Tarantula

Kerensa · Apr 30, 2015

What can I feed my red rose Tarantula if I don't have any crickets I'm scared I will starve my Tarantula if I don't feed him soon.

Blue Jaye · Apr 30, 2015

You an try mealworms , Dubia roaches , wax worms that you can get at your lips. Rosie's can go quite some time with out food . How long has it been since you last fed your T and how big is it . If it's an adult and the abdomen doesn't look skinny it should be fine.

lalberts9310 · Apr 30, 2015

Uhm, go to the pet store and buy feeders? You can feed it crickets, roaches, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, do you have a picture of the T? If it's plump (abdomen fat and bigger than the carapace) then you don't have to fret, they can go a long time without food if they are fat.. just make sure there's water available in forms of a water bowl, no sponges or gel...

EulersK · Apr 30, 2015

This is basically a repeat of what others have said, but to elaborate a bit - if your tarantula starves to death, you shouldn't have any pet of any kind. These animals can easily go months and months without eating, given they had a plump abdomen as others have said. They are a wildly efficient animal in terms of metabolism. My rosie has been denying food for going on four months now - turns out she was in premolt.

Most keepers feed once per week, often more for slings. In short, if the abdomen is plump, stop worrying so much. If it's skinny, feed it. Simple as that. A huge part of this hobby, something I think we all had to learn, was to stop worrying about every little thing. Tarantulas have been at this for millions of years - they don't need our help.

TypicalCricket · Apr 30, 2015

My baby B. smithi just ate yesterday after a 42 day fast. They can go quite a while without food and suffer no ill effect.
If I were you, I'd get a small assortment of feeder bugs from a local pet store. Mealworms and superworms make excellent feeders, and so do their adult beetle forms. Crickets are popular, available in a number of different sizes, and usually fairly cheap. Most places will offer a tub of 50 or 100, or sometimes less or more, which is often more than enough for anyone with a modest collection of Tarantulas.
If you're feeling ambitious and don't live close to somewhere you can readily buy feeders, then you could always try starting your own breeding colony. If you have only one Tarantula, then a colony will produce waaaay more than you'll ever need, but it's another option regardless.

cold blood · Apr 30, 2015

Kerensa said:
What can I feed my red rose Tarantula if I don't have any crickets I'm scared I will starve my Tarantula if I don't feed him soon.

Red rose....hmmmmm, I guess we can probably assume rosehair (G. rosea/porter (spell check won't let me add the i at the end of porter...how frustratingly stupid!!)

Post a pic plz.

These t's have about the lowest metabolism of all species, and in fact, the vast majority in captivity are over-fed. These t's are fasting MASTERS. Mine's personal record was over 13 months (others have documented 2 years or more!!), its absolutely nothing to worry about as long as your t is healthy. Starving one would require a ridiculous amount of time. One or two crickets a month are enough to make them fat.

My experiences are that they can be (at least mine is) very picky with their prey. Mine won't eat superworms, waxworms or mealworms, sometimes she shows interest, but in 15 years, she's never actually grabbed one. It also won't eat crickets if they are too small, only large for her. The one thing that she'll almost always take with enthusiasm is a moth. You can raise them with a few different species that are available. Waxworms are not that large, but big enough, and they are pretty easy to get to turn into moths. I clip a wing and hold it above her for a minute as its wings beat, she always shows signs of interest and catches it before it hits the substrate.

You can try waxies, mealies or supers, yours might take them just fine, many do....and mealies and supers last a crazy long time.
Do you not have a pet store anywhere in your vicinity?

Kerensa · Apr 30, 2015

It's been like maybe two weeks and I'm trying to make he molts right this time cause last time he wasn't on his back he came from the top.

---------- Post added 04-30-2015 at 06:15 PM ----------

Idk if mine is a female or a male so yea so I call it a male. And ya I have a pet store I just haven't had the money to go buy more crickets yet

BobGrill · Apr 30, 2015

Kerensa said:
It's been like maybe two weeks and I'm trying to make he molts right this time cause last time he wasn't on his back he came from the top.

---------- Post added 04-30-2015 at 06:15 PM ----------

Idk if mine is a female or a male so yea so I call it a male. And ya I have a pet store I just haven't had the money to go buy more crickets yet

It's a rose hair. They're not exactly known for being the best eaters.

Kerensa · Apr 30, 2015

Yea it's a rose hair and why is that? I got a pic of my spider so u can see what he or she looks like it's my profile pic

cold blood · Apr 30, 2015

Kerensa said:
Yea it's a rose hair and why is that? I got a pic of my spider so u can see what he or she looks like it's my profile pic

2 weeks should be your normal feeding schedule, its not even close to being in need of food, and its still a good 2 years+ of fasting away from any starvation issues...hehe....and for the record, if you can't afford a dime for a cricket, you're probably homeless....heck, go to the pet store and just look down, I find the occasional rouge cricket roaming around in most pet stores...but I'm betting it all that you do in fact have the extra dime.

With one rosehair in the house, one every 2 weeks is all you need....if the t never refused all year (and it will), you're looking at an annual feeding bill of less than $3.00.:wink:

There's nothing you can do to assure that it molts upside down, sometimes they just do that, its generally not an issue.

You're all good, just relax and don't worry about your little 8-legged friend.:smile:

assidreemz · May 1, 2015

Bro do you even search function??
...in getting de ja vu...

GG80 · May 1, 2015

+1 to all replies. Absolutely nothing to worry about. Mine has gone 2-3 months from time to time without eating and by all accounts that is a short time for this species.

tech · May 4, 2015

Blue Jaye said:
wax worms that you can get at your lips.

[emoji33]what!? Haha

---------- Post added 05-04-2015 at 02:21 PM ----------

assidreemz said:
Bro do you even search function??
...in getting de ja vu...

Bro do you speak proper english?? Haha

TheHonestPirate · May 4, 2015

Its hard to comprehend the fact that not all animals eat as often as us mammals. I remember when i got into reptiles i was completely shocked when i was told how long snakes can go without food. Its very strange.

Ellenantula · May 5, 2015

TheHonestPirate said:
Its hard to comprehend the fact that not all animals eat as often as us mammals. I remember when i got into reptiles i was completely shocked when i was told how long snakes can go without food. Its very strange.

Indeed. I love feeding my Ts, it's so hard for me to be patient and give them decent intervals between feedings. At least slings can be fed more often.
Such is life with Ts....

cold blood · May 5, 2015

Ellenantula said:
Indeed. I love feeding my Ts, it's so hard for me to be patient and give them decent intervals between feedings. At least slings can be fed more often.
Such is life with Ts....

Sounds like someone needs more spiders

BerleyQubed · May 5, 2015

I think everyone's right in the sense that Rosehairs tend to not eat for a very long time but when it does become time I don't think money should be a problem. crickets are extremely cheap. I buy 5 pinheads for 90 cents here. I'm not sure where you live and I usually wouldn't suggest it but I'd rather your T not starve to death, you can always try to catch things. I've had a few silverfish running around that I've caught.

BobGrill · May 5, 2015

Kerensa said:
Yea it's a rose hair and why is that? I got a pic of my spider so u can see what he or she looks like it's my profile pic

Rosehairs are notorious for randomly going on long fasts. These can last several months. I once had one refuse food for 10 months and then it suddenly started eating again. Its one of the reasons I'm not a fan of this species. I hate to seem rude, but a simple Google search on this species would have told you this.

Blueandbluer · May 5, 2015

BerleyQubed said:
I think everyone's right in the sense that Rosehairs tend to not eat for a very long time but when it does become time I don't think money should be a problem. crickets are extremely cheap. I buy 5 pinheads for 90 cents here. I'm not sure where you live and I usually wouldn't suggest it but I'd rather your T not starve to death, you can always try to catch things. I've had a few silverfish running around that I've caught.

Of course everyone can do as they choose but I personally would recommend against wild caught prey. People use so many pesticides on gardens, on lawns and in houses you don't know what that prey could have on it. Local insects are often resistant to pesticides that could be deadly to your spide.

And seriously, crickets are like 10c a piece. If you don't have 10c to spend, frankly, you probably shouldn't have a pet.

FireSpider · May 5, 2015

I would never, ever feed wild-caught insects to anything. They're probably covered in pesticides and weed killers. Your spider would be better off not eating for a little while.

Also, considering I can feed half a dozen large tarantulas for less than $5.00/month, I can't possibly imagine a circumstance where catching wild prey would be necessary. One thing I like about Ts as pets is that in a bad money month, I don't need to worry about the cost of feeding them.

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