How often to offer food?

[tAngents]

So I've had Nope, my G. sp "Northern Type" for almost a week now. The day I got her, she was actively eating crickets at the pet store. She ate a couple more after I got her home that day, and drank a bunch of water. I think she ate two more cricket the 2nd day I had her.

She hasn't ate anything since then, though I've been offering her a few crickets every other day. She hasn't seemed interested in them. I know the rose hairs are notorious for not eating for awhile which I'm okay with (my lizards will refuse food for weeks or even months sometimes).

I'm just wondering how often I should offer her some crickets and at what point should I start to get worried?

 

[chanda]

How big is she? With slings I typically feed 2-3 times a week. Sub-adult/adult spiders get fed roughly once every week or two unless they've barricaded themselves in their hides/burrows, indicating possible pre-molt. Those don't get fed at all until they're out and about again.

Tarantulas are not typically very active - they mostly just sit there - so they don't have the fast metabolism of more active animals. They don't need to eat very often. Just make sure you have water available in case she wants to drink (some do, some don't).

Continue offering crickets every week or so. If she doesn't eat them, remove them from the cage so they don't stress or injure her. (Crickets will nibble on a tarantula and can kill one during a molt.)

I wouldn't worry about her not eating unless she started to look emaciated with a visibly shrivelled or shrunken abdomen. I've had some go months (when pre-molt) without eating and be just fine.

 

[YagerManJennsen]

I feed both of my sp. north about once very two weeks.

 

[nicodimus22]

Their metabolism is very slow. For adults, offering food once a week is usually more than enough. For slings, most people feed at least twice a week to accelerate growth out of the tiny, more fragile size.

 

[mistertim]

Generally I feed slings a couple times a week and bigger Ts once...maybe twice if they're very aggressive eaters. Also depends on how big the prey is and what the temp conditions are as higher temps will increase their metabolism.

 

[G. pulchra]

I feed my adults once a week, slings to juvies twice a week.

All T's will skip meals, some more than others. Nothing to stress out about.

 

[viper69]

I let my tarantulas decide if they are hungry or not, seems the only logical way to feed them. It's not a Nazi concentration camp over here.

I feed as often as they want to eat.

 

[Rittdk01]

Adults get fed once weekly. Very small ones get fed every third day, or until they won't eat anymore.

 

[Ungoliant]

I'm just wondering how often I should offer her some crickets and at what point should I start to get worried?

For adults and juveniles, I offer food about once a week unless they look too fat. (For my sling, I feed once or twice a week depending on the size of the meal and how the sling looks.)

Due to their "economic" metabolic rates, tarantulas can fast for long periods of time with no adverse effects. (They will fast while in pre-molt, if they have been overfed for a while, or sometimes just because in the case of rosies.)

Just make sure they always have access to fresh water.

 

[Anoplogaster]

Like everyone has said, once a week is a good rule of thumb. I'm actually very random with my T feeding. Since I keep the roach colony right next to all my Ts, I'll just walk by one day and think "Oh, they could probably eat." It probably averages about once a week. But I'll be honest and say that I never keep track. In nature, their meals are very random and scattered. They're built for that The longer you keep spiders, the more you realize just how incredible they are! They're actually a great animal for people with busy lifestyles for that reason. Going on a trip out of the country? No problem..... she'll be just fine. Haha!

 

[darkness975]

I am the same way @Anoplogaster
I don't really plan any specific feeding schedule or anything. One day I think about it and say "maybe I should feed them" and so I do. Sometimes I go so long between feedings that the crickets go through their life cycle, reach maturity, and die off before I get the chance to feed them off. Granted they are already on the larger side so it's not like they are going through their entire life cycle but you get the point.

@tAngents lol you named your spider "Nope" XD