Today I want to discuss something that is considered dangerous for tarantulas: pinky mice.

As a new tarantula owner who wants to raise a strong, healthy spider and is furiously googling the best way to care for their pets, it’s easy to become misguided by the many different opinions out there.

If you go to a local pet store, some employees may actually insist that pinky mice are fine for your tarantulas. Of course, I’d caution you to be very careful anytime you step into a pet store that doesn’t specialize in exotic pets, because they often have no idea how to care for tarantulas. But even a quick google search could lead you to tons of YouTube videos and forums about feeding your tarantula pinky mice and it’s very easy to get swept up in it and believe that it’s okay.

One of the most important things as a tarantula owner is to make sure that you are giving your tarantula a well-rounded diet so they can grow up strong and live a long, healthy life and maybe even mate and reproduce. This is why some tarantula owners talk so much about their feeders, keeping a nice rotation in their tarantula’s diet of crickets, roaches, and the occasional fatty treat like a superworm. This is also why many tarantula owners gut load their feeders with an assortment of fruits and vegetables, hoping to pass on the best mix of nutrients to their tarantulas when they eat. But unfortunately, the news isn’t as good when pinky mice are concerned.

Now, tarantulas WILL eat pinky mice – even when they’re frozen. But just because a tarantula will eat something doesn’t mean they should – after all, they are opportunistic creatures in the wild and won’t differentiate. Plus, a mouse will be rare in their diet and they have bigger problems (like not being eaten) to worry about. But when they are under YOUR care, it’s your job to make sure that pinky mice are not a big part of their diet. In fact, I strongly believe you should never give your tarantula  mice – not even as a treat – because why risk it? However, a very occasional treat probably won’t be devastating to a tarantula’s health.

So why are pink mice bad for tarantulas?

This is incredibly controversial. The number one reason that is still popular opinion is because tarantulas cannot metabolize and digest the calcium in a mouse’s bones correctly. Due to this, it has been reported that tarantulas who are fed pinky mice are at a heightened risk for very serious molting problems, which could be fatal. Here’s bit of info on this:

High calcium is not good for tarantulas. Calcium rich diets are actually linked to molting problems, which can be fatal. This is particularly true for the larger tarantula species such as the Theraphosa blondi (Goliath Birdeater), Theraphosa stirmi (Burgundy Goliath Birdeater), and Lasidora parahybana (Brazilian Salmon-Pink Birdeater), because they grow to sizes that make them large enough to easily take down mice, but they have their own intrinsic molting problems normally.

This has more recently been thought of as a myth, but there are still many other arguments not to feed a tarantula pinky mice.

Pinky mice could lead to broken tarantula fangs

While there is a debate in the tarantula community about whether or not pinky mice actually pose a nutritional/molting problem for tarantulas (I do not believe this has ever been professionally studied), there is DEFINITELY a real mechanical risk. While your tarantula has no problem crunching down on bugs, the bones of a rodent may actually cause damage to your tarantula’s fangs. This is something that should definitely discourage a tarantula owner from feeding their spider pinky mice, as fang injuries can cause severe issues for the spider.

Rotting food and unsanitary conditions

Another argument against pinky mice is that your tarantula cannot consume it quickly enough. More likely than not, you may be left with a half-eaten pinky mouse that will be rotting and collecting bacteria in your tarantula’s tank – not to mention, stinking up your whole house!

No nutritional benefits

Ethics and animal cruelty arguments aside, there is not much that a mouse can provide for a tarantula that an insect could not. In fact, many people say that mice may actually be too high in fat to be considered a good feeding item. Many tarantula owners feel that because there is really no gain, they would rather just stick to bugs. This is a discussion we are still having and due to the lack of real, solid and scientific observation and studies, it is a debate we will continue to have for many more years. In the meantime, we must make the best decisions for our pets.

P.S. You should NEVER feed full grown live mice to your tarantulas. This is incredibly dangerous not only for nutritional reasons, but mice can be very strong and attack your tarantula. Please never put your tarantula in this position!

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

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Featured image via screen capture