Pinky feed failed miserably...

[yodaxtreme545]

A frozen thawed pinky is a fine way to fatten up a tarantula after a molt but in all honesty I much prefer a big fat well fed home raised dubia roach. If you are serious about getting into tarantulas or you keep any sort of insectivores really, a dubia colony is a brilliant investment.

I really like the idea of having my own roach colony but I've got only 4 T's and I've been told that is too few T's to make raising a colony worth it. Any imput on that?

 

[mark e sic]

so I have not been in the hobby for too long but I will say (and I dont mean to be rude, offensive, or blunt but) If you breed your own cricket or dubia or watever colony to feed any of your T.s it still wouldnt be what the T. would have found its natural habitat. Roaches crickets (all the critters that T.s naturally eat) all eat a mixed diet of all kinds of stuff whetter it be a nice fruit salad or trash that it came across so really it makes no difference what they eat because if a tarantula where to eat too many mice because lets say it made its home near an area where there is an abundance of mice do you realy think it would say to its self "this is too much calcium. I think im going to eat a roach instead"... offcourse not. And if it where to get health complications because of its steady diet of only mice and it were to die..that my friends is a perfect example of Natural selection(in a planet with out humans offcourse because then the roach or cricket or mice might have been exposed to radioactivity or pesticides). and if you realy want to get technical with the whole what to feed and what not to feed your T.s then just remember this is a leaving creature. why are you keeping it in a container? it belongs in the "wild"

 

[Bigboy]

I really like the idea of having my own roach colony but I've got only 4 T's and I've been told that is too few T's to make raising a colony worth it. Any imput on that?

You could always just set up a small colony for your own enjoyment. They don't even need to be dubia, some of the more interesting blaberus would also be a good substitute. I'm quite fond of craniifer the death's head roach. Extras can always be sold off, given away, used as fishing bait etc. I've given over 3000 away to a zoo an ex used to work at.

 

[Hornets inverts]

Here's my opinion on the matter: A T isn't going to adjust it's eating menu based on if it's in captivity or not. Quite frankly, I try to set up my tanks to suit the each individual T's natural habitat as well as I can. So my question is, why is it more cruel to feed your T a mouse than a cricket? If you are looking to make the mouse suffer than thats one thing but if you are feeding your T than in my opinion that is fine. I'm going to go on a limb here and say that T's either don't know or don't care they are in captivity as long as you give them a home to mimic their natural habitat, therefore I don't think feeding them what they would naturally eat as food would be a problem at all. Let me say it again though, I do not in any way support or tollerate animal cruelty. Do the right thing you guys.

I have no problem people using "natural" food sources, as long as it doesnt nvolve animal cruelty, which feedling live vertebrates essentially is

 

[Earth Tiger]

Live mice

I think the arguments on whether or not a T should be fed live mice can be summarized into 2 sides:
Those who support feeding them live mice think that it's their natural behavior to do so
Those who oppose feeding them mammals think it is cruel to do so even if they do it in their natural environment

Both sides have merits in their arguments, but I have a different view. First I don't think mammals are natural preys to many NW tarantulas. I don't think species like G. rosea and B. smithi feed on mice and other mammals at all in the wild. They are not only small but also have weak venom effect on human, both pointing to the fact that mammals are not their regular prey items. So how about OW Ts and larger NW Ts? Yes they do feed on small rodents in the wild. But now the question is, is it really necessary to duplicate a natural habitat for any particularly T? Certainly not. No one can build a jungle for their macaws and cats. There are tons of people keeping tigers as pets in the States but I bet very few will feed them live animals too. A pet already benefits a lot from our care - they don't starve, they don't get hunted, etc and there is no reason to mimic everything in the wild if doing so does no big benefit to the T. A live mouse can turn the table and harm your T, and a frozen thawed mouse or pinky can really do the trick. And those who believe in Feng Shui like Mr Donald Trump will also tell you that frequent slaughtering of higher animals in your home isn't a good idea. Anyone here who feeds live mice frequently to their numerous Ts and has a total asset of over 20 million US dollars before 30 feel free to post here to prove me wrong.

And for those who think tarantula ways of killing mammals are cruel, perhaps you need to think it again. What is considered cruel is the way a canine, a hyena or a Komodo dragon kills its preys - by biting randomly to the prey, tearing their fresh apart and eating them alive... Little is known about the exact effects of tarantula venom on mammals but we do know their venom has effects on mammals, and saying that tarantula venom is designed to take out inverts but not vertebrates is definitely not correct. Pain is just a side effect of their venom but their venom can definitely target mammals and digest mammals, too. That you don't have too much problem from a tarantula bite just because you are several thousand or million times the size of a mouse, and you don't allow your T to have multiple bites on you to keep injecting more venom to you, and the tarantula does not aim at feeding on you either - they just want to fend off intruders. Imagine a tarantula the size of a polar bear kills you for food - I don't think you will suffer more than being killed by a real bear since gallons of venom are being pumped into your body, which should paralyze and kill you in no time. I don't think it is cruel to feed mice to large NW Ts and old world Ts due to these reasons.

However I don't feed my Ts mice because it is too messy, a bit dangerous to the Ts and call me superstitious it is bad to feng shui too. There are many better alternatives that are equally nutritious but cheaper and tidier than live mice, like prawns and shrimps. One big shrimp will ensure a big belly for a LP or TB after a molt. So why feeding them mice? I don't see a good reason.

 

[yodaxtreme545]

I'm not opposed to feeding to other types of foods for my T's and I wouldn't feed any of them any type of vertibrate unless it was after a molt. I think this is an endless debate. I am going to look more into this shrimp/prawn feed I've been reading about. I'm still very new to the hobby so I'm taking this all in. Thanks guys.

 

[Earth Tiger]

Rodent and reptile skeleton and leftovers are frequently found around many old world T's burrows and this does show that they feed on vertebrates in the wild, the point is whether we should duplicate this in our home. I certainly go against it due to the reasons I pointed out in my last post.

I know somebody here feed his Rosie with crabs with good results too. I only feed my Ts live shrimps and prawns because I am worried about pesticide contamination because fresh water shrimps are sensitive to pesticide and you can't find a live pesticide contaminated shrimp, but I think frozen salt water crustaceans should be pretty safe too. I didn't try frozen salt water shrimps but there are members here feeding them thawed crabs and shrimps.

For your info, some wild caught old world Ts won't eat crickets at all. For example many WC adult Haplopelma schmidti prefer to starve to death if they are not given 7+" giant centipedes and lizards for food and they ignore crickets and superworms completely. Centipedes and lizards are not available in all seasons and my avatar was such a picky H. schmidti that didn't eat crickets or super worms on arrival, and it chose to starve to nearly death until I got it some big centipedes.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Can you film a Large pede being eaten by a Tarantula?? I know Ts can easily massacre a Pede... but Id love to see your feeding videos... absolutely awsome
Haplos.. above all else are great at killing Pedes I know this
Obligate burrowers have to be great at killing pedes cuz pedes dig a lot.. & hide in similar places as Ts

 

[Earth Tiger]

I will film some videos after feb when I move to my new house. Not sure if my ip or other info already showed that I have been on the move and all my posts since I was back were sent from my 4s and ipad2...

 

[Shrike]

Can you film a Large pede being eaten by a Tarantula?? I know Ts can easily massacre a Pede... but Id love to see your feeding videos... absolutely awsome
Haplos.. above all else are great at killing Pedes I know this
Obligate burrowers have to be great at killing pedes cuz pedes dig a lot.. & hide in similar places as Ts

Looks like this centipede didn't get massacred:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f5gBFMMmGc

Ultum, you have a tendency to speak in absolutes. How do you know that tarantulas can easily massacre a centipede? How do you know that, above all else, tarantulas in the genus Haplopelma are great at killing centipedes? Do you have any evidence to support these claims? Are you making things up? You give advice and opine freely, but the truth is often more complex and nuanced than you give credit for.

My apologies--I know this is off topic. I don't see any problems feeding the occasional pinky to a tarantula as part of a varied, nutritious diet.

 

[Earth Tiger]

Looks like this centipede didn't get massacred:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2f5gBFMMmGc

Ultum, you have a tendency to speak in absolutes. How do you know that tarantulas can easily massacre a centipede? How do you know that, above all else, tarantulas in the genus Haplopelma are great at killing centipedes? Do you have any evidence to support these claims? Are you making things up? You give advice and opine freely, but the truth is often more complex and nuanced than you give credit for.

My apologies--I know this is off topic. I don't see any problems feeding the occasional pinky to a tarantula as part of a varied, nutritious diet.

Regarding the youtube link, please read my posts in this thread here: tarantula and centipede interaction

While ultum tends to speak in absolutes, tarantulas do prey on centipedes in the wild. Just like rats can occasionally eat small snakes doesn't mean that snakes are NOT the natural enemy of rats. I will film some videos but if you are talking about Ts hunting centipedes in the wild, there have been posts and photos in this site and internet showing this many times. I will check if I could find those old posts, but why is that hard to convince you? Your pede lover? I don't think you will ask for proof if ultum suggested a snake massacred a rodent.

 

[Shrike]

Regarding the youtube link, please read my posts in this thread here: tarantula and centipede interaction

While ultum tends to speak in absolutes, tarantulas do prey on centipedes in the wild. Just like rats can occasionally eat small snakes doesn't mean that snakes are NOT the natural enemy of rats. I will film some videos but if you are talking about Ts hunting centipedes in the wild, there have been posts and photos in this site and internet showing this many times. I will check if I could find those old posts, but why is that hard to convince you? Your pede lover?

Thanks for the additional info Earth Tiger. Point taken in regard to the staged scenario in the video and the sizes of the centipede and tarantula. No, I'm not a pede lover. I'm not denying that tarantulas are capable of preying on centipedes. No convincing needed here. I simply don't agree with blanket statements such as "I know Ts can easily massacre a pede" or "Haplos...above all else are great at killing pedes I know this." I believe that interaction between centipedes and tarantulas in the wild is more complex than these statements give credit for.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

S Gigantea is a tank of a centepede.10-13" length... Dono if any Haplo could kill it..
thats the pede in the video that kills the curly hair

 

[DannyH]

Hmm that's not correct. One reason I like arachnids is that they can differentiate different preys and they wouldn't charge something blindly. Dropping a cricket to a docile Chilean rose carapace will instantly trigger it's predatory response and the cricket will be chewing under it's fangs in 0.1 second. But pressing it's carapace with your finger will only stop the docile T under the same condition - it won't attack your finger. And L. lividum is one evil T that is said to attach everything including your hand that is much larger than it. Pretty mindless? Then try throwing a 2" small scorpion to its tank - it will change from being aggressive to cautious, and may even abandon it's hole and flee although it is much larger than the scorpion. Tarantulas and scorpions do know what they are dealing with and know what they can't eat - of course if one tricks it with poison crickets that's another story...

Maybe my GBB just attacks my tweezers because its mean lol.

 

[ijmccollum]

If someone has fed thawed shrimp/crab from the meat dept, I would like to hear their experience. It would be a great alternative feeder for some of the bigger species of T's. Also, what about the frozen crayfish you find at the store, would they be an option?

 

[Shell]

The whole "they eat live mice in the wild" argument, has made me wonder about something.

How common do you think it is for a tarantula to actually eat a pinkie mouse or rat? Pinkies stay in the burrow/den whatever you want to call it, they are defenseless for the most part and don't leave mom. Typically tarantulas don't go wandering (aside from MMs who aren't wandering to find food,) they kill and eat the prey that comes to them, and I just can't see a pinkie wandering into a tarantulas territory. I'm solely getting into PINKIES here, and not older mice or rats that are out and about in the wild.

Just a thought I've had for a while, reading all the arguments regarding feeding mice/rats.

I also still agree with the thought that just because something is done in the wild, doesn't make it neccessary, or even beneficial, in captivity and feel no need to feed verts to my spiders. Just my opinion there, there's no proof either way on what can happen by having them in their diet, so it's just not a risk I feel like taking when there are plenty of good feeders available

 

[Earth Tiger]

I searched this site and I guess this link is worth reading:
Feeding fish to Ts

Certainly I am not the one feeding them shrimps... There were some similar discussions on this topic back in 2004 but I couldn't find them for your reference.

Also came across this photo from the Internet but the description didn't mention if the picture was taken from a pet T or a wild T from its natural habitat:

The pede is pretty big...

 

[ijmccollum]

Post 9 on that link sounds like frozen/thawed store shrimp is an option. That could be good for when my little beasties grow into big beasties.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I searched this site and I guess this link is worth reading:
Feeding fish to Ts

Certainly I am not the one feeding them shrimps... There were some similar discussions on this topic back in 2004 but I couldn't find them for your reference.

Also came across this photo from the Internet but the description didn't mention if the picture was taken from a pet T or a wild T from its natural habitat:

The pede is pretty big...

are the pedes defanged?? centepede venom is Devastating? lol
Tarantulas are heavyweights... though and can easily hold down a pede by its head

 

[deathkorps]

I just feed my T's little bowls of chef boyardee spaghetti and meatballs they love the stuff!:biggrin:

(j/k btw)