Can Ts eat caterpillars?

[RyTheTGuy]

A friend of mine on facebook posted a picture of her "new pet caterpillar". Jokingly I commented, my tarantula would eat your bug. Then I started thinking:?. Would a tarantula really eat a caterpillar and could you feed them one? Can they poison or infect your T? I know not to feed my Ts bugs from outside but what if i bought them online from a.........I guess a butterfly breeder:wall:.

What do you guys think/know?

 

[xhexdx]

Hornworms and silkworms are sold as feeders.

So the answer is yes.

 

[RyTheTGuy]

Yeah, I've herd of them. I figured someone on here would complain about it for one reason or another, but looks like someone found something else to complain about.

 

[zonbonzovi]

They're terribly messy(& expensive compared to other feeder options), like popping a balloon full of pancake batter into your enclosure.

 

[paassatt]

They're terribly messy(& expensive compared to other feeder options), like popping a balloon full of pancake batter into your enclosure.

Did anyone else just get a hankering for breakfast for dinner?

 

[BrynWilliams]

i've seen a few youtube clips of them basically exploding. most entertaining but not really something i would pursue.

 

[Kirk]

This thread might be of use. Note the potential for caterpillars to accumulate toxins from some host plants.

 

[malhomme]

They can but shouldn't. Caterpillars can accumulate toxins, as mentioned above, and some have a very nast sting. I don't know the correct name for the stinging ones, we just called them "asps" when I lived in the Big Thicket.

Also, caterpillars taste terrible!!! They are extremely bitter tasting. I don't know whether a tarantula would mind, but I would rather eat termites, grasshoppers, crickets or worms than eat a caterpillar.

 

[Bill S]

Also, caterpillars taste terrible!!! They are extremely bitter tasting.

That bitterness may well be from chemicals that the caterpillar sequestered from plants that it ate. If you raise those same caterpillars on non-toxic greens you may be able to produce better tasting caterpillars. But there are many species that are toxic anyway, including some with stinging spines or hairs. If you feed caterpillars to your spiders (or any other pets) make sure they are captive raised ones that have been fed on safe foods.

I should also note, since the species was mentioned above as "safe" - hornworms are among those to be careful with. Captive raised ones are fine - but in the wild they feed on solanaceous plants (nightshade family) and can sequester alkaloids from those plants.

 

[Matthew Criss]

Considering that they have nasty biting mechanisms(Sounds mechanically thingy) for biting leaves and maybe stems(im not a caterpillar guy), they may easily hurt your Tarantula. So feeding caterpillars is not a good idea. Feed them roaches instead. Safer and even bigger than crickets...

 

[esotericman]

It is important to separate cultivated foods from wild caught. Which do you mean OP?