Among the many controversies concerning tarantulas, the ethics of feeding is one that many of us get extremely passionate about – whether it involves pinky mice or other bugs. One of the most controversial practices, however, is the practice of feeding tarantulas to other tarantulas.

This may be the first time you’re hearing about this, but this is actually not uncommon. Many tarantula keepers will try to make use of their sick or injured tarantulas by feeding them to their healthy ones as a way of recycling and sustaining their collection. Brutal, perhaps, but widely practiced especially by those who have extensive collections.

Now, we can argue that tarantulas will attack or eat each other in the wild or even in captivity if given the opportunity (such as when mating or when there is a mishap in communal setups). However, to think that some tarantula owners will do this intentionally can be bothersome to many.

I personally doubt that I could ever do this due to my attachment to my tarantulas, however many can and do. So while it might be down to personal choice and how squeamish some of us may be, perhaps it’s more useful to think about the objective pros and cons of doing this.

Pros

Well, you’d be sustaining your collection and giving your tarantula’s life greater purpose if you don’t think they can be saved. To some, this may even be more ethical than euthanizing a tarantula since it’s possible that being cannibalized could be less painful than letting the tarantula die naturally or trying some form of euthanization. We have better limited studies on this and how tarantulas register pain (if they do), so this is just speculation.

Cons

There are risks, of course. Just like if there were a sick feeder, there is a risk that your tarantula who is not doing very well could harm your healthy tarantula if you feed it to them. Now, not much is known about how parasites or illnesses transfer from spider to spider, however there have been cases where one spider has gotten ill in a collection and then a few others experienced the same symptoms just by being in the same proximity. I think it’s reasonable to think this could happen through cannibalism as well.

What do you think about the practice of feeding tarantulas to other tarantulas? Could you do this?