Tarantulas mainly attack live prey but will occasionally accept a piece of raw fat free beef if it is dangled from a piece of string to simulate movement. Tarantulas gain a lot of nourishment from beef and even the largest spider will spend 24 hours consuming a piece. Their main prey, however, is small invertebrates such as crickets, moths and flies etc.

CRICKETS: These are probably the most widely used source of live food by keepers as they are nutritious and fairly easy to rear. The cricket container must be well ventilated as they are extremely susceptible to damp conditions. In the bottom of the container there should be some screwed-up newspaper and old egg cartons for the crickets to hide in. Food consists of fish pellets, dry dog biscuits or cereal - the better the diet of the crickets, the better the diet of the tarantula. Water should be provided by either using a shallow container with damp tissue paper or freshly cut potato which must be replaced daily. A temperature range between 20 - 30oC is ideal for breeding your own supply of crickets but they will survive at lower temperatures. If a large number of adult crickets is kept, breeding is a simple affair. Shallow containers should be filled with damp compost and placed in the container allowing females to deposit their eggs. These containers should be removed on a regular basis and placed preferably in a heated area. After a few weeks, the tiny micro crickets will emerge and these can then be housed in a smaller container. Water is essential for micro crickets as they are prone to desiccation. Repeating this process for a few months will result in a constant supply of crickets of varying size to suit the size of your spiders. A well kept cricket culture will last for many weeks and provide a highly beneficial food source. Click here to watch a tarantula feeding.

FLIES: These are eagerly accepted by arboreal species as in their natural environment, flying insects would form a large part of their diet. The fly larvae (maggots) are commercially available from fishing bait stores and are relatively inexpensive. The maggots should then be placed in a large jar with a tight fitting ventilated lid and fed on a mash of dog biscuits. Eventually the maggots will pupate and then can either be put into a fly cage until emerging or be placed into a well ventilated box in the refrigerator - this allows their development to be slowed and they can be used when required. Different species of fly should be provided depending on the size of the tarantula. For example: blow flies (blue bottles) for large juveniles to adults and house flies and fruit flies for spiderlings.

MEALWORMS & WAXWORMS: These make a good additional food source. Care must be taken as they can sometimes burrow into the substrate if the spider doesn't accept them immediately and may cause problems when the spider is moulting. Adult beetles and moths of these worms can also be used. Mealworms have a long shelf life but as they don't contain much nutrition, they should only be used as a supplement to the usual cricket diet.

OTHER FOOD SOURCES: Defrosted newborn mice (pinkies), rats (fuzzies) and raw, fat-free meat can also be used but be aware that it is illegal in the UK to feed live mammals to your spider. Although not necessary, they can be useful for times when the spider needs additional nutrition (in preparation for egg laying etc). Sometimes placing the defrosted pinkie or meat in front of the spider is all that is needed, but some need to be stimulated before accepting the prey. This is easily achieved by threading the mouse etc. with a long piece of thread and trailing it in front of the spider. Once the spider accepts the prey, the thread must be removed as it can cause the spider problems around the fangs. Be aware that this food source will attract mites and phorid flies so all remains must be cleaned up thoroughly afterwards.

You can collect other insects from outdoors such as moths but it is best to keep them for at least 24 hours before feeding them to the spider. This is because a food source collected from the wild may have been in contact with pesticides which could harm your spider. Obviously bees, wasps and anything that can fight back should be avoided.