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I feed my T blondi wild caught ones and she would eat them like mad alive just make sure that its not to big start small then move up just dont go to big
Snake as a feeder for T
- Thread starter NevularScorpion
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I just found a good article that proves that snakes are part of a T blondi diet. here is the link http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=81845
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Ok. That doesn't prove it. That's just what another member of Arachnoboards said (no offense to the author of that post). Unless there were references or links I missed, it's not proof.
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ok i ask the author of the article if he has some references and this is what he said "You can find evidence everywhere. I have also seen it on National Geographic and Animal Planet where T. blondi and L. parahybana have eaten snakes in the wild. The general rule of thumb is that these tarantulas will take on anything they can over power. Here is a link:
http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Nic...C12836877.jpeg
This is a pic of a T. blondi eating a sizable snake. Just go onto Google and type "tarantula eating snake" in the search box. There is tons of evidence. By the way, I have fed my T. blondi a few snakes as well."
he even gave me some cool site to prove that big Ts in the wild eat snakes
here is a video on youtube a tarantula eating a snake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boZebIFn0P0&feature=related
This may be worth a read (even though it's to do with frogs rather than lizards): http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=177690
The spider in question in that thread (a 7" adult female Poecilotheria formosa) is still going strong today, after one-and-a-half years on this frog diet, and had her fortnightly frog meal just yesterday. My other Asian arboreals, such as my Lampropelma, Cyriopagopus and Heteroscodra adult females, all get frogs as a regular part of their diet, along with crickets and superworms (Zophobas morio); and are all still doing well. I'm not trying to say this actually proves anything, but I thought I would share.
A lot of people here on AB go on and on about vertebrates and calcium consumption in theraphosids, but most of them have never fed a vertebrate prey item to any of their spiders, and therefore have never had the chance to see that 99% of the time, the resulting bolus comprises only the undigested bones of the animal, be it mouse or frog. Therefore, very little or no calcium is actually consumed by the spider, because calcium deposits in vertebrates are mainly concentrated within the skeleton.
EDIT: Oops, wrong thread...
The spider in question in that thread (a 7" adult female Poecilotheria formosa) is still going strong today, after one-and-a-half years on this frog diet, and had her fortnightly frog meal just yesterday. My other Asian arboreals, such as my Lampropelma, Cyriopagopus and Heteroscodra adult females, all get frogs as a regular part of their diet, along with crickets and superworms (Zophobas morio); and are all still doing well. I'm not trying to say this actually proves anything, but I thought I would share.
A lot of people here on AB go on and on about vertebrates and calcium consumption in theraphosids, but most of them have never fed a vertebrate prey item to any of their spiders, and therefore have never had the chance to see that 99% of the time, the resulting bolus comprises only the undigested bones of the animal, be it mouse or frog. Therefore, very little or no calcium is actually consumed by the spider, because calcium deposits in vertebrates are mainly concentrated within the skeleton.
EDIT: Oops, wrong thread...
QuantumGears
Arachnopeon
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It seems to me that the OP is just feeding a snake to his or her T for the novelty value or some base need to see some sort of "battle" like they saw on the T.V.. Instead of investigating the possibility of pre-molt or some other factor being the reason its refusing food, they assume the tarantula "wants" something else. If you're not assuming this, then why do it? It seems unneccasary to me. Further the risk is far greater to the tarantula if the snake is alive or 'hurt badly so it can't fight'. :wall:
My two cents: stick with roaches and crickets. Your tarantula will eat when it is hungry.
My two cents: stick with roaches and crickets. Your tarantula will eat when it is hungry.
The jungle is absolutely crawling with small vertebrates. Snakes, lizards, birds, rodents galore. That these animals are caught and eaten by larger Theraphosids on a regular basis should not even be a debate. Hell I saw a pic on Rick Wests sight I think of a wild avic eating a bat. Tarantulas are obviously capable of dealing with the calcium contained within these prey items.
Captive diet however, and what is wise in this regard when parasites, pesticides, etc are considered is a separate conversation.
Captive diet however, and what is wise in this regard when parasites, pesticides, etc are considered is a separate conversation.
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ive seen the t. blondi eat fer de lance , on tv, its one of the worlds most deadly snakes also, i love to watch nature programs, you never know what youll see
I do fully believe that T's eat the occasional small vertebrate in the wild. But, I wouldn't always use nature shows as a credible source of info regarding what really happens in the wild. It's been said by at least one wildlife film-maker that many of these scenes are staged. I had already thought that certain parts of these shows were staged (particularly those with small animals).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...AR2010092105782.html?nav=rss_nation/special/8
I doubt that it would put a lot of people off of watching nature programs though. I still like to watch them whenever I have the time :razz:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...AR2010092105782.html?nav=rss_nation/special/8
I doubt that it would put a lot of people off of watching nature programs though. I still like to watch them whenever I have the time :razz:
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Holy, do people read the whole thread or do they just get angry at the first couple of words and start typing? I have seen in here that the OP has no interest in watching his T have a battle, that he cares about the safety of his T, that he genuinely wanted to know people's opinions and research on here BEFORE he did it, that he didn't plan on overfeeding ANY one prey item (including vertebrates) to his T, that he was interested in the nutrition, not the novelty and that he was going to check with his friend who breeds snakes for one that was weak or didn't make it.
There is still so much that is not known about Tarantulas that keepers should ask honest questions now and then, and not just parrot unconfirmed ideas that they have heard. Cacoseraph, I especially appreciated what you had to say on this thread. The poster that had the info about frogs had some good personal experience to share too. Cool guys!
Oh, and somebody (PhillK I think?) said way back that Tarantula venom isn't meant for vertebrates so vertebrates would suffer more than an insect if fed. As much as I personally wouldn't feed a live vertebrate to my Ts (except for maybe a pinkie), this actually isn't true. In fact small mammals are VERY susceptable to tarantula venom. That is why we can't test T bites on mice and rats to discover their effects on humans. They react much more than we would. This can be found in tarantula books, including the Tarantula Keeper's Guide. I don't know about snakes or other reptiles, but to say that T venom is effective only on insects and not verts is simply not true.
There is still so much that is not known about Tarantulas that keepers should ask honest questions now and then, and not just parrot unconfirmed ideas that they have heard. Cacoseraph, I especially appreciated what you had to say on this thread. The poster that had the info about frogs had some good personal experience to share too. Cool guys!
Oh, and somebody (PhillK I think?) said way back that Tarantula venom isn't meant for vertebrates so vertebrates would suffer more than an insect if fed. As much as I personally wouldn't feed a live vertebrate to my Ts (except for maybe a pinkie), this actually isn't true. In fact small mammals are VERY susceptable to tarantula venom. That is why we can't test T bites on mice and rats to discover their effects on humans. They react much more than we would. This can be found in tarantula books, including the Tarantula Keeper's Guide. I don't know about snakes or other reptiles, but to say that T venom is effective only on insects and not verts is simply not true.
Wachusaynoob
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According to the TKG (not sure the page) T.Blondi's have been known to eat small lizards, toads ETC. in the wild. Meaning, It's part of their diet. Not necissary, but if said T was in the wild thats what it would be coming across..THEY ARE SWAMP DWELLERS. (according to the tkg of course)
I do NOT think it will harm your T if you feed it something out of the ordinary, just dont go out buying a Poisonous Feeder for it. I'd stick with the snake in all honesty.
I do NOT think it will harm your T if you feed it something out of the ordinary, just dont go out buying a Poisonous Feeder for it. I'd stick with the snake in all honesty.
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T Blondi prey
I realize that crickets all the time seem trivial to a spider as large as T Blondi. As already suggested, roaches seem to be the best alternative. Sure, an occassional snake, lizard, or frog are also do-able, but a mouse or pinkie rat or crawler would seem to me to be a better and much cheaper alternative; if you insist on occasionally feeding your blondi more substantial prey.
I realize that crickets all the time seem trivial to a spider as large as T Blondi. As already suggested, roaches seem to be the best alternative. Sure, an occassional snake, lizard, or frog are also do-able, but a mouse or pinkie rat or crawler would seem to me to be a better and much cheaper alternative; if you insist on occasionally feeding your blondi more substantial prey.
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LOL this is so funny... do you guys know that this thread is 3 years old. anyways I don't feed snakes on my Ts, I was just trying to do research pertaining this topic 3 years ago because I was really curious what T blondi's natural diet in the wild.
You might notice that the person who bumped it did so because he'd dug up some new, relevant food for discussion on the topic of the diet of wild T. blondi and put it in the wrong thread, not because he cared whether you ended up wasting $20 to watch a garter snake die a slow, painful death.
DoucheBgalo
Arachnopeon
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Haha I saw that as well. It was pretty neat, especially when they showed how the snakes hunt their prey and stuff. Yep. It was interesting. That is all.