g. pulchra sling questions!!

[Wormtail39]

hey guys so i have a 1.3cm g pulchra sling, she took a while to settle in but she made a burrow (completely ignoring my starter burrow). i put a pre killed second instar cricket in second night and in the morning it was still there unmoved so i removed it. I put a new cricket in that evening and the next day to my delight it was gone, however as i went to check on her this evening ( she has a shallow burrow up against the enclosure so i can see her) she has not actually eaten the cricket at all simply moved it to her hole. I thought pulchras were supposed to have insatiable appetites, can anyone shed some light on this i know she is most likely just not hungry but i am dissapointed she did not eat it, as she has a tiney abdomen compared to her legs which are reallllly long and im worried about the sling as its proportions seem to off compared to other pulchras of the same size. I dont know how to describe it other than her abdomen is short? and thin at the same time lol

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

"pulchras have insatiable appetites" is not a belief you want to stick rigidly to, some might have good feeding responses but that doesn't mean anything generally. As you said it's probably just not hungry, however what size are the crickets compared to the T are they big? Also a picture of the T to show the abdomen size might help.

 

[Wormtail39]

"pulchras have insatiable appetites" is not a belief you want to stick rigidly to, some might have good feeding responses but that doesn't mean anything generally. As you said it's probably just not hungry, however what size are the crickets compared to the T are they big? Also a picture of the T to show the abdomen size might help.

But is it odd behaviour to take a cricket into the burrow and then not eat it? maby she lightly snacked lol it only seems odd to me because my only other spider my b albiceps which is slightly smaller than the pulchra chomps down the same size cricket every damn day i have actually stopped feeding her for a bit as she only molted a month ago and she already looks realllllly fat and shiney. and i cant really get a picture shes in a tiney tiney burrow all curled up.

edit also is that a pulchra in your pic?

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

But is it odd behaviour to take a cricket into the burrow and then not eat it? maby she lightly snacked lol it only seems odd to me because my only other spider my b albiceps which is slightly smaller than the pulchra chomps down the same size cricket every damn day i have actually stopped feeding her for a bit as she only molted a month ago and she already looks realllllly fat and shiney. and i cant really get a picture shes in a tiney tiney burrow all curled up.

That actually isn't too odd they'll definitely do that sometimes, the reasoning I can't be sure of possibly like you said to eat a little bit. Once in awhile they will just kill the feeder for whatever reason and drop it if they decide they don't want it. Also you said her abdomen is small compared to the body now you're saying she's already fat? Like I said photos might help anyone trying to give you an accurate response.

 

[Wormtail39]

That actually isn't too odd they'll definitely do that sometimes, the reasoning I can't be sure of possibly like you said to eat a little bit. Once in awhile they will just kill the feeder for whatever reason and drop it if they decide they don't want it. Also you said her abdomen is small compared to the body now you're saying she's already fat? Like I said photos might help anyone trying to give you an accurate response.

i think you may have missread that part i was talking about my other sling my albiceps for a comparrison, and the cricket was pre killed so i guess she must have brought it in for a snack then. And its gonna be almost impossible to get a pic of her shes completely closed off her burrow during the day only time i have seen her out was few days ago when i unpacked her and moved her in. If the cricket haddent dissapeared and then appeared in her hole i would have thought she had not moved at all. The crickets are not that big there almost micro crickets

 

[viper69]

Sounds normal, then again what is normal..

 

[CrazyExoticLady]

My Pulchra is about the size of @Mvtt70 maybe? I got him on Sunday and decided to give him the day to settle into his enclosure. This is my first T and I honestly have no idea when he last ate, or molted for that matter. Questions that slipped my mind that I should have asked the seller. But his bootie is nice and fat and as I've seen this being called by a follower of mine his "pants may be getting tight." I'm not sure how to really look for the signs of a G. Pulchra in shed however. I definitely would want to rule out pre-molt before fasting so I know. Either way is it just good practice to offer everyday until signs of him being in molt are evident?

 

[EtienneN]

My Pulchra is about the size of @Mvtt70 maybe? I got him on Sunday and decided to give him the day to settle into his enclosure. This is my first T and I honestly have no idea when he last ate, or molted for that matter. Questions that slipped my mind that I should have asked the seller. But his bootie is nice and fat and as I've seen this being called by a follower of mine his "pants may be getting tight." I'm not sure how to really look for the signs of a G. Pulchra in shed however. I definitely would want to rule out pre-molt before fasting so I know. Either way is it just good practice to offer everyday until signs of him being in molt are evident?

With an abdomen that size, I'd probably feed once every ten days. It could also be a week, or even two weeks. Mine right now is about 0.75 inches and honestly according to my records (which I honestly might have missed a moult) hasn't moulted since 26.12.18 and it eats like a champ. However I feed it every ten days or so, so that it doesn't get too fat and go into premoult fasting mode. I keep expecting it to moult soon but apparently it likes to be contrary.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

My Pulchra is about the size of @Mvtt70 maybe? I got him on Sunday and decided to give him the day to settle into his enclosure. This is my first T and I honestly have no idea when he last ate, or molted for that matter. Questions that slipped my mind that I should have asked the seller. But his bootie is nice and fat and as I've seen this being called by a follower of mine his "pants may be getting tight." I'm not sure how to really look for the signs of a G. Pulchra in shed however. I definitely would want to rule out pre-molt before fasting so I know. Either way is it just good practice to offer everyday until signs of him being in molt are evident?

The size of me?? That's a damn big spider.

 

[CrazyExoticLady]

Omg! My bad. The T in your photo @Mvtt70 . I'm so sorry x.x I meant to put that. I've not had the greatest of days.

 

[RobertBennett]

My Pulchra is lovely, I hope you enjoy your new friend!

Mine doesn’t seem to eat too much, as I sling I offered an appropriate meal every week or two and removed when uneaten. If he is interested he usually goes in right away! Now he’s a juvenile and eats rarely, he’s so fat and doesn’t seem interested in prey so I just let him be

He’s my favourite T of mine, very chill and calm any time I do maintenance on the enclosure. Highly recommend!

 

[CrazyExoticLady]

My Pulchra is lovely, I hope you enjoy your new friend!

Mine doesn’t seem to eat too much, as I sling I offered an appropriate meal every week or two and removed when uneaten. If he is interested he usually goes in right away! Now he’s a juvenile and eats rarely, he’s so fat and doesn’t seem interested in prey so I just let him be

He’s my favourite T of mine, very chill and calm any time I do maintenance on the enclosure. Highly recommend!

I already enjoy him so much already! He is so friggin cute!!

 

[Kitara]

Either way is it just good practice to offer everyday until signs of him being in molt are evident?

Man if I had to feed my baby every day I would send her back lol. I haaaaate feeders so much. I feed mine once, sometimes twice a week. She is about 1.5" or a little smaller. She was about an inch when I got her and she just molted a couple weeks ago.

 

[Phoenix G]

But is it odd behaviour to take a cricket into the burrow and then not eat it? maby she lightly snacked lol it only seems odd to me because my only other spider my b albiceps which is slightly smaller than the pulchra chomps down the same size cricket every damn day i have actually stopped feeding her for a bit as she only molted a month ago and she already looks realllllly fat and shiney. and i cant really get a picture shes in a tiney tiney burrow all curled up.

edit also is that a pulchra in your pic?

I've noticed that certain species of tarantula will be very reluctant to eat if inside their burrows if in the wild they do not eat inside of their burrows. Some species leave at night to go hunt and I've witnessed them carrying giant june bugs back to their homes much the way a leopard carries its kill up a tree. It really puts the bug world into perspective of the bugs. But that same tarantula will reliably NEVER kill a bug that has wondered into its den. It really gets upset if disturbed in the den, it's in there for a reason. It will only kill outside of the den, and even then, it will often web under itself to prevent possible ants/other predators from disturbing it although it has access to its den- this means that it is trying not to draw predatory insects into its den.

That's my tarantula specifically and yours will likely have some different behaviors, but given the great efforts my terrestrial T goes to avoid killing things in its burrow/den, other species may have similar behaviors. Mine has a larger enclosure than most keep and is a wondering species. (A. Henzi) Those that only have enough room for a burrow and a water dish might behave differently as its options are more limited.

 

[CrazyExoticLady]

Man if I had to feed my baby every day I would send her back lol. I haaaaate feeders so much. I feed mine once, sometimes twice a week. She is about 1.5" or a little smaller. She was about an inch when I got her and she just molted a couple weeks ago.

I wasn't meaning actually feed it everyday, but atleast see if he'll take it and if he does to not feed again until the following week. Especially with him bein' Mr. Chunky

 

[Wormtail39]

Ok so as some of you know (have had lots of helpfull advice from you guys) i just got a 1.2cm g. pulchra sling. I currently have him housed in a small cylindrical enclosure and he has made a shallow burrow with spagmoss over the top of it so its effectivley completely closed off. However he never comes out (accept at night) and he is disturbed really easily when i open the enclosure due to his location and the type of enclosure it is (unscrew to open). So i have mini faunarium that is a bit bigger but still pretty small, that i just prepared and i was wandering a few things, firstly which enclosure do you think he would do better in? remeber he is 1.2cm big, secondly is it ok to rehouse him so soon after he has just been rehoused (week ago). Thirdly is there anything i should add to the new enclosure or that you think should be changed? and finally is the enclosure too big for it? i wont move him if you guys think i should just let him settle or that its unesssiary, i only want to move him if it will have some sort of benifit. I thought the better more secure hide would make him feel safer, and the lid for access would make maintenance less stressfull.
this is his current enclcosure: This is his burrow in the current enclosure
This is the enclosure that i made am thinking about moveing him too:
Here is my hand next to it for scale:

 

[Kitara]

Ahhhhh.... I see. Yeah I attempt to feed and if they dont eat, I still wait a week then try again. I use b.lats and they are a huge pain to get out lol. I haven't been able to bring myself to kill anything yet so thankfully I haven't had to. I'm getting a new sling soon though so that might have to change depending on how big it is.

 

[Wormtail39]

Ahhhhh.... I see. Yeah I attempt to feed and if they dont eat, I still wait a week then try again. I use b.lats and they are a huge pain to get out lol. I haven't been able to bring myself to kill anything yet so thankfully I haven't had to. I'm getting a new sling soon though so that might have to change depending on how big it is.

your lucky mate... so far i have had to pre kill and even halve basically every meal my slings have eaten, its really not fun killing things and i allways try and crush the head first but it still feels really bad.

 

[cold blood]

Both enclosures are way too big...just use a condiment cup.

IMG_0472

• cold blood
• Feb 7, 2017

Keep your small terrestrial slings like this.

 

[Kitara]

your lucky mate... so far i have had to pre kill and even halve basically every meal my slings have eaten, its really not fun killing things and i allways try and crush the head first but it still feels really bad.

Yeah, I told my daughter when she started this hobby that if that's the case, I'm out. That's on her lol. Then, of course, I had to get my own, but I got a GBB that was large enough to feed herself. Oh I'm sure the day is coming that I'll have to, but for now I'm blissfully ignorant.