Do you ever feel bad for the prey?

[Chris LXXIX]

@Chris LXXIX what you wrote reminds me of people who are vegans and give their dogs a vegan diet, or their cats. Yes this is a thing. I can't believe it! We can choose how we eat- certain foods but not others, but for animals they are living based off of instincts alone and we have a responsibility to that. I agree with you.

I did a meditation retreat a few months ago on a nearby island, where there were lots of large spiders. Interestingly many of the participants said they hate spiders and want to kill them.

Thank you

Oh btw I'm "scared" about a lot of people that loves "meditation" -- not you of course :-s -- I mean, that kind of "meditation", because I'm a man that loves to meditate, but it's different... Once I worked with a man that loved meditation on daily basis and he was completely nuts, one moment was happy, the other like Jack Nicholson in "Shining" ah ah

 

[Garth Vader]

Thank you

Oh btw I'm "scared" about a lot of people that loves "meditation" -- not you of course :-s -- I mean, that kind of "meditation", because I'm a man that loves to meditate, but it's different... Once I worked with a man that loved meditation on daily basis and he was completely nuts, one moment was happy, the other like Jack Nicholson in "Shining" ah ah

Heeeeere's Johnny! Yikes! One of my favorite horror movies btw. Those twins in the hall are the scariest thing.
Yeah I think meditation, like many helpful things, can draw people who have profound problems. The other side of that is that meditation can probably be helpful for them, with some other things too (medication, therapy, good sleep habits, exercise, etc). Most meditation retreats require you to sign a waiver saying you are stable enough to do it because it's not uncommon for people to really breakdown during such retreats. Anyway I felt bad for the spiders, so many peaceful Buddhists around and the spiders were so hated. Maybe that "may all beings be happy" thing doesn't apply to our spider friends. Now if they met THE GODDESS PBUH it would be quite different. I was pretty entertained by the one in the bathroom, it was the most exciting thing that happened!

Okay @Andrea82 and @louise f now @Chris LXXIX and I are derailing this thread topic!

 

[Andrea82]

Heeeeere's Johnny! Yikes! One of my favorite horror movies btw. Those twins in the hall are the scariest thing.
Yeah I think meditation, like many helpful things, can draw people who have profound problems. The other side of that is that meditation can probably be helpful for them, with some other things too (medication, therapy, good sleep habits, exercise, etc). Most meditation retreats require you to sign a waiver saying you are stable enough to do it because it's not uncommon for people to really breakdown during such retreats. Anyway I felt bad for the spiders, so many peaceful Buddhists around and the spiders were so hated. Maybe that "may all beings be happy" thing doesn't apply to our spider friends. Now if they met THE GODDESS PBUH it would be quite different. I was pretty entertained by the one in the bathroom, it was the most exciting thing that happened!

Okay @Andrea82 and @louise f now @Chris LXXIX and I are derailing this thread topic!

But....but...Louise called me a steak!

 

[darkness975]

Crickets are nasty and they themselves can be pretty vicious predators. I feel no empathy for their demise, although I usually don't stare at them once I toss them into the enclosures.

I hate mice/rats/rodents so I feel no pity for them either although pre-killed feeding of those is preferable given their ability to feel and what not.

 

[Jones0911]

Since you own a tarantula, is the empathy there for little critters like the prey that you feed your tarantulas? Ever made eye contact with a cricket right before he or she leaves this world?

Never.

I love the crunchy sound roaches make when getting chomped.

 

[nicodimus22]

Crickets eat each other at the drop of a hat, so it's hard to feel too sorry for them. The exception was last year when I had a praying mantis...I couldn't watch it eat after a while. It's so incredibly savage and slow...it would be like a bear grabbing you and just casually eating a little bit of you at a time. At least a tarantula kills pretty quickly.

 

[dopamine]

It's hard to feel bad for crickets and roaches when they're so good at playing dead and not moving when you need them to -___-

 

[Jeff23]

I'm just Jeff the Chef serving up meals and I don't have any vegetarian T's.

 

[AmberDawnDays]

I recently went out of town and was gone for 3 days. I left my crickets with water and food that I thought would last 3 days. I instructed my babysitter / house sitter / critter sitter to water my T, but never thought to ask her to check on the crickets. When I got home, the water in the cricket keeper was bone dry and the food was mostly gone. There were a couple half eaten cricket bodies in there so I knew they had cannibalized and a few were just dead. I didn't have a whole bunch of crickets to begin with, probably 14-16 or so. I think I have 6-8 left. I'm just so surprised how quickly things went south for them and how many crickets got eaten or died.

I honetly feel like my crickets are savages. I havent ever felt bad feeding them off. My daughter feels bad for them though.

 

[basin79]

I treat my live food like a farmer treats his stock. You ultimately know they're destined for the table but you treat them well and give them a good life up until then. Good food and plenty of space.

My livefood has a hell of a lot of a better quality of life with me than dying on the shelf in a pet shop in a tiny plastic tub.

 

[Kayis]

Hard to feel bad for crickets when they eat each other and stink to no end. As for dubias at first it was a little hard...think i grew attached to them for some odd reason but after feeding off a few I no longer care.

 

[Jeff23]

I use to name my crickets but quit after they kept getting angry with me for getting their names wrong.

 

[darkness975]

My livefood has a hell of a lot of a better quality of life with me than dying on the shelf in a pet shop in a tiny plastic tub.

I often wonder about this. I see the plastic tubs stacked up seemingly by the hundreds full of crickets at Petco and Petsmart. They cannot be getting any kind of care in there. Most likely they are dying of dehydration and starving which is of no good to our Tarantulas and Scorpions.

I may not "like" crickets but I do not support such obvious neglect and cruelty. Like @basin79 said, the live food I keep has a pretty good existence up until Judgement Day (insert Terminator theme here). Spacious enclosure, not overcrowded, and constant supply of food and water.

 

[notstephcooper]

I actually set up a small enclosure on the side that acts as a sanctuary of sorts... I transfer a few food items over occasionally and allow them to live out their lifespan there eating kitchen scraps. (started one day when I had an especially gutsy b dubia) But in the end, a spider's gotta eat... so most end up as dinner.

 

[Venom1080]

nope, i like throwing them in a bunch of different cages before bed, so i can fall asleep listening to crickets jumping for their lives and the pitter patter of tarantula feet chasing them.

 

[shutout2000]

Honestly, they way i see it, if my tarantula was in the wild, it would just be eating some other bugs out there, rather than the ones I am giving it.

 

[REEFSPIDER]

You shouldn't feel bad for a little cricket or dubia. They arent even aware of whats going on. Much like the t that is eating them. For they both lack cognitive brain functions and feelings. Crushing heads/ripping off legs? No worries they probably don't really feel that either.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

"you" can't feel bad for the prey. Only a complete fool would, for that "you" can't pretend to own arachnids or other inverts/predators at home, and then 'feel bad' for what they eat, btw rules written by nature.

Those that really feel something doesn't own those type of animals, and they will never. Period.

 

[aenigmatica8]

Sorry to revive this thread but YES! I do feel bad for the prey. I try to make them as happy and comfortable as possible before their imminent demise. If you have empathy for some inverts, it's hard not to have empathy for others. I'm also a vegan but a spider's gotta eat... Much as I'd like to feed them fruits.

 

[Ran]

I do have empathy toward prey because they are going to be eaten...even if it is nature’s way.