We all know that the most dangerous (if not lethal) part of a tarantula is its fangs. But what if you de-fanged it, it wouldn’t be so dangerous right? Read on to see find the answer to can you de-fang a tarantula, what the consequences are and why it wouldn’t be possible in the long term anyway.
Some unscrupulous dealers will tell you that they can de-fang your tarantula to make it less dangerous. DO NOT DO THIS. This is purely a marketing ploy for them to sell you the tarantula.
As you have just read above, de-fanging a tarantula can cause death and is akin to animal cruelty.
About Tarantula Fangs
Tarantula fangs are usually around 1.5 inches long although the larger the tarantula, the larger the fang. The largest tarantula fangs belong to the Goliath Bird Eating tarantula (T. blondi) and can reach sizes of 2.5 inches!!
As they use them to inject venom, they need to be hollow in order for the venom to pass through into their prey.
When in a threat posture, a tarantula will show its fangs as a warning not to come any closer.
How Tarantulas Eat
Tarantulas lack teeth and so are unable to eat solid objects. Their mouth is also a short, straw-shaped opening that can only suck, meaning that anything taken into it must be in liquid form.
A tarantula’s fangs fold under the body, meaning that it must strike downward to impale its prey as opposed to those of true spiders (which face each other), allowing them to make pincerlike motions.
Their fangs paralyze and kill the prey victim. Then using digestive enzymes, the prey is transformed into a liquid which the tarantula can slurp up like soup.
This is when you can sometimes see them doing a “happy dance”, wiggling their abdomen, and shaking their spinnerets in approval.
If you keep tarantulas as pets, you will often have to clean out the remnants of their last meal, basically the exoskeleton or “shell” of whatever prey they’ve eaten, be it a roach, cricket, etc.
Damage
Occasionally, a tarantula will damage its fangs one way or another. One possibility is if it is able to get them through the ventilation holes in its enclosure and bites down. This would cause them to snap off.
Another could be if you used a water cap as a water dish, it would be quite easy for your tarantula to chomp down on the plastic and embed its fangs into it.
However, whatever the reason, do not panic. You can make a slurry of cricket soup or feed her a pre-killed, slightly smashed up, roach.
Moult
Tarantulas are capable of regenerating certain parts of their body, the fangs being one of them.
If they are already close to moult, you may have to wait until the next one but either way, rest assured their fangs will regrow and your beloved tarantula will have fangs back in all their glory soon enough.
After they have moulted, their new fangs will be soft, so it is recommended that you wait 10 days for them to harden before feeding.
So, to reiterate, you should never de-fang your tarantula. As the old saying goes, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.
Without fangs, not only can a tarantula not defend itself, it cannot eat so is at serious danger of starvation and death.