My G Pulchripes is so full!

P

PyroYuy

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
2
So I have been feeding my half inch sling on Mondays, Wendsdays and Fridays with tiny dubia nymphs. And even when they burrow Charlie (I already named it) will dig after them and gobble them up. When I was taking to my gf about it she mentioned that when she saw it it was creepy. I was curious to when she saw it and asked her if she had fed it. She told me she's been feeding it on Tuesdays and Saturdays...

I haven't removed a single dead or living roach from there yet, and she hasn't either. I'm wondering how long I can leave Charlie without food now with how large it's belly has gotten!
 
tonypace2009

tonypace2009

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
226
I personally try to keep their abdomen about the same width of their caraspace and have no trouble accomplishing this by feeding once every other week. I consider feeding once a week power feeding . This is just my opinion and all my tarantulas are healthy. The exception to this rule is I feed twice in one week after they harden up after a molt one time. It seems to me when feeding to much they get really plump and stop eating period until they molt. This is just my observation. My Gramostola Pulchripes are not my slowest growing tarantulas so I don't try to rush their growth rate to be exact they seem to put on decent size each time they molt but I am comparing this to the growth difference of my Aphonopelmas which I think the rock in our front yard grows faster than. If it is really plump wait a week or two before feeding again .
 
viper69

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,938
I think feeding a sling once every 2 weeks as Tonypace does is ridiculous. It's a bit like a Nazi feeding schedule I think.

Ts esp slings have only 2 jobs, to eat (to grow large) and avoid predators. I'd be shocked if wild slings ate so sparingly.

Feeding more than once every 2 weeks is NOT power feeding.
 
1

14pokies

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Messages
1,735
I don't let slings go more than 4-5 days without offering food and generally offer them food every other day until they refuse... In a few days to a week they molt get 3-4 days to harden up and then the cycle resumes.

I have No idea on how long slings can go without food... I have heard it can be months as long as the have access to water but most people I know don't let them go more than a week or so..
 
P

PyroYuy

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
2
I think I'm going to hold off on feeding until either it molts or the abdomen reduces in size. When morning breaks and after my run I'll take a pic and post it. But I enjoy watching it eat so who knows what I'll do.
 
Blueandbluer

Blueandbluer

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 17, 2015
Messages
494
I think as long as they're slings, you can feed them several times a week, if they'll take it. Let 'em get chubby and then molt themselves skinny again. (Man, I wish I could do that.) Once they get to juvie size, you can start slowing down.
 
cold blood

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,259
tonypace2009 said:
I personally try to keep their abdomen about the same width of their caraspace and have no trouble accomplishing this by feeding once every other week. I consider feeding once a week power feeding.
Click to expand...
First, as a t's cycle progresses, its abdomen WILL get fat, that's part of the growth process of a t...keeping it at one size just doesn't make sense. Growing slings need to attain a fat abdomen as its part of their growth process. Feeding every other week is ok for slow growing adults, but not for slings, that's a concentration camp feeding schedule as viper points out.

And once a week is a FAR FAR cry from powerfeeding, in fact with a sling or juvie, its a very meager schedule.

Powerfeeding(LMAO whenever I see this term) is providing food nearly 24/7, almost no t keeper does this, although this sling is certainly a candidate.....and while it may be a bad thing to do with adults, its absolutely NOT an issue with slings or even juvies.

Op, once the sling gets fat, as it is, you can just hold off on feedings until the sling molts.

---------- Post added 08-31-2015 at 05:06 PM ----------
tonypace2009 said:
It seems to me when feeding to much they get really plump and stop eating period until they molt.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's because that is exactly what is SUPPOSED to happen, its TOTALLY natural and is a good thing, not something to avoid:wall:
 
tonypace2009

tonypace2009

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
226
viper69 said:
I think feeding a sling once every 2 weeks as Tonypace does is ridiculous. It's a bit like a Nazi feeding schedule I think.

Ts esp slings have only 2 jobs, to eat (to grow large) and avoid predators. I'd be shocked if wild slings ate so sparingly.

Feeding more than once every 2 weeks is NOT power feeding.
Click to expand...
Not trying to offend anyone. But I still stand by my opinion. I probably should have included that I feed two crickets each time I feed. I am not against trying to get them to size quickly by feeding heavily but it is not a necessity. Plus my first sentence actually says I personally try to keep their abdomen about the same width of their caraspace and have no trouble accomplishing this by feeding once every other week. all my spiders are very healthy. I totally understand in the wild they put on size fast to avoid predators and to be bigger to compete for food with other tarantulas but my tarantulas are in their own enclosures no competition and the only predator is me cleaning there water dish. I have no problem with the growth rate of my gramastola pulchripes they grow leaps and bounds faster than my aphonopelmas. I actually did a experiment with 10 of my aphonopelma slings by feeding them every 2 days and the 10 fed every 2 days quit feeding all together even though food was left for them to eat and molted within the same 2 weeks as all the other slings from the same sac. This is why I just accepted some tarantulas grow slow and I don't have a problem with that I just got more tarantulas. I do apologize if my findings and opinion offend you

---------- Post added 08-31-2015 at 06:47 PM ----------
cold blood said:
First, as a t's cycle progresses, its abdomen WILL get fat, that's part of the growth process of a t...keeping it at one size just doesn't make sense. Growing slings need to attain a fat abdomen as its part of their growth process. Feeding every other week is ok for slow growing adults, but not for slings, that's a concentration camp feeding schedule as viper points out.

And once a week is a FAR FAR cry from powerfeeding, in fact with a sling or juvie, its a very meager schedule.

Powerfeeding(LMAO whenever I see this term) is providing food nearly 24/7, almost no t keeper does this, although this sling is certainly a candidate.....and while it may be a bad thing to do with adults, its absolutely NOT an issue with slings or even juvies.

Op, once the sling gets fat, as it is, you can just hold off on feedings until the sling molts.

---------- Post added 08-31-2015 at 05:06 PM ----------



Yes, that's because that is exactly what is SUPPOSED to happen, its TOTALLY natural and is a good thing, not something to avoid:wall:
Click to expand...
I guess I should have said keep their abdomen at minmum the size of their caraspace and with my feeding schedule the do exceed this and the do get plump. I think we differ in the fact you suggest getting them plump right off the bat and mine do this over a longer period of time. Also a difference in proportions of food I feed two crickets per feeding. writing is not my strong point

Quote Originally Posted by tonypace2009 View Post
It seems to me when feeding to much they get really plump and stop eating period until they molt. I know bad composition I guess it should have read when feeding they get really plump and stop eating period until they molt. Which I wrote to let the OP know to expect them to just stop eating. Was hoping to bypass a future thread of my spider went under ground and webbed himself in and hasn't eaten in a month. understand some of these post take me an hour or more to write and rewrite and then sometimes don't say exactly what I mean. I know there's a spellcheck but where is the button that writes what I mean?
 
P

PyroYuy

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
2
Took a few days for me to remember. But I fed it this morning in the dark and when I checked on it not to long ago I just realized that it might be soon to molt.

Ya know, I'm going to take a better pic later lol.
 
Last edited:
cold blood

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,259
tonypace2009 said:
I actually did a experiment with 10 of my aphonopelma slings by feeding them every 2 days and the 10 fed every 2 days quit feeding all together even though food was left for them to eat and molted within the same 2 weeks as all the other slings from the same sac. This is why I just accepted some tarantulas grow slow and I don't have a problem with that I just got more tarantulas.
10 slings, of one species, probably for one molting cycle or two, is not a repeatable experiment across the board, and long term, probably not even with that species.

Having raised many species from tiny slings, with others keeping siblings at cooler temps and with less food or with certain specimens eating less, I can say without question that more food definitely equates to faster growth with similar temps. Its not even worth the time doing en experiment to prove it, like doing an experiment to see if less food makes you hungrier, the answer is just logically obvious.

---------- Post added 09-05-2015 at 06:30 PM ----------

But yeah, some species do just grow slow, and some individuals grow even slower than the norm, generally because they are poor eaters....even with poor eaters, once they reach a certain size they almost always experience accelerated growth as soon as their appetite improves.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thistles

Thistles

Arachnobroad
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
624
PyroYuy, are you wearing any clothes in that pic? Just wondering...
 
P

PyroYuy

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 18, 2015
Messages
2
I'm crazy, but not crazy enough to take care of tarantulas naked...

Or am I?
 
awiec

awiec

Arachnoprince
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Messages
1,325
An easy parallel to draw is with humans:
In the first 3 years of life, human babies/toddlers experience a HUGE growth boost, they basically triple in size and have fast metabolisms; at this point in life it's vital to provide them with good meals often. Slings are also like this, you can feed them until they look like they are about to bust and they will molt faster so they can stuff more food in.

Around the late juvenile years of a human you slow down a bit even though you still have a fast metabolism with more controlled meals. Juveniles should still be fed often but not as much as a sling would get as they have longer molt cycles than slings do.

Adult humans you eat a lot less than when you're younger as you process food slower and you're not growing anymore (well maybe your gut will) to use all those extra calories. Adult spiders will usually settle into a 1-2 year (or longer) molt cycles and thus really don't need much food as A) They have a slower metabolism and B) They get chunky which could lead to rupture concerns in captivity even with proper caging. We have to remember that in the wild they don't get that much food so adults are going to pounce on what ever you give them, of course some will refuse food for a while and then will accept it later.

So simple Tl;dr
Slings-Feed them often and as much as they will eat, when mine get really fat I'll slow down the feedings just so I have more time/chances to watch for heavy pre-molt; I really hate wasting feeders on a spider that isn't hungry.
Juveniles- This is a transition stage between the sling stage and adult stage, they should be offered food often as they are still focusing on growing, though probably not AS much as slings.
Adults- I feed mine more sparingly, maybe once or twice a month unless you want to breed a female, then plump her up quickly. I go with the abdomen being the same size of the carapace rule as it seems to be a good ratio. Sub-Adults I feed a bit more often as they still are growing.

Also one must keep in mind species, temperature and the size of the meals as that also dictates how often your animals are molting and eating
 
cold blood

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,259
Hilarious...maybe the first photo removed due to lack of enough clothing:laugh:
 
F

Formerphobe

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2011
Messages
2,336
I wasn't running an experiment per se, but I had two B emilia sac mates, one developed a cyst. For three years one was fed one small prey item per week, the cystic one got one small prey item per month. They continued to molt and grow at the same pace.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top