Does calcium from mice ACTUALLY interfere with molting?

[Moakmeister]

I've seen tons of contradictory information on this subject. On the one hand, a lot of people claim that mice, which contain tons of calcium, can make a tarantula's exoskeleton harder and stop it from being able to molt properly. But I've also seen people claiming that tarantula and scorpion exoskeletons don't contain calcium, and that the calcium thing is a myth altogether. Additionally, on all the Theraphosa (Goliath) caresheets I've seen, it's recommended that you give your Goliath a mouse every few weeks. What gives?

 

[G. pulchra]

Mice should not be a staple of any T's diet, Theraphosa or not.

 

[14pokies]

Yo seriously use the search function this "debate" has been beat to death on the boards this very week alone.. It can't be more than one page over possibly two..

Absolutely ridiculous....

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I stick to Peanut's legacy therefore I say "don't".

 

[Moakmeister]

Yo seriously use the search function this "debate" has been beat to death on the boards this very week alone.. It can't be more than one page over possibly two..

Absolutely ridiculous....

the search function is where i FOUND the contradictions.

 

[Moakmeister]

Mice should not be a staple of any T's diet, Theraphosa or not.

cool, thats what i thought. over potentially dangerous subjects such as this, its good for me to believe the less risky side of the argument.

Also, quick question, cause im too lazy to create another thread: how many legs can a tarantula lose and still live normally?

 

[14pokies]

the search function is where i FOUND the contradictions.

Then you should have enough common sence to see that ALL of the longtime,experienced keepers many with first hand experience using vertibrates as prey ( myself included) have said it's not a problem..

BTW congratulations you have made it to the list of memebers I ignore...

 

[Moakmeister]

Then you should have enough common sence to see that ALL of the longtime,experienced keepers many with first hand experience using vertibrates as prey ( myself included) have said it's not a problem..

BTW congratulations you have made it to the list of memebers I ignore...

so its NOT a problem to feed mice to tarantulas? G. pulchra above said it was. see? in this very thread, we have differing information. also, im now on the list of members you ignore? why were you following me in the first place? and isnt the objective of these forums to give information to people? forgive me, a guy who has never owned a tarantula, for asking the occasional stupid question.

 

[Venom1080]

so its NOT a problem to feed mice to tarantulas? G. pulchra above said it was. see? in this very thread, we have differing information. also, im now on the list of members you ignore? why were you following me in the first place? and isnt the objective of these forums to give information to people? forgive me, a guy who has never owned a tarantula, for asking the occasional stupid question.

G pulchra means that from a ethical viewpoint. its perfectly fine to feed mice and other vertebrates. i and 14pokies do on occasion. he wasnt following you before but now he doesnt see anything you post. also, when using the search function, make sure to look at who is giving the info. it could be a beginner with random opinions.

 

[Moakmeister]

G pulchra means that from a ethical viewpoint. its perfectly fine to feed mice and other vertebrates. i and 14pokies do on occasion. he wasnt following you before but now he doesnt see anything you post. also, when using the search function, make sure to look at who is giving the info. it could be a beginner with random opinions.

but my question was whether the calcium is dangerous to tarantulas. i know that mice themselves arent a problem for big ones, save for the fact that it could bite the tarantula. also, i have no idea what the rankings are. all i know is that arachnopeon is the lowest one. but arachnoangel and arachnobaron, for example? i dont know which is higher.

 

[Venom1080]

but my question was whether the calcium is dangerous to tarantulas. i know that mice themselves arent a problem for big ones, save for the fact that it could bite the tarantula. also, i have no idea what the rankings are. all i know is that arachnopeon is the lowest one. but arachnoangel and arachnobaron, for example? i dont know which is higher.

it goes peon, squire, knight, baron, lord, demon, angel, prince, king, emperor, god. but # of posts does not equal experience. just look at what the general consensus is. and again, calcium is not a issue with tarantulas!

 

[Bugmom]

Like I've said many times - tarantulas do not use calcium. Period. It is not used in the formation of their exoskeleton. How or why it would interfere with anything, I don't know. I don't see how it could. Tarantulas are not crabs; their exoskeleton does not utilize calcium. It's made of chitin, which is made mostly of polysaccharides. This information is readily available via Google.

Tarantulas will eat mammals in the wild if the opportunity presents itself.

 

[BobBarley]

Calcium from mice will not harm a t. I promise. The ethics of feeding a live mouse to a t is debatable however, and a live mouse can harm a t more easily than (for example) a cricket.

 

[Marijan2]

I'll just say that dubia roaches contain approximately 3-4 times MORE calcium than mice meat(i say meat because tarantulas do not eat bones, which is major calcium storage in vertabrates). There are however other things like rotting meat and smell if tarantulas bring mice carcass in their burrow, and all the dangers of feeding live prey.

 

[Najakeeper]

Calcium thing is a myth but why feed live vertebrate prey to a tarantula when they do perfectly fine with insects? If you want variety, selection options of insect prey available to us are significant anyway.

 

[woodermeloon]

I feel like lizards might make up a significant portion of arborials T's diet. I went to Costa Rica a few years ago and was amazed by how many lizards there were everywhere (and I'm from Florida originally). Go walk around the perimeter of a few big trees and try to count the number of baby anoles that go scattering.

A lot of lizards had a body on them about the size of a small cricket. I'd imagine they'd be easy prey for even a sub-adult Psalm.

 

[Rittdk01]

Have a stirmi that eats EVERY roach I throw in. she would probably eat a mouse but I would never give her one. heard it takes forever and the leftovers are disgusting and smell horrible. so, safety aside, I would stick to crickets, roaches or superworms.

 

[Rittdk01]

Have a stirmi that eats EVERY roach I throw in. she would probably eat a mouse but I would never give her one. heard it takes forever and the leftovers are disgusting and smell horrible. so, safety aside, I would stick to crickets, roaches or superworms.

 

[viper69]

I've seen tons of contradictory information on this subject. On the one hand, a lot of people claim that mice, which contain tons of calcium, can make a tarantula's exoskeleton harder and stop it from being able to molt properly. But I've also seen people claiming that tarantula and scorpion exoskeletons don't contain calcium, and that the calcium thing is a myth altogether. Additionally, on all the Theraphosa (Goliath) caresheets I've seen, it's recommended that you give your Goliath a mouse every few weeks. What gives?

Moak, I think you need you take the word of 2 of the worlds foremost experts on these animals who have actually observed these animals in their habitat. There is no contradiction but from a bunch of misinformed hobbyists.

Does this mean one should or shouldn't feed a pre-killed mouse/pinky to a T, no it doesn't. However there is no harm in doing this as provided by some of the keepers above as well. I've done this too, specifically pinkies, no heath issues.

But instead of taking the word of hobbyists, why don't you take the words of spider scientists!!

http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/CalciumMoltMyth.html

"And, our hero is completely ignoring the fact that both Sam Marshall (Tarantulas and Other Arachnids) and Rick C. West (both respected arachnologists and field investigators who've actually been to South America to study T. blondi) have reported that in their wild habitat T. blondi subsisted on a diet very rich in forest floor amphibians. That translates into a natural diet rich in calcium. With no obvious untoward affects."

 

[viper69]

tarantulas do not use calcium

This is scientifically not true. There's a scientific paper reporting on calcium levels. They likely use it for molecular signalling like almost all animals use calcium for (including humans), among other things too.