Tarantula's in the wild eating/ Compared to a pet tarantula eating.

[Caldwell37]

Hello, I have a question. Does a wild tarantula eat more on it's own/Than that of a pet tarantula. I have always been curious to know why a owner of a tarantula would feed it once every week/or two, And if a wild one would hunt and kill prey more often for itself. And is it that the pet tarantula adapts to the schedule of the owner, as to why it can wait a week or two for a meal. Tarantula's are beautiful creatures, And I'm terrified of them, but watching all the vids and doing research from all the wonderfully brave spider owners out there is helping me be able to appreciate them from a far lol/ and from a far I mean on screen lol. Thanks to all of you guys who have Tarantula's and put vids out for people to watch and be able to learn from.

 

[Enn49]

Hello,
I would imagine that in the wild a tarantula would hunt more often but that the prey would be smaller than we feed them.
Many of us that keep tarantulas have been scared of spiders in the past. I only started keeping them after my son got one and I was so fascinated by her that I bought one. I'm sure if you got one you'd soon get over your fear.

 

[PanzoN88]

While I've yet to observe them in the wild when i go down south, I am fairly certain tarantulas in the wild spend most of their time in burrows as there is more rish than reward when coming out, therefore they would wait for prey to come to them. I could very well be wrong. Lets summon @MassExodus

As for the fear of spiders in general, I used to have the phobia myself. I overcame the fear when I bought my first tarantula in 2014. If you want to get over the fear, i recommend starting with a sling. In my case i wasn't fond of the idea of owning a big, hairy tarantula right off the bat, yet I was intrigued by The mighty B. albopilosum. Growing slowly with a sling really helps diminish the fear.

Lastly, welcome to the forum and hopefully the hobby.

 

[Dave Jay]

Tarantulas are ambush predators, they sit and wait for food to come to them, studies show that they rarely even move 30cm to catch prey. They have a very low metabolism and being cold blooded don't expend energy to maintain their body temperature so unless they move they don't require very much energy to stay alive, that way they can wait for food to come to them. If they were to run around actively seeking out prey like a Huntsman does for instance they would require a lot more frequent feeding because they would be expending energy finding food, instead they just sit there barely just ticking over using next to no energy unless catching a prey item is almost guaranteed.

 

[Arachnoclown]

They eat less and grow much slower in the wild.

 

[R.I. Pocock]

If you look at Rick West’s site he has tons of pics of wild tarantulas. Some are pretty skinny, and some are fat or even what I would call very fat. Probably just luck, as to whether they set up a burrow in a very good spot or if they manage to take down a very large prey item. Ambush predators have to be supremely adaptable, eating tons when available but also dealing with long fasts. So we are probably mimicking the diets of the lucky ones in the wild.

 

[CJL]

Hi there! Sorry to be late to chime in, but thought I'd offer my input. We have regular residents in our short rock retaining wall in northern Arizona. We call it the condos.
Have been shining flashlights on them until they finally stopped retreating back into their homes for years now. This year I started catching large bugs, grasshoppers, roaches, beetles, and feeding them. There are 2 large females and one new juvenile, arizona blondes that enjoyed these special deliveries. The largest, that has resided here the longest, least afraid, would catch them with glee (seemingly so) even 2 at a time then carry them into her home & come back for more the next night. Before this, she would sit each night, for years on top of by a solar light hunting, like a fixture. The juvenile had a tiny entrance just down a bit, and would lurk on a tiny ledge.
It became almost a sport for her to try to catch the treats, having to climb out on the wall & watch me try to get it to her after several near misses & retrieval to get it to her waiting pedipalps. Then she would disappear into her safe hole, coming back for more each night. These 2 would actually come to the opening of their homes if I shined the light on them and they hadn't come out yet.
The 3rd gal is more shy, will take the offerings, but not as boldly. Sometimes I would just leave it at the entrance to her ground level condo, and come back to find it already collected.
So I believe the answer to the question on whether tarantulas eat more in the wild is, if they can. But to qualify, this just started in August, and they sealed up their homes for the winter once we started having cool September nights. At least they will be well prepared for the winter hibernation.

 

[Orangebiteything]

I personally, have always been fascinated with spiders. It took a few years in my late teens for me to realize how in depth and huge the hobby had grown and how many species there are! Spiders to me, are very u Kaye in the animal kingdom. Much like humans, they change their surroundings and make what they want out of it. That is unique for most animals, let alone an invertebrate. Lol. Most T’s are going to sit and wait, however some of my arboreal species like my caribena, she can be a wolf sometimes. Stalking and chasing, but always in an enclosure which, helps a LOT. They grow slower, and rely on a lot of luck, and take whatever they can that’s reasonable size. Just remember they will always fear you, more than you fear them, and if you get one, you won’t regret it. If you do, there are a lot of folks here that will help you find it a home.

 

[Orangebiteything]

Hi there! Sorry to be late to chime in, but thought I'd offer my input. We have regular residents in our short rock retaining wall in northern Arizona. We call it the condos.
Have been shining flashlights on them until they finally stopped retreating back into their homes for years now. This year I started catching large bugs, grasshoppers, roaches, beetles, and feeding them. There are 2 large females and one new juvenile, arizona blondes that enjoyed these special deliveries. The largest, that has resided here the longest, least afraid, would catch them with glee (seemingly so) even 2 at a time then carry them into her home & come back for more the next night. Before this, she would sit each night, for years on top of by a solar light hunting, like a fixture. The juvenile had a tiny entrance just down a bit, and would lurk on a tiny ledge.
It became almost a sport for her to try to catch the treats, having to climb out on the wall & watch me try to get it to her after several near misses & retrieval to get it to her waiting pedipalps. Then she would disappear into her safe hole, coming back for more each night. These 2 would actually come to the opening of their homes if I shined the light on them and they hadn't come out yet.
The 3rd gal is more shy, will take the offerings, but not as boldly. Sometimes I would just leave it at the entrance to her ground level condo, and come back to find it already collected.
So I believe the answer to the question on whether tarantulas eat more in the wild is, if they can. But to qualify, this just started in August, and they sealed up their homes for the winter once we started having cool September nights. At least they will be well prepared for the winter hibernation.

Glad I am not the only weirdo wandering around at night feeding local spiders unlucky bugs. Hahah.

 

[Whitelightning777]

You have tarantulas in your back yard?

Now I'm jealous!!