Why Would a Tarantula Not Eat

[Cas S]

i had recently rehoused by Ornithoctonus aureotibialis into a new enclosure and decided to feed it the next day cause it hadn't been fed in a long time so i threw a roach in and the T bit it and pulled it under itself like it was eating it so i put it back on the shelf but the next day when i was checking on it the roach was still there so i tried poking it to get it to move but neither of them moved. I thought that was odd but maybe the T just was trying to camouflage or play dead or something, and the roach didnt move so i knew it had died from the Ts venom. But then the next day the whole burrow was covered in mold. I think the T starved to death the day after i threw the roach in when it wasnt reacting to touch. Any reason it would bite the roach, pull it under itself, and still not eat it?

 

[Liquifin]

Based on how I read it. The T. is dead? Sometimes T. just goes into that phase of kill but don't eat. My C. albostriatus did the exact same thing and died from starvation later. A while ago my T. blondi was experiencing the same behavior of killing but not eating, I got quite worried so I left it alone and after a month later I tried to feed it and it ate again. So it's quite an odd behavior that they do and I don't even know why they do this. Usually I suspect health problems but that's not always the case so it remains a mystery to me.

 

[Ic4ru577]

I wonder why do you rehouse your T? How big was it? I am just curious because everything was so sudden, the rehouse, death and mold. I am new and never read something like this

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Unless the tarantula was extremely skinny to begin with, it won't have starved to death. They can go months without food.

There are a million reasons why it might have died, and you might never figure it out, but here are some things to think about:

How old was the T? What was its behaviour like preceding the rehouse? How long before this had it last eaten and last moulted? Did you use any new materials such as a different kind of substrate or an adhesive in setting up the enclosure? Were any pesticides used in the house recently, including flea treatments for other pets? Did you visually inspect the T for signs of damage that might indicate a fall in the new enclosure? Was the cockroach from a pet store or caught in the wild?

 

[Cas S]

I wonder why do you rehouse your T? How big was it? I am just curious because everything was so sudden, the rehouse, death and mold. I am new and never read something like this

the mold is from the dead roach and T

Unless the tarantula was extremely skinny to begin with, it won't have starved to death. They can go months without food.

There are a million reasons why it might have died, and you might never figure it out, but here are some things to think about:

How old was the T? What was its behaviour like preceding the rehouse? How long before this had it last eaten and last moulted? Did you use any new materials such as a different kind of substrate or an adhesive in setting up the enclosure? Were any pesticides used in the house recently, including flea treatments for other pets? Did you visually inspect the T for signs of damage that might indicate a fall in the new enclosure? Was the cockroach from a pet store or caught in the wild?

the T was about 3" DLS and ive had it for around 2 years, I got it as a 3/4" sling. Behavior proceeding the rehouse was normal. It molted a while ago and had only eaten once so it was very skinny. I didnt use any new materials. There where no pesticides used in my house recently. A fall from he cage it was in wouldnt do much damage at all. And the roach was from a pet store.

Im almost positive the T starved to death, if I had watched it for another 5 minutes or so to make sure it ate the roach I probably could've avoided this situation.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

the T was about 3" DLS and ive had it for around 2 years, I got it as a 3/4" sling. Behavior proceeding the rehouse was normal. It molted a while ago and had only eaten once so it was very skinny. I didnt use any new materials. There where no pesticides used in my house recently. A fall from he cage it was in wouldnt do much damage at all. And the roach was from a pet store.

Im almost positive the T starved to death, if I had watched it for another 5 minutes or so to make sure it ate the roach I probably could've avoided this situation.

It had only eaten once since its last moult? Are you certain it ate that time and didn't just attack but then fail to eat like it did this time? Sometimes there are moulting issues where the fangs or the sucking stomach don't moult properly and this prevents the T from being able to actually eat, though they will generally still attempt it. Generally a problem like that is the only way a T will starve to death in captivity (aside from being horribly neglected, which I assume isn't the case here).

If you still have the last moult or if you took good photos of it you can verify whether the sucking stomach moulted properly - there's a thread with good photos here: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/checking-for-the-sucking-stomach-on-your-molts.306981/

 

[Kitara]

Im almost positive the T starved to death, if I had watched it for another 5 minutes or so to make sure it ate the roach I probably could've avoided this situation.

I wouldn't put that guilt on yourself. You can't force feed it so IF it did die of starvation, there was nothing you could do about it at that immediate moment.

 

[Cas S]

It had only eaten once since its last moult? Are you certain it ate that time and didn't just attack but then fail to eat like it did this time? Sometimes there are moulting issues where the fangs or the sucking stomach don't moult properly and this prevents the T from being able to actually eat, though they will generally still attempt it. Generally a problem like that is the only way a T will starve to death in captivity (aside from being horribly neglected, which I assume isn't the case here).

Im pretty sure it ate it last time but i never saw cause it went back into its burrow. And i dont have pictures of its molt cause it always destroys them and i also dont have a picture of its mouth.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Im pretty sure it ate it last time but i never saw cause it went back into its burrow. And i dont have pictures of its molt cause it always destroys them and i also dont have a picture of its mouth.

I'm guessing it had a moult issue, then. Like I said, Ts don't just starve to death. Occasionally a really fat T can survive a sucking stomach issue long enough to moult again, but generally these kinds of moult problems are fatal, and there's nothing you can do to help.

 

[viper69]

Lots of reasons based on title thread

Full
Illness
Dehydration.....

 

[Jesse607]

This is often a symptom of dehydration. Dehydration can occur even if a water bowl is present, especially with "obligate burrowers" who may not explore much outside their burrow. I usually "flood" their burrows now and then to be sure they are getting some water. Just enough water that you know will be absorbed by the substrate in a short time is usually all that is necessary.

 

[rusted180]

I dont know much about this T but maybe it was a mature male? Im not sure if this species has tibia hooks but did u ever get it sexed? Dont they only live for 2-3 yrs until death? I know new worlds live 8-12 for males but most ow's usually live only 2-3 yrs i believe.. just a thought.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Did this spider eat before? I'm wondering if it didn't moult the sucking stomach properly last time. Granted, it still wouldn't starve so quickly but that could partially explain why it went for the roach but didn't actually eat it.

 

[Cas S]

I dont know much about this T but maybe it was a mature male? Im not sure if this species has tibia hooks but did u ever get it sexed? Dont they only live for 2-3 yrs until death? I know new worlds live 8-12 for males but most ow's usually live only 2-3 yrs i believe.. just a thought.

I dont think it was a mature male but heres what it looked like when i was rehousing it if that helps

Did this spider eat before? I'm wondering if it didn't moult the sucking stomach properly last time. Granted, it still wouldn't starve so quickly but that could partially explain why it went for the roach but didn't actually eat it.

yeah it ate once or twice since its last molt