Can I regularly feed my T small mice?

[bignasty]

Hi all! Just a quick question, can I regularly feed my B. ruhnaui small mice?

I just fed it a small mouse last week for the first time and it ate it well nothing left except some white stuff with some fur.. must be the skin and tail or something. I once read that it's not appropriate to feed mice to tarantulas regularly due to the calcium that might have negative effects on the tarantula's exoskeleton, is this true? or can I feed my tarantula a small mouse every 1-2 weeks for the rest of its life? I'm busy at work and find it more costly to buy crickets/roaches that have minimum quantity requirements (e.g. you can only buy crickets/roaches if in 50 or 100 pcs). This is the only tarantula left in my collection so I really don't need a lot of feeders. Looking forward to replies

 

[pandinus]

no it is very unhealthy to feed T's any sort of vertebrate more than just every once in a great while. the calcium in the bones of the vertebrates replaces the magnesium in the tarantulas fangs and chelicera causing them to become frail and brittle over time, and is widely suspected of being one of the chief reasons for fang loss in large T's that are fed a regular diet of small vertebrates. for looks into the emotional or ethical aspects, do a search and you will find a hundred threads at least covering the topic. other than that, no science points to the practice as being very detrimental to the spider's well being.




john

 

[endoflove]

well u could do it and yes u can feed it that the rest if its life but it will be shorten signifanctly, its like us eating 2 -3 big macs every meal for the rest of our lives and big gulp soft drinks. need i say more?

 

[Jackuul]

Just go with huge (edit: Captive Bred) roaches dude. Safer, easier, and better imo.

 

[Sathane]

Of course you can. Should you? Probably not.

Pandinus makes some good points as to why a regular diet of vertebrate prey is not the best for your Ts, however, it should be noted that this has not been conclusively proven through scientific study.

I do feed the odd pinky rat to my larger specimens as a treat and for some variation in diet but this is a once a year or every other year event.

If you are having problems with the minimum quantities for purchasing feeders you may want to get more Ts. Or maybe a lizard, like a bearded dragon. They would happily eat up any 'extra' bugs.

 

[Moltar]

In addition to the health related aspects of an all mouse diet there is also the safety question. Although a large T is capable of taking down an adult mouse that doesn't mean it can't be injured, even fatally in the process. If you're feeding a mouse to a T you should stick to pinkies, even pinkie rats for the really big suckers. Adult mice have teeth and claws to defend themselves with. They can and have injured T's that were struggling to subdue them.

For the record I am in the camp of "It's ok to feed pinkie mice occasionally but it's not a suitable steady diet." I don't really object on a cruelty basis as some do.

 

[Sathane]

Agreed completely. Rats are especially agressive when it comes to defending themselves. I have seen pictures of large snakes literally taken apart by rats that were put in the enclosure as feeders and left alone.

In addition to the health related aspects of an all mouse diet there is also the safety question. Although a large T is capable of taking down an adult mouse that doesn't mean it can't be injured, even fatally in the process. If you're feeding a mouse to a T you should stick to pinkies, even pinkie rats for the really big suckers. Adult mice have teeth and claws to defend themselves with. They can and have injured T's that were struggling to subdue them.

For the record I am in the camp of "It's ok to feed pinkie mice occasionally but it's not a suitable steady diet." I don't really object on a cruelty basis as some do.

 

[lithiumflower9]

They can fend for them selves at a surprisingly young age. Most responsible snake owners usually feed either prekilled or frozen thawed for that very reason. I'd be very cautious if you do and make sure the prey is dead prior to feeding, if you plan to feed any at all. I would suggest keeping up with roaches / crickets. Any LPS with them or maybe a local arachnid club you could buy some off of one of the other members maybe?

 

[bignasty]

Thanks for the informative replies guys! I guess I'll have to get more Ts then haha! Btw, I prekilled the small mouse before I fed it to my T so no worries.

 

[Satellite Rob]

Even The biggest B.Albicepes shouldn't eat anything larger than small to
medium hopper mice.You see videos of poeple that give a 4 inch mouse to a
5" T.That just stupid.There just looking for trouble.Just size the mouse to the
size of your T.The body size of the mouse should not bigger than 1/3 the leg
span of your T.Sure it can kill bigger mice.But you will be taking a chance of
your T getting injured and sooner or later it will happen.

 

[Sathane]

Exactly. Even when the T tackles a mouse or rat that big the rodents tend to kick pretty hard. This could easily tear open your T's abdomen.

Even The biggest B.Albicepes shouldn't eat anything larger than small to
medium hopper mice.You see videos of poeple that give a 4 inch mouse to a
5" T.That just stupid.There just looking for trouble.Just size the mouse to the
size of your T.The body size of the mouse should not bigger than 1/3 the leg
span of your T.Sure it can kill bigger mice.But you will be taking a chance of
your T getting injured and sooner or later it will happen.