A. Metallica not eating, abdomen i

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Dire Sloth

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Apr 30, 2014
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I bought my A. Metallica back in December at a reptile show. It is approximately 3-4 inches. It hasn't eaten at all since I've had it. I have tried both mealworms and small dubia roaches. It seems interested at first sometimes, but then leaves the food alone. I have a water dish in the bottom of its enclosure. I understand they won't eat for a long time if they're going to molt, but I'm worried because the abdomen is much smaller than the rest of its body, whereas all our other Ts had larger abdomens before molting. Is this normal? What should I do? Any help or advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
MarkmD

MarkmD

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At 3-4" are you sure its not a (HE)? cause mature males at that size usually don't eat much.
 
cold blood

cold blood

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horanjp said:
Pictures....? Include the enclosure if possible?
Click to expand...
I'm consistently shocked at the amount of people that come here looking for advice and fail to post a simple picture. There should be a rule in place that if you post a thread looking for advice, it can't be posted until a pic is uploaded. It would save everyone so much time and worthless conversation explaining all the little questions we're bound to ask.
 
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Dire Sloth

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horanjp said:
Pictures....? Include the enclosure if possible?
Click to expand...
Sorry, didn't think to do that. The lid is wire mesh if that helps. Also, thanks for the quick reply.
I'm hoping it's nothing, and this is just normal tarantula behavior, but wanted to be safe.
a.metallica.jpg enclosure.jpg
 
Last edited:
lalberts9310

lalberts9310

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Avicularia should be kept on dry substrate (which you have), provided a waterbowl for humidity and drinking (which you have), you can lightly mist the webbing or place few water droplets via eyedropper on the webbing for drinking purposes, if you have rocks in that dish for the purpose of preventing the T from drowning, you can take them out because Ts can't drown, which you don't have is cross-ventilation, avics needs lots of cross-ventilation, and little to no top ventilation, what is wrong with that enclosure is you have a mesh top, mesh tops are bad ideas especially for avics, it prevents a micro-climate from forming, and all the humidity just escapes straight through the top, and makes the air stagnant at the bottom, which is bad for an avic, they can also chew through mesh tops, or get a fang or leg stuck in them, even lose a leg. I would change that mesh lid asap with an acrylic cast lid, and add cross-ventilation (on the sides)... also, add some corck bark in there as well..

Do you use any heat pads or heat lamps?
 
lalberts9310

lalberts9310

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Dire Sloth said:
Thanks so much! I will get right on that. Will that help with the way it's been acting?
Click to expand...
I don't know if the setup is the contributing factor to its current behaviour.. it may be, or it may not.. but it needs to be changed regardless.. have you tried other feeders besides mealworms and roaches?
 
lalberts9310

lalberts9310

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Dire Sloth said:
I think I tried a cricket before, but since it didn't go for it right away I took it out after a few hours. Probably should have waited longer.
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maybe try crickets again? And some other feeders as well

---------- Post added 04-17-2015 at 09:28 PM ----------

I wouldn't say the enclosure in that link is proper.. since avics are aboreal they need more height than floor space, and generally there should be ventilation holes on the sides closer to the top and then just above the substrate to provide constant flow of fresh air
 
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14pokies

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I think a contributing factor is all that sunlight...move the enclosure/ new enclosure to a darker area... make sure your temps are mid 70s to low 80s... Try feeding crickets at night when avics are most active..
 
lalberts9310

lalberts9310

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Dire Sloth said:
Would this work? Maybe drill some holes in the top?
https://www.jamiestarantulas.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=00001
Click to expand...
yeah that will work, don't drill holes in the top tough, that enclosure provides enough cross-ventilation.. no top ventilation is needed

---------- Post added 04-17-2015 at 09:46 PM ----------
14pokies said:
I think a contributing factor is all that sunlight...move the enclosure/ new enclosure to a darker area... make sure your temps are mid 70s to low 80s... Try feeding crickets at night when avics are most active..
Click to expand...
+1 to this, keep temps up and move away from all the sunlight
 
D

Dire Sloth

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Thank you everyone so much! I'm ordering the new enclosure right away, and going to get crickets for later. Just in case. Thank you!
 
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14pokies

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Just noticed its sitting next to a mammals cage too....it may be perceiving it as a threat or the fumes from the substrate/ ammonia from the urine could be causing problems..
 
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