How often do you feed

How often and how much do you all feed your spiders ??? Everyone has diff methods and time spans which i find interesting.

Teeny wrote:How often and how much do you all feed your spiders ??? Everyone has diff methods and time spans which i find interesting.

I dont like to leave lots of livefood in there with the spider tbh unless pre killed for slings.
I tend to give them what they will take generally try feeding 1-2 times a week with a cricket or locust or two.

I don't like to leave uneaten food in there either. If I know a spider is eating well, I'll offer food about twice a week. If it's not eating, I'll offer about once a week and remove anything uneaten the next day. Two of mine are really greedy and will eat anything, but I try and stick to twice a week cos I don't want them getting too fat.

I used to feed all my Ts twice a week with a cricket a similar size to the abdomen of the T. However, over a period I noticed the larger Ts getting rather well built - does my bum look big in this?
On visiting other people I noticed some with larger and smaller abdomens and sometimes others would remark on the size. T. blondi was a fine example as these will eat more than they should and I often observed abdomens far larger than my T. blondi. My 8" L. klugi was another example of how much a T could eat and I'd read of ppl with L. parahybana that had tested how much they'd eat - perhaps up to 5 crickets! My A. geniculata - about 7" would eat as much as I gave her, they're notorious for eating so much but this excessive eating usually showed in the size of the abdomen. Stanley Schultz warns against feeding so much, too large an abdomen can result in abrasions underneath which can result in secondary infection and the possible loss of a T. Others have warned that feeding too much or too regularly can result in a shorter lifespan and less productive males!
Schultz recommends 6 insects per month. Some experienced ppl within the variety of forums out there talk of not feeding their Ts for weeks, perhaps even a month, and we can exclude G. rosea's eating habits from this scenario. The tarantula's metabolic rate isn't one that requires lots of food but our own feeding habits often persuade us to feed more than necessary.
So, my conclusions are to feed my Ts once a week, with 1 or 2 crickets, keeping an eye on their abdomens. There may be times when I feel inclined to provide more but only if I have time.
The obvious exception to this is feeding slings. I try to feed these twice a week with a small insect but I try to avoid feeding more than 1 insects at a time as I've lost lots of slings to crickets when the T decides to moult.

oooooooooooo i just realised i didn't add mine lol
I fed the big ones 2-3 times a week at 1-2 cricks or locusts each time ( i only feed small to medium locusts or cricks ) for a chance i sometimes feed a mealworm but these bury to fast for my liking.They seem to prefer locusts for some reason.
The spiderlings get feed the same amount of times but much less. I head squish whatever i put in and take it out in morn or sometimes i just use a leg off a locust. They seem to like that just as much

2 or 3 times a week shes an adult & I give her 2 crix. But I try to check if theres any survivors just so they dont bully her.

Hi,
i feed my slings twice per week, juvies once/twice per week, and adult just the once per week

We feed our twice a week,always check to make sure she has eaten it and remove if she hasn't,she has been killing the cric's and taking them to where she goes to the toilet,and then just leaving them!
This is making things easier lol

once a week and misting twice a week. They get fed really well tho

Mine are fed on a strict schedule with a time span for taking the prey items out if not killed within, I keep all mine lean an keen.

I feed 1 to 2 crickets a week depending on the spid and their size.

I used to feed twice a week religiously when i first got into spiders. Monday and Thursdays. That lasted about a year, now i feed whenever i can be bothered (to be quite honest lol)
I tend to feed in dribs and drabs. A few one week, some another week etc Some of my spiders, particularly adults and any im slowing down for breeding purposes go upto a month between feeds and are no worse off!

Doing it this way reduces over feeding, and means i dont invade the spiders on a weekly/daily basis, so they live as naturally and happily as possible. Though i do check them daily by shining a torch into each pot. I don't tend to mist either (unless they're tiny slings), i just tip water in and soak the substrate.

IMO a cricket/hopper/insect doesn't come along every Wednesday in the wild, they go months between feeds, particularly in the dry season, so why shouldn't we replicate this in captivity? Just my opinion

All my spiders are happy and content and i am successful in breeding and rearing too so it can't be bad!

Becky wrote:I used to feed twice a week religiously when i first got into spiders. Monday and Thursdays. That lasted about a year, now i feed whenever i can be bothered (to be quite honest lol)
I tend to feed in dribs and drabs. A few one week, some another week etc Some of my spiders, particularly adults and any im slowing down for breeding purposes go upto a month between feeds and are no worse off!

Doing it this way reduces over feeding, and means i dont invade the spiders on a weekly/daily basis, so they live as naturally and happily as possible. Though i do check them daily by shining a torch into each pot. I don't tend to mist either (unless they're tiny slings), i just tip water in and soak the substrate.

IMO a cricket/hopper/insect doesn't come along every Wednesday in the wild, they go months between feeds, particularly in the dry season, so why shouldn't we replicate this in captivity? Just my opinion

All my spiders are happy and content and i am successful in breeding and rearing too so it can't be bad!

I did this over xmas and found my none feeders have started feeding again. None of mine look skinny tbh and i didnt notice any change in weight either.

Yep i would agree with Becky there too although i generally still feed mine every week norm 2-3 crickets for the adults once a week, and 2 crickets for spids twice a week. I also breed etc and def makes sense to cut down on feeding males that ur trying to slow down for a female etc. I use a spreadsheet to keep all my spids details on, costs, moult dates etc. Is def handy for assessing when they are next due etc. Also its not good to have spids with too fat a bum due to risk of bursting etc if they fall. I do however feed up recently molted spiders that im trying to get to mature quicker but this is only done with a select few and once they have a fairly fat bum (not excessive) i will starve them for a few weeks

Slings get fed weekly, even twice weekly if they catch me on a generous day!! But adults get fed anything from weekly to monthly. Breeding females, particularly if just moulted are fed more to be ready for a male sooner (especially females who are gravid for ages. Brachys, Grammys etc)
I don't feed mated females anymore than normal either

Mine get fed weekly, but I don't worry if they go a few days over. My middle sized spids get 1 cricket usually (def only 1 if male) and my bigger ones get 2. My massive MM Blondi hardly eats I feed my slings weekly with 1 or 2 micros or grown ones and a good spray at the same time. Scorps get fed weekly too.

I tend to just feed as and when I have time. Usually once or twice over a fortnight.

1 or 2 food items a week, depends on the size of the spiders abdomen and its voraciousness

I tend to do it as and when I can be bothered too, with adults generally 1-3times a fortnight, slings once or twice a week.