A fasting Pulchra

Rookie

Arachnoknight
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Aug 16, 2002
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Hey everyone,
Just got home from the weekend, and I tried to feed Peso. He molted about 5 days ago, and he still won't touch the cricket. I wouldn't think I tried to feed too early, but perhaps I did? Is Peso just a big wimp?
Paul
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Jul 22, 2002
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See, I told you as soon the moult was over you could go back to obsessing ;)

You just never know when the T is going to start feeding again. Some start as soon as 2-3 days after a moult, others wait more than a week. Peso will eat when he's ready.
 

Rookie

Arachnoknight
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Aug 16, 2002
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283
Now that I think about it

CM,
After I posted I took another look at the cricket...and it might've been just too damned big. There's a new question: will a s'ling take on a cricket that is bigger than him/her? I know the cardinal rule is half of the body size, and that is what I thought this cricket was until the prey and the hunter were side by side.
Anyway, enough worry about that, I'll just buy a smaller cricket or two tomorrow and try again.
Paul
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Re: Now that I think about it

Originally posted by Rookie
will a s'ling take on a cricket that is bigger than him/her?
A hungry sling will at least try to attack prey larger than they are, if Peso isn't even making the attempt, he's just not hungry (unless the cricket is REALLY big next to him).
 

Gillian

Arachnoblessed
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Aug 13, 2002
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1,123
Originally posted by Rookie
Hey everyone,
Just got home from the weekend, and I tried to feed Peso. He molted about 5 days ago, and he still won't touch the cricket. I wouldn't think I tried to feed too early, but perhaps I did? Is Peso just a big wimp?
Paul

Paul,
My experience is that they just won't eat until ready. I'll share a story about my "queen" tarantula, Audra. She is my first. A G. rosea, I bought her as an adult, just this year. (am I still a newbie, or what?)
Anyways, a few months back, she went through a molt. It took her 1 month to eat again.

Good luck,
Gillian
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
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Nov 10, 2002
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391
I agree. Don't worry so much about getting the spider to eat. They can do just fine without food for a week or to at least. Give it time to get nice and strong, it will eat when it is ready. Grammostolas are funny about when they will eat anyway. They will sometimes fast for no reason at all. G. pulchras are especially funny when you couple that with their tendency to barracade themselves for weeks at a time. We have found that it is just best to let the spider be for the most part. Some eat very soon after a molt while others may need more time. I have never had a spider starve to death.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Originally posted by arachnopunks
I agree. Don't worry so much about getting the spider to eat. They can do just fine without food for a week or to at least.
Try a couple of months for a sling to a couple of years for an adult.

People who worry about a spider not eating need to think about in the relative scale of metabolic rates. Your spider not eating for a month is like you not eating for an hour - no one is going to starve in these situations.
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
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Nov 10, 2002
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Actually, we had to leave a Rosie with a friend a while ago for like 3-4 months. He said her gave her water, but she was bone dry when we got her back. She had not eaten at all in that time is was just fine. I was amazed at how healthy she still looked after all that time. She molted a few months later and lived to be 8 years old before somehow injuring herself and dying trying to force a molt.
 
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