My spider is not eating - what should I do ?

First of all, don't worry. A spider knows best when it needs to eat, or not, and your idea of how often they should be fed may be nothing close to their actual requirements. Prepare to watch your spider and be surprised as to just how long they don't need to eat for...

 

Generally, the best sign that your T is OK, eating or not, is by looking at the opisthosoma. If it looks full and healthy, and a good size (relative to the spider, of course), then the chances are that nothing is wrong, and your spider is in pre-moult, or has another normal reason for not choosing to eat.

 

If, however, the spider's back end looks dehydrated, or thin, or unusually small, then it might be time to investigate further.

 

Try and get a look at the fangs, and check they are not damaged, or in a worst case scenario, snapped off. If this is the case, you will need to mash crickets, and manouvre the spider over them so that it can eat enough to sustain another moult, at which point its fangs will regenerate. You may need to continue to feed like this for some time.

 

If this isn't the reason, you then need to look at if your spider will eat ANYTHING. Try a different prey type every meal - sometimes T's can 'go off' crickets, and all they want is something different. Try maggots, roaches, or waxworms and the like, and maybe large moths that you catch around the place, assuming you are confident they have not been in contact with pesticides.

 

Lastly, sub adult, and adult spiders can go without food for up to a year, or longer, so if your spider has been off its lunch for a while, there is probably nothing to worry about... what is important, is that they always have the cjoice, so always continue to keep offereing it periodically, and then removing it if not taken within a day. Obviously, do not offer food when a premoult is obvious, a moult is impending, or in the week immediately after one.