Her 1st mouse :-))))

[DannyH]

I feed my adult tarantulas that are five inches (5") and over, a fuzzy mouse or a house gecko once or twice a year for variety. I have been doing this for years without a problem.

But also, why would you want to feed it a vertebrates? Its not healthy for them, and it leaves a bloody mess in the cage.

 

[JOHN 3:16]

Variety. In the wild a tarantula would not pass up the meal. I believe that small vertebrates are on the menu.

 

[DannyH]

Variety. In the wild a tarantula would not pass up the meal. I believe that small vertebrates are on the menu.

Dogs will sometimes eat thier own poop. That doesn't mean its good for them, they are animals and don't know any better.

 

[compnerd7]

I really like how when other people post meaningful cool things, no one looks or comments on their thread, gives a kutos or some comment for putting something meaningful, then when someone post a pic of them feeding a mouse to a T it gets over 180 replies of everyone in an uproar and start spear chucking.

The point of this forum has seem to me over the last year gone down hill. You don't have to chastise someone for feeding their T a mouse. Just give them some good advice and a maybe a link of helpful info??? Anyone not deep in the " hobby " is going to think feeding a mouse to a T is cool. I know I would have in the past. You guys smacked this guy in the face at first, but he was more then willing to change but you didn't even give him a chance, that's a real nice way of getting people to do things the right way. Of course we all love our Arachnids and are passionate about them, but spreading hateful or mean remarks to random people crosses the line from passion to extremism. The crusaders were passionate about the Christ when they went spreading their religion around too...

Now it looks like a an arachnid civil war has started.

 

[gromgrom]

I really like how when other people post meaningful cool things, no one looks or comments on their thread, gives a kutos or some comment for putting something meaningful, then when someone post a pic of them feeding a mouse to a T it gets over 180 replies of everyone in an uproar and start spear chucking.

The point of this forum has seem to me over the last year gone down hill. You don't have to chastise someone for feeding their T a mouse. Just give them some good advice and a maybe a link of helpful info??? Anyone not deep in the " hobby " is going to think feeding a mouse to a T is cool. I know I would have in the past. You guys smacked this guy in the face at first, but he was more then willing to change but you didn't even give him a chance, that's a real nice way of getting people to do things the right way. Of course we all love our Arachnids and are passionate about them, but spreading hateful or mean remarks to random people crosses the line from passion to extremism. The crusaders were passionate about the Christ when they went spreading their religion around too...

Now it looks like a an arachnid civil war has started.

I think the problem is new keepers, moreso lately, that post this stuff, and then wont take advice or look into studies on WHY. Same with feeding WC feeders.

But it's their pet. Whatever, let them learn, hopefully, or just keep making the same mistakes. But I'm on the fence with this stupid issue; I dont see a problem with feeding a small mouse/pinky to a 5"+ T AS A TREAT LIKE ONCE A YEAR. Not that I'm going out of the way to do it, so I wont! Varied diets are nice and all, but roaches are your go-to-feeder imo.

 

[BobGrill]

Dogs will sometimes eat thier own poop. That doesn't mean its good for them, they are animals and don't know any better.

That's not even a logical comparison. A mouse is a heck of a lot more nutritious than poop.

 

[Romantis]

This thread was from last year and was only updated a few days ago by the OP to let members know the current status of his tarantula after a recent molt. The OP also stated that since the first post, he has not fed nor does he plan to feed anymore mice to his tarantula. The issue of feeding vertebrates to invertebrates has been debated to death on this thread already so if you feel like debating, please check out the many other related threads on this forum that are alive and kicking well. Since we've received a satisfactory update, I think it's time to let this thread die ;-)

 

[khil]

Variety. In the wild a tarantula would not pass up the meal. I believe that small vertebrates are on the menu.

It's very true.

Dogs will sometimes eat thier own poop. That doesn't mean its good for them, they are animals and don't know any better.

What a lame and invalid comparison. This is apples to oranges, you're trying to twist the argument around your newfound fallacy. Tarantulas seize the opportunity to eat small vertebrates in the wild, go read any decent book on tarantulas.

Alright arachnodudes and dudettes, let's face it. There is NO evidence that feeding a vertebrate to your tarantula, in and of itself, will mess anything up. (Unless you plan on gorging it with mice every day? But that's NOT what we are talking about.) In the wild, tarantulas dine on small mice, birds, snakes, and lizards. Most people complaining about the theraphosa+mouse problem are just experiencing the fact that theraphosa have very specific requirements for proper molting in captivity. Hate to say it but it boils down to the "but the mouse is a MAMMAL(fuzzy, cute, more humanlike)" argument.

And yes, mice can bite, it's a risk. It doesn't happen very often; when a tarantula gets a proper sized mouse it quickly overpowers it. But this is besides the main point.

Now that that's out of the way...yes, vertebrates probably feel pain more than a cricket or a cockroach would. Yes, there are people who do it for amusement and it sickens me. I refuse to call them a part of our hobby.
But we (in general) aren't keeping mice as pets. We are keeping TARANTULAS as pets. And if someone wants to feed their tarantula a mouse to add variety to its diet or help bulk it up, who are YOU(You directed at anyone) to tell them not to? We're keeping carnivores. Be it tarantulas, snakes, scorpions, or cichlids, a good caregiver will do what he or she feels is necessary to care for a healthy, happy animal.

On a final note...yes it's not very nice. It's not nice to feed crickets or roaches either, everyone can draw their line somewhere. Vertebrates will probably end up suffering more. It's not necessary to feed one to your tarantula, I shun people who do that sort of thing for amusement, but if you think it's going to make a fine meal for your spider, go ahead.

 

[shining]

i knew this thread was gonna be full of what it was when i seen the title.without getting rude like some have ill put my .02 in.
the op didnt know better but is now educated and im sure will do good now.
id say a mouse appropriately sized and even f/t once in a ts life would be a nice treat for them.its gonna leave a mess im sure thats definitely gonna have to be cleaned up to not attract unwanted pests.

ts in the wild go through alot more than in captivity and have shorter lifespans out there due to being opportunistic feeders,predators,parasites and such,its up to us to make sure in our care they have the best diets and least amount of threats to enjoy them to their maximum life expectancy.
if theres such controversy on feeding them mice and nay sayers from the most experienced keepers theres gotta be a reason for such beliefs.

as far as reading the arguments about feeding live prey being unethical.consider how we get our meat,the shows we watch on tv and movies(acting or not violence is there),the insects we feed em are alive and await imminent death,the tree we picked an apple from,the gruesome websites dedicated to the macabre that im sure alot of us frequent,the roadkill we look at driving by it.death is a natural.

it all comes down to personal preference,beliefs,and morals.

i myself wouldnt feed my scorps or ts f/t or live mice or even my snake a live one.the beautiful thing about the world is everyone is entitled to their own opinion and beliefs and free to do whatever he/she wants too.whether people agree with it or not.

i hope everyone can be at peace and go fornicate now.

---------- Post added 08-15-2011 at 07:51 PM ----------

I really like how when other people post meaningful cool things, no one looks or comments on their thread, gives a kudos or some comment for putting something meaningful, then when someone post a pic of them feeding a mouse to a T it gets over 180 replies of everyone in an uproar and start spear chucking.

seriously man,i have noticed that too many a times.its society for you.
when you do good,theres a blind eye but when you do bad eyes are wide.

 

[Ben Oliver]

i like critters of all sorts and use the small fury critters as feeders and breed them i have a couple of roach colonys so i have different types of food for my t's monitors lizards and snakes. i also use the pinkies every 3 or 4 months to my larger t's to vary their diet. and i still haven't seen anybody with a phd to say and show how rodents are bad for t's. and if there is a person out there that can show all of us what and why it is bad the whole thread should stop. i would like proof and see the proof. when i ask people for information on critters i do not take one persons advice i take all the information and put it together and see what matches up and what doesn't. there is a problem with people trying to convince people that what they say is right when they have no evidence to prove or disprove their belief.

 

[DannyH]

It's very true.



What a lame and invalid comparison. This is apples to oranges, you're trying to twist the argument around your newfound fallacy. Tarantulas seize the opportunity to eat small vertebrates in the wild, go read any decent book on tarantulas.

Alright arachnodudes and dudettes, let's face it. There is NO evidence that feeding a vertebrate to your tarantula, in and of itself, will mess anything up. (Unless you plan on gorging it with mice every day? But that's NOT what we are talking about.) In the wild, tarantulas dine on small mice, birds, snakes, and lizards. Most people complaining about the theraphosa+mouse problem are just experiencing the fact that theraphosa have very specific requirements for proper molting in captivity. Hate to say it but it boils down to the "but the mouse is a MAMMAL(fuzzy, cute, more humanlike)" argument.

And yes, mice can bite, it's a risk. It doesn't happen very often; when a tarantula gets a proper sized mouse it quickly overpowers it. But this is besides the main point.

Now that that's out of the way...yes, vertebrates probably feel pain more than a cricket or a cockroach would. Yes, there are people who do it for amusement and it sickens me. I refuse to call them a part of our hobby.
But we (in general) aren't keeping mice as pets. We are keeping TARANTULAS as pets. And if someone wants to feed their tarantula a mouse to add variety to its diet or help bulk it up, who are YOU(You directed at anyone) to tell them not to? We're keeping carnivores. Be it tarantulas, snakes, scorpions, or cichlids, a good caregiver will do what he or she feels is necessary to care for a healthy, happy animal.

On a final note...yes it's not very nice. It's not nice to feed crickets or roaches either, everyone can draw their line somewhere. Vertebrates will probably end up suffering more. It's not necessary to feed one to your tarantula, I shun people who do that sort of thing for amusement, but if you think it's going to make a fine meal for your spider, go ahead.

But there is also no proof that feeding them vertebrates is healthy for them, either. A spider can have a fine meal of inverts easily. And let me give another comparison. Say a tarantula in the wild eats a poisonous insect. That doesn't mean they should be fed them in captivity. Tarantulas live healthy lives on a diet in bugs, so I don't see why, even if it is only rumored, someone would want to risk their tarantulas life, other than for cheap, cruel amusement.

 

[shining]

i still haven't seen anybody with a phd to say and show how rodents are bad for t's. and if there is a person out there that can show all of us what and why it is bad the whole thread should stop. i would like proof and see the proof. when i ask people for information on critters i do not take one persons advice i take all the information and put it together and see what matches up and what doesn't. there is a problem with people trying to convince people that what they say is right when they have no evidence to prove or disprove their belief.

:clap:
just like religion

 

[BobGrill]

But there is also no proof that feeding them vertebrates is healthy for them, either. A spider can have a fine meal of inverts easily. And let me give another comparison. Say a tarantula in the wild eats a poisonous insect. That doesn't mean they should be fed them in captivity. Tarantulas live healthy lives on a diet in bugs, so I don't see why, even if it is only rumored, someone would want to risk their tarantulas life, other than for cheap, cruel amusement.

That is your opinion. And again, another invalid comparison.

 

[DannyH]

That is your opinion. And again, another invalid comparison.

Well than why else would someone want to feed their tarantula vertebrates when they live healthy lives on a diet of inverts?
And I don't really think you are getting my comparison. I'm not saying that a tarantula eating a mouse is just as bad tarantula eating a poisonous bug, I'm saying that just because something might eat something in the wild doesn't mean its good for them.

 

[BrachysWorld]

I'm trying to figure out, how someone can post that they feed their T this or that, and get perfect molts and no problems, and others pass judgement and negative comments toward them with mere speculations and emotional banter? Obviously those who are feeding T's small verts and getting great results are the ones with the knowledge moreso than those posting their opinions and beliefs. And the arguments are very naive at best. "What if a tarantula attacked the rat's legs?" I mean my goodness! I've fed small mice and small reptiles to T. stirmi, P. antinous, P. regalis, A. metallica, and L. parahybana and NEVER got the speculative results that most here keep screaming at people. Matter of fact, I've watched them let the prey pass right by them numerous times in order to gain the advantage at point of attack. Contrary to popular belief they are vicious hunters people. At some point you guys need to accept that you've chosen not to feed your T's certain prey, and leave it at that. Stop with the negativity towards others.

There was also a comment made that Tarantula aren't teddy bears. This was an excellent response needed. Many in this hobby have completely lost sight of how majestic and powerful these creatures really are. You have them in captivity. They are not stuffed animals. You are feeding them what YOU want them to eat, not what is best for them. That's not for you to judge. That's like telling a Shark not to attack an octopus because it has 8 arms. Quite frankly the Shark doesn't give a darn.

Respect the tarantula as a natural hunter, a powerful killer, and a beautiful creature. Or leave the Hobby altogether.