# Do T's always eat standing on their tip-toes?



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

I've noticed this every time my T's eat. I can tell if it's caught it's livefood because when I glance in the tank it will be standing with it's legs rather vertical, so raising it's body further off the ground then say if it was just standing there doing nothing.

Is there a reason they do this, or do they not always do this and I've just happened to see them in that stance when eating?


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## herptastic (Apr 15, 2009)

im not a t expert but i was told its to protect them selfs keep all the important stuff out of harms way and only exposing the buisness end as it were.


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## andy07966 (Mar 10, 2009)

Yeah, i've wandered that too! Maybe to stop other things eating it from the ground or attracting mites?


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

andy07966 said:


> Yeah, i've wandered that too! Maybe to stop other things eating it from the ground or attracting mites?


yeah I always thought maybe it's to stop say little insects like ants eating it to since they take their time eating.:lol2:
Or maybe that stance involves contracting muscles which aids in the passage of the liquefied cricket through their simplistic digestive system?


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## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

joeyboy said:


> I've noticed this every time my T's eat. I can tell if it's caught it's livefood because when I glance in the tank it will be standing with it's legs rather vertical, so raising it's body further off the ground then say if it was just standing there doing nothing.
> 
> Is there a reason they do this, or do they not always do this and I've just happened to see them in that stance when eating?


Stanley Schultz writes about this, which he refers to as the Feeding Waltz, in his book The Tarantula Keepers Guide. He wonders why "as soon as the tarantula grabs the prey item, it immediately raises onto its leg tips, lowers the end of its opisthosoma and begins to lay down a sheet of silk".

Within the fair use, I copy the paragraph here:



> The hypothesis is that this behavior is a response to the uncertainty of food availability in the wild. Because most tarantulas do not leave their burrows to hunt for food, merely resting inside the entrance, waiting for some tender, juicy morsel to wander within striking range, their food supply is quite unpredictable. Then, with the arrival of a locust swarm or a pair of dung beetles rolling their ball of dung, food suddenly becomes temporarily abundant. Of the many options available to the spider, one is grabbing one prey item and allowing the remainder to escape. Another is developing some method for catching several and consuming that later at the spider's leisure.
> 
> ... ...
> 
> ...Tarantulas have adopted the second strategy. Their method is to grab as many prey items as they can, as fast as possible. Instead of being dispatched individually, they are lumped together in a common food bolus until the food supply runs out or the tarantula simply cannot deal with any more. Then all captured prey items are eaten at the same time.


The Tarantula Keepers Guide - Stanley A. Schultz, Marguerite J. Schultz, Barron's.



joeyboy said:


> yeah I always thought maybe it's to stop say little insects like ants eating it to since they take their time eating.:lol2:
> Or maybe that stance involves contracting muscles which aids in the passage of the liquefied cricket through their simplistic digestive system?


A tarantulas digestive system is anything but simplistic


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## SpiderGirl33 (Sep 2, 2007)

Some of my spiders don't do this :hmm:


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

aye, when you have a mouth that small, you really would take your time its measured in micrometers, even in for the biggest species afaik, so food particles need to be broken down to liquid


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## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Not all do, especially those with an active burrow. A lot will just grab and retreat.

Sit and watch what each spider does, hell, write it down and record your findings!


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

ph0bia said:


> Not all do, especially those with an active burrow. A lot will just grab and retreat.
> 
> Sit and watch what each spider does, hell, write it down and record your findings!


well the GBB does the whole web mat thing, haven't seen the salmon pink do that though.

Also it may not be simplistic as such but compared to say a human the methods of digestion are more primitive. I thought it was mostly a long tube which ran down the entire length of the T. With the nutrients diffusing into the surrounds then being carried off or something.


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## gibby (Oct 24, 2007)

my new T does this and makes a web around him while doing it.


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## Jennifer23 (Oct 7, 2008)

My tiny B smithi slings do this and they look so cute


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

All the ones I see eating do the tip-toe thing. I'm not sure about arboreal sp like my cambridgei as they seem to take stuff into their tube to eat.


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## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

garlicpickle said:


> All the ones I see eating do the tip-toe thing. I'm not sure about arboreal sp like my cambridgei as they seem to take stuff into their tube to eat.


I've watched my Avicularia do it vertically on the walls of her enclosure, spinning the mat too.

And Joey, correct, pretty much, but I find it more obscure than human digestive. Ours is purely chemical, saliva, gastric fluid etc break down food which is absorbed through the intestines. Liquids are passed through the kidneys and water removed/added.

For a spider, they have no jaw to masticate with, nor a mouth big enough to fit the prey through. When a spider next molts and you're able to retrieve it, take a look and find the mouth and pumping stomach in the molt. 

The spider has to get an entire cricket/locust through THAT.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

i would assume some of the benefits of this action would be about secureing the prey, without allowing the prey to touch the ground and potentially escape, the other being that potentially a big preyitem could cause damage to the spider, im thinking of the very sharp, spiked hind legs of a cockroach, so i think it would also be a case of subduing the prey whilst paying attention of your own safety. lol
I would imagine the webbing is laid to secure the prey to the ground as a tether, and also a way to seal up the bolus from becoming contaminated.. thinking Theraphosa sp (and many more) that spend their lifetime in an incredibly hot and humid environment, live in a climate with optimal reproductive conditions for bacterium.


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## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

All plausible, but the escape theory... the prey is currently impaled upon two large fangs, they are not able to run off or even turn. Also, prey is dead almost instantly upon tarantula bites, I'd not imagine that subduing is a part of it.

The ground webbing I'd agree serves this purpose also, but I (and many professional arachnologists) seem to agree with S.Schultz' theory. But of course, we need proper research into it all


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

Not all will lay down a feeding mat but they will raise themselves up, I think it's to stop foreign particles etc getting onto the food and for security for the spider.


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## sage999 (Sep 21, 2008)

All of mine do the tip toes thing when eating. Most put a thin layer of silk down when eating.


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

ph0bia said:


> All plausible, but the escape theory... the prey is currently impaled upon two large fangs, they are not able to run off or even turn. Also, prey is dead almost instantly upon tarantula bites, I'd not imagine that subduing is a part of it.
> 
> The ground webbing I'd agree serves this purpose also, but I (and many professional arachnologists) seem to agree with S.Schultz' theory. But of course, we need proper research into it all


rarely have i ever found invert prey to be dead on a bite, its generally a long and drawn out affair.
also, i would say a cockroach is a powerful invert, if it can grip the floor, it will try an escape, i see that regularly, often the tarantula has to reform its grip as the roach scrambles.
Tarantula venom is pretty dull, due to the fact they masticate their prey so it doesnt need to be that strong.
Their grip is weakest whilst 'chewing' the prey, its this point the roaches strength can gain advantage.. (i am talking the burrowing roaches, not the small dubias and such).
its jsut something iv found within my collection and feedings.


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## Young_Gun (Jan 6, 2007)

C_Strike said:


> rarely have i ever found invert prey to be dead on a bite, its generally a long and drawn out affair.
> also, i would say a cockroach is a powerful invert, if it can grip the floor, it will try an escape, i see that regularly, often the tarantula has to reform its grip as the roach scrambles.
> Tarantula venom is pretty dull, due to the fact they masticate their prey so it doesnt need to be that strong.
> Their grip is weakest whilst 'chewing' the prey, its this point the roaches strength can gain advantage.. (i am talking the burrowing roaches, not the small dubias and such).
> its jsut something iv found within my collection and feedings.


Totally agree, the worst I have found for feeding to inverts for the 'struggle' are mealworms and morios, they are very strong and don't give up easily, I've had T's flipped over by the mealworms pushing against the substrate etc.


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## Willenium (Apr 17, 2008)

I personally believe the whole spinning of a light mat and raising onto tiptoes is a hygiene thing. Spiders seem to be very meticulous about maintaining cleanliness so it would make sense that the initial mat and raising onto tiptoes prevents the food becoming covered with dirt from the burrow. The initial webbing may also prevent food leakage onto the burrow floor and creating a perfect mould opportunity. The second mat of webbing they lay which happens after killing and chewing the prey for a while may help to keep it in a neat bundle rather than bits spilling off everywhere. With the leftover bolus remaining neatly compacted, it can be removed from the burrow easily and leaves no mess.


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## JustJordan (Jul 2, 2008)

my pink toe is a lazy sod then, doesnt do anything other than eat haha


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