You ever feel bad?

[Verneph]

For your feeder insects, I mean. I know it seems like a rather odd question, but I'm being serious here. I tend to like to stick up for the little guys, and insects and arachnids are some of those little guys. I swear I am the only member of my family that will make the effort to actually put a "bug" outside rather than just kill it outright. It's part of the reason I got into T's.

I know it's just part of nature and my T's have got to eat, but every time I go to feed a cricket to either one of my T's I always feel a twinge of guilt in my gut.

I actually had one cricket escape somehow and get out of my spider's enclosure (no clue how it pulled that off, but I called it the "Epic Cricket"). I decided to let that one go because, clearly, it deserved it.

I know it seems stupid, but has anyone else experienced this?

 

[skar]

Not really dude... I used to feel sorry for the rats I fed to my snake but I get
amped to feed my T's - Specially the A. brock .
I see crickets eat each other and anything so... guess I c them as entertainment !

 

[demonanjel117]

Unfortunately I havent had the chance to feel bad as the T I kind of ended up with doesn't eat. Least not since I got him. But I probably would feel bad after awhile since its one thing for an animal to catch prey in the wild and another for it to be given the prey.

 

[OphidianDelight]

I would have a lot to feel bad about if I cared about every insect, mouse and rat I've offered as food. So I don't!

 

[Alexandra V]

I don't feel bad, per se, because of the whole circle of life thing. I just do my best to give them a good life before I feed them off, and i know i did what I could. I'm also a believer in fate, and that everything happens for a reason, so i just kind of see it as that feeder being meant to go when I feed itoff.

 

[BQC123]

Nope. My feeders are very well cared for. They are not lacking anything, and have a pretty good life, much better than in the wild. They end up being eaten just like nature intended, just live a little better until then.

 

[thruthetrees]

I feel bad also... Especially when I have to cut the food up for slings :O Or, when the cricket/meal is twitching for the first hour of being eaten... I still get way too excited about feeding time though And, I guess I "justify" it a bit by making sure all the feeders are "happy" while being raised...

I'm glad you started this thread, I was wondering if anyone else felt bad too...

 

[madamoisele]

Yes, I do. Then again, their fate in nature is to be eaten also.

 

[vickywild]

Kinda, but look at it this way..if the crickets weren't being used as food your spiders wouldn't be eating...so it's either a dead cricket or a dead T.

I dunno how I'd handle feeding rodents to snakes though. Dead I'd manage but alive..eek.

 

[pavel]

Not really. I look at feeder crickets the way I do cows, pigs, chickens, etc. These are animals raised to be food. I do feed the crickets well, however, before they become a T's meal.

 

[webbedone]

Life of luxury with a quick and rather painless death in the end, if anything we should all hope to go out that way ourselves!

 

[compnerd7]

I swear I am the only member of my family that will make the effort to actually put a "bug" outside rather than just kill it outright. It's part of the reason I got into T's.

Same here. I will go out of my way to get a bug or spider outside. But, I've made my family understand there importance, so instead of killing them they just call me over hah..

I use to feel bad for crickets and mice especially mice. That was about 200,000 crickets ago and 200 mice later, I have no feelings for them, because of what a lot of ppl here have said, they live a life of luxury then come to a quick end. I do like my roaches, I think they're cool so I have a little bit more pity for them, but then again they are roaches haha so I feel nothing.

 

[arachnahoe]

I think you are over thinking things... do you feel bad biting into a hamburger too?

 

[compnerd7]

I think you are over thinking things... do you feel bad biting into a hamburger too?

I do. only when its not been cooked right or made out of tofu

 

[Verneph]

I think you are over thinking things... do you feel bad biting into a hamburger too?

Hm, not exactly. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't believe it's immoral to feed these creatures to T's. That's how the circle of life works. I guess it's just seeing the cricket helplessly trying to get away from my T's kind of bothers me, similarly to how if I actually saw the cow getting slaughtered prior to consuming my hamburger it would bother me.

But I do see your point. I don't consider it cruelty or anything.

 

[AmbushArachnids]

Didn't you know the roaches enjoy being eaten by beautiful tarantulas? :?

 

[Verneph]

Didn't you know the roaches enjoy being eaten by beautiful tarantulas? :?

Yes, I'm sure being slowly devoured is what every roach strives for.

 

[compnerd7]

Didn't you know the roaches enjoy being eaten by beautiful tarantulas? :?

I think it would be an honor to die for a T, they take their duty seriously:razz:

 

[akpropst]

No experience with feeding T's yet, but with my African Plated Lizard I don't feel bad at all. I take very good care of my Dubia and they live a pretty fat and happy life up to the end, which happens in roughly 2 seconds lol. With feeding her pinkies, i've only felt bad once when the pinkie wet itself in pure terror when she grabbed him and squeaked a bit. But, such is life, no sleep lost over it.

 

[AmbushArachnids]

They do. But seriously, I dont think they have the compacity in there brain to suffer. There are many more things to fuss over if you want to consider all the suffering in the world.

And lets say for the sake of arguement..

Once upon a time i had a 300 lb metal object fall 10 feet and smack me on the hand. The initial adrenaline made it more numb than anything. It didnt hurt very much until 20 mins later. The body and mind are a powerful tool to combat pain and stress. People break there arm and it looks really painful but most the time people only feel half of what you imagine. Just saying.