Nhandu chromatus Questions

[Paul1126]

I honestly can't believe this thread turned into cheap shots, if this thread is in the wrong place a mod will move it, it is literally a non issue...
In terms of the title I have seen many members on here over exaggerate their titles

 

[Tiffany1195]

I just got a nhandu chromatus and was wondering how many crickets it should be eating (she is 3 inches) I fed her today and she only had 1 fairly small cricket ..I did try to give her another one but she showed no interest in it.. she just let it walk all over her and didnt try to move away from it ...I gave her 30 minutes in between crickets to make sure she was done the first one then she just sat there and hasn't overly moved since and that was at like 2:30 and its now 11:44 ..did I do something wrong ? Should I have waited longer to give her the second cricket? Maybe she just wasn't that hungry? ..this is my first T so just looking for some experienced information

 

[lostbrane]

Photo of the spider would help. Sounds to me like it is a) rather plump and b) close to a molt from the description since N. chromatus tend to have rather healthy appetites.

 

[MainMann]

I just got a nhandu chromatus and was wondering how many crickets it should be eating (she is 3 inches) I fed her today and she only had 1 fairly small cricket ..I did try to give her another one but she showed no interest in it.. she just let it walk all over her and didnt try to move away from it ...I gave her 30 minutes in between crickets to make sure she was done the first one then she just sat there and hasn't overly moved since and that was at like 2:30 and its now 11:44 ..did I do something wrong ? Should I have waited longer to give her the second cricket? Maybe she just wasn't that hungry? ..this is my first T so just looking for some experienced information

Ts can go very very long times without food as long as fresh water is available. And it is very easy to over feed a voracious, new world T, such as a Nhandu Chromatus. At 3" I'd be feeding her once a week with a decent cricket. But most Nhandu have a "it moves, it food" attitude, so a T refusing to eat usually just means that it's either not accustomed to it's surrounding, or too full to take another meal, or preparing to molt. Pics will be very helpful!

 

[Tiffany1195]

This is her ..I fed her cuz her cuz her bum looked really little .....and is the color on her back normal ? It look like she scraped yourself

 

[MainMann]

This is her ..I fed her cuz her cuz her bum looked really little .....and is the color on her back normal ? It look like she scraped yourself

That's a well fed spood right there! That scrape is just a bald spot after she kicked hairs. I'd feed her next week, or even 2 weeks from now

 

[ThorsCarapace22]

Not far from a molt by the looks of it.

 

[Tiffany1195]

That's a well fed spood right there! That scrape is just a bald spot after she kicked hairs. I'd feed her next week, or even 2 weeks from now

OK good!! Lol I thought maybe she was sick cuz her back looked like that !! I thought it was just her bum that had urticating hairs lol ..sorry for the dumb questions lol I'm soooooo new to this !!

Not far from a molt by the looks of it.

Oh I hope so !!! I thought she was sick or something from being so patchy like that ..I knew her bum was from kicking but her back made me concerned lol

 

[lostbrane]

bum that had urticating hairs

You are indeed correct. The urticating setae are located on the abdomen (for this and many other species). The rest of the tarantula is covered in setae albeit not the kind to flick off, etc.

I would wager you wouldn’t need to feed it until after it molts...

 

[ThorsCarapace22]

Nahhh just r

Oh I hope so !!! I thought she was sick or something from being so patchy like that ..I knew her bum was from kicking but her back made me concerned lol

Nahhh she's not sick. Just search premolt signs. There's SO SO many threads on here about premolt. The bald spot is just were the T rubs them off on the substrate. The patch gets darker as a molt draws near. : )

 

[Tiffany1195]

You guys are awesome !! Thank you so much lol I'm super happy to know she's not sick and will hopefully have a molt soon ...the guy I got her from says he had her for 2 months and she didnt molt in his care ..I didnt get a change to talk to him myself as my boyfriend got her for me so I didnt get to asked the questions I wanted to lol

 

[boina]

This is a plump looking spider. She looks a bit rough, because all the setae that have rubbed off on her carapace. That's not usual for a young (3") tarantula and it makes me think her previous owner might have not kept her in optimal conditions or the transport to your place wasn't all that smooth. Nevertheless, she looks healthy enough. The setae coming off at her abdomen are quite normal. She may be molting soon-ish - or not for a while, it's hard to tell, but I wouldn't feed her for a few weeks up to a month and actually she may not need any food before she molts.

 

[PidderPeets]

The color of that great big bare spot on her abdomen shows she's in the later stages of premolt. It's that weird brown color. As she gets closer to molting, that spot is going to get darker and eventually turn black, and then she'll be extremely close to a molt. Don't worry about feeding her until after her fangs have a chance to harden after molting.

And in case you haven't run into this tidbit of info before, tarantulas usually flip onto their backs when they go to molt. So if you see it on its back, it's not dead.

 

[cold blood]

There is NO one set best feeding schedule...10 people could have 10 different schedules and all result in the same healthy ts in the end.

Do not get hung up on schedules.

General rules....smaller ts can eat more often, as they molt more often....the larger they grow, the longer the molt cycle. This means you have a long time to plump them, there's no hurry, you have time...lots of it......plump them quickly and it wont be harmful, but it will lead to excessively long periods of time with a lethargic, often hiding t that has no interest in food....and when plumped fast, these pre molt fasts can last a year or more.

if you feed small prey items, feed more often, if you feed large prey items, feed way less often. And as a t plumps, its food needs decrease significantly, your feeding schedule should reflect that....conversely, just after molting, ts are always at their thinnest and hungriest, and while plumping them quick shouldn't be a concern, its also not the time to skimp for at least a few feedings.

I posted this yesterday to the same question.

 

[Tiffany1195]

I have a 3inche nhandu chromatus and she hasn't webbed at all since I got her ..am I doing something wrong ? Is she not happy?

 

[The Seraph]

I have a 3inche nhandu chromatus and she hasn't webbed at all since I got her ..am I doing something wrong ? Is she not happy?

How long have you had her? She could still have not settled in. Also, I am not sure if they web a lot.

 

[Tiffany1195]

I know its early I guess lol but I've had her for 5 days ..she has already eaten (i was impatient and fed her the day after I got her) and seems very active the last 2 days ..but no sign of any webs

 

[EulersK]

Not all tarantulas web very much. It varies greatly from species to species and even between individuals.

 

[Tiffany1195]

Not all tarantulas web very much. It varies greatly from species to species and even between individuals.

Well thats good !!! I thought I was doing something wrong lol thank you!!!!

 

[PebbleWrestler]

Yeah my Nhandu Chromatus never webbed super heavy. If anything it just burrowed a ton and added a light layer of web on the floor for prey detection. As long as it has some extra substrate to burrow I think it'll be fine.