I've Been Bit . . .

[Botar]

I include my daughter in all the T stuff. The collection is "owned" by both of us and I take every opportunity to educate and promote her interest. She'll even be going to the ATS conference with me this summer to see Shelby (Holley's daughter) and any other kids that may be there with their parents.

She has her own hissing cockroaches too. She's a thorn in her mother's side when it comes to killing spiders at mom's house... she always tells her mom to catch them instead of kill them.

When I was a kid, my parents let me keep all kinds of stuff, but the numbers were kept in check. I had a B. smithi and a scorpion that I'd caught locally. My room was always home to gerbils, snakes, turtles, and spiders. Now, I'm trying to give my daughter the same opportunities, with a bit more guidance.

Botar

 

[Jono_mad]

hi, this is gonna sound pretty stupid but how many crickets a week should i feed to my rosea? i don't actually have the it yet so i thought i should just make sure in advance. several people have told me different things but i think its 3-4 a week, does that ok?

 

[Botar]

That will vary from person to person and T to T. Rosea's can eat like mad for a while and then go on a fast that lasts for months.

Someone once gave some advice that I thought sounded pretty good. They said they'd drop a cricket in close to the T and it would attack the cricket. They'd just keep dropping in crickets as long as it kept attacking and then when it quit, drop in one more. The next day, they would remove the extra cricket if it wasn't gone already.

I wouldn't be too concerned about that aspect of things. You'll develop your own routine after a short bit of time. The general rule of thumb is, if the abdomen is not shrinking, the T is probably fine. Their metabolism is quite different from ours and they are not as dependant on a steady supply of food. I think most people feed them more than they need (myself included) simply because we like to watch them eat.

Botar

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by Jono_mad
hi, this is gonna sound pretty stupid but how many crickets a week should i feed to my rosea? i don't actually have the it yet so i thought i should just make sure in advance. several people have told me different things but i think its 3-4 a week, does that ok?

Sure. So wouldn't one a week, or 20 a week. And just exactly what is *a* cricket (they come in all different sizes, and so don't Ts)?

There is NO fixed amount to feed a T, they're not dogs or cats with fixed nutritional needs. I feed my Ts what they'll eat up until they get a "nice figure". After that point, they get fed whenever I feel like feeding them, enough that they stay normally sized, not so much that they get fat. Some people feed them all they'll eat, all the time. Some people feed them just enough to keep their abdomen more than a raisin sized bump.

Bottom line is that if you're feeding your T enough that it's not visibly losing weight, you're feeding it enough.

Your Ts may refuse food for weeks or months or even years, again, though, if it's not visibly losing weight, don't worry about it.

 

[bness2]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
Your Ts may refuse food for weeks or months or even years, again, though, if it's not visibly losing weight, don't worry about it.

Although I know this from reading elsewhere, it's nice to hear it again. My rosie has been fasting now for almost a month. She looks fine though and is relatively active, as rosies go.

Bryan

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by bness2
Although I know this from reading elsewhere, it's nice to hear it again. My rosie has been fasting now for almost a month. She looks fine though and is relatively active, as rosies go.

Bryan

A month is nothing

I had a wild caught smithi years ago that refused food every winter even though the temperature was no different. Apparently, its internal clock was telling it that it was winter and there was no prey available (even though there might be a cricket right in front of it, go figure ). Eventually, I stopped wasting my money. Around October I'd just stop feeding it and try again around March.

I've got a 1" G. pulchra sling that is going on its 3rd month of fasting and hasn't lost a milligram or bit of spazziness.

It's just a matter of being familiar enough with Ts that *you* can recognise normal behaviour, body language, etc. such that you are comfortable with the Ts actions (or lack thereof). The ruhnaui sling that died on me Thursday, I saw Wednesday afternoon was going south even though all it was doing was sitting there much like its sling mate. However, it was the *way* it was just sitting there that said everything.

 

[Botar]

Okay now CM, if you're going for the "Tarantula Whisperer" title you've gone too far!!

Botar

 

[bness2]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
It's just a matter of being familiar enough with Ts that *you* can recognise normal behaviour, body language, etc. such that you are comfortable with the Ts actions (or lack thereof).

You mean like when it attacks your finger as if it were a superworm?

Bryan

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by bness2
You mean like when it attacks your finger as if it were a superworm?

Bryan

Exactly, you've got the idea

Look at someone like Rosemary Kraft (think I got her last name right). She can get an adult T. blondi to let her put a "leash" on it. That's someone who knows these creatures at a level that amazes even me.

Now, look at Paul (Rookie) on these boards - he's been freaking out about a single sling's behaviour for weeks, not so familiar with Ts or their behaviour

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by Botar
Okay now CM, if you're going for the "Tarantula Whisperer" title you've gone too far!!

Botar

Not quite, Botar
It's just the difference between being someone who posts, "My tarantula has its butt in the air, what does it mean?" and someone who already knows. If I'm a tarantula whisperer, that probably qualifies most of the regulars on the board. Just trying to reassure the newbies that all these seemingly mysterious behaviours are pretty commonplace and eventually either something you'll understand, or something that probably doesn't matter and you'll ignore.

 

[bness2]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
"My tarantula has its butt in the air, what does it mean?"

Let's see, is that a sign of crepitation? =D =D ;P ;P

 

[The_Phantom]

Sorry to hear your Rosie died in the mail, that really sucks. I wish I could get more Ts, maybe I will, but mom thinks 3 is enough. Yah for her maybe ! I want at least five !

 

[bness2]

Originally posted by Spider_savior
Sorry to hear your Rosie died in the mail, that really sucks. I wish I could get more Ts, maybe I will, but mom thinks 3 is enough. Yah for her maybe ! I want at least five !

Thanks for the condolences. Now for an important suggestion.

<whispering> You could always get a few slings and hide them under your bed. Of course, that assumes your mom never looks there. =D

Bryan