You can buy live crickets and other prey online or in pet stores. Buy insects in tubs or bulk orders, and keep them alive and well-fred.
A young tarantula of about 4 weeks old may have a two-inch leg span and a one-inch body, so you would feed it a cricket of about ¾ inch in length. Baby tarantulas are sometimes willing to scavenge dead insects, so if your crickets are too big you can cut them into appropriately sized portions. If your insects are small, you can serve up to four at a time to a large tarantula. However, this may cause your tarantula stress, and you may wish to serve them one at a time or to buy larger insects.
Humidity will kill the crickets. Keep the box in a dry place, and don’t overcrowd it. You can store about a 1000 crickets in a 18 by 14 inch box. Put egg cartons and toilet paper tubes in the box for the crickets to climb over and hide on. This will prevent the crickets from crowding along a single surface and generating humidity. When you want to harvest some crickets to feed your spider, put a plastic bag in the box and shake a toilet paper tube or section of egg carton into it. The crickets hidden within will fall in the bag.
For moisture and nutrients, place a whole carrot in the cage. Remove it if it decomposes or molds. Crickets will also eat leafy greens, such as broccoli, collards, or cabbage, as well as potatoes, fish flakes, and reptile food. [2] X Research source Soak cotton balls in water, put them in a lid, and pop this in the cricket cage. This will let the crickets drink without drowning.
In the case of too-small insects, some tarantula owners prefer to put them in the cage one at a time over several days, so that the tarantula does not experience stress or harassment from uncaught prey. If you have put a large creature in the cage and are worried it may harm your tarantula, keep an eye on it and remove it if you think you have overestimated your tarantula’s current state of strength and appetite.
If you would like to induce your tarantula to eat food that is dead or holding still, such as a frozen pinkie mouse, you can also dangle it from the end of a string to make it seem lifelike.
Change the water daily, and replace the dish if it is molding or rusting. Tarantulas do not drink often, as they receive most of their moisture from their food. However, they do drink at times, and they benefit from having some water around to create environmental moisture Tropical tarantulas, such as Avicularia Versicolor, living in dry environments may benefit from having areas of their cage misted with water every 2-3 days, then allowed to dry out entirely. Check the specifications for your species. Do not purchase “cricket gel” or sponges. Though some pet stores still sell them, they have been discredited as a source of moisture for your tarantula, and will quickly mold. [4] X Research source
Try feeding your spider at night, and cleaning out the remains in the morning.
Your tarantula will probably stop eating prey a few weeks before it molts. You can tell your tarantula has molted because it will lie on its back for 15 minutes to several hours. It may have webbing on its body, clear drops of fluid seeping from its legs, or a bald spot on its abdomen. It will then emerge from its old skin, possibly with a regenerated limb or two.
