Tarantula Killing but not eating prey ?

[byskai]

Hi, my l3 incei gold tarantula is new molted. but it catches the prey and releases it. why is he doing this? sometimes I leave dead crickets I can't see them the next day but maybe they buried it I'm not sure but I've never seen him eat.

 

[viper69]

Not hungry- they aren’t eating machines

 

[Smotzer]

It’s appears that it has eaten if it has just molted recently by the looks of the abdomen. But in general there’s no reason to stress about a tarantula refusing a meal, it won’t starve.

 

[byskai]

Karnının görünüşüne bakılırsa yakın zamanda tüy dökmüşse yemiş gibi görünüyor. Ama genel olarak bir tarantula'nın yemek yemeyi reddetmesi konusunda strese girmek için hiçbir neden yoktur, o açlıktan ölmez.
[/ALINTI]
Yes ı know. he killed but did not eat.

 

[Smotzer]

that’s okay it’s abdomen looks fine no need to stress about it not eating

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Hi, my l3 incei gold tarantula is new molted. but it catches the prey and releases it. why is he doing this? sometimes I leave dead crickets I can't see them the next day but maybe they buried it I'm not sure but I've never seen him eat.

What size crickets are you giving your T?

Slings don't always eat the whole prey item if given the appropriate size feeder. It appears it has eaten as @Smotzer said.

 

[BoyFromLA]

I happened to buy a burger on my way to home, but once I got home, I did not feel like to eat it, so I ended up eating it a day after.

Same with tarantulas.

They do not always feel like eating when live feeders are offered. Even though they are not hungry, live feeders can actually be threats to them. Thus tarantulas kill them, and leave them or eat them later.

 

[viper69]

I happened to buy a burger on my way to home, but once I got home, I did not feel like to eat it, so I ended up eating it a day after.

Same with tarantulas.

They do not always feel like eating when live feeders are offered. Even though they are not hungry, live feeders can actually be threats to them. Thus tarantulas kill them, and leave them or eat them later.

If only other people realized such common sense applies here. I’ve always been surprised how “stopped eating because it’s full” across many other exotics doesn’t dawn on the owners.

 

[Smotzer]

If only other people realized such common sense applies here. I’ve always been surprised how “stopped eating because it’s full” across many other exotics doesn’t dawn on the owners.

Well that’s because every living this is clearly hungry all the time

 

[dogpack]

During my research, don't remember where, I read that there have been cases of tarantula's not eating for about a year and still remaining healthy. Eating habits depend on the species.

 

[Smotzer]

During my research, don't remember where, I read that there have been cases of tarantula's not eating for about a year and still remaining healthy. Eating habits depend on the species.

Yes and that’s totally normal and fine for them to do that; they have low metabolisms and low food requirements as such! Especially well fed tarantulas not even requiring more nutrients to prepare for ecdysis.

 

[Dorifto]

We do the same, look at it as a fly hoovering you all the time, what do you do?

 

[carnewesada]

My Avicularia Avicularia will kill a cricket, eat for a few minutes then booty dance on it and just leave it against the side of the enclosure. If I didn’t grab it the next day I’d eventually have cricket wallpaper on one side

 

[TheHound]

I've had Ts do this. I assumed that although they're not hungry they killed the prey anyway as it was annoying, or as a self-defence instinct. No idea why they don't always do it. I was going to theorise they are more likely to do so closer to a moult, along the self-defence lines, but more often than not my Ts just completely ignore prey if in pre-moult, so I can't really discern a pattern.

 

[Saksida2000]

My Ts, especially slings to that when they are about to molt. Sometimes, you just don't know they are gonna molt (especially with burrowers), and when there is a full dead cricket lying in the enclosure, i usually find a molt in the next few days.

 

[carnewesada]

My Ts, especially slings to that when they are about to molt. Sometimes, you just don't know they are gonna molt (especially with burrowers), and when there is a full dead cricket lying in the enclosure, i usually find a molt in the next few days.

My Avic Avic just did this where she left a full cricket in its web the other day. Today she just ate a cricket and nothing was leftover. Zero molt