Eatin too much?

[RobnBig]

Is it possible for my curly hair to eat too many crickets? Their pretty big (the crickets). She's eaten three days in a row ate two today. My other guy didn't want it so I pitched it in her enclosure and within moments she attacked it. Before this she hasn't eaten much at all. I've had her @ a month. She's a couple years old I guess.
Sincerely fatty mcabdomin.

 

[Scoolman]

What size is she? An adult will do just fine on 2-4 crix a week. When she is full she will stop eating, but a fat T can injure themselves easily in a very short fall. Best not to let them get to fat.

 

[Cobalt]

Overfeeding (powerfeeding) a tarantula will speed up their metabolism and make them mature faster, thus deacreasing their lifespan. A fat T can also rupture more easily. They are opportunist eaters and will eat alot because they do not know when their next meal is.

With that said...most T's in captivity are overfed anyway compared to wild specimens

 

[Sabeth]

A tarantula's instinct is to eat whatever food is at hand, since in the wild they don't know how long it will be before they eat again. So if you keep feeding them, they will keep eating until they can't eat anymore. This is why a tarantula that gorges itself on everything you throw in the cage can give the impression that he is hungry. Normally, however, for most adult Ts, six to eight crickets a month is ideal.

 

[Scoolman]

Overfeeding (powerfeeding) a tarantula will speed up their metabolism and make them mature faster, thus deacreasing their lifespan.

While this is the current line of thought, there is no evidence, yet, as to the overall effects of feeding, metabolism, and lifespan.
And yes, most captive Ts are overfed.

 

[Cobalt]

While this is the current line of thought, there is no evidence, yet, as to the overall effects of feeding, metabolism, and lifespan.
And yes, most captive Ts are overfed.

It's still the most logical current line of thought, in my opinion.

 

[spiderengineer]

the may thing to understand is T's have slow metabolism so they can swell up pretty fast if fed a lot. that is why they are capable of going long periods of times with out eating. in the wild they may not see food for weeks or even months, but are perfectly fine. so what to take out of this is you don't need to feed your T every day. the standard is once a week and some will argue that is still to much feeding. I feed my T once every two weeks.

 

[Atx13]

Really can't "overfeed".. but fat Ts can harm themselves from from shorter falls.

 

[Kurt Nelson]

I always think I'm underfeeding my A.Avic. His belly is small! Poor guy. But he eats a cricket once a week.

 

[TJB13]

I try to stick to one cricket a week, I can see the appeal to feeding often because its cool watching them attack.

 

[DalilahBlue]

CRICKET CARNAGE!!!!

and subsequent tarantula obesity.

 

[TJB13]

Haha, "I'm not fat! I'm big exoskeletoned"

 

[DalilahBlue]

Yes, that's it. They have thick exoskeletons....

 

[Bast]

I always think I'm underfeeding my A.Avic. His belly is small! Poor guy. But he eats a cricket once a week.

I find that Avics just have a naturally girlish figure

 

[Kurt Nelson]

Hes got curves!

 

[TJB13]

Yes, that's it. They have thick exoskeletons....

Ok! It wasn't that funny

 

[DalilahBlue]

This bunch tends to find the oddest things hilarious...

 

[Bast]

That's what makes us all so awesome

 

[Sabeth]

Is it possible for my curly hair to eat too many crickets? Their pretty big (the crickets). She's eaten three days in a row ate two today. My other guy didn't want it so I pitched it in her enclosure and within moments she attacked it. Before this she hasn't eaten much at all. I've had her @ a month. She's a couple years old I guess.
Sincerely fatty mcabdomin.

A tarantula's instinct is to eat whatever is nearby, so as long as you keep putting food in the tank, she'll eat and eat until she can't eat anymore. Most adult Ts don't need more than 6-8 crickets per month. Younger ones may eat a little more.

 

[Bast]

I usually feed my my T's one cricket a week, or two each every two weeks (if I miss the shop by accident). I will probably feed my new slings a bit more often; 2 pinheads 2x week until they make it over an inch and then put them on the same schedule as my other t's.