Are pinky mice safe feeders?

[MurderousMoppit]

Hi everyone, I am new to the hobby and have owned a beautiful Theraphosa Blondi for about a month now. She has been very happy with large crickets so far. Today I picked up two live mice for her, a pinky and a fuzzy, as I was worried anything larger may bite her. I gave her the pinky first. It crawled right up to her within seconds and she attacked it promptly... but she isn't feeding on it? I found two threads on here mentioning the same thing but with no real answer. Should I be concerned about my T? Or was I wrong to feed her one in the first place?

Bonus question. There is tiny red parasite/bug crawling on the fuzzy mouse that I did not feed to my T. I thought I was going crazy but it is definitely moving around. Should I be concerned?

Thanks!

 

[Liquifin]

Post a picture of the Tarantula, and enclosure, that will help a lot.

 

[KezyGLA]

If fine with crickets, why change the diet?

Feeding live mice to your T is an unessesary risk.

 

[tewebag]

There's always been a debate about mice and other animals that can feel pain.

Yes, a large T can handle a pinkie. Should you do it? That's up to how you feel about the subject. Just know that anything with teeth or claws could possibly pose a risk to your pet.

I personally stick to my roaches, crickets and worms for mine.

 

[KezyGLA]

Do you have a picture of your Theraphosa blondi? I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s Theraphosa stirmi

 

[AnObeseHippo]

I’ve seen my T’s kill a cricket, then leave it for a few minutes, then come back, web it up and start eating it like a burrito. I’d say yours may be doing the same sort of thing.


Also, crickets and other feeder insects don’t feel pain like we do. Mice and other vertibrates do. Thats enough to discourage me from doing that, but you do you.

 

[MurderousMoppit]

Thanks for your feedback guys. Here is my enclosure and my attempted picture of her. I feed her usually 2 crickets a day. But she has been eating them very fast so I thought she would want something larger.

Like I said, I'm a noob. So any feedback and criticism is appreciated. Thanks again.

 

[ShyDragoness]

No

 

[MurderousMoppit]

Do you have a picture of your Theraphosa blondi? I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s Theraphosa stirmi

Unfortunately, the only picture I have is the one posted. When I get back from work tonight I will update with another picture.

No

Thanks.

 

[KezyGLA]

Unfortunately, the only picture I have is the one posted. When I get back from work tonight I will update with another picture.

Its ok. The photo was good enough to ID.

You have Theraphosa stirmi. I only hope you didnt pay T. blondi price for it. Pet shops and shady vendors usually label stirmi as blondi in order to make more profit from buyers as blondi is rarer and in cases more desirable.

I feed my adult female Theraphosa stirmi 3 adult dubia roaches every 2-3 weeks. This feeding schedule seems to be just right for her. Spiders will eat and eat until their next moult is due. So feeding daily is a sure fire way to end up with an obese T.

The enclosure you have her in looks like it will need an overhaul though.

You want to have a good bit more substrate in there. Around 5” from the bottom. Also sharp objects like rocka etc can be an injury hazard. A nice sized cork tube hide with some fake plants is a safer option. Will look pretty neat too

 

[AnimalNewbie]

yeah dude you got ripped off that's a stirmi.
Not much of a difference though so don't worry.
Not the best 1st choice but better than an old world.
Your cage is going to need alot more substrate and why feed it mice it's not beneficial to
the T and it's just sad. They cost more, they squeal,and there not healthy.
They barely ever finish eating it so cleaning it up just sucks and if your using it as
a "treat" they don't care. Just stick to bugs

 

[MurderousMoppit]

If fine with crickets, why change the diet?

Feeding live mice to your T is an unessesary risk.

She is quite large and has been eating 2-4 crickets dai

Its ok. The photo was good enough to ID.

You have Theraphosa stirmi. I only hope you didnt pay T. blondi price for it.

I feed my adult female Theraphosa stirmi 3 adult dubia roaches every 2-3 weeks.

The enclosure you have her in looks like it will need an overhaul though.

You want to have a good bit more substrate in there. Around 5” from the bottom. Also sharp objects like rocka etc can be an injury hazard.

I will redo her enclosure with smoother rocks and more substrate tomorrow. Thank you for letting me know! I will also try giving her roaches. Thanks again.

If fine with crickets, why change the diet?

Feeding live mice to your T is an unessesary risk.

She has been eating a lot of crickets and I have had a hard time finding roaches in my area so I thought I would try the pinky.

yeah dude you got ripped off that's a stirmi.
Not much of a difference though so don't worry.
Not the best 1st choice but better than an old world.
Your cage is going to need alot more substrate and why feed it mice it's not beneficial to
the T and it's just sad. They cost more, they squeal,and there not healthy.
They barely ever finish eating it so cleaning it up just sucks and if your using it as
a "treat" they don't care. Just stick to bugs

Unfortunately I did pay a pretty penny for her. She will have a good home nonetheless. No more mice and I'm redoing her enclosure tomorrow. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[EulersK]

"Is it safe to feed pinkie mice to a tarantula?"

Short answer
Yes, it's perfectly safe. However, it is not safe to feed anything larger. Even hoppers can and will bite back, which could prove deadly to your spider if the bite was bad enough.

Long answer
There are ethical concerns that I'm sure you can reason. If you're feeding it a live pinkie mouse, it is my opinion that this practice is unnecessarily cruel. Theraphosa spp. have weak venom, largely because they rely on those massive daggers they have for fangs. That pinkie mouse will have a very slow, extremely painful death. That aside, the smell will be god awful by the next day. Your spider is wholly incapable of eating the bones, meaning there will be a corpse left over. Cleaning that will be no fun task.

Side note
That enclosure is a death trap. Follow this video on how to make a proper setup. This species likes it humid with plenty of ventilation. The substrate shouldn't ever be allowed to dry out. Aside from the humidity aspect, 100% of this video will apply to your spider:

 

[Venom1080]

Follow this guide and you should be good.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/theraphosa-care-and-info.303033/


Also, they are fine feeders. No, there is almost never a reason to use them. It's a tad unethical in the end to use something that feels pain so acutely instead of a same size insect.

 

[MurderousMoppit]

Short answer
Yes, it's perfectly safe. However, it is not safe to feed anything larger. Even hoppers can and will bite back, which could prove deadly to your spider if the bite was bad enough.

Long answer
There are ethical concerns that I'm sure you can reason. If you're feeding it a live pinkie mouse, it is my opinion that this practice is unnecessarily cruel. Theraphosa spp. have weak venom, largely because they rely on those massive daggers they have for fangs. That pinkie mouse will have a very slow, extremely painful death. That aside, the smell will be god awful by the next day. Your spider is wholly incapable of eating the bones, meaning there will be a corpse left over. Cleaning that will be no fun task.

Side note
That enclosure is a death trap. Follow this video on how to make a proper setup. This species likes it humid with plenty of ventilation. The substrate shouldn't ever be allowed to dry out. Aside from the humidity aspect, 100% of this video will apply to your spider:

Thank you for the in-depth answer. I do plan on sticking to roaches and insects for now. I will watch that video and post with my new enclosure. Thanks again for the criticism.

Thanks you guys for the in depth answers and criticism. I will try roaches and stick to feeding her crickets for now.

Many of you also mentioned how terrible my enclosure is. Some of you seem reasonably concerned with my T's habitat. I promise it is much more humid and warm than it looks. I do plan on creating a much better one tomorrow with the online resources some of you have provided.

Thank you all again for the criticism, I will update with her new enclosure promptly.

 

[Venom1080]

Read that article if you haven't already.

They don't need super humid conditions. That's a myth.

Temps 70+ are fine.

 

[AnimalNewbie]

oh yeah and don't just feed it until it stops eating.
Trust me stirmi will always eat.
keep it like 4-7 large crickets a week

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

There's always been a debate about mice and other animals that can feel pain.

Yes, a large T can handle a pinkie. Should you do it? That's up to how you feel about the subject. Just know that anything with teeth or claws could possibly pose a risk to your pet.

I personally stick to my roaches, crickets and worms for mine.

I’m not fond of smelly dead mice but pinkies are way too small for any large T. Adult mice nearly killed my b a vagans once . Furry mice work but as a staple I would avoid them .
I guess these feeder mice are going to die anyways , so I don’t see how it’s cruel there doomed.
Dubia roaches or red runners are better choice , unless you have 1 T . Then buy few dozen crickets or superworms.

Mice are doomed to be snake food , don’t know that tarantulas need the risk.

 

[tewebag]

pinkies are way too small for any large T.

Not really.

Adult mice nearly killed my b a vagans once .

That was dumb to either put an adult mouse in there or allow adult mice into it.

 

[Sinned]

Bonus question. There is tiny red parasite/bug crawling on the fuzzy mouse that I did not feed to my T. I thought I was going crazy but it is definitely moving around. Should I be concerned?

Yes, you should take the mouse to see a veterinarian. Better to get it checked out.