Feeding Schedule - Phormictopus Cancerides...

[Megpiepiepie]

Hi all,

We have 5 Ts - 4 slings, and 1 mature male Phormictopus Cancerides... He eats at least one 5 week cricket once a day. Any less than that, and he seems to get restless and objects by hanging upside down on the lid of his tank. If he's fed once a day, we're all dandy and doing normal T things. Is this over feeding?

The same goes with our G. Pulchra sling. It recently stopped eating, has a nice, round rump, and doesn't look like it's in pre-molt. It's an inch, maybe bigger, and usually eats a 2-3 week cricket every 1-2 days...

Yes, they can get too robust, and may be injured moreso from a fall... but will giving them regular feedings do anything harmful? They're all very hungry little things, and *almost* never refuse feeding. Our GBB only does when it's in pre-molt, also.

We're still fairly amateur at this... so I'm not sure if I'm 'spoiling the child' a bit much, in a sense.

 

[nicodimus22]

If the abdomen gets too large and heavy, it puts extra strain on the pedicel, and as you mentioned, the T is at more risk of a ruptured abdomen from a fall. This matters less for slings, as they put all of that food towards growth, and can handle falls better in general.

Most species do well with being fed every 1-2 weeks, and some as little as once a month. Of course, it depends on the size of the prey item too, but feeding an adult T every day shouldn't be necessary unless you're feeding it tiny, tiny meals (and if so, why?)

Also, mature males are restless no matter what you feed them. They're feeling the urge to find a female.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Yeah, in addition to the increased risk of injury/death from falls there is also the increased risk of the T sustaining drag injuries/damaging their book lungs as they will eventually get so fat that they can't lift their abdomens off the ground when they walk.

Tarantulas are opportunistic, they will eat anything they can overpower because they don't know when they're likely to happen upon food again (nor are they aware that they have a lifetime's supply of food due to being in captivity). They'll do this either until they have enough to see them through to their next moult or until they've eaten their fill (in which case they'll just refuse food until they're hungry again, this could take anything from several weeks to over a year and a half depending on species/size).

Your MM cancerides will wander regardless, his only concern is finding a lady to dip his dong-digits into, you only really need to feed it once a fortnight and make sure it always has water (MMs are especially prone to dehydration).

I normally feed 1" slings every 5 days but G. pulchra are slow growers (you're looking at anything between 3-6 months between moults at that size) so once every 7-10 days is more appropriate.

 

[EtienneN]

I’m amazed your MM eats that much. But again, as mentioned above Ts are opportunistic so are prone to gorging themselves. Their abdomens are essentially like little water balloons. So when they get stretched they get thin and are easily ruptured.

 

[vancwa]

I feed every 2 to 3 weeks and keep a watch on the abdomen. Sometimes I put-on a Jane Fonda VCR tape.

 

[Venom1080]

Feeding schedules don't work well. I'd never recommend using one. There's just way too many variables. Species, age, slow or fast growth, premolt, etc. It just doesn't work. Each spider virtually needs its own schedule. Doesn't mean they never work well, just not very useful. I follow a schedule when I have lots of slings from a breeding project. (2x a week) and it works just fine. Chopped up mealworms.

Few times a week for slings is fine. Once the abdomen is 3-4x the carapace I leave it alone and wait for a molt.

I feed just as much in the juvie stage.

Once the spider is nearing max size, I hold off on excessive feeding. Maybe once every couple weeks.

Eventually, my biggest and oldest spiders only get food once every couple months.

If the abdomen is about the size of the carapace, it's a healthy spider.