H.Pulchripes kills but won't eat

[Orionoid]

It's possible, given he's only 1", that he could be eating from, but not finishing the cricket. If your guy drags it into his den and it reappears later, even if it LOOKS intact, it still may have been partially eaten. Especially if limbs are missing or it looks particularly mauled, which almost looks like the case from your photos, though it's a bit unclear?

(In addition to everything else here, of course, just a possibility)

 

[boina]

All in all the description of the behaviour for me actually points to a problem with the sucking stomach.

I'll exclude @Orionoid 's guess: the spider is clearly bigger than 1" (see pic) and at that size it would eat the whole cricket and not just nibble.

A spider that is not hungry may kill an annoying cricket, but in this case the spider is killing and taking the prey into it's burrow then tossing it out later.

The enclosure does look a tad bare for my taste, too, but if that had anything to do with it I would expect the spider to run from the cricket and not attack it at all or attack it, kill it, and leave it. I somehow doubt that a bare, but established enclosure with a burrow will lead to a hunger strike by the T.

For me, the only explanation that really fits the described behaviour is a problem with the sucking stomach. In that case the tarantula woun't be able to drink either. I had one tarantula (P. vespertinus juvi) with this problem. It did survive to the next molt without eating or drinking - but I did keep the enclosure a lot more moist than I usually would to prevent the spider losing too much water. It wouldn't be able to replace it. I think it was a good idea to moisten the corner and I'd probably moisten an even larger area. Yes, I know H. pulchripes should be kept dry but this is an exception.

 

[Whitelightning777]

But there is nothing wrong with your tarantula!!

If you want to give her more moisture, try offering a very small earthworm or hormworm. If their was a massive internal injury to the sucking stomach, there would also be massive injury, hemorrhaging and death by now.

H pulchripes does need a larger hide. A hollowed out coconut or flat cork bark section would be ideal.

Without a larger hide, the risk of the T running or perhaps even biting you is vastly greater. Here's how I did mine.

Mine was procured as a sling.



Here is my H pulchripes.

 

[Ghost56]

If their was a massive internal injury to the sucking stomach, there would also be massive injury, hemorrhaging and death by now.

Spiders have an OPEN circulatory system. Internal bleeding isn't possible.

 

[darkness975]

I've never posted on the forums here so this is my first time and I'm not sure if this is the right area to ask, but my H.pulchripes I received in January has recently been killing all the crickets and dragging them into his hole only to toss the body out a day later.
He molted March 18th and I've noticed his abdomen is on the smaller side so I'm not even sure if he's ate since he's molted.
He usually ignores the crickets if he's not hungry so I'm not sure why he's been doing this lately?
He's maybe 1- 1.5 inches.

Not trying to startle you (is your name polish btw?) But there may be an issue with the sucking stomach if it appears to be trying to feed but unable. The behavior you described of it bringing it below to eat then later discarding seems to point towards that.

While it may not help all that much with drinking , a larger water dish wouldn't hurt. They won't drown and a bit extra moisture won't hurt either.

 

[boina]

If their was a massive internal injury to the sucking stomach,

You completely misunderstood. The sucking stomack needs to molt since it is lined with part of the exoskelton. You can actually see it attached to the exuvia. If it doesn't molt properly the tarantula will be unable to eat - no injury involved at all.

Oh, and for everyone else who comes along: H. pulchripes should be kept much drier than that.

 

[Whitelightning777]

That complication is fairly rare. The crickets shown look like they've been eaten, just partially of course.

That's perfectly ok. It makes cleanup that much easier. The main thing with feeding larger prey is that you have to take care that the hunter doesn't become the hunted. You also need to feed less frequently.

I think your spider is probably fine. Maybe wait 2 weeks and try feeding something somewhat smaller such as Dubai roaches. The only wet thing they need in the enclosure is a full water dish checked daily. Everything else should be bone dry. There are no humidity requirements.

 

[scott99]

You completely misunderstood. The sucking stomack needs to molt since it is lined with part of the exoskelton. You can actually see it attached to the exuvia. If it doesn't molt properly the tarantula will be unable to eat - no injury involved at all.

Oh, and for everyone else who comes along: H. pulchripes should be kept much drier than that.

Yeah, that enclosure should be dryer than that. I think because a lot of people hear horror stories of T's getting stuck during molts, so they go overboard on moister. The truth is that tarantulas can still get stuck even if you provide the right amounts of moister. There are more cons to keeping them too wet than there are pros. For instances, I use keep my P.cam too wet. I would soak the substrate in her enclosure and let dry out, but I struggle with mold and at one point she got mites. It was wake up called. These days I just make sure that her water dish is always full and that she is regularly fed. I think regularly feeding them is important than keeping their enclosures moist, after all they don't absorb moist through their skin.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I don't humidify the enclosures for baboon spiders when they are in premolt or molting. The water dish is always totally full however. For one thing, they burrow and wall off the burrow entrance. Nothing extra gets in.

I've looked around the net and can't find any other reference to a baboon spider with this problem. If it's still alive, it's ok.

This is a normal H pulchripes after cage maintenance.

Still agitated a few hours later.

Note the substrate is bone dry, just the way he likes it.

 

[Babushka131]

Not trying to startle you (is your name polish btw?) But there may be an issue with the sucking stomach if it appears to be trying to feed but unable. The behavior you described of it bringing it below to eat then later discarding seems to point towards that.

While it may not help all that much with drinking , a larger water dish wouldn't hurt. They won't drown and a bit extra moisture won't hurt either.

My name is not Polish! but thank you for everyone commenting on this post!
He drank from his bottle cap a while ago and molted into a mature male last month.
I can hear him actively running laps at night so I know he's alright!