The Tarantula Fix

Your daily fix of remarkable T's! Here to answer any and all questions you have about the hobby. We are hoping to combat the arachnophobia and demonizing of arachnids that is rampant in society!

[tarantulafix]

Sparkle update! I no longer need a microscope attachment to capture her adorable butt heart. Cyriocosmus elegans spiderling 💖

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Everybody needs a little jumping spider to keep them company sometimes.

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Im new to keeping Ts and was wondering, would it be better to get a sling first or an adult?

That’s an awesome question. I would recommend starting out with a sub adult or adult tarantula. Slings are generally more difficult to keep. 😊

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Hi! I have a tarantula that's about 4 years old, she's a G. Porteri. She hasn't eaten but once since October and has this odd patch on her abdomen. I know tarantulas have odd behavior, should I be concerned and is there anything I can do?

The patch on the abdomen can sometimes indicate stress; It is something that occurs when the tarantula flicks all of it’s urticating hairs off itself. However, it is a good indicator that your tarantula has been in its current exoskeleton for a long amount of time and is ready to molt. Given that he or she has not eaten since October, I would guess they are getting ready to molt. Tarantulas do fast for quite a while before molting. Keep it a little more humid than usual and let them have their space. If another couple months pass and nothing changes, try feeding again. Usually a fasting tarantula will molt and then be hungry, and will be safe to feed 48 hours after completing a molt. 😊

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Macro post to celebrate how adorable tarantulas’ chelicerae are!

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Hi! I was wondering how long I should wait to feed a cricket to my tarantula after it’s eaten.

It depends on a lot of things! How big, what species, and have they molted recently? 😊

[faustoftheflower-deactivated202]

Oh, I was referring to the crickets themselves. Should I wait until they’ve digested their food or can I feed them to my T after they’ve had something to eat?

[tarantulafix]

This is such a wonderful question. The nutrients you give your cricket should benefit the tarantula best before digestion because feeder insects take little more than an hour or so to digest, at which point the nutrients are already pretty much gone. So, I’d say feeding within an hour of the cricket’s mealtime would be optimal. But, if you’re keeping the cricket around for a while and continuously feed gutload, eventually it will be a healthier cricket all around and therefore a better meal, and feeding times don’t really matter.

[boina-the-snake]

This is actually not completely right. It very much depends on what you feed your crickets. From all we know tarantulas have no digestive enzymes to digest plant matter. Their digestion is concentrated on lysing proteins and fats (i.e. animal cell walls) with an addition of collagenase in the venom for breaking up difficult to digest connective tissues. Cellulose (i.e. plant cell walls) is indigestible for spiders and I’m not sure how well they can digest carbohydrates in general - if you look at their diet digesting carbohydrates is not a priority for a spider.

So, if you feed your crickets veggies and immediately feed them to the spider quite a bit of that plant matter will not be processed enough yet to be available for the spider to digest and end up in the bolus. You need to let the cricket digest the plant matter first before feeding it off. If, on the other hand, you feed your crickets proteins or pre-processed food, like cat food or fish food you can feed it off immediately.

[tarantulafix]

@boina-the-snake thank you so much! I am sorry for the unclear answer, I totally should’ve clarified that I was thinking about when I feed gutload. I didn’t know tarantulas had a hard time digesting cellulose. Where did you get your info so I can read up?

[tarantulafix]

Hi! I was wondering how long I should wait to feed a cricket to my tarantula after it’s eaten.

It depends on a lot of things! How big, what species, and have they molted recently? 😊

[faustoftheflower-deactivated202]

Oh, I was referring to the crickets themselves. Should I wait until they’ve digested their food or can I feed them to my T after they’ve had something to eat?

[tarantulafix]

This is such a wonderful question. The nutrients you give your cricket should benefit the tarantula best before digestion because feeder insects take little more than an hour or so to digest, at which point the nutrients are already pretty much gone. So, I’d say feeding within an hour of the cricket’s mealtime would be optimal. But, if you’re keeping the cricket around for a while and continuously feed gutload, eventually it will be a healthier cricket all around and therefore a better meal, and feeding times don’t really matter.

[tarantulafix]

Hi! I was wondering how long I should wait to feed a cricket to my tarantula after it’s eaten.

It depends on a lot of things! How big, what species, and have they molted recently? 😊

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Happy new year! This is Sparkle, who happens to be so tiny she needs her photo taken with a microscope attachment.

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You guys I don’t ever think I’m going to be able to stop gawking at Manjula 😱💜💛

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You’re MY big hairy spider <3

This is the best compliment ever thank you so much I am honestly so flattered right now 😭

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Jade the Trinidad Chevron or Psalmopoeus cambridgei is stuffing her face with three crickets. Fun fact about Jade: she actually attacks the water when we spray her. Sassy little thing. 💚

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Look at this big fuzzy boy and his gold legs! So beautiful. This is Zuko, the Psalmopoeus irminia or Venezuelan Suntiger. He is no longer with us, but is survived by his wife Nyx and his 100 spiderlings. 💕Male tarantulas never live long enough!

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Hi do you live in the uk? If so do you sell your T's

I do sell T’s but unfortunately I do not live in the Uk! Sorry!

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I cannot believe this beauty is my baby. Meet Betty, the Poecilotheria Metallica. 

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MOAR SPOODS

Your wish is my command ☺️💙

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This is Astro the Lampropelma violaceopes, or Singapore Blue. She's a subadult female. She's super fast and timid so I think this is the first time in a couple years I've gotten a real photo of her! I'm a sucker for that beautiful iridescent blue. 💙