Adult pet tarantulas typically eat one appropriately-sized prey item every 1-2 weeks, while young slings eat more often — around twice a week — since they're actively growing. Skip feeding entirely during pre-molt and for about a week after a molt.
Adult pet tarantulas typically eat one appropriately-sized prey item every one to two weeks. Young slings eat more often, around twice a week, since they’re actively growing.
How to Judge Portion Size
The prey item should be roughly the width of the tarantula’s body, or slightly smaller — oversized prey can stress or even injure a tarantula, especially a smaller one. If in doubt, go smaller and offer more often rather than bigger and less often.
Signs You’re Feeding the Right Amount
- A plump, rounded abdomen (not shriveled, not overly swollen).
- Prey is caught and eaten within a day, not left wandering the enclosure for days.
- Normal, steady growth over time between molts.
When to Skip a Feeding
Don’t feed a tarantula that’s showing pre-molt signs (a dark, bald patch on the abdomen, reduced activity, refusing food already) or for at least a week after a molt, until its new exoskeleton has hardened. Feeding during this window can injure the animal.
FAQ
Adult tarantulas typically eat well on one appropriately-sized prey item every one to two weeks, while young slings — still actively growing — do better with feeding around twice a week.
Overfeeding usually shows up as uneaten prey wandering the enclosure (which stresses the tarantula and can attract mites) or an unusually swollen abdomen — cutting back to a longer gap between feedings is the fix.
