Tarantula Feeding Guide: What, When, and How to Feed Your Tarantula

Tarantula Feeding Guide: What, When, and How to Feed Your Tarantula

Feeding a tarantula might seem simple, but knowing what to feed, how often, and what mistakes to avoid is crucial for your spider’s health. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced keeper, this guide will help you understand the best diet for your tarantula and ensure it gets the proper nutrition.

1. What Do Tarantulas Eat?

Tarantulas are carnivorous predators that rely on a diet of live insects. Their diet should be varied to ensure they get all necessary nutrients.

🦗 Best Food for Tarantulas:

✔ Crickets – High in protein, easy to digest.
✔ Dubia roaches – Nutritious and easy to breed.
✔ Mealworms & Superworms – Good for variety, but should be fed in moderation.
✔ Locusts & Grasshoppers – Great for larger tarantulas.

📌 Tip: Avoid feeding wild-caught insects, as they may carry parasites or pesticides that can harm your tarantula.

2. How Often Should You Feed Your Tarantula?

Feeding frequency depends on the age and size of your tarantula.

📌 General Feeding Schedule:
✔️ Spiderlings (slings) – Every 2-3 days (small prey, pre-killed if necessary).
✔️ Juveniles – Every 3-5 days.
✔️ Adults – Once every 7-14 days (larger prey items).

💡 Tip: Tarantulas can go weeks or even months without food, especially before molting. Never force-feed a tarantula that refuses to eat.

3. How to Feed a Tarantula Properly?

✔️ Step 1: Drop a live insect into the enclosure, close the lid, and observe.
✔️ Step 2: If the tarantula is hungry, it will strike and inject venom.
✔️ Step 3: If the tarantula ignores the food, remove it after 24 hours to prevent stress or injury.
✔️ Step 4: Once the meal is finished, remove any uneaten remains to prevent mold or mites.

4. Feeding During Molting – Important Warning!

🚨 DO NOT feed a tarantula before or after a molt! 🚨

Tarantulas stop eating days or weeks before molting, and their fangs remain soft for several days afterward.

📌 When to resume feeding after molting?
✔️ Slings: 3-5 days after molting.
✔️ Juveniles: 7-10 days after molting.
✔️ Adults: 10-14 days after molting.

5. Can Tarantulas Eat Vertebrates?

Some large species, like Theraphosa blondi (Goliath Birdeater), can eat small vertebrates like pinky mice, frogs, or lizards. However, these should be offered rarely as they contain excess calcium, which may cause molting issues.

❌ Avoid feeding:

• Mammals (too much calcium and fat).
• Hard-shelled insects like beetles (difficult to digest).
• Fish or raw meat (unnatural diet).

6. What If My Tarantula Stops Eating?

🔹 Pre-molt fasting – Tarantulas stop eating for weeks or months before molting.
🔹 Seasonal fasting – Some tarantulas eat less in colder months.
🔹 Stress or incorrect conditions – Check temperature, humidity, and enclosure size.
🔹 Too large prey – Try offering smaller insects.

📌 If a tarantula hasn’t eaten for months but remains active and hydrated, it is perfectly normal!

7. Best Practices for Feeding Tarantulas

✅ Always use live food (except for small slings that may need pre-killed prey).
✅ Remove uneaten food after 24 hours.
✅ Feed appropriate-sized prey – No larger than the tarantula’s abdomen.
✅ Observe after feeding – Ensure the tarantula eats and remove leftovers.

8. Where to Buy High-Quality Tarantula Food?

To keep your tarantula healthy, always buy high-quality, gut-loaded insects from trusted suppliers. At TarantulaShop, we offer:

✔ Live crickets, roaches, mealworms, and more.
✔ Nutrient-packed feeder insects for tarantulas.
✔ Fast delivery and expert feeding advice.

👉 Check out our tarantula food selection at TarantulaShop!