How to Feed a Tarantula: Schedule, Prey, and Fasting

Tarantula feeding is simple — one appropriately-sized insect once or twice a week — and the behavior that confuses new keepers is the fasting. A tarantula that refuses food for weeks is usually perfectly healthy, and the refusal is most often pre-molt. The guide that matters covers what to feed, how much, and when refusal is normal versus when it signals a problem.

This guide covers the complete feeding routine. Part of the pet tarantulas complete care guide series.

The Basic Schedule

• Adults: one appropriately-sized insect, once or twice a week. That is the whole schedule.
• Juveniles: more frequently — every three to five days while growing.
• Feed at night — tarantulas are nocturnal hunters, and prey introduced during the day may be ignored or harass the resting spider.
• Less in winter — many species slow down in cooler months.

The Prey

• Crickets — the standard staple. Nutritious and active, which triggers the hunting response.
• Dubia roaches — the better staple: more nutritious, easier to keep, and they do not escape as readily.
• Mealworms — occasional variety. They burrow into substrate where the tarantula may not reach them, and the exoskeleton is less digestible.
• Waxworms and superworms — occasional treats, high in fat. Not a staple.
• Locusts — occasional variety for larger species.

The Size Rule

• Prey smaller than the tarantula’s body length — an oversized insect fights back, and the fight can injure the spider.
• Prey no wider than the tarantula’s body — the tarantula needs to subdue it safely.
• Juveniles get appropriately-sized prey — pinhead crickets or flightless fruit flies for spiderlings, not the adult portion.

The oversized prey is the most common feeding mistake — a large locust can kill a tarantula, and the injury happens while the keeper is not watching.

Gut-Loading and Dusting

• Gut-load prey 24 hours before feeding — nutritious food for the insects transfers through to the tarantula.
• Dust occasionally with calcium — less critical for tarantulas than reptiles, but it supports the exoskeleton.
• Fresh vegetables and commercial gut-load for the prey insects — the delivery mechanism matters.

The Feeding Process

1. Introduce one insect at night, away from the tarantula’s hide.
2. Let the tarantula hunt — the detection is by vibration and movement.
3. Remove uneaten prey the next morning — crickets harass a tarantula and cause stress, especially pre-molt.
4. One insect per feeding — more produces loose crickets and a tarantula that eats only what it needs.

The Fasting Behavior

The most misunderstood part of tarantula care:

• Pre-molt fasting: tarantulas stop eating days to weeks before molting. The refusal is normal, and the molt follows. The molting guide covers the full cycle.
• Temperature-driven: a cool enclosure suppresses feeding — check the temperature first.
• Stress fasting: a recent move, a disturbed enclosure, or too much light can suppress feeding for a week or two.
• After a molt: the tarantula does not eat for about a week while the fangs harden — the wait is required, and the appetite returns ravenous.
• Seasonal fasting: many species reduce feeding in winter even indoors.

A tarantula can fast for several weeks without harm — the water matters more than the food, and a hydrated fasting tarantula is usually healthy.

When Refusal Is a Problem

• The temperature is wrong — the first check. Below 70 degrees or above 85 suppresses feeding for most species.
• Pre-molt — check for the bald abdominal patch, the dull coloration, and the seclusion.
• Dehydration — a tarantula without water stops eating. Check the dish.
• Enclosure too dry or too wet — the humidity mismatch stresses the animal.
• Age — elderly tarantulas eat less and eventually stop. The lifespan varies by species and sex.

The diagnostic order: temperature, then water, then pre-molt signs, then humidity, then age. Illness is the last check, not the first.

The Water

• A shallow water dish always available — tarantulas drink from dishes, and dehydration kills faster than starvation.
• Depth safe — a dish the tarantula cannot drown in. A bottle cap works for juveniles; a shallow reptile dish for adults.
• Change regularly — a soiled dish grows mold and bacteria.
• The dish provides humidity too — for many terrestrial species, the water dish maintains the local humidity without misting.

What Not to Feed

• Wild-caught insects — pesticide exposure.
• Vertebrates — pinky mice and similar are sometimes marketed and are not appropriate — the fat content and the ethics make them a poor choice. Tarantulas eat insects.
• Fireflies — toxic.
• Oversized prey — the injury risk is real, and a stressed tarantula refuses future feedings.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do tarantulas eat?

Adults eat one appropriately-sized insect once or twice a week; juveniles eat more frequently while growing. Feeding at night matches their nocturnal hunting behavior.

My tarantula stopped eating. Is it dying?

Usually not — pre-molt fasting, cool temperatures, and stress all suppress feeding, and a tarantula can fast for weeks. Check the temperature first, then the water, then look for pre-molt signs. Continued refusal with weight loss in an elderly tarantula may be age-related.

Can I feed my tarantula mealworms?

As occasional variety — they burrow where the tarantula may not reach them, and the exoskeleton is less digestible. Crickets and dubia roaches are the better staples.

Should I remove uneaten crickets?

Yes — the next morning. Crickets harass a tarantula and cause stress, and during a pre-molt period the harassment can cause fatal injuries to a defenseless spider.

The Bottom Line

One insect smaller than the tarantula’s body, once or twice a week, fed at night, gut-loaded. Crickets or dubia roaches as staples, uneaten prey removed the next morning. A shallow water dish always available — the hydration matters more than the feeding frequency. Fasting for weeks is normal — pre-molt, cool temperatures, and stress all suppress feeding, and the temperature check comes first. The feeding is simple; the interpretation of refusal is where new keepers struggle. The rest of the care is in the complete tarantula care guide.