How do i pre-kill dubias the humane way?

[viper69]

Freezing to death is humane?

 

[Luka98]

Freezing to death is humane?

Nope

 

[viper69]

While I knew insects don't feel pain, I got curious for more details so I Googled "do insects feel feel pain". I thought this was interesting:

https://www.thoughtco.com/do-insects-feel-pain-1968409

This part really explains it:

"Insects Don't Show Pain Responses
Perhaps the clearest evidence that insects do not feel pain is found in behavioral observations. How do insects respond to injury?

An insect with a damaged foot doesn't limp. Insects with crushed abdomens continue to feed and mate. Caterpillars still eat and move about their host plant, even with parasites consuming their bodies. Even a locust being devoured by a praying mantid will behave normally, feeding right up until the moment of death."

Except in fruit flies, they display nociceptive behavior, despite not having such receptors

 

[elportoed]

Just a thought, so it is humane to let the roach to be grabbed and dissloved or digested alive by the tarantula, but to crush the head or cut it to pieces isn't. This isn't the humane type of hobby.

 

[AngelDeVille]

Crush the head with your first set of molars.

 

[Luka98]

Just a thought, so it is humane to let the roach to be grabbed and dissloved or digested alive by the tarantula, but to crush the head or cut it to pieces isn't. This isn't the humane type of hobby.

As i've said before I don't have any problems feeding them to my spiders i just want to be as respectful as possible in doing so, i offer them live but since the tarantula is suspectedly in early premolt i wanted to offer a dead roach which i never did for my reptiles so i just wanted to make sure i kill it as quick as i can so it doesn't suffer more than it should

Crush the head with your first set of molars.

I used to do that but it's just too tempting not to eat it that way

 

[EulersK]

Just a thought, so it is humane to let the roach to be grabbed and dissloved or digested alive by the tarantula, but to crush the head or cut it to pieces isn't. This isn't the humane type of hobby.

Agreed. We are keeping predators as pets, simple as that. I know the OP isn't this delusional, but we had a user on here about a year ago that absolutely refused to give her tarantula live prey. She insisted on prekilled food, but the adult tarantula wouldn't take it. If I recall correctly, it was an A. geniculata or an N. chromatus - either way, it was a species that should have an appetite.

 

[Luka98]

Agreed. We are keeping predators as pets, simple as that. I know the OP isn't this delusional, but we had a user on here about a year ago that absolutely refused to give her tarantula live prey. She insisted on prekilled food, but the adult tarantula wouldn't take it. If I recall correctly, it was an A. geniculata or an N. chromatus - either way, it was a species that should have an appetite.

Watching my spiders hunt is one of the most intriguing/satisfying things about the hobby for me

 

[SonsofArachne]

Except in fruit flies, they display nociceptive behavior, despite not having such receptors

I did notice something about that when I Googled but I really didn't look into it. The truth is I don't don't spend a lot time worrying about feeders - they're going to die no matter what.

 

[viper69]

Agreed. We are keeping predators as pets, simple as that. I know the OP isn't this delusional, but we had a user on here about a year ago that absolutely refused to give her tarantula live prey. She insisted on prekilled food, but the adult tarantula wouldn't take it. If I recall correctly, it was an A. geniculata or an N. chromatus - either way, it was a species that should have an appetite.

We also had a user on here before that who felt Ts should be fed premade food cubes, like Kibbles for Ts.

 

[SmileWitch]

As I understand it, insects don't feel pain (Spiders don't either, which explains how they can self amputate a leg without any problems). So really this is more about human feelings than animal suffering. I don't let it bother me, but since I grew up on a farm, and have seen some pretty gruesome things, I may have a thicker skin than most.

*in sponge narrator voice* "2 years later" but I don't think there is really a way to prove if they can or can't feel pain. I stumbled on this also looking for the most humane thing. As a philosophical thing though (which is about as good as this scenario can get since we can't communicate with them), we can't just assume that because the makeup doesn't resemble a humans with a typical brain and such, that the experience they are having isn't qualitatively the same.

I want to try the freezing thing, my juvenile c versi which is just about 3in. had their first dubia and I was so proud of my cute lil blind idiot for finding him, but I felt awful watching that roach die :'<. But maybe it is the most humane thing for the both of them to have a natural feeding/dying. I will try the freezer though for like 20 minutes, and then thaw, hopefully it doesn't just die and then not get eaten.

 

[kingshockey]

just rip or cut the head off cant get any faster than that

 

[Tigger]

Karate

 

[SmileWitch]

Threw the lil guy in the freezer for 20mins and he was dead, left the body in my juvenile C versi's web after thawing a few hours and she happily went for it. I'd like to think it was at least a more peaceful death for the dubia. No barbaric smashing which probably doesn't kill them and may stress them out even more. Not to mention stresses me out! And I don't have to worry about digging him out of the substrate if my T isn't able to find him (which let me tell you has been a real struggle!) But I'm sure once the T gets bigger, I'll end up doing live feedings again. She did struggle with the last one moving so much while she was feeding, they even tried to web it up to restrain it a bit which is just so cool to see how great they are at uh killing? lol Honestly, I really like the dubia's, I had no issues giving my last T crickets because those guys are bastards, but dubia's are just so much sweeter and cuter, huddling up together in their egg carton :'(.

 

[Matt Man]

If my tarantulas don't want live food while in pre molt I don't feed them. I remove any feeders and wait. I prefer lateralis as Dubias will burrow and are thus harder to remove

 

[jrh3]

Threw the lil guy in the freezer for 20mins and he was dead, left the body in my juvenile C versi's web after thawing a few hours and she happily went for it. I'd like to think it was at least a more peaceful death for the dubia. No barbaric smashing which probably doesn't kill them and may stress them out even more. Not to mention stresses me out! And I don't have to worry about digging him out of the substrate if my T isn't able to find him (which let me tell you has been a real struggle!) But I'm sure once the T gets bigger, I'll end up doing live feedings again. She did struggle with the last one moving so much while she was feeding, they even tried to web it up to restrain it a bit which is just so cool to see how great they are at uh killing? lol Honestly, I really like the dubia's, I had no issues giving my last T crickets because those guys are bastards, but dubia's are just so much sweeter and cuter, huddling up together in their egg carton :'(.

I will be straight to the point. If you are looking for a humane way to pre kill a feeder you don't need to be keeping insectivores. I would rather have my head smashed than put in a freezer to slowly freeze to death. Freezer=20 min death, Head smash= 2 seconds and then tossed into the enclosure, if its lucky the venom will overtake the prey much faster than freezing. Regardless it will be dead within 24 hours.