The tarantula secretes a fluid through the salivary glands, which is injected into its prey using their fangs. The fluid is actually a digestive enzyme, which digest the prey from the inside out, which turns the tissues into liquid. The tarantula sips his liquid out of the shell of the victim, which is undigested. These secretions will kill insects, young birds, and mice but will only cause pain and swelling in humans. Caution must be used in handling, but some species will allow you to pick them up.
Tarantulas molt as many as nine times in some species.
Molting involves cell destruction, construction and rearrangement. When the final molt is finish the reproductive organs have been developed. Some tarantulas approach death at sexual maturity, the female, after her eggs are laid may die. But as a rule, some may live up to 25 years. A tarantula may be kept in a 10-gallon tank with a screen top.