Pseudosphinx tetrio caterpillar as feeder?

[Matoutou]

Has anyone ever fed one of these to a tarantula?

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Ah ah no, as far as I know those (that specie) in Italy aren't even present, but I wouldn't :-s

 

[Matoutou]

It does indeed look scary for some reason.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Has anyone ever fed one of these to a tarantula?

Is this something you found outside? If so definitely don't feed it, it could be contaminated. You never know what it's been in contact with, and/or what it's been feeding on.

 

[Matoutou]

It is indeed found in my garden. There are hundreds of them and they just ravage any plant or fruit tree they can find.They exclusively feed on healthy green leaves until all that's left is a dying tree.

We usually kill them with no mercy. I was hoping they could end their lives doing something useful.

We're also invaded by scolopendra gigantea. Even my grandmother jumps on them as if there was a prize to win. These I'd never feed. But the caterpillar, I may try a few tomorrow for my adult spiders

 

[miss moxie]

Exactly as @Nightstalker47 said-- do not feed your T insects you found outside, even crickets! Contamination, possible exposure to pesticides, and potentially even parasites. Only feed insects bred for feeding purposes.

Sorry feeding them to your Ts isn't an option. We have -tons- of Japanese beetles each summer that devour our roses, hibiscus, etc. They just all swarm a flower in alarming numbers and then eat and do 'grown up leap frog' all willy nilly. Wish I could catch them and feed them to Ts, they're so plentiful and free. But there are way too many things that could go wrong offering a WC feeder insect.

 

[Matoutou]

Thanks for your replies. Guess I'll stick to the classics.

 

[H3nry]

I don't know about this caterpillar in particular but many catepillars are fairly poisonous too

 

[Chris LXXIX]

We're also invaded by scolopendra gigantea.

You lucky one -.-

One of the most priced here.

 

[Matoutou]

You lucky one -.-

One of the most priced here.

We have them in the house and I really wish I could pack them all and send them your way.

 

[Nightstalker47]

We have them in the house and I really wish I could pack them all and send them your way.

That's crazy, send me some too man

 

[TylerFishman5675]

I dont want to promote this, but ive been feeding my inverts wild insects for years and never had a problem, it depends on what you feed them and your area although

 

[Nightstalker47]

I dont want to promote this, but ive been feeding my inverts wild insects for years and never had a problem

It's really not worth the risk, captive bred feeders are widely available so there's no reason to feed WC prey.

it depends on what you feed them and your area although

Not really, pesticides can be transported miles away from where they were sprayed through wind.

Also, depending on what feeders your catching they may have the ability to cover great distances(winged insects) and you have no way of knowing what they may have come in contact with.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

We have them in the house and I really wish I could pack them all and send them your way.

Man, don't tempt me... here in Italy a (true) S.gigantea is worth cash, minimum 250 Euro, but sadly exist custom inspections :-/

 

[keks]

Man, don't tempt me... here in Italy a (true) S.gigantea is worth cash, minimum 250 Euro, but sadly exist custom inspections :-/

That's a lot of money :wideyed:! Would be a lot of millipedes and tarantulas ^^.
What is custom inspection??
@Matoutou lives in a invertebrate paradise for our circumstances. I think the same when millipedes are shown that live in USA and can be caught by making a walk.
Chris! You have scorpions in your environment ! Without protection ! In Austria they are protected, I can't collect them from the wild.

The caterpillar looks to me like it is poisonous, I wouldn't feed it to tarantulas.

 

[Matoutou]

I did more research. Turns out this caterpillar isn't poisonous but it's got a nasty bite when bothered. I'm not risking it with my tarantulas.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

That's a lot of money :wideyed:! Would be a lot of millipedes and tarantulas ^^.
What is custom inspection??
@Matoutou lives in a invertebrate paradise for our circumstances. I think the same when millipedes are shown that live in USA and can be caught by making a walk.
Chris! You have scorpions in your environment ! Without protection ! In Austria they are protected, I can't collect them from the wild.

Ah I see... I forgot a "s", sorry. Customs. Customs inspections (of the parcel) that technically can happens.

Combine this with the fact that Italian customs are famous for their "checking/dealing" operations that are slow as a turtle but fast like a jaguar when it comes to cash to pay for

Actually we doesn't only have a native Scorpiones in Italy, but a native Scolopendridae (S.cingulata, however present in Croatia, Libya etc as well) "true spiders" like Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (basically the Italian 'cousin' of the 'black widow') and, Ladies and Gentlemans, present in Italy only in Sicilia island (near Trapani city) a Theraphosidae that almost no one knows:

Ischnocolus valentinus (former I.triangulifer) an OW burrower

 

[miss moxie]

I did more research. Turns out this caterpillar isn't poisonous but it's got a nasty bite when bothered. I'm not risking it with my tarantulas.

Figures. Look at it! It just screams 'you wanna fight?'

 

[Chris LXXIX]

! Without protection !

Kid me not, oh my lovely neighbour as we know perfectly, in Italy everything is completely under control and carefully protected: the environment, trees, sea... but I'd say borders in particular

 

[keks]

Ah I see... I forgot a "s", sorry. Customs. Customs inspections (of the parcel) that technically can happens.

Combine this with the fact that Italian customs are famous for their "checking/dealing" operations that are slow as a turtle but fast like a jaguar when it comes to cash to pay for

Actually we doesn't only have a native Scorpiones in Italy, but a native Scolopendridae (S.cingulata, however present in Croatia, Libya etc as well) "true spiders" like Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (basically the Italian 'cousin' of the 'black widow') and, Ladies and Gentlemans, present in Italy only in Sicilia island (near Trapani city) a Theraphosidae that almost no one knows:

Ischnocolus valentinus (former I.triangulifer) an OW burrower

Ah, I see. Customs are the nice people who collect the taxes on the borders ^^.
Never underestimate the speed of a turtle or tortoise!! When males notice a female, they can be unbelievable fast!! And turtles are the water-living-species, they can attack very fast ... :wideyed:.

About the scolopender we talked last week. The true spiders you can keep by yourself, widows are not my thing . But the tarantula is nice. It looks a bit like my Phlogiellus baeri ^^.

I did more research. Turns out this caterpillar isn't poisonous but it's got a nasty bite when bothered. I'm not risking it with my tarantulas.

Biting caterpillars are already as bad as poisonous ones. One possibility could be that you crash the head of it . But as the others say, it is always a risk to feed wild caught feeders.