Are Avocado leaves poisonous to Tarantulas?

[poodude289]

Bought some dried-looking Avocado Leaves from Petland, are these okay to use or are they toxic to the Tarantula?

 

[Ratmosphere]

Never used these, I only use oak for my tarantulas.

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

I'm going to stretch some logic here because I seriously doubt there's any good data on this but . . . .

Avocado is one of the plant species that produce natural latex compounds in its leaves. Humans make things tires and gaskets out of the stuff. The plants use it as a defense mechanism against insects. In a live plant the latex is both sticky and toxic . . . so there's that.

I also know that my colleagues working in aquatic biology will not use latex gloves because latex particles have been shown to affect things like tadpole development. Aquatic systems are far more sensitive to toxins than terrestrial ones, though, so most researchers don't worry about it . . . but there's still that as well.

What does this mean for dead, dried-out avocado leaves versus a T? I have no idea. I personally doubt there's any real threat from them but maybe it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[poodude289]

I'm going to stretch some logic here because I seriously doubt there's any good data on this but . . . .

Avocado is one of the plant species that produce natural latex compounds in its leaves. Humans make things tires and gaskets out of the stuff. The plants use it as a defense mechanism against insects. In a live plant the latex is both sticky and toxic . . . so there's that.

I also know that my colleagues working in aquatic biology will not use latex gloves because latex particles have been shown to affect things like tadpole development. Aquatic systems are far more sensitive to toxins than terrestrial ones, though, so most researchers don't worry about it . . . but there's still that as well.

What does this mean for dead, dried-out avocado leaves versus a T? I have no idea. I personally doubt there's any real threat from them but maybe it's better to be safe than sorry.

I'll probably just refund them then

 

[m0lsx]

Avocado leaves are poisonous to some animals. I do not know about Taratulas specifically. But the leaves contain something called persin, which is a fungicidal & that makes it toxic to some animals. And it is not just the leaves either. The whole plant is concidered to be toxic to dogs, cats, rabbits, fish & horses. Even goats who can & will eat almost anything, cannot eat avocado. So personally, I find it amazing that a pet store would choose to sell them.