- Joined
- Sep 25, 2005
- Messages
- 483
I'm looking for a bit of input on something I'm in two minds about.
I have a very gravid P. metallica at the moment - It's been 6 and a half months since insertion, she's hugging the heat, and has pulled down most of her old webbing, so she could produce a sac any day really - (I have been informed that the average time for a metallica sac is between 5 and a half to 7 months).
The thing is, up until last week, she fasted for about 4 months or so - she sealed herself in for a good 2 and a half of those. Last saturday she took 3 small locusts, and webbed up her hide almost immediately afterwards. A few days ago, she unsealed her hide again.
To me, this would say that she's either receptive to feeding, or has been having a drink. If it was just a drink she was after, I'd have expected her to seal herself back in again.
Now here's the thing. The male was a bit thick, and didn't get an insertion until a few months after she moulted. It's now coming up to about 10 months since her last moult. Since then, she's only had around 15 small/medium locusts and a couple of black crickets, and she's not showing signs of premoult thankfully.
Assuming I'm correct, and she has unsealed her hide due to being on the hungry side (I'd be hungry to after fasting for 4 months), the last thing I want to do is possibly prompt a moult by suddenly resuming feeding (which I imagine could possibly be construed as a seasonal change).
A good friend of mine, Colin D. Wilson, has voiced experiences that he has had wherein a couple of gravid female pokies moulted out shortly after resuming feeding.
However, I have been told by a metallica breeder that the female would start to feast heavily in the last month leading up to dropping a sac.
I've only had regalis sacs before, and one of those was eaten - Possibly due to insufficient feeding before laying.
Currently, I'm in the mindset of leaving her be and maybe feeding her again in another week if she remains unsealed. But then again, has she not made a sac already because she's not eaten quite enough? :?
Any thoughts?
I have a very gravid P. metallica at the moment - It's been 6 and a half months since insertion, she's hugging the heat, and has pulled down most of her old webbing, so she could produce a sac any day really - (I have been informed that the average time for a metallica sac is between 5 and a half to 7 months).
The thing is, up until last week, she fasted for about 4 months or so - she sealed herself in for a good 2 and a half of those. Last saturday she took 3 small locusts, and webbed up her hide almost immediately afterwards. A few days ago, she unsealed her hide again.
To me, this would say that she's either receptive to feeding, or has been having a drink. If it was just a drink she was after, I'd have expected her to seal herself back in again.
Now here's the thing. The male was a bit thick, and didn't get an insertion until a few months after she moulted. It's now coming up to about 10 months since her last moult. Since then, she's only had around 15 small/medium locusts and a couple of black crickets, and she's not showing signs of premoult thankfully.
Assuming I'm correct, and she has unsealed her hide due to being on the hungry side (I'd be hungry to after fasting for 4 months), the last thing I want to do is possibly prompt a moult by suddenly resuming feeding (which I imagine could possibly be construed as a seasonal change).
A good friend of mine, Colin D. Wilson, has voiced experiences that he has had wherein a couple of gravid female pokies moulted out shortly after resuming feeding.
However, I have been told by a metallica breeder that the female would start to feast heavily in the last month leading up to dropping a sac.
I've only had regalis sacs before, and one of those was eaten - Possibly due to insufficient feeding before laying.
Currently, I'm in the mindset of leaving her be and maybe feeding her again in another week if she remains unsealed. But then again, has she not made a sac already because she's not eaten quite enough? :?
Any thoughts?