tarantula feeding problem

19killer44 · Oct 25, 2014

so ive had my t for about 2 weeks now and i have had trouble feeding her, she hides in her borrow and has webbed the front of it shut so i cant offer it to her directly, and when i put a cricket into the tank so she can eat it when she wants the crickets just crawl into cracks in the wood pieces i have in the tank. any suggestions of what i can do?

oh and she only ever comes out at night while im asleep so that's also another problem :/

EulersK · Oct 26, 2014

Firstly, tarantulas are largely nocturnal, so that's not a problem at all. It's just part of their behavior.

Secondly, a webbed-closed entrance to a burrow/hide is the universal sign for "leave me alone". It's likely molting, in which case you should stop offering crickets until you eventually see that the webbing on the entrance has been removed. A stray cricket can kill a molting tarantula.

Moving on, 2 weeks without food is nothing for a tarantula. In fact, depending on the size (what's the species and size?), one cricket per week is enough. But again, this somewhat depends on what size you have.

You won't always get to watch a tarantula eat. It's fun, we all know it, but some of them just seem to be shy. I haven't seen my P. irminia eat in weeks, but I still notice a distinct lack of cricket the next morning!

19killer44 · Oct 26, 2014

she molted fairly recently ( before i bought her so shes not molting) but my main problem is when ever i put a cricket into the tank it ends up hiding in wood so she cant get to it i also need to have her ID ed because where i got her from completely gave me wrong information ( she is my first t) shes an Australian species because you can only buy Australian spiders in Australia this is an old photo of her because the tank is completely different now. i just dont know how to go about feeding xD which is my main problem

Poec54 · Oct 26, 2014

Talk to Jigalojey, he's an Aussie on the boards.

EulersK · Oct 26, 2014

At the end of the day, you still don't know if it's molting or not. By your own admission, they gave you wrong information, which tells me they don't know what they're doing. You should write off essentially everything they said, by the sounds of it. I've only met one local pet shop that can actually speak with intellect regarding tarantulas.

I know you said that this is an old enclosure, but if your new one is that crowded, that's your problem with the crickets. With tarantulas, generally, more is less. For a terrestrial species like that, a hide and a water dish would suffice. I love decorating my enclosures as well, but there's a fine line to walk - functionality must always come first. In fact, one of the main reasons I don't heavily decorate my enclosures is because crickets/roaches enjoy hiding. Also, you don't really have a "problem" with feeding. You just want to watch, but unfortunately your first T isn't having any of that! Again, if the spider retreats to its hide and webs the entrance(s) closed, then leave it alone. It'll come out eventually, slightly bigger and with a ferocious appetite.

Follow what Poec54 said. All I can tell you about that T is that it's terrestrial.

SuzukiSwift · Oct 26, 2014

I recognize this enclosure and we told you you need to raise the substrate height because it's not safe for your T. Dont do it yet because the fact your T is hiding and refusing food could be an indicator of pre-moult, wait and see what happens for now, make sure the water bowl is always full

19killer44 · Oct 27, 2014

i already raised the height thoes are old photos from before i raised it thats why i said they were old photos

Tongue Flicker · Oct 27, 2014

Get a shallow dish with sloping sides. Get a couple of crickets, remove the hind legs, cut the other leg tips with scissors. This way they will be running around the dish with no avail since they wont be able to get out. Besides, it's only been 2 weeks. I've been on vacation for 4 months and my tarantulas hasn't eaten til i got back and they were all alive. 4 even molted again. I think they even loved it when i was away sice there's no one to stress them with me taking photos all the time lol

katluc · Oct 27, 2014

Maybe try putting the cricket on the webbing. I do this sometimes for my B.Vagans. It means the cricket can't do a runner and the T will certainly nab it if it's hungry. If it's still untouched later then it can be removed easily but more often than not, it gets eaten.

---------- Post added 10-27-2014 at 08:48 PM ----------

Of course, only do as I suggested above if you're sure it's not in pre molt

:

19killer44 · Oct 28, 2014

nah shes not pre molt i woke up last night around 1 am when she was out to check on her she isnt pre molt i threw a cricket in there and she ate

( im not the type to care if i see her eat or not i just wanna make sure she is eating haha im an over protective parent ) and for thoes who were wondering i did add a lot more substrate to the tank so she has no risk of being hurt if she falls from the sides thanks everyone for helping btw

although she took the cricket down into her borrow and its pretty deep and i dont wanna wreck what she has built any ideas on what i should do guys?

EulersK · Oct 28, 2014

I guess I don't understand your concern in the question... I guess you're concerned about cleaning up the bolus? The tarantula will take it out of the hide on their own accord, you'll likely find it in a corner somewhere. If it's anything like my rosie, it'll poop and put trash in the same corner.

19killer44 · Oct 28, 2014

well i was worried about crickets hiding in wood but people told me to take it out so i did then she ended up eating so i just asked what do i do when she takes her food down into her borrow

, so i should just wait for her to throw it out?

EulersK · Oct 28, 2014

Yeah, there's nothing really to do until then. Tarantulas have extremely few requirements relative to other pets, this is why I have them in the first place. I do maintenance about once per week, and with ten setups total, it only takes me half an hour at most. Rule #1 of this hobby - stop stressing, let the spider be a spider. They've been doing this for millions of years, they pretty much have it down.

19killer44 · Oct 29, 2014

alright thanks man haha i spray the tank once a week and usually just leave it be unless if feeding, two last questions tho my tank seems to have a lot of air holes which can affect humidity in the tank so i seal some of them up to keep it humid or leave it be?, and the fake plants i have in the tank look kinda tacky reckon it would be fine to take them out or would the t like to have them in there lol ( i highly dpubt it would care but the tank would be really blame without it)

EulersK · Oct 29, 2014

No need for humidity - this varies from species to species, but in a spider that large (especially from Australia), you don't need to worry. Provide a water dish, and that will do for humidity. On my arid species, I overfill the water dish every other week or so, sometimes less. Beyond that, misting may not be needed at all. Again, this depends on the species, but I'm willing to bet that your tarantula is an arid species based on what you've said.

As for the plants, ditch them. For all of my terrestrial species, I offer a hide, a water dish, and a slab/stick of wood (they seem to be gravitated to the wood, they rest on it a lot rather than the substrate). Nothing fancy, but the spider couldn't care less. They don't really care about anything, so long as you offer food and water.

I very, very much recommend that you read The Tarantula Keeper's Guide by Stan Schultz. It's a fun read, and it'll tell you everything you need to know. I got mine for $5, brand new, on Amazon.

19killer44 · Oct 29, 2014

haha ok thanks man she is my first t so im just trying to make sure i give her everything she needs lol

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