Calcium and its effects on tarantulas

[NoahThomas43]

Hi!
I’ve read numerous posts, articles, etc. about the alleged effects Calcium may have on Tarantulas. Some claiming that high Calcium intake does not lead to any significant issues for tarantulas and others suggesting the contrary. I am aware that this hasn’t been properly researched and tested to produce a conclusive answer. I have an OBT sling, and about twenty baby crickets whom I’ve been feeding a Calcium-based block and some water. Two of my crickets had died (not related to the subject of this post, but they were bought from PetSmart). I want to see your guys’ perspective on this prior to feeding any crickets to the sling.

 

[Sarkhan42]

Calcium does not provide any significant benefit to tarantulas, and there is also no significant evidence to believe that it is harmful to them. Many species in the wild have access to vertebrate prey like small amphibians regularly, and many keepers feed mice regularly to no ill effect.

 

[NoahThomas43]

Calcium does not provide any significant benefit to tarantulas, and there is also no significant evidence to believe that it is harmful to them. Many species in the wild have access to vertebrate prey like small amphibians regularly, and many keepers feed mice regularly to no ill effect.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Nightstalker47]

Hi!
I’ve read numerous posts, articles, etc. about the alleged effects Calcium may have on Tarantulas. Some claiming that high Calcium intake does not lead to any significant issues for tarantulas and others suggesting the contrary. I am aware that this hasn’t been properly researched and tested to produce a conclusive answer. I have an OBT sling, and about twenty baby crickets whom I’ve been feeding a Calcium-based block and some water. Two of my crickets had died (not related to the subject of this post, but they were bought from PetSmart). I want to see your guys’ perspective on this prior to feeding any crickets to the sling.

Don't worry about the whole calcium intake myth. Here's the backstory.

Many new keepers were feeding their spiders mice and experienced bad molts...they immediately blamed the mice and their high calcium content. But there is far more to it.

Truth is they rushed into advanced species without doing their due diligence...and had their husbandry way off. Casualties were reported and falsely accounted for. This was how the myth began spreading, so be careful who you trust with information.

Unsurprisingly, most of these cases also happen to involve Theraphosa, who are sensitive to husbandry mistakes.

With all that said don't raise your crickets solely on calcium blocks and water. They should be fed fruits and vegetables as their staple.

 

[NoahThomas43]

Don't worry about the whole calcium intake myth. Here's the backstory.

Many new keepers were feeding their spiders mice and experienced bad molts...they immediately blamed the mice and their high calcium content. But there is far more to it.

Truth is they rushed into advanced species without doing their due diligence...and had their husbandry way off. Casualties were reported and falsely accounted for. This was how the myth began spreading, so be careful who you trust with information.

Unsurprisingly, most of these cases also happen to involve Theraphosa, who are sensitive to husbandry mistakes.

With all that said don't raise your crickets solely on calcium blocks and water. They should be fed fruits and vegetables as their staple.

Thanks for the information! Yea, was suspecting it was more so based on myth. I will feed the crickets a more varied diet.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Stan Schultz, author of the Tarantula Keeper's guide, wrote a good overview of this myth. View here.

 

[BoyFromLA]

Many new keepers were feeding their spiders mice and experienced bad molts...they immediately blamed the mice and their high calcium content. But there is far more to it.

Truth is they rushed into advanced species without doing their due diligence...and had their husbandry way off. Casualties were reported and falsely accounted for. This was how the myth began spreading, so be careful who you trust with information.

So that’s how the ‘calcium in take myth’ all began, interesting.

 

[NoahThomas43]

Stan Schultz, author of the Tarantula Keeper's guide, wrote a good overview of this myth. View here.

Interesting, thanks!

 

[NoahThomas43]

Don't worry about the whole calcium intake myth. Here's the backstory.

Many new keepers were feeding their spiders mice and experienced bad molts...they immediately blamed the mice and their high calcium content. But there is far more to it.

Truth is they rushed into advanced species without doing their due diligence...and had their husbandry way off. Casualties were reported and falsely accounted for. This was how the myth began spreading, so be careful who you trust with information.

Unsurprisingly, most of these cases also happen to involve Theraphosa, who are sensitive to husbandry mistakes.

With all that said don't raise your crickets solely on calcium blocks and water. They should be fed fruits and vegetables as their staple.

Any idea why my crickets keep dying? Found another one upside down not too long ago, with minimal movement.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The calcium thing is a myth, It'd still be a good idea give your crickets a more varied diet, a mix of cereal grains and fish food to eat and bug gel to keep them hydrated worked really well for me.

Any idea why my crickets keep dying? Found another one upside down not too long ago, with minimal movement.

What are you keeping them in?
How well-ventilated is it? Poor ventilation = dead crickets
Do they have plenty of places to hide? Not enough hiding places = cramped crickets = dead crickets
Do they always have food/water available? No food/water (mostly applies to water though) = cannibalism = dead crickets

 

[Thekla]

How do you keep your crickets?
From my experience they won't die that easily. I bought a small box of medium sized crickets (~ 30) in September and they lasted nearly 4 months until they were all eaten up. I had a few casualties of course but nothing I didn't expect. In the end I had only fully grown adults.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

From my experience they won't die that easily. I bought a small box of medium sized crickets (~ 30) in September and they lasted nearly 4 months until they were all eaten up. I had a few casualties of course but nothing I didn't expect. In the end I had only fully grown adults.

Crickets dying in droves seems to mostly be an American thing lol. My main problem with them was ending up with a surplus of chirping bastard MMs

I posted a short guide for keeping them in a few threads on here somewhere but they're probably buried by now, I'll try and dig one out later.

 

[NoahThomas43]

The calcium thing is a myth, It'd still be a good idea give your crickets a more varied diet, a mix of cereal grains and fish food to eat and bug gel to keep them hydrated worked really well for me.



What are you keeping them in?
How well-ventilated is it? Poor ventilation = dead crickets
Do they have plenty of places to hide? Not enough hiding places = cramped crickets = dead crickets
Do they always have food/water available? No food/water (mostly applies to water though) = cannibalism = dead crickets

A food storage container with sufficient ventilation, i placed a piece of egg carton inside as a hide, and both water and food are available to them. 3 of the 20 died, not like that's a lot but is that normal?

 

[Thekla]

A food storage container with sufficient ventilation, i placed a piece of egg carton inside as a hide, and both water and food are available to them. 3 of the 20 died, not like that's a lot but is that normal?

Just out of curiosity... are you sure they died? Did you count them, after you found a dead one? I ask because in the beginning I thought I had more deaths as well, before I realised I picked some discarded moults out of the kritter keeper.

 

[NoahThomas43]

Just out of curiosity... are you sure they died? Did you count them, after you found a dead one? I ask because in the beginning I thought I had more deaths as well, before I realised I picked some discarded moults out of the kritter keeper.

haha i'm sure because I am familiar with what molts look like and the three that died flipped onto their backs and one of the three turned a dark brown.

 

[Thekla]

Hehe, okay, just wanted to make sure.

It actually left me speechless, the first time I watched a cricket moulting... looks so "alien".

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Any idea why my crickets keep dying? Found another one upside down not too long ago, with minimal movement.

Three out of 20 crickets dying isn't something to be concerned about. I read in your initial post that you got them from PetSmart. Pet store crickets are typically so unhealthy die offs are inevitable after a short time after bringing them home. I get mine in bulk from Fluker Farms and I always have several die shortly after being setup properly. You don't say how large the crickets are that you bought. The lifespan of a crickets isn't too long. If you buy your crickets as fully grown adults (about an inch in length) its a possibility the three died from old age. Crickets don't live very long after reaching maturity.

 

[NoahThomas43]

Hehe, okay, just wanted to make sure.

It actually left me speechless, the first time I watched a cricket moulting... looks so "alien".

View attachment 262327

Yes it does! From another planet lol

 

[NoahThomas43]

Three out of 20 crickets dying isn't something to be concerned about. I read in your initial post that you got them from PetSmart. Pet store crickets are typically so unhealthy die offs are inevitable after a short time after bringing them home. I get mine in bulk from Fluker Farms and I always have several die shortly after being setup properly. You don't say how large the crickets are that you bought. The lifespan of a crickets isn't too long. If you buy your crickets as fully grown adults (about an inch in length) its a possibility the three died from old age. Crickets don't live very long after reaching maturity.

Oh ok, I figured. They are small crickets.

 

[McSP1D8R]

All organisms need calcium in some way to maintain proper cellular function, animals without a skeletal storage site will have it as free flowing Ca2+ ions with some stored in organelles. Insect prey will deliver the necessary amounts for maintainence, whether a huge increase in consumed calcium has any detrimental effect remains to be seen. I found this article a while back which is a very interesting find:
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...HAAEQFgghMAE&usg=AOvVaw0pAeY4TW_VQS4_MBVs1FrQ