Why can't T be fed as much as it will eat?

[reverendsterlin]

Is that so? In what species and how do you back this claim up?

don't know about barabootom, but I've seen both a brachy and an aphonopelma spilt the abdomen during molting, both were very big butted at the time. not every T goes off food during pre-molt
Rev

 

[Kel_420]

I thought Ts stop eating when they're full, is this not correct?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I thought Ts stop eating when they're full, is this not correct?

As has been explained, you cannot expect a tarantula to think like a human being. They do not know or understand that you will feed them again next week. If they see food and CAN eat (ie, not in premolt or choosing to fast for other reasons), they MUST do so, because for all they know they won't see food again for six months.

Being fed regularly by a human is a deeply unnatural setup - their instinct works just the same as it would in the wild: see food, eat it so you don't starve when you can't find food for the next dozen weeks. If you keep throwing food at them constantly, you'll have an obese spider just like you would an obese human being. And no animal's health benefits from obesity.

It's also in their best interests to eat as much as they can so they can molt as fast as they can, thereby reaching sexual maturity and reproducing sooner. They also die of "old age" sooner, but all natural selection cares about is whether they reproduce first. In captivity, I should think most of us would prefer long-lived pets.

 

[gvfarns]

True, although in captivity we also prefer adult pets, at least when they are females (I certainly do). That's why I'm all about feeding juveniles until they reach approximately full size.

 

[Zoltan]

In the wild, Ts will overfeed, and get the prosoma/epistoma volume ratio of a Queen Termite!

Absolutely not. In the wild they feed opportunistically. If you check out some pictures of tarantulas in the wild / freshly caught tarantulas and compare them to ones in captivity you'll see the ones in the wild have much smaller abdomens than those in captivity. Of course this is not really a generalisation and of course there are exceptions.

 

[Tuwin]

True, although in captivity we also prefer adult pets, at least when they are females (I certainly do). That's why I'm all about feeding juveniles until they reach approximately full size.

No way...not for me. I love my slings. For me it's not so much the result but the process of raising them that i love. I would NEVER power feed

 

[Merfolk]

Absolutely not. In the wild they feed opportunistically. If you check out some pictures of tarantulas in the wild / freshly caught tarantulas and compare them to ones in captivity you'll see the ones in the wild have much smaller abdomens than those in captivity. Of course this is not really a generalisation and of course there are exceptions.

I saw pretty obese specimens on Rick West's site and others. Sure that if the T is caught after a period of fast, it will be slimer then. Also, mature males (the most visible ones logicaly) are naturaly slimmer than gals!

Also, true spiders sometimes have abdomen so big that the prosoma is nearly invisible, a bit like a 600 lbs dude trying to watch himself pee! This is far less common in Ts, yet we see that nature has made room in their bodies for ample supplies. It is just not required in captivity. Also, Ts in the wild have far less chance to land flat on hard surface