A. Geniculata, in pre-molt and bursting at the seams

[Jones0911]

Don't overfeed them like that, please. A good rule of thumb is to not let the abdomen get bigger than 1.5x carapax.

You can't overfeed a tarantula, it will only eat until it's ready to stop.

If that was the case all the Ts in the wild would be "obese"

 

[pyro fiend]

You can't overfeed a tarantula, it will only eat until it's ready to stop.

If that was the case all the Ts in the wild would be "obese"

if you cant over feed a tarantula.. then why are captive bred specimen able to be obese... tarantulas are mainly instinct.. and in the wild if a T happens apon 1 cricket/small invert a week or every 2 weeks he/she is lucky. just look at any wild caught specimen that hit the market... that is normal.. technically yes a T can and will eat say 8 or 9 crickets in 1 sitting.. but in the wild.. when is it realy going to get its next meal? 2? 3 weeks? maybe longer.. by then it has shed most of its excess weight . to where a CB is fed every week. no time to shed that weight.

also when overfeeding a T it get bigger and bigger making the risk of puncturing or rupturing its abd so much more real if the T was terminally that size.. that is not a problem typically found in the wild..

 

[Jones0911]

if you cant over feed a tarantula.. then why are captive bred specimen able to be obese... tarantulas are mainly instinct.. and in the wild if a T happens apon 1 cricket/small invert a week or every 2 weeks he/she is lucky. just look at any wild caught specimen that hit the market... that is normal.. technically yes a T can and will eat say 8 or 9 crickets in 1 sitting.. but in the wild.. when is it realy going to get its next meal? 2? 3 weeks? maybe longer.. by then it has shed most of its excess weight . to where a CB is fed every week. no time to shed that weight.

also when overfeeding a T it get bigger and bigger making the risk of puncturing or rupturing its abd so much more real if the T was terminally that size.. that is not a problem typically found in the wild..

Who feeds any of their Ts 8/9 crickets in one sitting? and juveniles/slings are supposed to eat a lot and once they get to adult hood the food giving is much, much less.


And the abdomen won't rupture if people are putting in the proper amount of substrate in their enclosures and they ARENT using sharp things like rocks etc.

 

[pyro fiend]

Who feeds any of their Ts 8/9 crickets in one sitting? and juveniles/slings are supposed to eat a lot and once they get to adult hood the food giving is much, much less.


And the abdomen won't rupture if people are putting in the proper amount of substrate in their enclosures and they ARENT using sharp things like rocks etc.

True on the crickets but i was refering to in nature theyl eat a large amount in one sitting how bout i say .. she will eat a locust 4x her size and may not see food again for a month or longer in nature..

But you said u CANT overfeed.. you can.. and once the abd is so huge its draging butt. Which can even cause more probs even on softrst subs and best conditions..In the wild they dont do that.. because they have much less opertunities for food so eat less..

And yes adults should be felt less but slings can be too we choose to do this for quicker molts..and once we get them ro the right size we feed them more naturaly sobthey dont become obese. but not everyone listens to that rule..

if i found a wild sling and went out and dropped a cricket in its burrow every other day im over feeding it..that t will start to get obese.. because it has a human using its instinct against it.. like our genics.. they r huge feeders. it knows its about to molt.. u know.. but you insisted on using its hardwired opertunistic instinct and fed it... because if she wasnt captive, That could be the last meal they have for a month or more so its instinct said eat and it did.. they arent intellectual ..

Make more sense yet?

 

[Jones0911]

True on the crickets but i was refering to in nature theyl eat a large amount in one sitting how bout i say .. she will eat a locust 4x her size and may not see food again for a month or longer in nature..

But you said u CANT overfeed.. you can.. and once the abd is so huge its draging butt. Which can even cause more probs even on softrst subs and best conditions..In the wild they dont do that.. because they have much less opertunities for food so eat less..

And yes adults should be felt less but slings can be too we choose to do this for quicker molts..and once we get them ro the right size we feed them more naturaly sobthey dont become obese. but not everyone listens to that rule..

if i found a wild sling and went out and dropped a cricket in its burrow every other day im over feeding it..that t will start to get obese.. because it has a human using its instinct against it.. like our genics.. they r huge feeders. it knows its about to molt.. u know.. but you insisted on using its hardwired opertunistic instinct and fed it... because if she wasnt captive, That could be the last meal they have for a month or more so its instinct said eat and it did.. they arent intellectual ..

Make more sense yet?

You and I have different definitions of over feeding every other day is only 4 crickets and we are going by captivity standards not wild statstandards

 

[Tasp]

I have to go with pyro fiend on this one. Please don't overfeed them. I have understood that the tarantula doesn't eat before it molts, because it has to lose weight, so that it's abdomen would get smaller. And when the abdomen is fairly small, the molting will be easier. Sure, tarantulas in captivity can be A BIT on the chubbier side, but not overweight. If you feed it much (power feeding), it will also die sooner. After molting it is good to provide a bit more food in the beginning, so that the tarantula will get to it's normal weight. I have a GBB (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens) which would probably eat everything I throw in his enclosure, but that would not be healthy for him. And I don't get why people have to feed them so much. Could anyone explain that for me? So if people truly care about their tarantulas, and their quality of life, they shouldn't feed them too much.

Thank You

 

[dredrickt]

You can't overfeed a tarantula, it will only eat until it's ready to stop.

If that was the case all the Ts in the wild would be "obese"

You can overfeed, some species will eat until they pop, I've been told Pampho's are known for being pigs and doing this, and my experience with them supports that- I had a Nigricolor eat 5 hours before a molt. Though there wasn't a risk of over eating because I feed them once a week.

 

[Jones0911]

You can overfeed, some species will eat until they pop, I've been told Pampho's are known for being pigs and doing this, and my experience with them supports that- I had a Nigricolor eat 5 hours before a molt. Though there wasn't a risk of over eating because I feed them once a week.

as I've said before this is rare, if it happens as much as you wanted me to believe there would be more professionals telling the newbies not to overfeed them out of all the people that use the specific tarantula forum I rarely see any of the big posters (over 1,000) say "stay to a maximum number of food items between molts.

First off no one is going to listen to that because its not logical in captive care especially when most food items are cheap and by the dozen anyway.

Second people will always do what they please with the pets they spend their hard earn money on or their parents money lol so it would fall on death ears anyway.

 

[miss moxie]

She finally molted. I took one or two pictures when I found her on her back, then turned off all the lights and left her be. Checked on her an hour and a half later to snap a couple more pics of her progress. Now she's in a dark room, finishing up her business. She's definitely put on a lot of size, her chelicerae are huge!

 

[Gpappy31]

that is a beautiful T!hotogenic:

 

[Gpappy31]

Keep the molt, and make an awesome frame like this!

 

[klawfran3]

I have to go with pyro fiend on this one. Please don't overfeed them. I have understood that the tarantula doesn't eat before it molts, because it has to lose weight, so that it's abdomen would get smaller. And when the abdomen is fairly small, the molting will be easier. Sure, tarantulas in captivity can be A BIT on the chubbier side, but not overweight. If you feed it much (power feeding), it will also die sooner. After molting it is good to provide a bit more food in the beginning, so that the tarantula will get to it's normal weight. I have a GBB (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens) which would probably eat everything I throw in his enclosure, but that would not be healthy for him. And I don't get why people have to feed them so much. Could anyone explain that for me? So if people truly care about their tarantulas, and their quality of life, they shouldn't feed them too much.

Thank You

My idea is to feed the slings and juveniles enough to keep their abdomens fat, but not obese. Obesity is not good for ANY species of animal, so why shouldn't it pertain to tarantulas? I keep the abdomen plump, but not fat, when it comes to slings so that they grow quickly but won't get hurt easily. Adults I feed maybe once or twice a month, keeping their abdomen about the same size or a little bit bigger than the carapace. Adults don't have much growing left, and obese adults are just a fall hazard.

 

[scorpionchaos]

To most people above! this thread is about an A genic in premolt not T obesity. It came up but its getting to the point were I think you should make a different thread for this specific topic, this is turning into a bit of a thread jack...


To the OP: Congrats! Its always a sigh of relief when T molts That is a beautiful T and a great looking specimen! The molt looks very good too (its in one piece). You can display it or use it to get a proper sex ID for your T (I beleive its big enough...)

Make sure to wait until the fangs are black again (they'll be white and red for a little while until they harden, feeding at this time can and will damage the fangs!

Regards
James

 

[skippydude]

Congratulations on a successful molt Where you able to confirm the sex from it?

 

[miss moxie]

that is a beautiful T!hotogenic:

Thank you, I'm definitely in love with her looks!

---------- Post added 08-12-2014 at 11:54 PM ----------

To most people above! this thread is about an A genic in premolt not T obesity. It came up but its getting to the point were I think you should make a different thread for this specific topic, this is turning into a bit of a thread jack...


To the OP: Congrats! Its always a sigh of relief when T molts That is a beautiful T and a great looking specimen! The molt looks very good too (its in one piece). You can display it or use it to get a proper sex ID for your T (I beleive its big enough...)

Make sure to wait until the fangs are black again (they'll be white and red for a little while until they harden, feeding at this time can and will damage the fangs!

Regards
James

Yes, thank you! I just went through this with my Chaco, same size about 2 weeks ago now. It took her 8 days for her fangs to harden up. I did get to use the molt for a sex, and I've already stored it away with my chaco's molt too.

 

[miss moxie]

Congratulations on a successful molt Where you able to confirm the sex from it?

It took me a minute of looking (first time sexing) but I finally found her lady-flap.

 

[pyro fiend]

jealous! im hoping my girl doesnt decide to molt when im with the fam the next few days XD i wana try my hand at sexing as well [tho she was molt sexed when i got her] also would like to catch one of my T's in the act.. shes my 2nd biggest. and my largest is a G. rosea.. dont expect to see thatone for a long time XD

 

[skippydude]

jealous! im hoping my girl doesnt decide to molt when im with the fam the next few days XD i wana try my hand at sexing as well [tho she was molt sexed when i got her] also would like to catch one of my T's in the act.. shes my 2nd biggest. and my largest is a G. rosea.. dont expect to see thatone for a long time XD

Always double check the sex of your T's yourself. I have had a couple "Guaranteed" females turn out to be males when I checked the exuvia myself :fury:

 

[pyro fiend]

Always double check the sex of your T's yourself. I have had a couple "Guaranteed" females turn out to be males when I checked the exuvia myself :fury:

indeed thats why i hope she doesnt molt wiel im away.. tho from a vent sex she def looks female. but last molt i was out of town for 36hrs and she chewed it up i hope to sex her. tho i am not scared this seller does have a real guarantee they say theyl swap out or refund difference. but itd still be nice practice

 

[Smokehound714]

You can't overfeed a tarantula, it will only eat until it's ready to stop.

If that was the case all the Ts in the wild would be "obese"

Ive seen many tarantulas and true spiders die from trauma caused directly by overfeeding. Picture the abdomen like a balloon.. the more volume, the thinner the plastic becomes. The abdomen becomes so heavy they they cannot raise it properly, and they drag it, causing damage to their book lungs. Acanthoscurria are notoriously ravenous. The pedicel (portion where the cephalothorax meets the abdomen) can be seriously damaged by a large abdomen shifting forward while raised defensively.

If the pedicel is damaged badly, the inside can rupture, and this fatal..