# Power feeding...



## ghosthunter223 (Dec 27, 2009)

I hear alot of talk about power feeding a younger T... does this mean feeding it multiple times a week... or just feeding it everyday till i stops eating? is this bad in anyway for the T? just wondering sort of new to the hobby and just had those questions..

thanks Nate


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## Shell (Dec 27, 2009)

Im still new to the hobby also, but my understanding is that power feeding will cause them to grow much faster thus shortening their life. I don't know if it's bad for them other than just causing them to grow quicker though. I may be wrong but that is just my understanding from what I have read on here

Reactions: Like 1


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## Tindalos (Dec 27, 2009)

yeah its bad for them 
but i do it to my slings until they are almost near an inch.
then i slow down on power feeding but still do it and then after a molt or two completely stop. 

when i power feed what i do is every 3-4 days sometimes 5-7 depending on how fat they are
i want them to be fat but not to the point they explode. after they get fat i slow down until a molt and start again for another 1-3 molts. 

Just use your judgment if you think its too fat then stop if unsure 
stop or give them less or smaller prey etc. 

if you power-feed through the T's entire life yeah it will die a lot quicker.
hope this helps

Reactions: Disagree 2


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## Smitty78 (Dec 27, 2009)

Power feeding has it's pros, and cons. The biggest con is that it will reduce the lifespan. If you over feed, it can cause molt issues, and abdomen ruptures become easier. The only time I use power feeding is for breeding purposes to fatten a female up after her molt prior to breeding. I will also power feed a male that I need to mature quickly.


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## ghosthunter223 (Dec 27, 2009)

thank you... was just curious


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## itsMEethenne (Dec 30, 2010)

im a newbie too sir, i just wonder if its alright with the slings to power feed them until they reach to 2-3 inches them stop.. i have a 1cm pulchripes and a 2cm B.Albopilosum right now, 

thanks guys..


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## Singapore_Blue1 (Dec 30, 2010)

In my personal opinion power feeding really should only be done for breeding purposes. I will power feed the female so she won't have the inclination to eat the male. :drool: I will also power feed a male if I need him to hook out. I am actually doing that now with two of my most prized males. Now I think patience is required for spiderlings and they should be grown at a normal rate. Power feeding a sling is only for the owners benefit not the spiders!


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## DawgPoundSound (Dec 30, 2010)

Powerfeeding is an opinion that is not proven to be harmful at all in the longrun. And power feeding slings, the way you choose to do it is up to you and the particular tarantula. I power feed ALL of my slings, however each one is different. My L. parahybana slings will only eat twice a week. My B. vagans sling will eat until it bursts. My OBT sling will eat what it catches on it's own, as much as it feels the need to, not when I drop it in it's enclosure. And I've seen it catch a couple B. Dubia two days straight. So whether you feed them daily, or every couple days, eventually the T will let you know when enough is enough.

 Take in consideration that as long as you're not physically damaging your T's, then feed them as you will. In the wild they are opportunistic hunters. And they will feed more than once in a night if given the chance. They feed until they are not hungry. So there is no rational proof of shortening the life of a 20 or 30 year old female tarantula because you powerfed her as a sling.
I've seen Orb Weavers I've had that would save prey in a storage area of the webbing, and eat when it felt like it. 

 And if I find the thread on another Forum, someone did a scientific test to males of some tarantula species on this very subject, and the males that were powerfed lived 19 months longer than the males that were not, after mature molts. If this holds true, then the more the better!

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## chelsea (Feb 9, 2012)

My tarantula has eaten 3 crickets in 7 hours. I just got her a little over a week ago, and they told me she would only eat when she's hungry and it would only be twice a week so far its been every other day until last night when she ate 3. Is she getting ready to molt or is she just over-eating?

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## Chris_Skeleton (Feb 9, 2012)

chelsea said:


> My tarantula has eaten 3 crickets in 7 hours. I just got her a little over a week ago, and they told me she would only eat when she's hungry and it would only be twice a week so far its been every other day until last night when she ate 3. Is she getting ready to molt or is she just over-eating?


Neither. You're overfeeding.


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## mark e sic (Feb 9, 2012)

The T.s know what they are doing.. if they are hungry they will eat. if they dont feel like eating then they wont.. even if there is a nice plump Cricket or roach right next to it if doesnt want it wont eat it...


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## Anonymity82 (Feb 9, 2012)

Shell said:


> Im still new to the hobby also, but my understanding is that power feeding will cause them to grow much faster thus shortening their life. I don't know if it's bad for them other than just causing them to grow quicker though. I may be wrong but that is just my understanding from what I have read on here


You're still new to the hobby? I read that power feeding while coupled with an increase in temperature will increase their metabolism but have not ready any confirmed data on this.


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## chelsea (Feb 9, 2012)

Chris_Skeleton said:


> Neither. You're overfeeding.


So I should not listen to the pet store and only put in one at a time? How often does she really need to eat?


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## Chris_Skeleton (Feb 9, 2012)

chelsea said:


> So I should not listen to the pet store and only put in one at a time? How often does she really need to eat?


What kind of T is it? How big is it?


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## chelsea (Feb 9, 2012)

Chris_Skeleton said:


> What kind of T is it? How big is it?


She is a Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula and shes about 4 1/2 inches..


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## suzypike (Feb 9, 2012)

I am not new to the hobby- just new to the forum. I still don't understand the power-feeding term. Is power-feeding feeding more than once a week? Or feeding more than twice a week?  I feed 1 prey to all of my Ts once a week. If they gobble it up, they get another (or 2 if they are large adults) in a couple of days. I never feed more than 3 crickets or one large roach in one week, but I feed twice a week. 
Am I power-feeding?  I've searched and found lots of different answers/opinions on this subject. 
Thanks,


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## Anonymity82 (Feb 9, 2012)

chelsea said:


> She is a Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula and shes about 4 1/2 inches..


You'll get different replies to this but at that size she can be fine with 4-6 a month. You can feed her more but I would stop with the every other day or even twice a week. I wouldn't feed her more than 3-4 medium-large every week and a half to two weeks.


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## Thomas2015 (Feb 9, 2012)

Be aware that the Chilean Rose-Haired Tarantulas have a tendency to go on long fasts for no apparent reason. I've had two that both would eat rapidly around a three week period, then refuse prey for several months. I'm not sure if its a seasonal thing (it didn't line up with and particular season, but that might be an unnatural result of being indoors). I would play it safe and only put a cricket in at a time: everything in moderation is a good policy.


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## jakykong (Feb 10, 2012)

njnolan1 said:


> You're still new to the hobby? I read that power feeding while coupled with an increase in temperature will increase their metabolism but have not ready any confirmed data on this.


Heh, watch the dates. This thread was trudged up from when that was still true 

My $0.02 (for the thread, not replying to you specifically), it seems that power feeding has both pros and cons, depending on the situation and the owner. I think the topic has been beaten to death so there's no point rambling on about it, but I always try to remember that tarantulas are not cats, dogs, or people - "obesity" as it relates to mammals may or may not apply to tarantulas in the same way.



suzypike said:


> I am not new to the hobby- just new to the forum. I still don't understand the power-feeding term. Is power-feeding feeding more than once a week? Or feeding more than twice a week?  I feed 1 prey to all of my Ts once a week. If they gobble it up, they get another (or 2 if they are large adults) in a couple of days. I never feed more than 3 crickets or one large roach in one week, but I feed twice a week.
> Am I power-feeding?  I've searched and found lots of different answers/opinions on this subject.
> Thanks,


The new to the hobby comment was referring to Shell, who posted in the original thread in 2009 . Power feeding is feeding more than a normal diet; I've seen multiple definitions; some say it's feeding as much as the tarantula will take. Feeding twice a week is probably too much for any tarantula (unless you're only giving very small prey items). A Chilean rose that size lives on about 4-6 crickets a month.

See http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html and read it carefully! Stan Schultz is easily one of the foremost experts on the topic.

And, in short, never trust what the pet store says. They almost never get it right.

I find Grammostola rosea to be an interesting species, however common it may be in the pet trade today. Have fun, and welcome to the hobby!

Reactions: Like 1


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## beccahosierr (Feb 10, 2012)

*quick answer*

This has probably already been asked but... is it possible for your tarantula to actually "pop" from overfeeding?


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## jakykong (Feb 11, 2012)

I doubt if the spider would continue to eat after the point that it would literally pop. It seems to me that evolution would put a stop to that!

However, there is a real danger from over-eating of abdominal ruptures. If the abdomen is full, especially for terrestrials, they are more likely to rupture in the event of a fall.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Galapoheros (Feb 11, 2012)

As Smitty78 stated, I also do it for making breeding possibilities happen faster.  But imo, I do it as naturally as I can think it could be.  I feed small things first after a molt, after several weeks I feed large things when they are most mature in their instar until they can't eat anymore.  It's my best guess to what might idealistically happen in the wild with super lucky pred inverts.  For non-breeders, after a while a person gets a feel for when to offer food, small things every week or two, but you come to trust your instincts and experience.


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## chickenwings (Aug 5, 2017)

I fed my brachypelma klaasi with 3 nymp size lats you know the tiny roach I'm worried cause I think its bad for my slingd cause there only half a inch


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## sasker (Aug 5, 2017)

Hey look! An undead threat! 

On topic, don't worry about overfeeding too much. Tarantulas stop when they had enough.


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## Jones0911 (Aug 5, 2017)

chickenwings said:


> I fed my brachypelma klaasi with 3 nymp size lats you know the tiny roach I'm worried cause I think its bad for my slingd cause there only half a inch


It's cool you can't overfeed slings they'll stop eating when they see fit and be just fine.


You should be feeding them as much as they'll eat


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## The Grym Reaper (Aug 5, 2017)

The necromancy is strong...

You can feed a sling as much as it will physically eat and it won't cause any problems, they stop eating once they've had enough to see them through to their next moult, slings can't get obese, they put any extra mass into growth, they can't ever weigh enough to get drag injuries like juvies/adults can and they won't suffer any moulting problems (in fact, the only sling I've ever had that never recovered after a moult was a Y. diversipes that arrived looking underfed and which moulted before I could feed it up to a decent size).

The "it reduces their lifespan" argument is kinda played out now, in males that only live a couple of years this is true but in females that live for decades the difference is nominal (we're talking a few months at most).

Reactions: Helpful 1


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