Common Questions Tarantulas

Common Questions Tarantulas


Why won't my tarantula eat?
The most common reason for tarantulas refusing food, is when the tarantula is getting close to a moult. Tarantulas may stop feeding anything from a couple of days to 3 months before they moult, Tarantulas may also stop feeding for a while if they have just been re-housed, or mated and eggsac production is getting close.

Why does my tarantula have a bald spot on the abdomen?
If you see your tarantula vigorously scratching the abdomen with it's back legs, it's not scratching an itch. It's kicking off urticating hairs. This is what new world tarantulas often do as a first defence when disturbed. Tarantula hairs on the skin or in the eyes can be very irritating to say the least. Once the urticating hairs have been kicked off the spiders abdomen, they do not grow back. However a tarantula that is getting close to moulting may also develop a bald spot. As the moult gets closer, the bald spot will get darker, once it's darkened to black the moult is imminent, when the spider has successfully moulted it will again have a full abdomen of urticating hairs.


Why is my tarantula laying on it's back, and not moving?
This is nothing to worry about. It's the start of the moulting process, you tarantula may stay in this position for many hours. How ever tempted you are to poke or prod your tarantula, DONT, it will stress the spider, and may lead to it's death.

How often will my tarantula moult?
If your tarantula is a spiderling, it may moult as little as every 4 weeks. As your tarantula grows, the length of time between moults will increase. an adult female will usually moult just once a year. However as the tarantula gets older, it may start going longer without moulting.

How can I tell if my tarantula is male or female?
If your tarantula is not yet mature, both the male and female will look the same. The only true way to determine gender of an immature tarantula is from the moulted skin. when the male tarantula is mature there will be some differences, He will have his mating hooks on his front two walking legs (not all species), and the "feet" on the pedipalps will have been replaced with what look like boxing gloves.



Can I hold my tarantula?
Some tarantulas will tolerate being handled, That doesn't mean they like it. All tarantulas can bite, even the most docile species. More importantly, if the tarantula should fall from your hand, this could cause the abdomen to rupture, which is usually fatal to the tarantula. So handling is not recommended.


Can I keep more than one tarantula in a tank
For most species of tarantula, the answer is no, keeping tarantulas of the same or different species together will 99% of the time result in one spider being killed and or eaten by another. however saying that i have heard reports of hobbyists successfully keeping some species in communual groups, species include Poecilotheria sp except ornata, Holothele incei, Hystercrates sp & Avicularia sp. Anyone attempting to keep tarantulas communually must accept that it comes with the risk of losing some specimens to canabalism.