How much food Tarantulas eat?

[SergioCR]

Hello!
Some beginner questions here:

1. How much "food" an small tarantula (it's about 1") eat a week / month?
I found one at backyard but since i found it it has not eated anything but an small pillbug the first day and it has an small roach for two days and the roach is still alive... what do they eat? how often?

2. A little worried about light: do they like/dislike normal room light? i have it inside a plastic enclosure at my computer room but i turn lights on/off each time i'm using the computer, sometimes late at night sometimes dont... also this one wakes up about at 8pm and sleeps all day....

3. About enviroment, what should i use for enclosure? i have read that small spiderlings need small spaces? i'm using something like a food storage plastic container for it of about 6" long x 3" tall x 3" wide with bare ground and two small round shaped stones (like the place it was found at backyard) but it is almost always looking at the corners and going round and round inside at night... also it started to dig an small hole in the ground at one of the sides of the enclosure but the work seems "on hold" by now... anything i should know?

Sergio.

 

[hairymary]

appetite and light

Hi Sergio,

I'm a newbie also, so it's good to be able to pass what I've observed

I have an Australian T. Sometimes she will eat everything I give her and sometimes ( like now ) she leaves her meal until they cark it. It's frustrating really as I know the little blighter was laying eggs ( the cricket I mean).

As far as light goes, Mary comes out as soon as it gets dark. I also have my comp near her enclosure; sometimes she waits until I turn it off and sometimes not. However, whenever she's out and I turn the room light on she will stand stock still for ages. and then, I guess, as soon as she feels safe again, off she trots

 

[David Burns]

@ sergio - depending on how old, what species and what sex you have. It could require anything. Such as time to molt, time to aclimatize or time to find a mate. The thing with Ts is that you have to do your research and have patience. Find the species, whether it is male or female and then research from there. There are no pat answers. The very fact it is wild caught might mean it will not survive.

 

[SergioCR]

Hi Sergio,

I'm a newbie also, so it's good to be able to pass what I've observed

I have an Australian T. Sometimes she will eat everything I give her and sometimes ( like now ) she leaves her meal until they cark it. It's frustrating really as I know the little blighter was laying eggs ( the cricket I mean).

As far as light goes, Mary comes out as soon as it gets dark. I also have my comp near her enclosure; sometimes she waits until I turn it off and sometimes not. However, whenever she's out and I turn the room light on she will stand stock still for ages. and then, I guess, as soon as she feels safe again, off she trots

Hi!
Ok, well, i'll just leave the roach inside... it's very young so i don't think it will make any problems...

About light i have noticed that also, it just stands still... it was living at my backyard under some small rocks, problably went out only at night when it was all dark... i hope light is not making a big problem on it.

 

[SergioCR]

@ sergio - depending on how old, what species and what sex you have. It could require anything. Such as time to molt, time to aclimatize or time to find a mate. The thing with Ts is that you have to do your research and have patience. Find the species, whether it is male or female and then research from there. There are no pat answers. The very fact it is wild caught might mean it will not survive.

Hello
It is very small (about 1") Thats a picture i took of it PIC and there's a thread located here trying to find out some info about it... some people here told me that it may be some "Metriopelma sp" or "young Brachypelma" no idea yet about male or female... how do i find that out in such an small t?
I hope that it survives, i would like to see it's growing....

Sergio.

 

[Dr Pies]

Use the search function at the top and you will see that your question(s) have been answered a million and one times

 

[hairymary]

aww....

Hello
It is very small (about 1") Thats a picture i took of it PIC and there's a thread located here trying to find out some info about it... some people here told me that it may be some "Metriopelma sp" or "young Brachypelma" no idea yet about male or female... how do i find that out in such an small t?
I hope that it survives, i would like to see it's growing....

Sergio.

a

Cute little fella, Sergio

 

[SergioCR]

a

Cute little fella, Sergio

Hi!
Yes, that's what i thought too... i really hope that i can see it grow up...



Sergio.

 

[csherman]

I just bought a B. smithi about that same size as yours and the behavior you have desribed sounds exactly the same as my first week as the owner of a "baby" T.
Our smithi initially climbed the walls in a 2 day long escape attempt. Then it started a hole - gave up for a few days - Then finished it. Now he spends his days "holed up" and apparently content. I catch him hunting and hanging out only at night.
I didn't even try to feed until the "adjustment period" seemed to be over.

Definitely use the search function for your basic T care questions. There's a wealth of information already on here.

Good luck with this one.

 

[David Burns]

My guess would be Metriopelma sp. as well. If that's the case it won't get much more than 4". If it ate for you that is a good sign and now might be in premolt. I would recommend feeding something besides pillbugs. Try feeding every 2 weeks, removing the prey insect after 24 hours. Give it access to water. If it's abdomen doesn't shrink it should be O.K.

 

[MysticKigh]

My guess would be Metriopelma sp. as well. If that's the case it won't get much more than 4". If it ate for you that is a good sign and now might be in premolt. I would recommend feeding something besides pillbugs. Try feeding every 2 weeks, removing the prey insect after 24 hours. Give it access to water. If it's abdomen doesn't shrink it should be O.K.

I always thought that Ts didn't eat pillbugs<?>... but had a more symbiotic relationship with them...
ie: spider lets bug live... bug cleans up after spider.
Oh wait... maybe it's crickets that pillbugs clean up after :wall:

 

[SergioCR]

I just bought a B. smithi about that same size as yours and the behavior you have desribed sounds exactly the same as my first week as the owner of a "baby" T.
Our smithi initially climbed the walls in a 2 day long escape attempt. Then it started a hole - gave up for a few days - Then finished it. Now he spends his days "holed up" and apparently content. I catch him hunting and hanging out only at night.
I didn't even try to feed until the "adjustment period" seemed to be over.

Definitely use the search function for your basic T care questions. There's a wealth of information already on here.

Good luck with this one.

Hi!
That's exactly what's been happening here... that's good to know that's probably the common t. temperament...

There's also a digged borrow now here... spend all day inside it and at night goes out... a little more "safe" by now.

Thanks!

 

[Windchaser]

Ok, well, i'll just leave the roach inside... it's very young so i don't think it will make any problems...

I wouldn't leave any uneaten prey for more than 24 hours. Even if the roach is not a danger to the T, it will stress it.

 

[SergioCR]

My guess would be Metriopelma sp. as well. If that's the case it won't get much more than 4". If it ate for you that is a good sign and now might be in premolt. I would recommend feeding something besides pillbugs. Try feeding every 2 weeks, removing the prey insect after 24 hours. Give it access to water. If it's abdomen doesn't shrink it should be O.K.

Ok... i'll do that and see how it goes... i'll get some crickets and see what happens... also, do they like to hunt the prey or can i use pre-killed crickets (for example) so no need to chase them all around?

Already has access to water in a 5mm deep plastic enclosure 3cm diameter, the water level actually goes down in about 3 days....

Thanks for all the info!

Sergio.

 

[SergioCR]

I wouldn't leave any uneaten prey for more than 24 hours. Even if the roach is not a danger to the T, it will stress it.

Ok, good to know that... what about pillbugs, i've read they are good to "clean" the house.... ?

Sergio.

 

[SergioCR]

I always thought that Ts didn't eat pillbugs<?>... but had a more symbiotic relationship with them...
ie: spider lets bug live... bug cleans up after spider.
Oh wait... maybe it's crickets that pillbugs clean up after :wall:

Great then... i have plenty of them living outside just in case... they are under every stone at front yard.

Sergio.

 

[Windchaser]

They will eat pre-killed prey, but for a T the size that you have, I would throw them in live. It will have no problem taking a cricket down. If you do use pre-killed prey, it is even more important to remove it after no more than 24 hours, otherwise you have a good chance of mold developing.

 

[Windchaser]

Great then... i have plenty of them living outside just in case... they are under every stone at front yard.

Sergio.

I would be careful using wild caught prey. They can easily introduce parasites to your T which could potentially kill it.

 

[SergioCR]

My guess would be Metriopelma sp. as well. If that's the case it won't get much more than 4". If it ate for you that is a good sign and now might be in premolt. I would recommend feeding something besides pillbugs. Try feeding every 2 weeks, removing the prey insect after 24 hours. Give it access to water. If it's abdomen doesn't shrink it should be O.K.

I forgot something, i think it is a Metriopelma as well because it looks pretty much like the metriopelma pictures but how do i identify at what "family" it belongs? is there some info about that here?

 

[SergioCR]

They will eat pre-killed prey, but for a T the size that you have, I would throw them in live. It will have no problem taking a cricket down. If you do use pre-killed prey, it is even more important to remove it after no more than 24 hours, otherwise you have a good chance of mold developing.

Ok... that's getting interesting... so if it "founds" something to eat on the road just grab it and eat it? even if it's dead? jmm... i thought they like to actually capture the prey...

yep, if not eaten at first 24 hours max. must be removed.