Feeding

looking4ts

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
5
I've been feeding my 5" chaco 2 crickets everyday. Is this too much, too little, or enough?
 

Stan Schultz

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Messages
1,677
I've been feeding my 5" chaco 2 crickets everyday. Is this too much, too little, or enough?
The general rule of thumb is to feed only 6 to 8 crickets to your tarantula a month, unless you have some very good reason for doing otherwise. And what might such reasons be?

1) You're power feeding babies. (Use the Search utility in the gray bar above to find out what that is.) Generally, it's okay to feed baby tarantulas 6 crickets a week, but many feed more than that to promote faster growth and larger sizes in some species.

2) You're fattening up a female for breeding. She'll be a lot less likely to eat the male if she's already chubby. And, the fatter she is, the more eggs she'll lay. You really needed 2,500 baby spiders didn't you?

3) You're engaged in some research endeavor having to do with tarantula obesity (as an example).

Enjoy your chubby, little, 8-legged marvel!
 

Bill S

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Messages
1,418
Rather than counting crickets I tend to just look at the tarantula. If the back end is getting dangerously gigantic, I don't offer it food this time around. If it's a bit on the thin side, maybe an extra serving. Since the goal is a healthy looking tarantula rather than a score sheet for cricket removal, it seems more productive to keep track of it that way. Besides, I don't always have a supply of crickets of the sizes that I want, don't get around to feeding them on the same day each week, or don't have time to feed everyone at the same time. Sometimes it's easier to just glance through the collection and see who needs to be fed "right now".
 

looking4ts

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
5
I don't want her dangerously fat, but a little plump is fine. How big should the rump be, in relation to her abdomen?
 

looking4ts

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Messages
5
She's about where she should be then, but Am going to cut down on the crickets. Thanks everyone
 

Londoner

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
846
Rather than counting crickets I tend to just look at the tarantula. If the back end is getting dangerously gigantic, I don't offer it food this time around. If it's a bit on the thin side, maybe an extra serving. Since the goal is a healthy looking tarantula rather than a score sheet for cricket removal, it seems more productive to keep track of it that way. Besides, I don't always have a supply of crickets of the sizes that I want, don't get around to feeding them on the same day each week, or don't have time to feed everyone at the same time. Sometimes it's easier to just glance through the collection and see who needs to be fed "right now".
This is exactly how I feed my collection and it works fine. Food supply isn't an issue for me though. My wife keeps chameleons and always has crix and locusts of varying sizes :D
 
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