Opinions - CAN you feed a post-molt T "too early"?

chanda

Arachnoking
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That's interesting, even after a molt the fang is still in the same position, it must have been some impact, I thought it would have corrected itself after a molt or two, it just goes to show how cautious you have to be with the fangs, a tarantula without its fangs is a dead tarantula I'm afraid, yours seems to be doing fine, fortunately, but think what could have been, thanks for posting it's extremely relevant.
Pamphobeteus sp Ecuador eating.jpg This is a picture of him eating a cricket, about two weeks post-molt. (This was after the first molt since I got him - but it's still in the same position today, 2 molts later. When he's resting, the twisted fang usually rests across the top of his pedipalp - but he can move the pedipalp out from under the fang to use it. I don't have more recent pictures because I haven't shoved a camera in his face in a while - he prefers to be left alone.)
 

mconnachan

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View attachment 246167 This is a picture of him eating a cricket, about two weeks post-molt. (This was after the first molt since I got him - but it's still in the same position today, 2 molts later. When he's resting, the twisted fang usually rests across the top of his pedipalp - but he can move the pedipalp out from under the fang to use it. I don't have more recent pictures because I haven't shoved a camera in his face in a while - he prefers to be left alone.)
Great picture, the purple hue is awesome, this fella is a trooper, he's doing great by the look of things, do you think the fang has adjusted itself at all, since the previous molts, no matter he's managing no problem, just goes to show you how diverse the tarantula can be.
 

viper69

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I did lots of searching and read up best I could here and elsewhere. Generally, I seemed to find that a tarantula will eat when it's ready, and not if it's not.

It has been 5 full days since my 5.5" (who knows now, can't wait to measure!) L. parahybana (salmon pink) has molted. He came to the surface, and hung at the entrance to his burrow. So, I thought I'd just see what he did. He turned around and when a little down when I opened the cage to drop in the dubia, so all I could see was the backside of him.

Dropped in, he took it quick, and now I am watching him eat.

Why I'm posting this - one of his fangs is black, and one is still red. The red one is not moving, seems to be holding the dubia, the black one was doing all the 'chewing'.

I guess my question - can a T harm himself eating earlier than he should, or, more likely than not, does the T know what it is doing, and that's why he's only using one fang to chew? I saw discussion here where it was suggested to wait until fangs were black to feed. So, I figure I'll see what people from 2017 think.

;)
Phases- The info you found on feeding when fangs are black is TRUE, and not some "belief" we have that changes over itme. So it's not going to change now or later (short of some scientific discovery). Feed on black only, anything else and you run risk of injuring your T. BTW, if a T loses both fangs, while not a death sentence 100%, it certainly is pretty close to one.
 

EulersK

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Opinions just aren't needed for me. I bought several adult tarantulas from a particular dealer who didn't believe tarantulas would eat if their fangs weren't ready for it. He told me that he would feed just days after a molt because they were "starving" and needed to eat. Literally 100% of the spiders I bought from him had at least one broken fang.
 

Nightstalker47

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Literally 100% of the spiders I bought from him had at least one broken fang.
Why buy from him then? I wouldn't be interested in buying injured specimens, was he passing them off as healthy or just too ignorant to realize they had damaged fangs?
 

EulersK

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Why buy from him then? I wouldn't be interested in buying injured specimens, was he passing them off as healthy or just too ignorant to realize they had damaged fangs?
I didn't know until they molted for me and I got a closer look at the fangs. I haven't bought from him since.
 

mack1855

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So,a T in its natural environment,having just molted,would never take prey that happened by.
Do you think it would ignore the prey item?.Turn and walk away,letting go of the chance for food?
Who knows.But how many molt,then take prey soon afterwards.And break a fang.And survive to
carry on.And how many die from two fangs broken.
We keepers make the choice to not feed for a certain period of time following a molt,does a T in
nature know not to eat right after a molt?
Again,I'm thinking on this to much:stop:.Having said that,i understand,as most of us do,that
keeping T,s in captivity is a whole different ball game than the natural world.
We strive to keep our animals heathy and growing,so I will,for my self,keep with the
given wisdom of not feeding right after a molt.
Whew!!! stop already!!!!:D
 

chanda

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Great picture, the purple hue is awesome, this fella is a trooper, he's doing great by the look of things, do you think the fang has adjusted itself at all, since the previous molts, no matter he's managing no problem, just goes to show you how diverse the tarantula can be.
Yeah, I love the purple! Pity the only time I get to see it is when I take pictures of him. The purple really shines under a camera flash, but just to look at him, he's basically a plain brown spider with maybe a slight pinkish cast to the brown.

As far as I can tell, the fang has not changed position at all the entire time I've had him. I was concerned that it would cause him problems during a molt and maybe not come out cleanly - either the new fang would stick inside the old one and tear off or suffer further damage when he tried removing it, or the old fang (and part of the surrounding exo) would remain stuck to the new fang after he molted - but neither has been the case. His molts are pristine - twisted fang and all.
 

mconnachan

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Yeah, I love the purple! Pity the only time I get to see it is when I take pictures of him. The purple really shines under a camera flash, but just to look at him, he's basically a plain brown spider with maybe a slight pinkish cast to the brown.

As far as I can tell, the fang has not changed position at all the entire time I've had him. I was concerned that it would cause him problems during a molt and maybe not come out cleanly - either the new fang would stick inside the old one and tear off or suffer further damage when he tried removing it, or the old fang (and part of the surrounding exo) would remain stuck to the new fang after he molted - but neither has been the case. His molts are pristine - twisted fang and all.
That's great to hear, I hope in time that the fang becomes useable again after another molt or two, that said he's not having any problem taking prey so in the end it doesn't really matter.
 

Trenor

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I think tarantulas are more than capable of knowing when it is ok for them to eat without injuring themselves. If not would they really be able to survive? I've had plenty of Ts ignore food even several weeks post molt then take food easily enough when they were ready.

I think tarantulas attacking food has less to do with them being ambush/opportunistic predators or hungry (though in extreme cases of under nourished Ts this could be true) and more with them trying to protect themselves from danger. If you drop a live prey item on top of/near a soft tarantula it's reaction (like with the above paintbrush/tongs) is to defend itself. Most insects can injure a T when it's still soft so it would make sense for the T to try to kill it (even if it doesn't need food) rather than leave it to do harm. This behavior shows itself when you drop a feeder in with a T that is in heavy pre-molt. Often the T will kill the prey and drop it (un-eaten) in the water dish (garbage disposal) rather than leave it about when it's going to molt. This is why I think it's a bad idea to feed too early after a molt. Not because the T is unable to know when it is safe for it to eat but because it might feel the risk of hurting itself is acceptable compared to potential danger. A tarantula is less likely to encounter this in the wild where deep burrows and webbing the entrance would likely prevent most roaming insects etc from getting close to it till it was fully hardened up.

I'm not an active feeder. I don't tong feed nor drop prey right on top my Ts when feeding. I usually place the crushed headed roach off a bit for terrestrials. My arboreals get food on the substrate floor and can go down to get it. They have the option to move to the food (they often grab it quickly) or ignore it if they don't want/need it.

At least that's my take on this whole topic.
 
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gypsy cola

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Jan 16, 2014
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192
My turn to beat the dead horse.

I didn't read everything so sorry if I'm wrong about a few things.

Most keepers agree that feeding a Tarantula early is a good thing. My tarantulas have a more aggressive feeding response if I feed them at 2 am compared to 2 pm. Due to them being nocturnal. It's also a good time to see your more shy tarantulas.
 
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