Morris23352
Arachnopeon
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Should i powerfeed my slings or just let them grow slow. I mean why wouldnt you powerfeed? Whats the pro's and con's of both. I would appreciate your opinions
Powerfeed T's Or Not?
- Thread starter Morris23352
- Start date
"Natural" Feeding
Longer life
Reduced chance of abdomen damage
More natural look
Cheaper-less food to buy
Regular growth
Powerfeeding
Shorter life span
Higher chance of abdomen rupture
Fat butt
More expensive to feed
Fast growth
Unless you are powerfeeding for the purpose of breeding timing stick to regular feeding. I let my slings eat as much as they want then let them digest for 10-14 days.
Longer life
Reduced chance of abdomen damage
More natural look
Cheaper-less food to buy
Regular growth
Powerfeeding
Shorter life span
Higher chance of abdomen rupture
Fat butt
More expensive to feed
Fast growth
Unless you are powerfeeding for the purpose of breeding timing stick to regular feeding. I let my slings eat as much as they want then let them digest for 10-14 days.
SentinelPokie
Arachnopeon
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Pros/Cons
Pros
1.The T grows at a faster pace.
2.Good for breeder females.
3.More fun for the T keeper.
4.T is happy.:razz:
Cons
1.SHORTENED lifespan ( dies quickly )
2.Can cause molting issues and abdomen ruptures.
3.T is very fragile.
In my overall opinion, I prefer to powerfeed until the sling is between 1.5-2 inches. Then I feed it once every other week, however if you want your tarantula to grow fast, you can powerfeed them all you want. Just heed my warning and think carefully...
Pros
1.The T grows at a faster pace.
2.Good for breeder females.
3.More fun for the T keeper.
4.T is happy.:razz:
Cons
1.SHORTENED lifespan ( dies quickly )
2.Can cause molting issues and abdomen ruptures.
3.T is very fragile.
In my overall opinion, I prefer to powerfeed until the sling is between 1.5-2 inches. Then I feed it once every other week, however if you want your tarantula to grow fast, you can powerfeed them all you want. Just heed my warning and think carefully...
Morris23352
Arachnopeon
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i appreciate this thanks.
There is no conclusive link between feeding regime and life span.
Excessive feeding does lead to an overly large abdomen, which in turn makes the T very fragile and susceptible to rupture.
Everything else mentioned is just opinion.
My opinion, I feed my slings regularly and do not allow them more than a few days between feedings. My logic: they are growing and developing and I want to be sure they all the nutrition they need to grow healthy, strong, and large.
Excessive feeding does lead to an overly large abdomen, which in turn makes the T very fragile and susceptible to rupture.
Everything else mentioned is just opinion.
My opinion, I feed my slings regularly and do not allow them more than a few days between feedings. My logic: they are growing and developing and I want to be sure they all the nutrition they need to grow healthy, strong, and large.
Every chance it gets.
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I fully agree.
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Agreed. Since we have no idea what an average lifespan of some of these breeds in captivity are, I hesitate to say it shortens the life expectancy. In theory it sorta makes sense, but that is how most myths/ misconceptions get started, by taking something that sorta makes sense and making an absolute statement out of it; without any proof other than, other people doing the same thing.
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yes there is. it is widely accepted in science that calorie limited diets result in longer lifespan. you really can't argue that. there are tons and tons of papers out there
it's true for animals as high as mice, without question, via experiments. tons of lesser animals have had papers you can google very easily. to think our tarantulas are different from tons of animals around them is silly. that have even been correlative studies in humans that demonstrated definite positive correlation between calorie restriction and increased life
this is actually a pretty fundamental aspect of like, a general understanding of biology. scary.
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Right, none at all
C. elegans
Piper and Bartke 2008
See page 34
Well put Caco
Am I saying it is a terrible habit? No, I will certainly feed confirmed females a little more then confirmed males, just to help even the race a little bit.
-Sean
Last edited:
Tym Hollerup
Arachnoknight
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How did you change your name?
King Leonidas
Arachnopeon
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As far as I knew,there are experiments that suggest that calorie restriction does longer the life span on humans.yes there is. it is widely accepted in science that calorie limited diets result in longer lifespan. you really can't argue that. there are tons and tons of papers out there
it's true for animals as high as mice, without question, via experiments. tons of lesser animals have had papers you can google very easily. to think our tarantulas are different from tons of animals around them is silly. that have even been correlative studies in humans that demonstrated definite positive correlation between calorie restriction and increased life
this is actually a pretty fundamental aspect of like, a general understanding of biology. scary.
Didnt think about it on this subject.
I dont know how much would that affect arachnids...And we would have to compare it with the negative possible results or feeding them poorly, or "too little".
As an example, if a "powerfed"female T lives 2 years less than a female who has way less amount of feedings , but also the powerfed T shows better health (no problems with molts, larger leg spans, succesfull egg sacks )...then I rather feed then more, than less.
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Fran,
Take a peak at this thread:
http://thebts.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?6899-mice-as-food&p=52478#post52478
ROS or Reactive oxygen species stress is what destroys mitochondria pretty quickly, this is why it is accepted in biology across the board.
If you're interested in breeding, most folks push for growth not caring about overall longevity. As a pet owner, or someone who's not pushing all the time for faster and bigger, I see no reason to cut the life span in half and increase other pathology.
Finally, if I had a dollar for every time I've seen this topic, I'd have a too many dollars to lift.
Take a peak at this thread:
http://thebts.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?6899-mice-as-food&p=52478#post52478
ROS or Reactive oxygen species stress is what destroys mitochondria pretty quickly, this is why it is accepted in biology across the board.
If you're interested in breeding, most folks push for growth not caring about overall longevity. As a pet owner, or someone who's not pushing all the time for faster and bigger, I see no reason to cut the life span in half and increase other pathology.
Finally, if I had a dollar for every time I've seen this topic, I'd have a too many dollars to lift.
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something to consider is that there are varying degrees of power feeding. i'd say one end of the spectrum is literally feed the spiders as much as they can/will eat... and possibly even "cooking" them, that is keeping them at elevated temperatures. at the other end is what most ppl feed there bugs, as far as i am concerned.
for temps that range from 60-90*F seasonally i feed something like adult G. rosea, most Aphono, most Brachy about 10-15 times a year unless i am going to breed them. one large cricket per feeding. they do fine. much past that is technically what i would consider powerfeeding. and there are tons of ppl who feed an adult cricket per week... or more!
as esoteric kind of said, you basically have to decide what your goals are then pick the best method to achieve those goals
as far as increased sac size/count/quality.... well, i expect there is a butter zone that maximizes sac goodness... and it is probably not when the spider is full to bursting or raisining out. it is likely that spiders can be so fat that their like, organic functions are compromised and i have heard some males have a harder time positioning females and getting inserts when the females are really fat
i mean, in a sense spiders aren't so very different from us. being massively fat is just plain not good for them
as a bonus, one thing that almost certain DOES have a positive effect on sac goodness is mating a female multiple times, with multiple males
edit: and as fran said, there are problems when underfeeding a bug. they have metabolic processes that can get disrupted when they don't have enough food energy and materials. there are other processes, too. i believe i read a paper talking about compromised immune response in underfed spiders a few years ago. it was wicked sweet how they tested for it. they basically inserted metallic filaments into the spiders that register as pathogens... then measure the accumulation of antibodies and other stuff on the filaments. mmmm, lab work
for temps that range from 60-90*F seasonally i feed something like adult G. rosea, most Aphono, most Brachy about 10-15 times a year unless i am going to breed them. one large cricket per feeding. they do fine. much past that is technically what i would consider powerfeeding. and there are tons of ppl who feed an adult cricket per week... or more!
as esoteric kind of said, you basically have to decide what your goals are then pick the best method to achieve those goals
as far as increased sac size/count/quality.... well, i expect there is a butter zone that maximizes sac goodness... and it is probably not when the spider is full to bursting or raisining out. it is likely that spiders can be so fat that their like, organic functions are compromised and i have heard some males have a harder time positioning females and getting inserts when the females are really fat
i mean, in a sense spiders aren't so very different from us. being massively fat is just plain not good for them
as a bonus, one thing that almost certain DOES have a positive effect on sac goodness is mating a female multiple times, with multiple males
edit: and as fran said, there are problems when underfeeding a bug. they have metabolic processes that can get disrupted when they don't have enough food energy and materials. there are other processes, too. i believe i read a paper talking about compromised immune response in underfed spiders a few years ago. it was wicked sweet how they tested for it. they basically inserted metallic filaments into the spiders that register as pathogens... then measure the accumulation of antibodies and other stuff on the filaments. mmmm, lab work
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"Underfeeding" is too hard to characterize across species. It is quite easy to "underfeed" an Avicularia spp., but feeding a G. rosea spiderling or adult only 2x per month will still result in an animal which has an abdomen which is wider than the cephlothorax (2-3 crickets per feeding).
I am not sure that many of the Grammostola, Aphonopelma, or Brachypelma "need" to molt more than once a year to maintain health at all. Furthermore there are anecdotal reports in the hobby of some animals SHRINKING after a molt if "underfed".
The point is, I believe most tarantulas can deal quite easily with "underfeeding", except the arboreals and possibly Theraphosa. But the accepted theories about higher caloric intake hold true across all animalia.
I am not sure that many of the Grammostola, Aphonopelma, or Brachypelma "need" to molt more than once a year to maintain health at all. Furthermore there are anecdotal reports in the hobby of some animals SHRINKING after a molt if "underfed".
The point is, I believe most tarantulas can deal quite easily with "underfeeding", except the arboreals and possibly Theraphosa. But the accepted theories about higher caloric intake hold true across all animalia.
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almost three years old
i lost that batch so i am making some out of albopilosum again. had a heater accident and lost 20 of the 30 i started with, though
Much better power feed. I feed my T's sling 1.5-3cm. everyday I feed B. Lateralis same size on his butt, 1 in the morning and 1 in the everning. on 3-4 days you're Ts refuse to eat and see his on premolt. The end of the week/1st-2nd day of the week. You're T's sling will Molt. Change Feeding schedule when you're T's is on 2.5"-4" inches.