The Perfect Diet for Your Cobalt Blue Tarantula
The cobalt blue tarantula is one of the most beautiful creatures out there. Its bright blue color makes it stand out from the rest. Because of this, many people are interested in adopting one. But after you get it, there are many things you need to know to keep it happy and healthy. How do you care for it? What and how do you feed it? And there are lots more you need to know. In this article, we’ll be talking about the perfect diet for the cobalt blue tarantula and give you some extra tips to make sure it goes well. Let’s begin!
General Information about Tarantulas
Before we get to the diet, let’s talk about how these species behave in nature. The blue cobalt is known to be an aggressive breed. They get defensive when they get scared and could bite you. They are not venomous, but their bite can leave you spasming for help.
Before you get one, make sure you know what you’re doing. On the bright side, if handled properly, they are a quiet, low-maintenance pet that does not need much grooming and guidance. Now that we went through that, let’s look at their diet.
Type of Food
The cobalt blue is a born carnivore, meaning it feeds on insects, such as cockroaches, crickets, worms, and so on. They require live insects as they will ignore dead ones. You can catch the live food on your own or buy it online or at your local pet shop.
Preparation of Food
Make sure that the live insect that you are feeding the tarantula is gut-loaded. This means you must take care of the live insect, giving it food and water to achieve maximum health benefits before putting it up to feed. Supplying the insects with vitamins and minerals will ensure that your tarantula is getting the same. You can also feed them leafy greens which you can buy at the store or, for a cheaper alternative, you can opt for indoor gardening.
Feeding Time
Generally, feeding your tarantula once or twice a week is enough to keep them healthy. As tarantulas are known to fast for months at a time, they do not need to feed every day. Do not worry if they don’t eat for a while. It probably means either that they are on their fast or they are molting.
Feeding Criteria
You can feed an adult cobalt blue tarantula large insects like cockroaches and crickets. If they are hungry, they can eat up to five crickets in a day. For a baby spider or spiderling, start with small insects. Live insects should not be fed directly as they could contain pesticides that could impact their environment and health.
Important Things to Note
1. Molting
Do not feed your tarantula while they are molting. This is important. Molting is the process of shedding the exoskeleton that guards their inner organs. They need to shed this to grow. Refrain from feeding them for a few weeks after they have been molted. Feeding them during this time could result in health problems and even death, so be careful.
2. Water Intake
The tarantula gets its water requirement from the insects it eats. But just to be on the safe side, keep a water bowl beside them so they could drink from it when needed. Make sure to also change the water daily.
3. Cleaning
Tarantulas will quit eating when they are done and leave leftover food in the tank. Make sure you clean the tank after you feed them. Don’t mix up the live and dead insects and potentially risk their life.
Now that you are aware of their diet, let’s discuss some of the facts which make them superior!
- At first when you look at a cobalt blue tarantula, it will appear black. But as you get close to it and the right angle of light falls on it, its bright blue color becomes apparent. It becomes stunningly apparent and also glows with a metallic iridescence.
- Many tarantulas are armed with stinging hairs on their abdomen that they can flick at their enemies. This tarantula is different. Its defense mechanism is its strong fangs, which can give its predators a painful bite.
- The cobalt blue is one of the most aggressive breeds in the tarantula family. Even the spiderlings can give their predators a run for their money.
- The cobalt blue tarantula has poor eyesight, despite having eight eyes. Its auditory features are unknown, but most likely poor as well. It depends on the sensory receptors on its body and leg hairs, which are the most polished component of its body.
- The male cobalt blue approaches the female’s burrow during reproduction and vibrates the body when conducting a tapping ritual. If the female is interested in mating, she emerges from her burrow and invites the male inside. In her burrow, the female lays her eggs in an egg sac. Unfortunately for the male, the female may kill and eat him after mating, though this does not happen very often.
- Cobalt blue tarantulas live in the rain forest floor in deep underground burrows. They either dig their own burrows or move into ones that have already been dug by other animals.
- The cobalt blue tarantula is a nocturnal creature that only comes out at night to hunt for food. At night, males look for females as well. They spend their days sleeping in their burrows.
Conclusion
Handling these tarantulas can be intimidating, but following these tips can help you deal with them efficiently. Before you get one, make sure to do your research, as they do require more patience when it comes to their diet. This peaceful yet aggressive breed will be a fuss-free friend once you get the hang of their dietary requirements. This article will give you some key points that will benefit your tarantula and help them flourish. Thank you for reading!
Salman Zafar is an ecopreneur, consultant, advisor, speaker and journalist with expertise in waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection, conservation and sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Salman is the Founder of EcoMENA, a popular voluntary organization based in Qatar. He is also the Founder and CEO of BioEnergy Consult, a reputed consulting firm active in biomass, waste-to-energy and waste management segments.
Salman is a professional environmental writer with more than 350 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass environmental awareness in different parts of the world.
Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org or salman@bioenergyconsult.com
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