it. So anyway my question is this. Everything I've read says to remove uneaten prey after 24 hours. The problem as I'm sure you've guessed is how does one remove something one can't find or even know if it's been eaten. Also in the next feeding I was intending to just add in another orach if I don't come across the first one. Is this a good method?
Any ideas?

Should I possibly remove most of the moss to make easier both my job and the T's hunting

 

[Arachnoclown]

They are hard to find sometimes. Put some dry cat food in a small clear vile...the roach will go in there to eat and you will have your roach. Roaches aren't as bad as crickets at attacking Ts while molting. I wouldn't stress to much over a loose pinhead in there.

 

[Enn49]

I'd get rid of the moss, you don't need it for a G. Pulchra as a first step. Then follow @Arachnoclown's advice.​

 

[Will-batayte]

Thanks guys, that's a great idea as far as baiting the roach. Also. I was kinda hoping you'd say the moss can go. Honestly at the size of the little guy I feel like it's more of a hinderence then a benefit. Something akin to us trying to wander around on a brush pile

 

[Tortoise Tom]

Ditto what Enn said. If I need to remove an uneaten roach, I just pluck it out with some short sharp forceps.

Pulchra are good eaters and not usually too nervous. If they don't eat it on sight (Or sense, as the case may be...), then they probably aren't going to eat it. Much easier to catch and remove the roach soon after you drop it in than trying to catch it later after it is rested and better oriented. I have 10 pulchra slings that I've been raising for the last few months and if they don't take the roach immediately when it gets near them, I just take it right back out because I know they are in pre-molt again.

 

[Will-batayte]

So when I dropped it in it landed pretty far away from the sling. So I'm not too sure it even spotted it. This is the first time since I got it that I've tried to feed. So I didn't really know what to expect. I do think it may want food though because it seemed to be paying attention to this fruitfly that had entered its enclosure.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

So when I dropped it in it landed pretty far away from the sling. So I'm not too sure it even spotted it. This is the first time since I got it that I've tried to feed. So I didn't really know what to expect. I do think it may want food though because it seemed to be paying attention to this fruitfly that had entered its enclosure.

I try to drop the roaches near the spider, but they don't always cooperate. If they run to the other side if the enclosure, I carefully prod them with long forceps or the skinny end of a paint brush or a shish-kabob stick until they run over to the spider. I try to only touch the roach and none of the cage furnishings. If the roach runs by them a couple of times and they do nothing, then they aren't hungry.

 

[Will-batayte]

Ok so I got home from work and removed the moss. The spider seems to be fine with this. Still hanging out out in the open. The roach is no where to be found. I think he was probably eaten when I wasn't watching because there's really no where it could be at this point. Next feeding I'm going to try and get it right in front of the sling so I can see the reaction for sure. I have the enclusure on a shelf near where I sit so I can just look over every now and then and observe without having to move anything or disturb the sling.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Ok so I got home from work and removed the moss. The spider seems to be fine with this. Still hanging out out in the open. The roach is no where to be found. I think he was probably eaten when I wasn't watching because there's really no where it could be at this point. Next feeding I'm going to try and get it right in front of the sling so I can see the reaction for sure. I have the enclusure on a shelf near where I sit so I can just look over every now and then and observe without having to move anything or disturb the sling.

You can crush the roaches head...it will still thrash around so the spider will sense it. Also if the spider doesnt eat it it will be easy to catch.

 

[Will-batayte]

Well since I wasn't sure if the first one was eaten I decided to give another tonight. This time with out the moss the feeding response was aggressive and instant. Lol I'm not sure the roach even hit the ground. I'm happy to see a hungry spider because as I said it just arrived on Friday. So it's good to see him/her settled in and chowing down lol. Thanks for all the quick responses guys

 

[Dave Jay]

What I've done with small slings and scorps is to chill the prey in the fridge first then drop it right in front of the sling, it just slows them down a bit and the twitching legs as it wakes up attracts them before the prey can run. I found this works a bit better than offering dead food. Mostly I do this when the prey is a bit too big and intimidates the animal if fully awake as does happen sometimes. Make sure you time the period in the fridge, 5 mins is a good starting point, it's easy to vague out watching tv etc and leave it too long. It's also easier to catch them yourself if they're chilled and slow, it saves a lot of escapes.
I see by your last reply that it may not be needed, but it's still a good idea because it stops crickets or roaches bolting when you open the container lid. To me it's almost essential when dealing with adult crickets, once you've had a few males escape you'll swear by it too, escapees can drive you nuts!

 

[shaun]

So does the whole of the bug usually get eaten? I also have concerns about little bits of bug lying around, just rotting. Its so hard to spot stuff, my spiders tank is full of bark and wood so is not easily cleaned out without disturbing it all!

 

[Arachnoclown]

So does the whole of the bug usually get eaten? I also have concerns about little bits of bug lying around, just rotting. Its so hard to spot stuff, my spiders tank is full of bark and wood so is not easily cleaned out without disturbing it all!

Bark and wood? Sounds like you are using the wrong substrate.

 

[shaun]

No, that's not the substrate. I mean that there are pieces of wood placed in the tank.

 

[Arachnoclown]

No, that's not the substrate. I mean that there are pieces of wood placed in the tank.

Put isopods in with your T...they will eat all the garbage.

 

[shaun]

Wow! But do the spiders not eat them ?

 

[Arachnoclown]

Wow! But do the spiders not eat them ?

Sometimes...large spiders dont seam to care. They're really cheap.

 

[shaun]

Sounds good, will give it a try, great advice on this forum.
Cheers

 

[shaun]

How many isopods would do the job?

 

[Dave Jay]

How many isopods would do the job?

In the right conditions the population grows quickly so just throw a few in, 5 is certainly enough to kick things off. In fact, I found one large one to be enough to clean up a 4x4x10" enclosure.