Feeding vertebrates to invertebrates…choose your side!

[Shell]

Relax, Bob.

The OP asked for opinions and this is a discussion. Just because people post a point of view, that you personally do not agree with, does not mean that they are overreacting. The arguments against feeding vertebrates in this thread are valid points, not overreactions. If you don't agree, then maybe try arguing it with a well thought out reply instead of just ranting and raving about it.



My personal opinion is that there is no need to feed vertebrates to a tarantula, so I don't and won't do it. Sure, it happens in the wild, but there is no need to do so, to have healthy spiders in captivity, so I just won't.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

I have heard the whole chitin vs. calcium argument but come on, seriously! Give me some fresh opinions……

...choose your side!

The OP was already aware of the opinions out there. Choose your side!? I think its pretty clear that he wanted to start a war.

 

[paassatt]

The OP was already aware of the opinions out there. Choose your side!? I think its pretty clear that he wanted to start a war.

Methinks you're correct

 

[Hellion299]

And through this war I shall bring “The True Death” to the entire human race so that I may start the world a new with mini ninja bunny bots!!!!! MMmmwwhhhaaa haa haa haaaaaa!!!!!!

...too bad you were able to figure me out....Dog gone it.....so close.....

 

[AmbushArachnids]

I have never fed any of my tarantulas any vertebrates. Id like to point out the size of one of my Ts. I raised a male P. ornata from a sling to a adult. He matured at 7 3/4" max leg span. I believe gut loading your prey is all the nutrition necessary for a healthy spider.

 

[Hellion299]

That is pretty impressive AgentD006las. I have a P. ornata that I have had since he was 1". He is 6" now. I am guessing 2-3 molts away from maturity. He has eaten.....4-5 pinkies in his entire life. I wonder if he will out grow yours. That would be a pretty cool experiment to try.

 

[AmbushArachnids]

That is pretty impressive AgentD006las. I have a P. ornata that I have had since he was 1". He is 6" now. I am guessing 2-3 molts away from maturity. He has eaten.....4-5 pinkies in his entire life. I wonder if he will out grow yours. That would be a pretty cool experiment to try.

Heres a link to my thread. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?204406-P.-ornata-male-powerfeeding-result.

 

[Hellion299]

So it only took him 8 months to grow to that size?

---------- Post added 08-23-2011 at 03:42 PM ----------

Ha! I see the chart...Wow.

---------- Post added 08-23-2011 at 03:48 PM ----------

Awesome thread by the way! 5 star'd it.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

People are vertebrates...When tarantulas eat vertebrates I tend to identify with the animals eaten.
Since several people spoke of feeding PEOPLE to tarantulas in that context I suspect that they reacted as I did-only more so.
The same may apply to people who said that feeding vertebrates is bad for reasons that did not hold up.

Their real reason may be my own:

"I am a vertebrate."

"We get uncomfortable."

The tarantulas do not know this.
It is not their problem.

If the vertebrates they eat are chemically clean,not too big,and don't kill tarantulas they do just fine.

If the INvertebrates they eat are chemically clean,are big enough,and don't kill tarantulas they do just fine on them too.

Do they like to eat both...?

Would they alternate which they eat...if they had a choice...?

Has this experiment ever been tried...?

Most enquiringly yours,

Louise Esther Rothstein.

 

[Hellion299]

People are vertebrates...When tarantulas eat vertebrates I tend to identify with the animals eaten.
Since several people spoke of feeding PEOPLE to tarantulas in that context I suspect that they reacted as I did-only more so.
The same may apply to people who said that feeding vertebrates is bad for reasons that did not hold up.

Their real reason may be my own:

"I am a vertebrate."

"We get uncomfortable."

The tarantulas do not know this.
It is not their problem.

If the vertebrates they eat are chemically clean,not too big,and don't kill tarantulas they do just fine.

If the INvertebrates they eat are chemically clean,are big enough,and don't kill tarantulas they do just fine on them too.

Do they like to eat both...?

Would they alternate which they eat...if they had a choice...?

Has this experiment ever been tried...?

Most enquiringly yours,

Louise Esther Rothstein.

Now that's post! This same logic can be applied to why people fear zombies. I love it!!

 

[Kraine]

I don't mind what other people feed their T's. But personally, I'd rather not risk injuring my T by feeding him flailing vertebrates.

 

[GregorSamsa]

Have I?

Once. I fed my P. muticus a thawed pinky, in an attempt to get her to eat SOMETHING. Its all she ever ate while in my care, and died due to a bad molt secondary to a broken leg. She only ate hoppers before I had her. Whether or not this was any relation to her issues, I don't know.

Will I again?

No...
No need: I have a nice, self sufficient colony of meaty Dubia. They're convenient and I know exactly what my T's are eating.

Messy: I can think of a thousand things I'd rather do than fish a stinky, rotting piece of mouse flesh out of an enclosure.

Potential of injury: I don't see the point in risking injury to my spiders, just to vary their diet "like it is in the wild." They're not living in the wild, they're living in glass boxes full of dirt in my living room.

 

[Merfolk]

To add to my point, I do like to witness my Ts tackling a prey, but I would be very much satisfied if such prey was a giant moth or locust : )

 

[helixrose]

Crickets are omnivores & eat all manner of things in the wild. You could conceivably feed them pinkies or pinkies fed on pizza or civet cat eyes in a Kobe beef demi-glace, for that matter.

Personally, I just find it easier to feed roaches raised on an array of bargain produce, stale cereals & cat food for those inverts that will eat them. Very rarely will I have a carnivorous invert that wont.

Frozen mammals are more expensive, infrequently available(here, anyway) & often too bulky for the invert to finish. When the invert is done, we're left with a stinking pile.

Some inverts thrive on verts. I saw many Dolomedes capturing small fish in S. Florida when I was last there. Burying beetles eat animal carcasses. Some wasps will eat the same, when available. Let's not forget about bed bugs, lice & mosquitoes. Mammal parasitoids of all stripes.

We have anecdotal evidence via the hobby that gets rehashed & parroted as gospel truth and applied to what, 900+ species that come from sometimes drasticly different habitats?! Does that seem insane to anyone else?

This is why I voted, "don't care". If you feel you must feed your invert canned spam stuffed turducken with foie gras gravy, at least document it diligently so we can all refer back to it.

Well said- I salute your expansive and intelligent eco-view, AND your awesome sense of humor.

---------- Post added 08-24-2011 at 06:29 PM ----------

None of the tarantulas I've helped keep were fed vertebrates, that's because we didn't have it in us try feeding them baby mice that crawl around and can't see. We'd have tried frozen without qualms only we didn't know whether they'd try to catch something dead.
At the end of the day it seemed like they had enough variety in their diet without them.

 

[BigJ999]

I feed my mine small lizards,toads and frogs from time to time although their diet is mostly insects roaches,crickets,grasshoppers,moths for the aboreal one's.

 

[Merfolk]

Their natural diet is still mostly insects, but they have big insects where they live : )

 

[kylestl]

Feeding vertebrates is stupid. Calcium may or may not be a problem. I think feeding mice to tarantulas is just a "gladiator match" and people do it for their own sadistic pleasure and justify it with things like "I have never had anything bad happen," "I think it is good for them," and my favorite "It happens in the wild." Does it? How often does it happen? Is the cage your keeping it in the wild? Nope, you take care of the t. If you don't feed it, it dies. Not the wild at all. Because it is the keeper who takes care of it, it is also your responsibility to do what is right for the animal. Tarantulas do fine feeding on invertebrates only, so many keepers do it, including myself. I also think feeding mice to t's is cruel because of the fact it is unnecessary, I am not against using mice as feeders for say snakes.

Can't wait until next week when we have another thread just like this.

Their natural diet is still mostly insects, but they have big insects where they live : )

Try roaches.

 

[sAdam]

Can I feed humans to my OBT, or are they too high in calcium? What about pinky humans?

 

[BigJ999]

Feeding vertebrates is stupid. Calcium may or may not be a problem. I think feeding mice to tarantulas is just a "gladiator match" and people do it for their own sadistic pleasure and justify it with things like "I have never had anything bad happen," "I think it is good for them," and my favorite "It happens in the wild." Does it? How often does it happen? Is the cage your keeping it in the wild? Nope, you take care of the t. If you don't feed it, it dies. Not the wild at all. Because it is the keeper who takes care of it, it is also your responsibility to do what is right for the animal. Tarantulas do fine feeding on invertebrates only, so many keepers do it, including myself. I also think feeding mice to t's is cruel because of the fact it is unnecessary, I am not against using mice as feeders for say snakes.

Can't wait until next week when we have another thread just like this.

Try roaches.

I think nothing is wrong with feeding a T a mouse or small lizard or toad or frog They aren't picky eaters and that helps in nature not to be picky Ive seen a mantis eating a hummingbird so its not as unusual as we likely think really. I think this whole vertebrate thing is a myth anyway likely made by some moron who fed a T a mouse that was too big and the mouse killed it. My Haplo's my pokie and my OBT and LP have all eaten vertebrates and they are flourishing Although Shelia my KB eats just about anything lol.

 

[BobGrill]

Feeding vertebrates is stupid. Calcium may or may not be a problem. I think feeding mice to tarantulas is just a "gladiator match" and people do it for their own sadistic pleasure and justify it with things like "I have never had anything bad happen," "I think it is good for them," and my favorite "It happens in the wild." Does it? How often does it happen? Is the cage your keeping it in the wild? Nope, you take care of the t. If you don't feed it, it dies. Not the wild at all. Because it is the keeper who takes care of it, it is also your responsibility to do what is right for the animal. Tarantulas do fine feeding on invertebrates only, so many keepers do it, including myself. I also think feeding mice to t's is cruel because of the fact it is unnecessary, I am not against using mice as feeders for say snakes.

Can't wait until next week when we have another thread just like this.

Try roaches.

I disagree. I would be willing to try feeding a vertebrate to one of mine, but I wouldn't be doin it for "sadistic pleasure." I'd be doing it out of curiosity, not entertainment. I think you're being a little intense and judging people you don't even know.