If the conditions aren't just right, the tarantula may split it's new skin. If this happens, the spider could bleed to death. After the molt is complete, the spider is very vulnerable. Spiders must molk since they do not have an internal skelton. They do not have bones that grow, with flexible skin covering them.
Spiders have an exoskeleton, or an outside covering.
When the spider grows it must shed this covering, since the hard exoskeleton is not flexibel and cannot strethc. These hairs acts as irritants, and can cause a rash worse than that of poison ivy. Only after a tarantula has given due warning, will it strike, and stirke position can be identified by the rearing of the abdomen, and raising of the first pair of legs. DIET Tarantulas feed primarily on live insects of the appropriate size, such as crickets and mealworms. Larger species may occasionally feed on smaller vertebrates, such as small mice and on some occasions, birds.