Tarantulas are carnivorous and tend to eat a bunch of stuff in the wild. This range from smaller animals like insects to bigger ones like birds. Tarantulas are generally not picky eaters and can consume a wide range of prey as long as they are able to overpower and kill them with ease. This is why the size of their meals can vary greatly. As such, one might wonder if captive tarantulas can eat mice too. Especially since most captive feeder mice that are put on sale are quite smaller than some tarantulas. But is it safe for tarantulas to eat mice? One might wonder, since mice have teeth and claws they can use to defend themselves. Let’s go ahead and find out.
What Are Mice?
Mice are one of the most populous mammals in the world due to their natural ability to survive in most living conditions. They come in a variety of colors though most are usually brown. Mice can be distinguished from rats by their size, as they are typically smaller and lighter than an average rat.
Mice are a common choice for pets, especially in America. They are perfect companions because they can be playful, loving, and emotional.
However, they are more widely regarded as vermin due to their tendency to consume almost anything they encounter, whether in households or farms. They are also parasites and disease carriers and can transfer illness through their poop, urine, and body.
Mice are regarded as food in numerous countries and are also a staple diet for animals like snakes, lizards, and much more.
Nutritional Composition Of Mice
| Name | Pinkie Mouse Quantity |
| Energy | 5.39 kilocalories |
| Protein | 64.2% |
| Fat | 17% |
| Ash | 9.7% |
| Calcium | 1.17% |
| Magnesium | 0.11% |
| Copper | 19.2 milligrams |
| Iron | 181.3 milligrams |
| Zinc | 82.5 milligrams |
| Manganese | 0.2 milligrams |
Can Tarantulas Eat Mice?
Tarantulas in the wild are not exactly picky when it comes to their meals. They are opportunistic predators with no qualms about killing and subjugating any prey in the wild. Therefore, they tend to kill and eat various animals, from little bugs they come across on the ground to the birds they snatch from the top of trees. As such, tarantulas eat mice and other small rodents in the wild whenever they get the opportunity to. So you’re free to feed some mice to your tarantulas if you want to.
The majority of tarantula owners feed their tarantulas a bunch of feeders, which usually include mice. Nevertheless, some tarantula owners opt against feeding their tarantula live mice, preferring instead to use store-bought pinkie mice or alternative feeders. Unlike most other feeders that are usually alive when you buy them, you can easily get some dead pinkie mice to feed to your tarantula.
Mice are nutritious and supply tarantulas with a buck load of nutrients. However, tarantulas don’t necessarily need to eat mice to stay healthy. In the wild, prey like mice, frogs, toads, and birds are not staple foods for tarantulas. These types of prey are larger, hard to find, and sometimes harder to subdue compared to the common insects and worms tarantulas frequently eat. So naturally, tarantulas meal consists more of insects and worms. Consequently, nothing awful will happen to your tarantula if you decide not to feed them some mice at all. However, it is always beneficial to incorporate some variety into their diet.
You have the flexibility to offer your tarantula a diverse selection of feeders, such as crickets and mealworms, in place of mice if that is your preference. Just make sure that the feeder you choose is properly gut-loaded to provide your tarantula with a balanced and nutritious diet.
Health Benefits Of Mice For Tarantulas
Tarantulas can benefit from the high moisture content, protein, calcium, copper, lipids, and other nutrients found in mice. This makes mice an excellent addition to a tarantula’s diet. It’s worth noting that live mice contain more nutrients than dead mice. However, this isn’t exactly a problem if you feed your tarantula some dead, frozen mice. That’s because the freezing process preserves their body and nutrients, mitigating any potential nutritional deficits.
Health Risks Of Mice For Tarantulas
These are the health risks associated with feeding tarantulas a mouse.
Mice Can Hurt Tarantulas
Leaving a live mouse and a tarantula in an enclosure can be quite risky. Mice have sharp teeth and claws, so don’t think they won’t use them when tarantulas try to subjugate them. Due to this reason, it’s best to feed tarantulas dead mice rather than live ones.
It’s important to also note that not all tarantulas are capable of consuming mice since only larger and more aggressive tarantulas can safely eat them. Nevertheless, a mouse can always injure or kill a tarantula, irrespective of the tarantula’s size. Fortunately, acquiring dead mice is both affordable and uncomplicated. Mice are one of the most abundant creatures on the planet and are commonly used as feed for a wide range of pets, such as snakes and bearded dragons. As a result, pet stores usually have them on sale.
Dead Mice Smell Really Awful
Tarantulas need to suck out the juices from their prey since they can neither chew their food nor swallow it. This method of feeding usually causes the mouse’s guts to spill out, resulting in an unpleasant odor.
You Need To Clean Up After
It’s essential to clean up after a tarantula finishes eating, regardless of the food they eat. Decomposing animals in your tarantula’s enclosure can attract harmful parasites, bacteria, and fungi that can negatively impact your tarantula’s health.
However, cleaning up after your tarantula finishes eating up a mouse is entirely different when compared to a small feeder insect. You will need to remove the mouse’s carcass and wipe off the blood in your tarantula’s enclosure. You might even need to clean the cage completely if the mess is substantial. This process takes more time and effort compared to removing a feeder insect’s remains from a tarantula’s enclosure.
Mice Are Disease Carriers
Mice can carry parasites that can infect both you and your tarantula, so be sure to have that in mind if you decide to feed your tarantula some mice. Mice spread infections and diseases to both animals and people via bites, excrement, mites, ticks, and a variety of other ways.
If you insist on feeding your tarantula some mice, be sure to handle them carefully and keep them in a safe, clean cage.
How To Pick The Best Mouse For Your Tarantula
It’s crucial to always obtain mice from a reliable breeder or pet store. Mice can carry various diseases, so it’s important to ensure that you’re feeding your tarantula a healthy and clean mouse.
How To Feed Mice To Tarantulas
Although it may not be as simple as tossing them a few earthworms, preparing and feeding tarantulas some mice is not overly complicated.
Ensure you follow the steps below to do it the right way.
Thaw The Mouse
Make sure you completely thaw the mouse if you decide to feed your tarantula a frozen mouse. Luckily, the thawing process is relatively simple and can be accomplished in a few different ways. You can either place the frozen mouse in a warm container or room to defrost slowly or follow the steps below to thaw it out quickly.
- Get a sealable plastic bag such as a zip lock bag.
- Place the mouse in the bag, and zip it up.
- Put the bag in a container filled with warm water. Ensure the water is warm and not hot, so the mouse doesn’t get cooked.
- Leave the bag in the container for 10-15 minutes until the mouse defrosts.
- Make sure the mouse is warm and not cold before feeding it to your tarantula.
Use A Pair Of Tongs Or Forceps
You must be extra careful when feeding your tarantula, especially if they are aggressive, venomous or fast. To avoid potential harm, it’s best to use a pair of tongs or forceps when feeding these types of tarantulas. To do this efficiently, use the tongs to hold the mouse and drop it directly in front of your tarantula, so they can quickly notice it.
You can also place the dead mouse in your tarantula’s food bowl if your tarantula is aggressive or often tries to escape from the enclosure. Just make sure you don’t place the mouse on the substrate in the enclosure, so the guts and blood of the mouse doesn’t spill on it and get it dirty.
Additionally, make sure you throw out the mouse if your tarantula doesn’t want to eat it. Don’t refreeze or restore a mouse you’ve already tried feeding your tarantula. Bacteria and other microorganisms that can negatively affect your tarantula can start growing on the mouse when you first get it thawed. So restoring the mouse and feeding them to your tarantula days later could be disastrous.
Clean The Enclosure Once Your Tarantula Is Done
Your tarantula is bound to make a mess when they eat the mouse, so be ready to clean the enclosure when they are done. You should remove any contaminated substrate if the carcass and blood of the mouse spill onto it. Make sure you also clean the enclosure’s sides if there’s blood on it too. You might need to clean the entire enclosure if your tarantula makes a large mess. Unfortunately, this usually happens if your tarantula’s enclosure is small or if the mouse is large.
How Often Can Tarantulas Eat Mice?
Just because you can feed your tarantula some mice don’t mean it should be the only food you feed them. You shouldn’t feed a tarantula only mice because their natural diet includes other feeder animals like crickets, mealworms, frogs, birds, roaches, and lizards.
Tarantulas usually eat insects more often than other animals, so ensure gut-loaded insects are the major feeders you feed your tarantula.
However, it’s best to constantly feed them a variety of food, so feel free to feed them a mouse every couple of weeks.
How To Store Mice
If you have purchased pinkie mice to feed your tarantula, it’s important to store them properly to maintain their freshness and quality. To do this, place the pinkie mice in a sealable plastic bag and store them in the freezer as soon as possible after purchasing them. This will help preserve them and ensure that they remain safe for your tarantula to eat later on.
Conclusion
Tarantulas eat a lot of mice in the wild, so feel free to add them to your tarantula’s diet list. However, it is important to note that a varied diet is optimal for tarantulas. So it is not recommended to feed them mice exclusively. Instead, consider feeding your tarantula a combination of crickets, worms, roaches, and mice as a special treat occasionally.
