Wild Caught Prey Items

[Mychajlo]

So I have seen things about occasionally if need be catching crickets and other prey items from your back yard, I was wondering how dangerous this can be for your Ts health. I have only done this once and it is simply because my T. Stirmi for some unknown reason to me has stopped eating the roaches I throw in her enclosure, I found a huge fat black cricket outside while I was smoking on my porch and decided to catch it and see if she would eat that, which she did, so if you have any experience, information or stories about feeding wild caught prey to Ts, please let me know. Thanks!
-Mychajlo

 

[lostbrane]

I have not done wild caught myself. I know that some people out in the boonies occasionally do, but only because the risk of contamination, etc. is minimal. That being said, you have no idea what that cricket got into, what it might be carrying, etc. So, for many (myself included), it is an unnecessary risk to your tarantula. I don't know about local availability for different types of feeders for you, but there are plenty of people/sites that sell many a different type online, if that is something you would like to pursue.

 

[WildSpider]

So I have seen things about occasionally if need be catching crickets and other prey items from your back yard, I was wondering how dangerous this can be for your Ts health. I have only done this once and it is simply because my T. Stirmi for some unknown reason to me has stopped eating the roaches I throw in her enclosure, I found a huge fat black cricket outside while I was smoking on my porch and decided to catch it and see if she would eat that, which she did, so if you have any experience, information or stories about feeding wild caught prey to Ts, please let me know. Thanks!
-Mychajlo

I occasionally feed my T moths. I catch them in our yard though which isn't sprayed. She enjoys catching something a little different. Since they're wild caught (WC) too, those prey items have had a chance to have a more varied diet which all goes to her now .

I have avoided certain WC prey items if I believe they have been to other places where pesticides might be. An example of one I avoid is grasshoppers (which are actually the same thing as a locust but they aren't gregarious) from my town because they fly all over town.

I have lately been raising some WC grasshoppers from another city (where I don't believe the field is sprayed) that were too immature to even fly when first caught. I am just waiting for them to mature now and am hoping that I can start another generation of them. I don't intend to feed the current generation to my T (I do for my WC spiders though), but I do plan on feeding the next generation to it. My expectation is that it should work out since that generation will never have been exposed to pesticides. One reason I am raising these is because I have a hard time keeping crickets alive for very long at my house (too cold I think). So far these grasshoppers have lived with me for a few weeks with no problem. Have had many molts and some might even be mature now.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

Not worth the risk IMO. I won't even use feeders that fall on the floor.

 

[miamc12321]

Not worth the risk IMO. I won't even use feeders that fall on the floor.

I agree. I'm too paranoid. I live in an apartment complex and I know they spray too often for me to risk it.

 

[BoyFromLA]

Not worth the risk IMO. I won't even use feeders that fall on the floor.

But, but what about the three seconds rule?!

 

[Mychajlo]

Thank you for the advice, I don’t plan on feeding any of my Ts like this on a regular basis, I was just currently out of crickets and only had roaches to offer so I had to think on my feet on what I could do before going to the store to get more crickets, thanks again guys!

 

[Mirandarachnid]

Thank you for the advice, I don’t plan on feeding any of my Ts like this on a regular basis, I was just currently out of crickets and only had roaches to offer so I had to think on my feet on what I could do before going to the store to get more crickets, thanks again guys!

I was flipping through an out-dated T book that says you can roll up some wet dog food into a ball, put it on the end of a string, and dangle it in front of the T when live food isn't available

So. Y'know. There's that.

(The author also said "When purchasing a tarantula that you intend to enter into a contest, try to avoid specimens with a bald spot on the abdomen as that is an indication that the tarantula is approaching old age.")

 

[Greasylake]

When purchasing a tarantula that you intend to enter into a contest

This implies that there are tarantula beauty contests, and I'm going to need someone to do some research on this.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

We live in a too much seriously messed up world, therefore, to offer a WC prey to an invert is always asking for troubles. Heck, even if said invert is WC him/herself!

For instance, I have reasons to believe that, the classic roaches I can find at night time on my garden, wouldn't harm at all my 0.1 S.subspinipes (pure Vietnam WC). And I know this, since one of her 'brats' that went full 'MIA' basically eat those
Still, I wouldn't.

There's never a reason for risk, besides, feeders are cheap as hell plus arachnids (and 'pedes, for that matter) doesn't need to eat necessarily everyday, like cats and dogs, as we know

 

[aphono]

There are threads on here about tarantulas dying from wild caught prey. Caught something, fed to tarantula, "DKS" within a few days. There's one thread on this recently but can't find it.

I wouldn't be selective about the wild prey species either. Insects are capable of covering amazing distances, both daily or seasonally. More and more species are found to have seasonal migration patterns of some sort. Example: recently a generation of painted lady butterflies were found to migrate from northern parts of UK, Europe all the way down to Africa. Then each generation goes on a northward pattern. Imagine the distances they cover- and what they could have been exposed to. Also some/many moths take on a nightly pattern of flying straight up way high & in numbers they can be detected on radar. Same for the bats that follow them. They ain't flying back down in the same super localized area...

Too bad as the Aphonopelmas get incredibly excited about moths, more than anything else it seems. But I am definitely sticking to waxworm moths as special treats for them.

 

[viper69]

Could have pesticides.

Also, there's something about this idea that no one has really mentioned. People are feeding animals from far away places prey items that are not found locally. While I have not heard of any issues yet, giving a prey item that the T has not evolved with may be dangerous to its health. Some prey items contain all sorts of toxins to protect themselves from being eaten. Animals that did not evolve w/such prey items MAY be susceptible to such a defensive mechanism. I see this as rare, but still possible.

 

[WildSpider]

Also some/many moths take on a nightly pattern of flying straight up way high & in numbers they can be detected on radar.

My fault on this one. I should have mentioned that these moths grew up and live in a building we own. As far as I can tell, they spend there whole lives there (they live off the grains and other animal foods I store in there). Pretty cool fact btw.

 

[bulbophyllum]

I have fed poison dart frogs almost exclusively on wild collected prey 7 or 8 months out of the year for many years and I have never had an issue that I can attribute to this practice. I know they are not tarantulas. I also do not hesitate to feed my tarantulas sensibly collected wild insects. I think the risk is a bit over blown if you are smart about what you are doing. Flying insects can cover large areas. They can be a higher risk. If you live on an acre or 2 and don't spray how is that cricket you found under a flower pot or the cut worm you pulled off a plant in your garden ever going to been exposed to pesticides? These animals don't roam far.

Crickets may be cheap and all that. But, truly how risky are wild insects if you think about what you are doing?

 

[spookyvibes]

If you live on an acre or 2 and don't spray how is that cricket you found under a flower pot or the cut worm you pulled off a plant in your garden ever going to been exposed to pesticides?

Because my acre or two is surrounded by cornfields.

Also, a cricket can easily travel to your neighbors house/yard.... How can you be so sure that they aren’t using any sort of pesticides? Just because you don’t use pesticides doesn’t mean the people around you don’t use pesticides either.

Also, why take the risk when feeders are so cheap?

 

[FrDoc]

Not worth the risk IMO. I won't even use feeders that fall on the floor.

Not even the five second rule?

 

[Venom1080]

I do here and there. Kept my first on exclusively WC feeders.

 

[bulbophyllum]

Because my acre or two is surrounded by cornfields.

Also, a cricket can easily travel to your neighbors house/yard.... How can you be so sure that they aren’t using any sort of pesticides? Just because you don’t use pesticides doesn’t mean the people around you don’t use pesticides either.

Also, why take the risk when feeders are so cheap?

Your property is surrounded by cornfields. I would not think it a good idea to collect any insects from your property to feed your T's. Even if insects did not migrate from the corn to your property wind drift of sprayed pesticides is an issue. I still do not think one can't collect wild prey to feed tarantulas using a little common sense. How far do crickets roam? I'm going to say not far if they want to stay alive. Not hundreds of yards.

 

[Pernicious]

My job brings me to remote locations all the time. I have often fancied carrying a empty match box to catch a scrumptious meal for one of my ts. after reading this i think im gonna stick to non flying bugs 100 miles from any house! Like grubs n Beatles!

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

This implies that there are tarantula beauty contests, and I'm going to need someone to do some research on this.

The British Tarantula Society does something similar to tarantula beauty contests at one of their yearly events. It's something akin to a dog show but with tarantulas.