So you just purchased a new tarantula. You spent hours researching your new pet, painstakingly purchased the best enclosure you could for it and designed its new home as if it were your own. You are literally SO excited about your new pet and things seem to be going great until…your tarantula starts refusing all of its meals and nothing you do seems to help. You’ve stumbled upon one of the most frustrating, stressful parts of being a tarantula owner – your tarantula stopped eating.

This is of the most panic-inducing things for beginning tarantula owners (and even more experienced ones) and in this post, I’ll share my own experiences on what happened when my tarantula stopped eating, why this happens to tarantulas, and what you can do to fix it.

If you’re a newer tarantula owner, you may not be aware that it is absolutely normal for a tarantula’s appetite to slow down during certain seasons, or for a tarantula to refuse food because it’s in premolt (the preparation period before a molt). But when neither of these things are happening, what the hell is going on?! You can watch the video below for my tips or scroll down below to read on!

I myself spent the first year with my first tarantula Spidey (a grammostola rosea, chilean rose hair) in a constant panic because my picky little tarantula stopped eating for over 6 months. Now of course, as a more experienced tarantula owner I can tell you that chilean rose hairs are INFAMOUS for randomly refusing food, and this became pretty standard behavior for Spidey (she has even gone over a year without food before). But as a beginner who was still figuring things out, it was extremely stressful. I had already ruled out premolt and could not figure out why she wouldn’t eat! Every week I would pathetically try to toss her different food items to see if she’d eat, only to be rejected every time.

Until one day, she finally ate. Randomly. Just like that.

And then she went back to not eating again for another long period. After five years with Spidey, I’ve become accustomed to this behavior and no longer freak out if she won’t eat. She is an older spider and actually spends most of her time fasting (she does drink water quite a bit, though). So I eventually learned to trust her spider instincts and back off whenever she’s in one of her fasting periods. I just try to give her some food every few weeks to see if she’s hungry. If she’s not, no big deal.

But what if your tarantula doesn’t normally fast and they’re not in premolt? What if your tarantula is a sling and needs more frequent feedings to grow but they’re still refusing food? Then you have to do some investigating to make sure your tarantula is ok. I wrote about tarantula fasting, feeding, and hunger extensively in my tarantula guide (which covers the entire scope of tarantula care, too) but I’d like to share a few common issues that might quickly resolve the problem if your tarantula won’t eat.

If your tarantula stopped eating, there are a few common things you can look out for and correct easily. Now of course, there are rare occasions in which a tarantula stops eating and it is actually because of a serious medical issue (in which there will be other signs, such as not drinking, having an injury, or having difficulty moving). But most of the time, it’s not that serious and is likely a minor problem.

Major tank changes

If your tarantula stopped eating and you purchased it or changed its tank recently, your tarantula is likely just adjusting to its new surroundings. Tarantulas are incredibly anxious and do not handle change well. Being put into a new tank or having its surroundings moved around or cleaned can put tarantulas in a funk and it may take them several days to weeks to settle down and have an appetite again.

Their environment stresses them out

Make sure you are following the exact care requirements for the species of tarantula you have. Getting the humidity, temperature, substrate, or setup wrong could cause your tarantula to feel uncomfortable, anxious, and not want to eat. For example, many new tarantula owners mistakenly put damp substrate in the tanks of their chilean rose hairs – yet this type of tarantula HATES walking on wet substrate and prefers dry surfaces. A rose hair with damp substrate in the tank will be incredibly stressed out and do anything to avoid touching moisture – including dangerous climbing moves on the sides of their tanks. It’s tank mistakes like this that could completely overrun your tarantula’s appetite – so make sure that you are following the right care guidelines for your specific spider.

It’s normal for their species

Like I mentioned before, certain species (like the chilean rose hair) have a reputation for fasting regardless of any other external factor. It’s just what they do and in that case, there’s not much you can do but wait it out – your tarantula will likely be fine and simply resume eating when it’s ready. So do some research on your tarantula to see if there are any reports of this behavior or if this is normal for them.

They’re being picky or you’re feeding them the wrong prey

You might be surprised by this, but there have actually been reports of tarantulas refusing one kind of food and accepting another. So if you normally feed your tarantula super worms and they’ve been refusing it for a while, you might actually have success by trying a cricket or roach. Crazy, right?!

Another thing you might be getting wrong is the size of the prey. Generally, no food that you offer your tarantula should be larger than the size of its midsection. If you are feeding your tarantula something that is too big, your tarantula may feel intimidated and avoid it.

One last bit about food – sometimes you have to tailor it to your tarantula’s needs. For example, Spidey is an older spider and in the beginning I was giving her crickets. However I noticed that she was having a very hard time catching them because she just wasn’t fast enough. Once I switched to super worms, she had a much easier time because they were slower and she could dig for them instead of having to attack quickly. So pay attention to the way your tarantula moves and “hunts” – they may need you to make it easier for them. Over time, I’ve devised a foolproof feeding system that works PERFECTLY for a slow striker like Spidey, which is outlined in the back of my tarantula guide in the tutorials section. I’ve had a lot of success with it and you might, too.

Here’s what to do if your tarantula won’t eat

If your tarantula stopped eating, don’t leave food in their tank or try to force them to eat. Uneaten prey items could be a major risk to them if they start molting, and could create further stress for them. Simply try to offer them food every week (less for older spiders) to see if their appetite has returned. If it has not, remove the uneaten food and try again in another week or two.

In conclusion

What many people do not realize is that tarantulas are pretty hardy and can go long periods of time without food. As long as they have access to water, they will be fine and will resume eating on their own in most cases.

If your tarantula stopped eating, do not blame yourself. Tarantulas are sometimes quite finicky creatures and much of their behavior remains a mystery to us! And remember, none of us became great tarantula owners overnight – it is a constant learning process. With all of that being said, if you are curious to learn more about what to do if your tarantula is not eating or want to learn WAY more about how to care for tarantulas, be sure to purchase my full tarantula guide!

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Featured image via Wikimedia Commons