Do tarantulas feel pain?

[spiderlover123]

I've been thinking about this for some time but recently it has been on my mind a lot more since this video popped into my feed

. Now obviously this is a cockroach but I think my question still stands. To make it a little bit more broad, Do invertebrates feel pain?

 

[Emi248]

I think they definitely have nervous systems enough to feel pain, When you feed any invertebrate for example, the feeder, especially super worms, does kind of wiggle when the fang caves in so Id say yes

 

[Doodlebird]

I think that they can feel pain, but not the same way we do. They definitely have the receptors to sense that they have been damaged, but I don't think they feel the same sensation if that makes sense. My reasoning is that they react if that have been injured (so they definitely feel it), but pain doesn't stop them from doing what it takes to survive (that's why I think they feel it differently). I've noticed when spiders regrow legs, they will occasionally rip off the regrowing ones, as those legs slow them down. A human definitely wouldn't be able to remove a limb and still function because of the pain. I'm not sure if any of that makes sense but that's my theory at least

 

[DomGom TheFather]

I'd put money on it.
Complex organisms need to keep from hurting themselves. It doesn't make sense not to have an alarm system. Otherwise, what's to keep them from walking into a fire. It needs to be uncomfortable, no matter what you call it.

 

[basin79]

Obviously I can't type or no one can 100% know apart from a tarantula.

In my head (so this is just my opinion) I think they feel pressure. So if a female tarantula grabs a male he knows he's been grabbed but doesn't feel it like a male human would with 2 high heels through his chest.

I've no doubt they feel heat and cold. The only reason I don't think they feel "real" pain is down to live food. I've seen with my own eyes a roach actually start to clean themselves whilst impaled on fangs. Slowly running their antenna through their mouth.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I think that yes, they do feel a degree of pain. But can they suffer? One component of experiencing pain is the emotions it involves. Tarantulas presumably don't have (to our knowledge) physical structures in their brains/ ganglia that are involved in producing emotions. So while they most likely have nociception and can likely sense physical damage, pressure, heat, etc. caused by noxious stimuli, they probably don't experience the emotions that vertebrates experience when they're in pain. It may be more akin to a reflex action or withdrawing from noxious stimuli. But there is still a lot that we have to learn about these creatures, so it's a complex question.

 

[14pokies]

Yes and they feel emotion as well. Just not exactly the same way you or I do.

 

[spiderlover123]

Obviously I can't type or no one can 100% know apart from a tarantula.

In my head (so this is just my opinion) I think they feel pressure. So if a female tarantula grabs a male he knows he's been grabbed but doesn't feel it like a male human would with 2 high heels through his chest.

I've no doubt they feel heat and cold. The only reason I don't think they feel "real" pain is down to live food. I've seen with my own eyes a roach actually start to clean themselves whilst impaled on fangs. Slowly running their antenna through their mouth.

That could just be shock though . I've seen deer on Komodo island start grooming themselves as there intestines were being ripped out by Komodo dragons. This is a very complicated question that won't truly be answered until our understanding of the world reaches that point of nuance.

 

[basin79]

That could just be shock though . I've seen deer on Komodo island start grooming themselves as there intestines were being ripped out by Komodo dragons. This is a very complicated question that won't truly be answered until our understanding of the world reaches that point of nuance.

Aye which is why I started my post with "Obviously I can't type or no one can 100% know apart from a tarantula".

 

[CarlixTomix]

I bet photosensitive tarantulas feel pain when light is on them.
They at least seem to feel uncomfortable enough to run away randomly trying to hide from that light.

Looks like a "my hair on fire" reaction to me.

 

[KaroKoenig]

As long as we don't know for sure, the default position should always be to treat them as if they do.

 

[spiderlover123]

As long as we don't know for sure, the default position should always be to treat them as if they do.

Of course! I was merely curious on how our pets perceive the world.

 

[viper69]

I've been thinking about this for some time but recently it has been on my mind a lot more since this video popped into my feed

. Now obviously this is a cockroach but I think my question still stands. To make it a little bit more broad, Do invertebrates feel pain?

Yes