Why Won't My Tarantula Eat?

Do you feed your tarantula more than once a week?

Is the loss of appetite followed by decreased activity, development of a bald spot, increased use of webbing?

Have you moved your tarantula or caused it to stress in some other way recently?

Is there a white sticky mass around the mouth that holds the palps permanently under the chelicerae?

Tarantulas really don’t need to eat very often. In fact, feeding about once a week is sufficient. If you are feeding your adult spider every day, you will quickly overfeed it. And your pet may compensate by going months without eating. This is nothing to be alarmed about. If you have overfed your spider, rest assured that it eventually will eat again.

Your tarantula is molting. All tarantulas molt at some point in their lives. Young spiders may molt very often. And when this occurs, they will typically go without eating for several weeks before they molt. If your spider’s eating habits and other behaviors seem to be different from ordinary, a molt is likely approaching. Your tarantula will also take some time after the molt to recover before proceeding to eat. Hold off on feeding for the week after a molt.

Tarantula changes its habits during periods of stress. If you took your arachnid to a show or even just changed out its enclosure at home, your pet may be adjusting to its new surroundings. In this situation, many spiders will refuse food until they feel more comfortable. You may find that your spider resumes eating once it settles in. Additionally, leaving uneaten crickets or other food in the terrarium may stress out your spider.

One health concern that may actually present with a refusal to eat is parasites. Nematode worms can actually paralyze the spider’s chelicerae. When this happens, they physically cannot eat. Unfortunately, there is very little that can be done about parasitic worm infections.

Some tarantula species, like the Chilean rose hair, simply stop eating for long periods of time. This is not detrimental to their health, and more often than not your tarantula will eventually begin eating again. Unlike with some pets, refusing food is not necessarily a sign of poor health in tarantulas when unaccompanied by other symptoms. You will know that your spider is in distress if its abdomen begins to shrivel up rather than appearing full and round or if its legs start to curl up underneath it.