Gut loading with color enhancers?

[prey]

I've had fish and birds respond positively on diets high in natural food pigments, as far as colour goes. I have four B smithi (.75") due to arrive tuesday. I thought it might be interesting (esp. during later molts) to gut load their food items with bird or fish food containing colour enhancing feed. 2 on and 2 off. I'll resirrect this thread, eventually, as results prove positive or otherwise.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Well I have mostly smithi and I can tell you not to bother.
I remember one time I had one that would eat crickets...... thats it she hated roaches. And that was back before I knew how to get them fed properly before feeding them to my T.......And when that girl molted she was the most brilliant colors ever.
You are better off sticking to traditional known methods of feeding. Plus you are running a risk of effecting the T's health.

Oh and think of this, what do fish birds and Tarantulas have in common..........only one thing and thats they are living creatures.
I wouldent make you eat dog food..... and you would not feed your cat dog food, so why feed your T fish food and other productes made for fish and birds?

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

i think it's a good idea. i guess i would just rather know things whether good or bad. and in case you didn't read what he wrote, he's not going to feed fish food to his tarantulas. he's going to keep on feeding them the same thing. instead he's going to feed the food something different.

 

[Talkenlate04]

i think it's a good idea. i guess i would just rather know things whether good or bad. and in case you didn't read what he wrote, he's not going to feed fish food to his tarantulas. he's going to keep on feeding them the same thing. instead he's going to feed the food something different.

Yes I did read that, See I dont see how you can justify using a species thats on the CITIES list for such a test. That is where I am coming from.....

 

[maarrrrr]

I'd like to know how this would end up as well.

 

[Talkenlate04]

To each his own, thats what I always say, but why not do it with an Avic avic or something.

 

[jamesc]

Gut loading with regular cricket load as opposed to plants or fruit will make colors more vibrant in my experience. You don't need anything but regular cricket gut load.

 

[Talkenlate04]

That is all I was getting at........ I dont think that its a good idea to give something to a T that might have unknown effects. They are colorful all on there own. I dont think that you are going to be able to stimulate more color pigment by changing its diet.

 

[Taceas]

Most of the color enhancers in fish food are merely natural plant chemicals called carotenoids, like Beta carotene as a prime example. So I highly doubt there will be any harm to the tarantulas. They're not nuclear experiment foods by any means.

I also have to wonder what you say to people who sell roach or cricket food that they make themselves. In most cases its primarily fish flakes ground up, with cat food, baby cereal etc. The insect doesn't have to be in common with any of those to eat the food.

While I'm skeptical as to it actually working, I'd say it'd be a nifty experiment to try.

I dont think that you are going to be able to stimulate more color pigment by changing its diet.

Then how do you explain birds and other animals that once on a more vitamin enriched diet and better quality food, their plumage or coat gets more colorful and vibrant? Heck even humans are in the same boat. Malnourished people have little skin color and their hair is awful looking. Give them a proper diet high in nutrition and they look like a different person.

Sometimes I've wondered if diet differences are the real differences behind some people's absolutely retina burning tarantulas specimens, and another person's so-so specimen. Is the difference dietary or is it just natural variation?

A simple little anecdotal study like this could scratch the surface of a really big thing we may not even know about.

 

[prey]

ty

Thanks for the input.
Thanks above for pointing out well-fed crickets do, indeed, make a difference one way or another. I find that interesting, neat, and not surprizing
I really wasn't planing on feeding the crickets, superworms, etc. anything particularly strange. I had a curiosity as to whether or not the purely natural food items selected for products such as color-enhancing tropical fish food (fruit skins, shrimp, flowers eaten by humans in salads, whatever), which happen to bear more pigment than others, would impart themselves onto the T. I've even seen suggestions on pretty reputable-seeming sites that fish food and chicken feed are fine as alternate cricket or larvae feed, anyway, but I know about not overdoing calcium because of possible molting issues. I can assure you it won't harm the T, so don't worry. It just may have little or no effect.
The reason I chose B. smithi is because it has two of the foremost colors dietary pigments improve in other pets. They are captive bred and I'm supporting their captive breeding by buying them and spoiling them with above average care with the intention of breeding, myself. I've been especially active re: endangered animals for over 18 years.
And dog food would probably be much better for me than the junk I eat, but if you want to feed it to a fish or something before I consume it, go ahead.;P

Thanks again for the feedback, all; I'll feed the control group regular cricket feed instead of lesser foods.

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

let me know how it goes!

 

[ShadowBlade]

See I dont see how you can justify using a species thats on the CITIES list for such a test.

They are classified as such due to there wild population. There are plenty in captivity.

 

[dtknow]

CITES doesn't really mean too much as far as captive animals are concerned. Just look at axolotls. I don't think their are plenty of them in captivity due to slow breeding and whatnot but this experiment is quite harmless IMHO.

How do T's show color then? Is it due to pigments? I'm guessing blue and whatnot is due to iridescence coloring and not pigment but the reds and yellows I'd bet would respond to color enhancing.

 

[Chilkootmom]

I think that is a great idea. And since a lot of a cricket diet (home-made) recipes seem to contain fish flakes etc...Im sure that adding a color enhancing flake would just be easy as pie to do. I would love to see the results of this experiment. There is no harm in it at all.

Linda

 

[arachnoking1234]

it is probably unsafe

 

[Dragoon]

Hello prey
Go ahead and try your experiment. That's what hobbies are for. LOTS of people who beat their chests and yell about the critters' rights to be left alone forget that they keep them in cages for entertainment. Just like the rest of us.

Here is my experience with your idea. I make my own cricket and roach chow using oatmeal, pablum and fish food and have used it for years to have healthy crickets. Using color-loaded fish food can turn the crickets colors to a degree and may affect the colors of lizards and animals that have pigments in their skin. So your idea is OK, but it likely won't work with T's. I read on here, years ago, that a T's color isn't due to pigmentation like our skin. Or else it would be possible to get albino tarantulas. And there aren't any. You could do an advanced search using the terms albino tarantula to get the full explanation.
Or just have fun with your experiment, and let us know.
Happy growing!
D.
D.

 

[Cerbera]

Or how about an experiment where you take a T, and dangle it in a bottle of ink for a week to see if it changes colour ? or you could spray paint one pink. Ridiculous.

Why on earth would you not be happy with the colour of your spiders ? They are the colour they are. Why, oh why can we not be happy with the way things are without trying to change them ? Must humans so endlessly try to control and alter everything we come across ? And what for ? Nothing more than one's own curiosity...

Keeping a T in a cage, and watching it do its thing is not the same as dicking with its diet until it looks the way you want it to. Keeping a T content and healthy is very different to 'experimenting' on it.

And quite apart from that, all my T's have superbly vibrant colours, and all my prey gets fed on fruit and vegetables and stuff -you know - like they're meant to eat...

amazing...

 

[ShadowBlade]

Keeping a T content and healthy is very different to 'experimenting' on it.

It's a bug. Anyway you cut it. And experimenting with one sling is not what I'd call inhumane.

However, I do agree with you that the slings I've raised I'm perfectly content with, and all the beautiful Brachy's you see in the picture forum didn't need to be altered.

But you don't need to attack him for wanting to try something.

 

[prey]

holy cow

Some people inevitably get so holier than thou (often unfounded). There's always the token ones on any board/any topic. If you'd payed attention you'd know how not really "dicking" with its diet significantly all-natural tropical fish "color flakes" are to feed some to crickets. And it wasn't because I'm not happy with them as normal. It's because I was curious if varying degrees of color from naturally varying diets affect T's like they do other animals, even in the wild. Don't worry, it will have zero health consequences to the T's. It's actually the most harmless quasi-scientific curiosity one could ever flame that bad, due to nothing more than a pre-existing need to cynical and self-righteous regularly.
I rather like the discussion of how T's get their coloration vs. other animals pigmentation and the lack of albinos.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Some people inevitably get so holier than thou (often unfounded). There's always the token ones on any board/any topic. If you'd payed attention you'd know how not really "dicking" with its diet significantly all-natural tropical fish "color flakes" are to feed some to crickets. And it wasn't because I'm not happy with them as normal. It's because I was curious if varying degrees of color from naturally varying diets affect T's like they do other animals, even in the wild. Don't worry, it will have zero health consequences to the T's. It's actually the most harmless quasi-scientific curiosity one could ever flame that bad, due to nothing more than a pre-existing need to cynical and self-righteous regularly.
I rather like the discussion of how T's get their coloration vs. other animals pigmentation and the lack of albinos.

How do you figure that????
There is a big difference between a cow that wanders and eats grass, and a cow that get pumped full of hormones.......

Same with chickens, free range chickens are know for a fact to be heathier then those that never leave a cage and get the hormone treatment.

So by changing what is going into the food that is fed to the T you are changing its diet. It goes hand in hand there is no way around it.

BUt back to my original point.... what is the point of doing this with a CITIES species? WHy not use something more common? I am not saying dont do it, even though I personally dont think its going to do anything at all........ and he has one sling you have to have a control present to make this work.....
Just like any other test. But regardless I still think you are wasting your time. Its like trying to change a zebras stripes.