Hamsters for food?

[Randy]

Please dont feed hamsters to Tarantulas... they're cute animals and i have them as pets as well.. i cant imagine putting in something so ... cute and innocent looking hamsters into my tarantulas tank and wait for them to kill it.. well thats just my opinion tho.. just trying to tell u my point of view.. catch those wild rats .. they look kinda nasty

 

[CedrikG]

This is funny because my gf was thinking of getting a hamster and I said get a breeding pair of mice so I can have the offspring for my T's and then she said what about hamster for food? lol I thought, why not!
But it seems id rather feed pinkies.

How should I kill pinkies if I was going to use them as a feeder?

you would'nt need to do it as you can buy frozen one, if they're not, put them in a ziploc bac and hit them on the wall ... that might seem cruel but she does'nt suffer, 1 sec and its done

 

[Anthony]

In my opinion frozen animals are the way to go. Cost effective, not labor intensive and no smell.

 

[becca81]

How should I kill pinkies if I was going to use them as a feeder?

Pinkies aren't a threat to a spider, so they don't really need to be pre-killed unless you just prefer it that way.

I gave my G. rosea a pinkie once and she took it just fine. Not even a bolus left! I haven't done it since - crickets are just easier for a 5" spider.
I also don't think there's an actually a need to feed pinkies. Your spider can do fine on crickets alone. Don't feel obligated to buy pinkies.

 

[Andy]

Pinkies aren't a threat to a spider, so they don't really need to be pre-killed unless you just prefer it that way.

I gave my G. rosea a pinkie once and she took it just fine. Not even a bolus left! I haven't done it since - crickets are just easier for a 5" spider.
I also don't think there's an actually a need to feed pinkies. Your spider can do fine on crickets alone. Don't feel obligated to buy pinkies.

Except its illigal in the UK

 

[David_F]

Except its illigal in the UK

Just toss them in the freezer then. I don't recommend this for anything bigger than a pinkie but if you slam a pinkie into a table or wall you'll just end up with a big mess.

 

[Snakecharm]

Just toss them in the freezer then. I don't recommend this for anything bigger than a pinkie but if you slam a pinkie into a table or wall you'll just end up with a big mess.

Um, no, let's not. It really burns me up when some hotshot comes along and offers that like a cure-all, because it's not. Freezing to death is a horrible way to die. Even and especially for something as small as a pinkie. If you're not man enough to snap the poor thing's neck, then don't buy live pinks to begin with.

 

[Andy]

Um, no, let's not. It really burns me up when some hotshot comes along and offers that like a cure-all, because it's not. Freezing to death is a horrible way to die. Even and especially for something as small as a pinkie. If you're not man enough to snap the poor thing's neck, then don't buy live pinks to begin with.

Do you suggest I hold it by the head and snap its neck?

 

[David_F]

Um, no, let's not. It really burns me up when some hotshot comes along and offers that like a cure-all, because it's not. Freezing to death is a horrible way to die. Even and especially for something as small as a pinkie. If you're not man enough to snap the poor thing's neck, then don't buy live pinks to begin with.

Wow! A shot at my manhood. Ouch.

 

[P.P.'s Mom]

How would you thaw a frozen pinkie? In warm water? Microwave? (yuk) Then do you have to animate it for the T to take it? Seems like a lot of work when crix are just fine.

 

[Crunchie]

Are there any implications on the vitamin content of offering frozen rodents to tarantulas? I've often wondered about feeding frozen fluff mice to my spiders but very recently I had my only pet snake die due to what was thought to be a vitamin deficency. My vet said that freezing food and then thawing destroys a lot of the vitamins and I should have been using supplement (that'll teach me ).
So does it matter as much for tarantulas?

 

[CedrikG]

yeah its lots more work, yo uput it in warm water, not microwave, then you put the pinky in front of the T, the closer possible

 

[lta3398]

I have never used frozen, it just seems easier to buy them live and let the T take care of it. My blondi is really the only one that eats them, and it is not her daily diet. She mostly eats insects, to be honest. The pinkies were just a test to see if she would eat them, and she does, so I buy them maybe a couple of times a month. I am sorry if in my earlier post here I gave the impression I buy them all the time. Becca is right about the crix (and other insects). All my other T's are doing just fine on them. I was just worried about her getting enough to eat because she is so big, and was afraid that crix and worms were not enough for her. So it is like once or twice a month I buy her a couple, that's all.

 

[Tony]

Um, no, let's not. It really burns me up when some hotshot comes along and offers that like a cure-all, because it's not. Freezing to death is a horrible way to die. Even and especially for something as small as a pinkie. If you're not man enough to snap the poor thing's neck, then don't buy live pinks to begin with.

In mammals (in general) there are many reactions to freezing that make it far less traumatic than most other paths to eternity...Dont forget not to anthropromorpize our little vermin friends!
I wonder if you only stun that mouse by whacking it, and it awakes in the jaws of our spiders, or better yet it is merely paralizyed and "fully aware" and helpless as doom approaches.
Freezing aint that bad...Why doncha just make a little Kervorkian machine for them?
T