Tarantulas look pretty big, so many might feel they are very sturdy. However, this couldn’t be farther from the truth and many are very surprised to hear that despite their size, tarantulas are extremely fragile and can be killed by the slightest fall or injury.

However, despite their light, fragile bodies, they can be surprisingly strong! Just like tiny ants can carry things over a thousand times their own size, I believe tarantulas also have this ability. I’d like to share my own experience and some other research.

I consider Spidey a medium-sized tarantula. She is a grammostola rosea who is elderly and tends to be pretty round despite barely eating lol. When I first got Spidey, I first witnessed her strength when I noticed her ruining the fake plans I lovingly arranged and decorated her tank with. She not only trampled them, but she nearly pulled them out of the substrate. That’s when I realized she was NOT playing around. I’ve seen her life other things, too – Ive seen her tip over and move her jar lids and a few other items. Many tarantula owners have even said that their tarantulas are strong enough to even pick their water dishes up and throw them! I have yet to see my spider do this, but I believe it!

The heaviest thing Spidey ever picked up was a heavy scarf I’d put in her tank. I was a beginner and didn’t know she shouldn’t have fabric in her enclosure (her little paw claws can get caught in the cloth). So I put this fabric in her enclosure to see what she would do with it. At first it was very adorable. I witnessed Spidey makeing a little bed out of it. But then things got weird. Then, I noticed she was moving the scarf around her tank. Let me say, this was not a small scarf. Compared to Spidey’s boyd, this scarf was much bigger and heavier than her. Imagine my surprise when I saw Spidey, hanging upside down in her enclosure while LIFTING THE ENTIRE SCARF UP! I have no idea what she was doing or why she was doing it (maybe she wanted to be clear that she did NOT like the scarf), but I was AMAZED. By the way, I took the scarf out shortly after this incident because she started to scare me lol.

I’m not alone, though. Many tarantula owners have seen their spiders doing WEIRD stuff. One tarantula owner even noticed that their tarantula could open their enclosure!

This video was captured by Youtuber Scott Bridger, who said this when 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!”

Scott isn’t alone. Many tarntula owners have complained about their tarantulas lifting their heavy enclosure lids and ESCAPING! Some large tarantuals have even been caught tearing or biting through their screens. Some tarantula owners have even been horrified to find themselves in a weird tug of war game with their tarantuals, only to realize these spiders are much stronger than they thought. This has happened to me once when Spidey grabbed my watering straw and caught me by surprise – do NOT underestimate these creatures, and be sure to use safety measures.

Tarantulas bodies are amazing, and it seems they are actually pretty strong when it comes down to it! If you’d like to know more about tarantula strengh, check out my other article on this. To learn about how strong tarantula fangs are, check this out!