How strong are tarantulas? This is a question that is asked by tarantula enthusiasts and arachnophobes equally, and depending on where you fall on that spectrum you will either be impressed or terrified!

It’s a well-known fact that some of the earth’s tiny invertebrates are actually freakishly strong. The everyday ant, for example, proved to be able to care up to 5,000 times its body weight according to a 2014 study! Isn’t that just insane?!

But what about the strength of other creatures that have completely different muscular systems than humans? How strong are tarantulas?! When I first got my Grammostola rosea, Spidey, I didn’t really wonder too much about this at first, but then I started witnessing some really weird things.

First, she pulled all her fake plant decorations out of her substrate – and I thought I’d buried them pretty well! This is also why Spidey doesn’t have any plants in her tank now lol.   

Then, I put a thin scarf in her tank to see what she would do with it (btw, DON’T do this – it was a beginner mistake and it’s actually very dangerous). To my surprise, Spidey was moving this thing around like it was nothing – and it was so much heavier than her! In fact, she actually DRAGGED IT UP HER TANK, upside down! What an impressive little babe.

I’ve seen Spidey do a lot of heavy lifting over the years. She’s moved around jar lids, pushed her little bunny toy across her tank, and much more.

Some tarantula owners have even witnessed their tarantulas turning over their water dishes or even lifting up the lids of their tanks or tearing through wire mesh to escape! Tarantulas in the wild have also been known to take down prey that is much larger and heavier than themselves.

Now unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any scientific research or measures for tarantula strength (we REALLY need more tarantula studies!). HOWEVER, I found a great video by Youtuber Scott Bridger about how he found out that his tarantula was strong as hell! Scott wrote:

“As a tarantula keeper I have become curious as to how strong these amazing creatures can be. I made the decision to test this conundrum with my adult female Brazilian black tarantula. Just opening the door slightly made her curious and I was able to get the results shown in this video.

For saying how much force was needed to move it… I measured the force and it took 2lbs of force so for a spider that’s strong!”

 

Watch what Scott’s naughty tarantula does – it will seriously make you rethink the security of your tarantula’s enclosure!

Do you have any stories about your super strong tarantula? Let me know in the comments!

If you liked this topic and want to learn more about tarantulas, feel free to check out my big tarantula guide (I talk about lots of enclosure and care tips). You can also get free tarantula tips by signing up for my newsletter or subscribing to my YouTube channel! I release new tips every Tuesday for Tarantula Tuesday! 

Featured image via Eran Finkle / Flickr