Feeding earthworms to Ts

[Exo]

I recently read a thread on another forum about feeding earthworms to Ts, but in the Tarantula keepers guide it says that worms are full of pesticides and therefore not safe. What do you guys think?

 

[Cbarr]

If they were from lets say Nova Scotia id say it would be fine but here in the states i wouldn't chance it.


c

 

[Kirk]

I recently read a thread on another forum about feeding earthworms to Ts, but in the Tarantula keepers guide it says that worms are full of pesticides and therefore not safe. What do you guys think?

You need to consider that earthworms are living in dirt, which is their diet. Their gut will be filled with dirt, which in turn will be part of the diet of your tarantula, unless you want to go to the trouble of evacuating the worm's guts by first placing them in corn meal. There shouldn't be any pesticides present unless they are in the dirt in which the worms live.

Stick with crickets or roaches as the appropriate diet.

 

[Exo]

If they were from lets say Nova Scotia id say it would be fine but here in the states i wouldn't chance it.


c

The nightcrawlers I get at the bait shop for fishing are from Canada. I not sure if they're safe because they might be collected from golf courses. They are from DMF bait company.

 

[Kirk]

The nightcrawlers I get at the bait shop for fishing are from Canada. I not sure if they're safe because they might be collected from golf courses. They are from DMF bait company.

Earthworms for sale are usually raised in 'worm farms.'

 

[Exo]

Earthworms for sale are usually raised in 'worm farms.'

On DMFs website, they say they collect them from the wild.

 

[Kirk]

On DMFs website, they say they collect them from the wild.

All the more reason not to give a second thought to the idea. I wouldn't feed rats caught off the street to my cat, so why risk my investment in tarantulas with food items that are not even remotely relevant?

 

[Exo]

All the more reason not to give a second thought to the idea. I wouldn't feed rats caught off the street to my cat, so why risk my investment in tarantulas with food items that are not even remotely relevant?

Good point, it's just that I read about it in that thread and was suprised nobody mentioned pesticides. I am currently stuck living at my parents house and they won't allow roaches, so I like to know what other non-roach options there are.

 

[Roski]

agreed. even if they don't have pesticides retained in their bodies (your region pending), they would not be very nutritious. i don't see much going for the idea

i hate to say it... crix?

 

[Kirk]

Good point, it's just that I read about it in that thread and was suprised nobody mentioned pesticides. I am currently stuck living at my parents house and they won't allow roaches, so I like to know what other non-roach options there are.

Like herpes, Petco is always around (with crickets, more or less).

 

[the nature boy]

Why? Sounds like more of a pain than crix or roaches anyway.

 

[Exo]

Like herpes, Petco is always around (with crickets, more or less).

I try to give my Ts variety in thier diet. I currently breed mealworms(they eat larva,pupa, and beetles) and I breed crickets(but not for much longer because they stink).

 

[Zoltan]

I remember reading an article describing predation on earthworms by tarantulas, Aphonopelma sp. if I recall correctly.

 

[Kirk]

I remember reading an article describing predation on earthworms by tarantulas, Aphonopelma sp. if I recall correctly.

Yes, apparently members of several genera have been documented, as listed in this paper. But, tarantula consumptions were while in captivity, not the wild.

 

[Mr. Gone]

to the op: I read that article on another forum as well, and was surprised no one mentioned anything negative, as per the T keeper's guide. I thought I had also read that they weren't very nutritious; but in the discussion I read, people were saying they were very nutritious....

I certainly don't have a need to feed earthworms to our Ts, as we have a B. lateralis colony. However, if they are nutritious, I would consider them in the interest of a varied diet.

 

[Kirk]

However, if they are nutritious, I would consider them in the interest of a varied diet.

Why? Do tarantulas need variation in their diet?

 

[Exo]

Why? Do tarantulas need variation in their diet?

They might, nobody knows, but many other organisms benifit from a varied diet, so why not Ts?

 

[Kirk]

They might, nobody knows, but many other organisms benifit from a varied diet, so why not Ts?

Obligate carnivores and herbivores typically stay within fairly narrow ranges for diets. Until someone shows otherwise, I'll stick with what is probably the most common diet among these carnivores: insects.

 

[Mr. Gone]

Why? Do tarantulas need variation in their diet?

Yes, I thought that was the general consensus.

 

[Mr. Gone]

Obligate carnivores and herbivores typically stay within fairly narrow ranges for diets. Until someone shows otherwise, I'll stick with what is probably the most common diet among these carnivores: insects.

Sounds like good reasoning to me, but I thought Ts were opportunistic carnivores that preyed on whatever they could overpower, and in the other forum I'm referencing, earthworms seemed as though they were considered some sort of super-food for Ts. I'm highly skeptical of all this, and to be honest, I was shocked that it seemed to be so accepted.