long time no molt

cichlidsman · Jul 8, 2004

i have a g.rosea for almost 2 years now and she never molted since i had her. i was wondering, what was the longest time between molts you people have seen?

Keith Richard · Jul 8, 2004

What size, and what temps do you keep it at?

cichlidsman · Jul 8, 2004

she is preaty big. i would say porbely 5 or more inchs. i keep her at room temp 20-25*C

cichlidsman · Jul 8, 2004

forgot to mention that in the winter that may drom to 15*C over night. and even then i keep a hot rock in with her.

15*C is the room temp but the tank temp may be a litter higher then 15

Keith Richard · Jul 8, 2004

How regularly (or not as the case may be) is it eating?

cichlidsman · Jul 8, 2004

she never eaten in a few months

sanguinarian · Jul 8, 2004

I have 2 roses. Had them since mid April. The smaller one I have seen eat a cricket once. The big one comes out of her hide every couple of weeks with a look like feed me Seymour and it will eat 2 or 3 crickets. I have yet to see either molt.

cichlidsman · Jul 8, 2004

sanguinarian said:
I have 2 roses. Had them since mid April. The smaller one I have seen eat a cricket once. The big one comes out of her hide every couple of weeks with a look like feed me Seymour and it will eat 2 or 3 crickets. I have yet to see either molt.

i have a 1" rosey also and it is a eating machine, it eats around 2 crickets per week(the crickets are the same size as the spider except for the legs).

rob · Jul 8, 2004

cichlidsman said:
i have a g.rosea for almost 2 years now and she never molted since i had her. i was wondering, what was the longest time between molts you people have seen?

I have one that hasn't molted in 18 months or so. It hasn't eaten in about six months. Still going strong though.

cichlidsman · Jul 8, 2004

rob said:
I have one that hasn't molted in 18 months or so. It hasn't eaten in about six months. Still going strong though.

yeal she look good, no shrunken abdomen or anything.

luther · Jul 9, 2004

I posted pictures of my rosea recently that has reached 2 years without feeding, with no ill effects. She hasn't molted in the 3 years that I've owned her. I suspect that low temperatures might be to blame for this in both our tarantulas.

brian&goliath · Jul 9, 2004

It should'nt be anything to do with your temp. some tarantulas molt more regular than others as well as eat more regular than others.I am not one for high temps and humidity and i have seen some of my Ts molt very very often although one of my chiles hasn't in 13 months but she is still going as strong as the others and i dont worry bout her just let her get on ith it they will molt when they have too no sooner or later

Wade · Jul 9, 2004

I suspect it has more to do with age. My first tarantula was a G. rosea, purchased as an adult, 12 years ago now. Back then, I could count on her regularly molting once a year, but as the years went on, the molts have gotten farther and farther apart. Now it's been about three years since her last molt, and more than a year since she's eaten. Her pattern in recent years has been to feed heavily for the first 3 or 4 months following a molt, and then shutting down completely until after the next one.

As I said, I've had her for 12 years, but her real age is anyone's guess. Having bred and raised this species to adulthood, I've observed VERY slow growth rates relative to other tarantulas kept at the same conditions. It's taken me 5-6 years to raise up females to the size of the WC mother (kept at room temp, warmer temps would have doubtless sped things up). I suspect that WC females grow slower (just guessing), and I feel safe giving her an estimated age of AT LEAST 18, although she's probably older still. Based on observations of captive slings, I'd be surprised if it took less than 8 years for females to reach full size in the wild. This is just speculation of course, the things we observe in or captives doesn't necessarily translate to their relatives in the wild.

Wade

cichlidsman · Jul 9, 2004

Wade said:
I suspect it has more to do with age. My first tarantula was a G. rosea, purchased as an adult, 12 years ago now. Back then, I could count on her regularly molting once a year, but as the years went on, the molts have gotten farther and farther apart. Now it's been about three years since her last molt, and more than a year since she's eaten. Her pattern in recent years has been to feed heavily for the first 3 or 4 months following a molt, and then shutting down completely until after the next one.

As I said, I've had her for 12 years, but her real age is anyone's guess. Having bred and raised this species to adulthood, I've observed VERY slow growth rates relative to other tarantulas kept at the same conditions. It's taken me 5-6 years to raise up females to the size of the WC mother (kept at room temp, warmer temps would have doubtless sped things up). I suspect that WC females grow slower (just guessing), and I feel safe giving her an estimated age of AT LEAST 18, although she's probably older still. Based on observations of captive slings, I'd be surprised if it took less than 8 years for females to reach full size in the wild. This is just speculation of course, the things we observe in or captives doesn't necessarily translate to their relatives in the wild.

Wade

i though that it had to with age. but i did'nt think that she was that old. do you think that she is too old to mate?

luther · Jul 9, 2004

Thanks for the info Wade. Since my G.rosea is kept in exactly the same conditions as my Brachypelmas I had wondered why they all eat well but she does nothing. I can well believe it's her age, since she was bought as an adult.

long time no molt

cichlidsman

Arachnoprince

Keith Richard

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cichlidsman

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cichlidsman

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Keith Richard

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cichlidsman

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sanguinarian

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cichlidsman

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rob

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cichlidsman

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luther

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brian&goliath

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Wade

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cichlidsman

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luther

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