# Overfeed your tarantula



## Tjohns (Aug 8, 2008)

Is it possible to overfeed your tarantula? 
My Acanthoscurria Geniculata (Brazilian Whiteknee) eats like I starve the damn thing. 
Everytime I drop a couple of crickets in her cage they are dead and consumed by the next morning. If they even hit the ground. lol. 
Are they smart enough to realize enough is enough before they explode? 
I am not trying to powerfeed my T but for an experiment I wanted to see her if she knew what her limit was and apparently 15 crickets in one week still wasn't enough. 
I know that 5-6 crickets a week is enough for her but has anyone ever had their T split open from eating too much? 
I don't want to hear about hearsay and myths but have you actually had it happen to you?


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## troglodyte (Aug 8, 2008)

I only feed my Ts 1-2 crickets a week... Even 5-6 seems like an awful lot.


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## Scott C. (Aug 8, 2008)

To death? No.... unless they have a weakness in the abdomen from a bad molt or something.... then maybe.... but they won't eat until they pop.

imo you can over feed them though. The picture threads are riddled with obese tarantulas.... I personally prefer mine slim and trim.... Just preference though, I don't think it's unhealthy for 'em unless they take a spill.


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## Texas Blonde (Aug 8, 2008)

A tarantula will quit eating when its full, and cant physically eat anymore.  But so will the obese guy at McDonalds.  Doesnt mean its healthy to let either of them eat as much as they possibly can.

An overweight tarantula faces more risk of being injured from a fall, and imo it can create difficulties for the spider when molting.


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## Tjohns (Aug 8, 2008)

Let me set something straight from the get go. 
I do NOT want an obese spider nor is it my intent to create one.

I don't think comparing obesity in spiders to a fat guy in Mcdonalds is really all that relevant though. It's been along time since I took biology but I seem to remember humans and spiders having different biologies. But good point about the falling may be more dangerous for it. I was just wondering because my O.B.T. eats about as much as an anorexic crackhead and it seems to know better than to gorge while my Genic doesn't. 

I wonder since Genics are terrestrial whether them eating as much as they can is a naturally programmed instinct because I'm sure the bigger they get the less predators will bother them.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## gvfarns (Aug 8, 2008)

IMO it's fine to feed as much as the T wants as long as it's growing, and it helps them mature faster.  When they are adults not so much.  Though I've certainly fed more than 15 crickets in a week to large T's.  But then I let them fast (or they do it themselves).  Sometimes it's more convenient to do all the feeding in a short period of time.


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## scottyk (Aug 8, 2008)

Tjohns said:


> I wonder since Genics are terrestrial whether them eating as much as they can is a naturally programmed instinct because I'm sure the bigger they get the less predators will bother them.


I believe the currently accepted theory is that they are programmed to eat as much as they can because of natural variations in the abundance of food. 

In the wild it's smart to eat 15 insects in a week because it may be months before they see another potential meal walk by. I would imagine this is especially true for desert and arid land species....


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## Lennie Collins (Aug 8, 2008)

I feed all my tarantulas *PLENTY*! They seem to stop when they are about to molt so I will say no. I have seen overfed scorpions but not tarantulas.


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## xchondrox (Aug 8, 2008)

Your problem is pretty obvious to me, its a Genic, Those things will eat thru your feeder budget like mad.


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## Lennie Collins (Aug 8, 2008)

Tjohns...keep in mind that the temperature plays a part also in how much your tarantula will eat. During the late fall to early spring I spend about $3 a month on crickets to feed 14 tarantulas and 4 scorpions. Since late April the average temperature in Austin, Texas has been 95 degrees so I have been spending about $8 per month on crickets. My top 4 "eaters schedule is like this:

1) Lasiodora Parahybana - 10 crickets per week
2) Chromatopelma Cyanopubescens - 10 crickets per week
3) Acanthoscurria Geniculata - 8 crickets per week
4) Nhandu Coloratovillosus - 8 crickets per week

They don't eat half has much when the weather does cool down here. So that will be their schedule until the second or third week of October.


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## Kid Dragon (Aug 8, 2008)

*Ts can get phat*

The more you feed them the faster they will grow. I feed my _Aphonopelma hentzi_ slings until they look like they are getting ready to pop, and they molt faster. 

As previously stated temperature will control their appetite and their growth rate. While they are in eating mode, I tend to 'overfeed' them...meaning I feed them way more than they need to survive and grow.


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## ShellsandScales (Aug 9, 2008)

Tjohns said:


> I don't think comparing obesity in spiders to a fat guy in Mcdonalds is really all that relevant though. It's been along time since I took biology but I seem to remember humans and spiders having different biologies..


I find this to be a very relevant analogy.(even though I'm guilty of a little overfeeding myself from time to time :} )  I know with boa constrictors, obese snakes will produce fewer offspring that are often smaller or deformed compared to their "in shape" counterparts. Don't know if anyone has compared yield of egg sacks between normal and obese spiders but I would expect to see the same trend. If there has been any indication that obese spiders can have molting problems or live shorter lives, there is no reason to believe that being overweight won't have other effects on their health.


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## ShellsandScales (Aug 9, 2008)

scottyk said:


> I believe the currently accepted theory is that they are programmed to eat as much as they can because of natural variations in the abundance of food.
> 
> In the wild it's smart to eat 15 insects in a week because it may be months before they see another potential meal walk by. I would imagine this is especially true for desert and arid land species....


I also agree here but that binging is in expectation of a fasting period. If they are constantly given food they may not choose to fast and eat more than may be healthy(speculation). That being said I will again say that I am guilty of overfeeding as well especially with slings in the hope of putting on extra size to ease feeding and maintinance.


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## DooM_ShrooM (Aug 9, 2008)

no living matter has ever done that (eat to death).maybe it is molting coz it consumes food to reserve energy for a long time coz of molting.


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## Hedorah99 (Aug 9, 2008)

ancient flowers said:


> no living matter has ever done that (eat to death).maybe it is molting coz it consumes food to reserve energy for a long time coz of molting.


No, not to death. But no animal prospers from obesity.


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## PSYS (Aug 9, 2008)

I don't like the tennis ball with legs looks either... haha.


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## Merfolk (Aug 9, 2008)

Some true spiders are just a big abdomen with the prosoma a tiny pimple attached to it!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## LeilaNami (Aug 10, 2008)

Overfeeding is dangerous to the T.  If anything happens, such as a fall, it will rupture much more easily.  There was a thread posted on here a while back of an overfed P. murinus who ruptured because of it.  T's are opportunistic feeders.  They will eat and eat because they don't know when their next meal will be.


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## Lennie Collins (Aug 10, 2008)

First handling a tarantula "stresses" it out and now a tarantula does not know when to stop eating. Boy, tarantulas lives are messed up! I thought my life has a minority was difficult!


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## Arachnosold1er (Aug 10, 2008)

I wonder if there are as many overweight Ts as there are overweight people. Americans are fat and lazy by design, I guess our Ts are too!!


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## Tjohns (Aug 10, 2008)

Well Lennie I haven't handled her yet. I don't think I ever will on purpose. Everytime I think about handling her I go pick up my red tail boa since she is a lot more predictable. When I first got the genic she was about 2" or so and she used to move slow even when I was trying to get her to move. Now she is somewhere around 4" and she moves like lightning when she wants. Go figure. So I will stick to 6-8 crickets a week. 

Ancient Flowers is wrong about living things eating to death. Dogs have done it and believe it or not humans have eaten until their stomachs ruptured. I doubt they would die today because of modern medical science. I'm sure though that in the past before people have died fom eating too much. It isn't that hard for a ruptured stomach to become infected and kill you without the proper treatment. Dogs arent' the only creature that have eaten too much but they are definitely a good example.


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## EightLeggedFrea (Aug 10, 2008)

My B. smithi is real glutton. She's about 3." I was giving her water and she lunged to it thinking it was prey. It had been weeks since I last gave her anything to eat, and I'm still afraid to do so because she is so FAT.


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## Lennie Collins (Aug 10, 2008)

Hey Tjohns...if you do or you don't it is okay! Each tarantula is different and I got an Acanthoscurria Geniculata that was handled since she was a sling. It's alright being wrong if you can learn from it. I have been corrected about old world and new world meanings even though I question what is old world or new world BUT it does not matter. I want a Suntiger and Skeleton Tarantula. I am not that quick to get a "pokie"!


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## Kamikaze (Aug 11, 2008)

I feed all my T's two crickets a day. We live in the tropics so, the metabolism is higher than usual. I have heard people feeding T's here more than 5 crickets a day.


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## T-Harry (Aug 11, 2008)

Power feeding accelerates the metabolism of a T.
So it does not only speed up the growth of a T and make them become mature in a shorter time, it will also decrease the lifespan of it.
If you have ever seen T's in their natural habitat, then you know that most T's held in captivity are actually overfed. But I think that's true with all pets (and some of their owners too  ), sort of an disease of civilization.

For my T's I try to take care that their abdomen becomes not significantly larger than the cephalothorax. If that still happens (expecially with T's that are hiding most of the time) then I stop feeding them for up to several months until it looks OK again. Usually I feed them every two weeks.


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## Zoltan (Aug 11, 2008)

T-Harry has some very valid points there. If you check out some pictures of tarantulas in their natural habitat you will notice that their abdomen is _usually_ not longer(/bigger) than two times their cephalothorax.


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## dalitan (Aug 11, 2008)

i feed my Ts, 1's every 2 days.(Mature Crix...)...i think its a proper diet for them...because if they eat a lot....if they're full always...its hard for them to move...heheheh....they seldom move..hehehe


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## Mushroom Spore (Aug 11, 2008)

dalitan said:


> i feed my Ts, 1's every 2 days.(Mature Crix...)...i think its a proper diet for them...because if they eat a lot....if they're full always...its hard for them to move...heheheh....they seldom move..hehehe


I hate to break it to you, but tarantulas rarely move ANYWAY. You powerfeeding the heck out of them to make them obese isn't causing that.


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