Theraphosa stirmi feeding

[Venom1080]

On a frog.

Enjoy.

 

[InvertAddiction]

Ok help me out a bit. I thought tarantulas weren't supposed to feed on anything with calcium due to making it harder to molt? I've seen videos where people feed mice and now frogs to stirmis. Conflicting info for sure.

 

[Venom1080]

Ok help me out a bit. I thought tarantulas weren't supposed to feed on anything with calcium due to making it harder to molt? I've seen videos where people feed mice and now frogs to stirmis. Conflicting info for sure.

Nope, that is a myth with zero proof. No idea how it started. I've fed many calcium filled meals over the years. Spiders are fine.

 

[InvertAddiction]

Thanks for clearing that up I was always scared to feed any of my roaches anything with calcium because of that very reason.

 

[Minty]

Was the frog wild caught?

 

[Venom1080]

Was the frog wild caught?

Always.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Always.

Is it really a wise idea to be feeding a wild caught frog to your stirmi? I know it's been said time and again that feeding wild caught insects is a no-no due to potential exposure to pesticides and parasites. Would that not hold true for wild caught amphibians and small mammals?

 

[MetalMan2004]

Food is food. I’m not so sure about the wild caught thing but it partly depends on where you catch it from.

 

[Venom1080]

Is it really a wise idea to be feeding a wild caught frog to your stirmi? I know it's been said time and again that feeding wild caught insects is a no-no due to potential exposure to pesticides and parasites. Would that not hold true for wild caught amphibians and small mammals?

You can't really 100% guarantee that there won't be any issues. But in the years and years I've fed wild caught prey like this, I kinda don't think much of it. I live in the middle of nowhere and have multiple ponds very close to or on my property.

I wouldn't be comfortable feeding wild caught mice or moles.

 

[Arachnophoric]

You can't really 100% guarantee that there won't be any issues. But in the years and years I've fed wild caught prey like this, I kinda don't think much of it. I live in the middle of nowhere and have multiple ponds very close to or on my property.

I wouldn't be comfortable feeding wild caught mice or moles.

Very interesting. Is the aversion to small rodents due to the likelihood that they'd bite your T in self defense? Have any of the frogs ever tried turning one of the Ts into a snack?

 

[Venom1080]

Very interesting. Is the aversion to small rodents due to the likelihood that they'd bite your T in self defense? Have any of the frogs ever tried turning one of the Ts into a snack?

Also, they probably have all sorts of crap in and on them. Ticks, mites, etc. I find them gross. I don't even buy them from pet stores.

I have bull frogs out back that could make a snack out of the ~7.5" stirmi in the video. I purposely only use small frogs. I have no doubt if I used a frog of similar size to the spider the frog would have a meal.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Also, they probably have all sorts of crap in and on them. Ticks, mites, etc. I find them gross. I don't even buy them from pet stores.

I have bull frogs out back that could make a snack out of the ~7.5" stirmi in the video. I purposely only use small frogs. I have no doubt if I used a frog of similar size to the spider the frog would have a meal.

Only mice I buy are F/T for my snakes.

I don't think I'll ever feed my Ts vertebrates, although I have nothing that's as big and tanky as a T. stirmi. Really interesting video, just goes to show that these guys will eat just about anything that moves. Further reason to keep errant fingers far away.

For some reason I'd have thought Ts might have an aversion to the slimy skim of a frog. A silly thought, now that I think about it.

 

[Venom1080]

Only mice I buy are F/T for my snakes.

I don't think I'll ever feed my Ts vertebrates, although I have nothing that's as big and tanky as a T. stirmi. Really interesting video, just goes to show that these guys will eat just about anything that moves. Further reason to keep errant fingers far away.

For some reason I'd have thought Ts might have an aversion to the slimy skim of a frog. A silly thought, now that I think about it.

It adds a interesting spin on feeding day once in a while.

Not silly, I have the same with nightcrawlers and some arboreals. None of my pokies will take take them. They'll chase but never bite.


On a side note, some of the moths I've used for years I recently found out are actually poisonous.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Not silly, I have the same with nightcrawlers and some arboreals. None of my pokies will take take them. They'll chase but never bite.

I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever try nightcrawlers to switch things up. Don't much care for the idea of chasing after an uneaten worm in a hungry P. regalis enclosure.

On a side note, some of the moths I've used for years I recently found out are actually poisonous.

That's scary Have you noticed any ill effects on the Ts that consumed them? I hear arboreals go batty for moths so I've wanted to try those, but haven't really looked into captive bred options on that yet. And unfortunately living in the middle of the city, pesticides and chemicals are a-plenty.

 

[Venom1080]

I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever try nightcrawlers to switch things up. Don't much care for the idea of chasing after an uneaten worm in a hungry P. regalis enclosure.



That's scary Have you noticed any ill effects on the Ts that consumed them? I hear arboreals go batty for moths so I've wanted to try those, but haven't really looked into captive bred options on that yet. And unfortunately living in the middle of the city, pesticides and chemicals are a-plenty.

No. That's what I found interesting. No issues.

Look into what are and aren't poisonous in your area I suppose. No need to risk anything.

Venom and poison affect different things differently. Guess the moths poison doesn't affect tarantulas.

 

[Rittdk01]

People don't feed these things to t's because they take forever to finish and they have a disgusting mess to clean up. Pretty gross to feed them frogs and mice when they will thrive on crickets and super worms.

Your unexplained deaths awhile back were probably from you feeding junk to the t's from your yard.

Gross

 

[StampFan]

You can't really 100% guarantee that there won't be any issues. But in the years and years I've fed wild caught prey like this, I kinda don't think much of it. I live in the middle of nowhere and have multiple ponds very close to or on my property.

I wouldn't be comfortable feeding wild caught mice or moles.

This time of year around here there are quite a few grasshoppers (locusts for the European folks). I have fed them to one particular T in the past. It loved them, frankly. Haven't tried it lately, but I wouldn't be opposed to feeding one or two once or twice a year....

 

[Venom1080]

People don't feed these things to t's because they take forever to finish and they have a disgusting mess to clean up. Pretty gross to feed them frogs and mice when they will thrive on crickets and super worms.

Your unexplained deaths awhile back were probably from you feeding junk to the t's from your yard.

Gross

Finished overnight with no bolus to see. Again, just an interesting facet of tarantula behavior you don't see often. Don't talk crap if you have zero experience with what you're talking about.

Which ones specifically? I made three threads. 1/2" A purpurea, 4" L violaceopes, 3.5" C sp hatihati.

 

[EmilzHernandez]

It adds a interesting spin on feeding day once in a while.
On a side note, some of the moths I've used for years I recently found out are actually poisonous.

You're welcome for that

 

[EmilzHernandez]

People don't feed these things to t's because they take forever to finish and they have a disgusting mess to clean up. Pretty gross to feed them frogs and mice when they will thrive on crickets and super worms.


Gross

While not as common a practice in the hobby, a T.stirmi is honestly the perfect T to feed something like a small frog to. Large spider, smaller amphibian, little to no risk of injury on part of the T. And how is it gross? They do it in the wild, it's totally natural. Yes, it's captivity but if it's in a controlled environment being monitored by an experienced keeper, it's arguably not that big a deal. So long as Venom cleans out the bolus, there's nothing bad that comes out of it. It's not like they're fragile little dandelions, tarantulas are built for this kind of prey and if a keeper has the stomach to later remove a bolus of flesh and bones, so be it.