Is this bad to do?

[Frank04]

i have a pink toe tarantula and it hasn't made a web yet for me to lay live prey on so I was wondering if it's bad to gently nudge the tarantula towards the cricket I placed in its enclosure? Like with the soft part of a paint brush..
Does doing that stress them out or anything?
Like he/she is always on the glass wall of the enclosure..

 

[Cassiusstein]

You should just leave it, if anything you can nudge the cricket to the T

 

[G. pulchra]

If your tarantula doesn't want to eat, no amount of nudging (cricket or tarantula) is going to help.

How long have you had your T, and how is it set up (enclosure)?

 

[Venom1080]

if anything, that will lessen its feeding response, as it now thinks somethings coming after it.

 

[Ungoliant]

Don't worry if it takes her a few weeks to settle in and start webbing. They can fast for a long time with no harm as long as they always have access to clean water. (My elderly Avic fasted for 13 months before she finally molted!)

Also keep in mind that it is normal for tarantulas to stop eating if they are preparing to molt. (I'm not saying that yours is in pre-molt -- she might just not be settled enough to have a good appetite -- but that's always a possibility if a tarantula abruptly stops eating.)

if anything, that will lessen its feeding response, as it now thinks somethings coming after it.

Yeah, mine can be spooked out of an appetite if I disturb the cage too much trying to get the cricket to go to her.

 

[cold blood]

You lay dead prey on webbing, live prey you just drop in and let nature take its course.

 

[cold blood]

I just picture all the south americans...up all night nudging ts toward prey so they dont go extinct.

 

[Ungoliant]

I just picture all the south americans...up all night nudging ts toward prey so they dont go extinct.

Won't someone please think of the Ts?

 

[Blue Jaye]

We must remember tarantulas are predators and very well equipped for what they do. No need for coddling them. The problem is like everything else, we expect things to happen immediately and that's not always the case with live animals. I have several Ts that I've had for years and never actually seen them eat due to their life style but they always leave me a bolus.