Can I Feed My Tarantula Live Shrimp?

emminotte

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 14, 2020
Messages
10
My crickets recently died in bulks because of the heat wave, and well... I don't have any alternatives except for wild caught or live shrimps.

Because of the sudden quarantine, I'm unable to buy feeders, and well, crickets are not exactly known for living that long, specially in summer.

I'm leaning more on shrimps since I don't trust wild caught ones, but I'm not sure about it. I've never feed my Tarantulas before other than feeders, and I'm skeptic about it. But because of the quarantine, I'm having my doubts of ever going outside to refill my feeders.
 

Zphinx677

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Messages
3
I am really curious to hear if this would work. Could you buy feeders online? I recently had some roaches sent to me.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
My crickets recently died in bulks because of the heat wave, and well... I don't have any alternatives except for wild caught or live shrimps.

Because of the sudden quarantine, I'm unable to buy feeders, and well, crickets are not exactly known for living that long, specially in summer.

I'm leaning more on shrimps since I don't trust wild caught ones, but I'm not sure about it. I've never feed my Tarantulas before other than feeders, and I'm skeptic about it. But because of the quarantine, I'm having my doubts of ever going outside to refill my feeders.
Going outside is not an issue provided people aren’t on top of you. Confined spaces are.

I’d be reluctant to feed a T prey items they would never eat in the wild. Who knows what’s in shrimp tissue....
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
Going outside is not an issue provided people aren’t on top of you. Confined spaces are.

I’d be reluctant to feed a T prey items they would never eat in the wild. Who knows what’s in shrimp tissue....
Manila is in lockdown from what I've gathered, they're only allowed outside for emergencies or essential groceries.
 

emminotte

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 14, 2020
Messages
10
Ok- that doesn’t change the science behind viral transmission.
That's true. Manila is in 24/7 lockdown, and only certain members of the family is allowed to go out. Transportations, including shipping, is banned at the moment, so ordering feeders from online is out of the question.

Going outside is not an issue provided people aren’t on top of you. Confined spaces are.

I’d be reluctant to feed a T prey items they would never eat in the wild. Who knows what’s in shrimp tissue....
As for the shrimps, it is bred in captivity, and we always include anti-parasite care in our aquarium in daily maintenance. My cousin is also a biologist, so he knew there weren't parasites in the shrimps, and fishes, hahaha.

I am really curious to hear if this would work. Could you buy feeders online? I recently had some roaches sent to me.

From what I've garnered, shrimps have no effect to Tarantulas. Certain spiders' diet consist of some aquatic creatures, and some tarantulas even hunt in waters in the wild.

I recently fed mine, and no signs whatsoever that it affects her (like dks). It even seems she enjoys it more than other feeders I've given her beforehand.

So... Yeah, hahaha. I think it's safe so far you know what you're doing.
 
Last edited:

korg

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
596
Well... if you've already been doing it and it was fine then I guess you answered your own question.

Tarantulas can apparently eat most any kind of "meat." I've seen and heard of people feeding them raw beef, chicken, earthworms, fish, etc without a problem, and I assume shrimp fall into that same category.
 

emminotte

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 14, 2020
Messages
10
Well... if you've already been doing it and it was fine then I guess you answered your own question.

Tarantulas can apparently eat most any kind of "meat." I've seen and heard of people feeding them raw beef, chicken, earthworms, fish, etc without a problem, and I assume shrimp fall into that same category.
I've only done a while back after posting this... Partly because of anxiety, and partly because I'm curious if anyone had done it before in this site. I know some who even feed theirs some fish and snails, but I'm unsure of shrimps...

Yeah, T's are very hardy creatures. Some even feed theirs some vegetables, but I think that's a little too much.
 

PidderPeets

Arachnoprince
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
May 27, 2017
Messages
1,336
I believe I've seen other posts on here about feeding shrimp, but I don't remember for certain.

Something worth considering though is that tarantulas don't need regular feedings. Even if you're on lockdown for several weeks, most Ts would be perfectly fine without food. The exception perhaps being freshly molted slings or small juveniles, particularly of faster growing species.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
That's true. Manila is in 24/7 lockdown, and only certain members of the family is allowed to go out. Transportations, including shipping, is banned at the moment, so ordering feeders from online is out of the question.



As for the shrimps, it is bred in captivity, and we always include anti-parasite care in our aquarium in daily maintenance. My cousin is also a biologist, so he knew there weren't parasites in the shrimps, and fishes, hahaha.




From what I've garnered, shrimps have no effect to Tarantulas. Certain spiders' diet consist of some aquatic creatures, and some tarantulas even hunt in waters in the wild.

I recently fed mine, and no signs whatsoever that it affects her (like dks). It even seems she enjoys it more than other feeders I've given her beforehand.

So... Yeah, hahaha. I think it's safe so far you know what you're doing.
Wasn’t concerned about parasites- could be the meat itself contains things the T can’t handle over time. Remember prey and predator go hand in hand. The wrong prey could be a bad thing, maybe not here don’t know
 

emminotte

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 14, 2020
Messages
10
I believe I've seen other posts on here about feeding shrimp, but I don't remember for certain.

Something worth considering though is that tarantulas don't need regular feedings. Even if you're on lockdown for several weeks, most Ts would be perfectly fine without food. The exception perhaps being freshly molted slings or small juveniles, particularly of faster growing species.
About that, my Tarantula recently molted, and it's summer right now in here, so her adbomen is really small, and is shrinking fast. I don't want it to get to the point of looking shriveled...
 

emminotte

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 14, 2020
Messages
10
Wasn’t concerned about parasites- could be the meat itself contains things the T can’t handle over time. Remember prey and predator go hand in hand. The wrong prey could be a bad thing, maybe not here don’t know
From what I gathered, spiders can handle eating some other arthropods like shrimps. And the shrimp I've fed her is from fresh water, and since she's an old world from Boracay (near the mangroves, i think her species is some kind of dwarf tarantula), I think it's safe for her since I've seen some other t's swimming there for food before. However, I'll still monitor her for anything... Thank you for the insights btw.
 
Last edited:

ignithium

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
176
yeah i have feed my spiders goldfishes before with no trouble so i think shrimps should being okay as well
 

Tarantula Space

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 27, 2019
Messages
25
As long as you remove the spiky parts on the shrimp's head it should be all good. But damn bro, your ts got some special treatments. And btw just a tip, your tarantulas can actually survive for a long time without eating, well unless until the end of quarantine.. you just need to keep a water dish nearby.

Happy keeping!
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
From what I gathered, spiders can handle eating some other arthropods like shrimps. And the shrimp I've fed her is from fresh water, and since she's an old world from Boracay (near the mangroves, i think her species is some kind of dwarf tarantula), I think it's safe for her since I've seen some other t's swimming there for food before. However, I'll still monitor her for anything... Thank you for the insights btw.
interesting! that's a boat load of info MORE than you what you provided before. this would have saved a lot of back and forth. I'd give it a try w/what you wrote. Lack of info is not helpful.
 

korg

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
596
interesting! that's a boat load of info MORE than you what you provided before. this would have saved a lot of back and forth. I'd give it a try w/what you wrote. Lack of info is not helpful.
Not to mention that photos/descriptions of some unknown dwarf fishing tarantula from the mangroves would be like 100x more interesting of a thread topic... you buried the lede, OP!
 

Fingolfin

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 9, 2006
Messages
796
Well... if you've already been doing it and it was fine then I guess you answered your own question.

Tarantulas can apparently eat most any kind of "meat." I've seen and heard of people feeding them raw beef, chicken, earthworms, fish, etc without a problem, and I assume shrimp fall into that same category.
Many moons ago, I gave one of mine a very small Dungeness crab, she ate it without issue.
 
Top