Tarantula won't eat the entire cricket

Question

I have a tarantula and I gave him a cricket and he just held onto it in his mouth and when I came back 30 minutes later the cricket was lying in the cage dead with a gooey substance by it. Do they eat the whole cricket or just the inside?

Answer 1

Most tarantula "inject" a neuro-toxin into their prey (in this case a cricket) and "suck out" the insides.  Very few tarry's actually eat the exo-skeleton, so don't worry.  As long as your spider is eating at least once a week don't worry.  Remove the cricket carcass so that it doesn't "rot" and subject your spider to potentially harmful bacteria.

Answer 2

they don't eat the whole thing they spit their saliva into their bodies and suck the inner organs out like a soup. they leave the exoskeleton only.