A question that I sometimes get from those who are new to the tarantula hobby is often “Will my tarantula make webs?” This is often because after many weeks of observation, their tarantula has yet to make anything that resembles a web and they’re worried there might be something wrong with their new pet. But fear not! A tarantula web just works differently than what many of us expect.

A tarantula web is WAY different from a spider web – and many newbies don’t know this at first. While the function of a tarantula web may be the same – to assist in hunting and to provide a home for the spider – a tarantula web does not possess the design or any visual resemblance of a spiderweb – but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful.

The design of a tarantula web is specific to its species – many beginner terrestrial tarantulas do not possess the inclination or need to make heavily webbed designs in their homes like more exotic, arboreal species. Spidey, my grammostola rosea, likes to make web carpets throughout the entire length of her tank, on the floor. It is so thin at first that you can barely see it – I really only notice it when I move her substrate around and realize it is all connected by her web. But once she gets several layers of silk down, you can begin to see it. Occasionally, she randomly takes to webbing up a particular corner of her tank, where it will appear more visible, and she will prefer to lay in this corner and ignore the rest of the tank. A few times, she has even made a thick web (which she mixed with dirt) to seal off her log so she could hide. This behavior is standard for terrestrial tarantulas, and many of them don’t make super elaborate, intricate webs.

For other tarantula species, webs are a major project and a big part of their housing. Some tarantulas species such as Green Bottle Blue, OBTs, costa rican tiger rump, and Avics make complex, intricate hides and tunnels out of their webs.

Tarantulas also use their webs for many different reasons. While there are obvious purposes for a tarantula web such as sensing vibrations from prey or predators, they also use it for decorating, storing food, tidying up their homes. They use their webs for different purposes, too.

• Tarantula egg sac: New tarantula moms will web up their eggs to make an egg sac where their babies will be held until they are ready to hatch
• Molting mat: tarantulas will make a thicker, layered web called a molting mat so they can lay down and molt on it
• Sperm web: A male tarantula will create what is called a sperm web when he has reached maturity. This web is used to help male tarantulas deposit their sperm onto their palpal bulbs in preparation for their mating with a female.

For newcomers to the hobby, it can be disappointing when you don’t see your new spider making intricate webbing structures right away – but if you are patient and observe your tarantula over time, you will see them make several different kinds of webs. They may not be the geometrical patterns of a house spider, but they are just as beautiful and intricate.

I hope this helped you! By the way, check out my new tarantula magazine for more cool spider stuff:

I’m putting out issues every 2 months! If you’d like to be a part of that, you can visit the magazine’s Patreon page to subscribe or make a submission! You can also contact me at theavenmag@gmail.com for more info!

If you want to learn more about tarantulas, feel free to check out my big tarantula guide (I talk about lots of tarantula facts and enclosure/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! And I also sell some pretty cool tarantula t-shirts, if I do say so myself 😉