P. Metallica Health Question

[xBlackLotusx]

I've been stalking this site for a while now but I never felt the need to register/post (searching for answered questions has always paid off), hello everyone! Jumping on topic: 5 days ago I decided to buy a Poecilotheria Metallica as my first tarantula. I know it's not very recommended, but I've been reading about them for the last 3 years and when the chance presented, I just couldn't resist. The juv/sling (it has a 2" leg span, I guess it's right on the line!) looks healthy and I don't have any reasons to think otherwise, but as you all probably felt with your first spider, you never stop worrying! Yesterday, since he looked pretty confortable with his new house, I decided to offer him a cricket and he attacked it immediately (I really didn't expect it to be so exiting to see)!

Now, as I said, I don't have previous experiences with tarantulas, but he looks a little skinny to me and I would really love to hear your opinions on the matter. I really want this little bad boy to thrive; not because of the price (which wasn't even high anyway) but because I'm obviously already very attached to him!

Here are a couple of pictures!


P.S: I'm referring to the spider as a "he", but he's actually unsexed.

 

[Poec54]

he looks a little skinny to me and I would really love to hear your opinions on the matter.

It's not starving, but it's hungry, feed it. At that size 2 or 3 times a week is good. Not a good choice for a first spider, but you have it now. You know: no prodding, poking, or handling it.

If you don't already have it, you should get Stan's book 'the Tarantula Keeper's Guide.'

 

[xBlackLotusx]

It's not starving, but it's hungry, feed it. At that size 2 or 3 times a week is good. Not a good choice for a first spider, but you have it now. You know: no prodding, poking, or handling it.

If you don't already have it, you should get Stan's book 'the Tarantula Keeper's Guide.'

Thank you for your advice! I was actually going to wait the full 7 days suggested in 'The Tarantula Keeper's Guide', but he really looked confortable and hungry (not shown in the pictures, but he has been waiting for a couple of days in front of the entrance of his burrow). I actually thought the correct feeding shedule was 1~2 times per week at his size. Are you suggesting it because he's skinny or because at his current size he's still to be considered a sling and not almost a juvenile as I thought?
You're right about it not being a very good choice as a first spider, but I've been keeping other exotic animals and I should be able to handle the "watch out for humidity and ventilation"/"he's very fast" part. I wouldn't provoke him regardless of his speed/dangerousness, don't worry!

Sorry for my English, I'm from Italy!

 

[mmfh]

It doesn't look too thin to me. All of my arboreal spiders appear much thinner than my terrestrials. I don't know if it is true or not but I have been wondering if arboreal T's have a faster metabolism then terrestrials.

 

[Poec54]

Thank you for your advice! I was actually going to wait the full 7 days suggested in 'The Tarantula Keeper's Guide', but he really looked confortable and hungry (not shown in the pictures, but he has been waiting for a couple of days in front of the entrance of his burrow). I actually thought the correct feeding shedule was 1~2 times per week at his size. Are you suggesting it because he's skinny or because at his current size he's still to be considered a sling and not almost a juvenile as I thought?
You're right about it not being a very good choice as a first spider, but I've been keeping other exotic animals and I should be able to handle the "watch out for humidity and ventilation"/"he's very fast" part. I wouldn't provoke him regardless of his speed/dangerousness, don't worry!

Sorry for my English, I'm from Italy!

The 7 day wait is for adults in a new cage. The advice changes when their abdomens are small and/or with younger spiders. I've maintained spiders kept in 16 oz deli cups for an importer and a pet store: put the spider in a new cup with a moist cottonball, toss in a few crickets, and clean the old cup. Gone thru dozens of spiders like that at a time, occasionally over 100. Even with all of that disruption, hungry spiders will often grab the crickets immediately.

When I get a new spider, if the abdomen is small, I'll feed it in a day or two. If the abdomen is large, I'll give it a week or more.

As far as how often to feed spiders depends on the species and how active it is, it's overall size, and the abdomen size. Slings need to eat and drink more often, they're infants. Both slings and juveniles are noticeably growing with each molt, and their instinct is telling them to eat as often as they can. In the wild, the fatser they grow, the less vulnerable they are (to heat, cold, drought, predators, etc) and the sooner they can reproduce, which is what's it's all about. Those that eat less and grow slower, are less likley to live to adulthood. Once they're adults, growth is much slower, and they don't need to be waddling around with obese abdomens, it's actually hazardous for them. But with slings and juveniles, they're not fat for long, as it goes into growth and they get skinny after molting. Then the cycle starts again.

Even with adults, they need to eat more often after molting, as they lose a lot of food reserves. You'll see them run after and dive on prey, and take on larger prey. This isn't bad manners, it's survival. Once they get most of their weight back, they go back to normal. I feed my newly-molted adults a couple times a week for a month or two, and then they're back to being fed once a week or once every two weeks.

As you observed, if it looks settled in, you can feed it sooner. If it's not content and spends it's time trying to escape, or otherwise appears stressed, hold off on feeding for a little. Tropical species are often more active, and may be used to eating regularly all year. Temperate species appetites' vary with the seasons, and often eat heavier in the summer.

How often you feed your spiders is also tied in to the temperature. The warmer it is (80+ degrees) the higher their metabolism, and the more they should be fed. When they're 70 degrees, they're not as active, or as hungry. Your house may be warmer in the summer, feed it more often. If your house is cooler in the winter, cut back on food.

So you don't need to follow a rigid feeding schedule all year long. Conditions change. Adjust it when it makes sense. Yours is eating now, it's settling in, feed it.

Your English is fine, better than many Americans. And you have no idea how we'd mangle Italian.

 

[xBlackLotusx]

Thank you very much for your very detailed answer (and for your time)! I'm glad I decided to register. I'll try to feed it a little more often up until he gains some weight. I'll be back with some more photos in a couple of weeks to check if I'm (and he's) doing well

 

[Poec54]

I'll be back with some more photos in a couple of weeks to check if I'm (and he's) doing well

Keep us posted. And feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Taranto1989]

A good thing to do sence you WILL have to open the tank is rattle it a little bit to get your T to go in hiding mode so long as you dont get to close he, she wont move until the "danger" has passed.

 

[xBlackLotusx]

A good thing to do sence you WILL have to open the tank is rattle it a little bit to get your T to go in hiding mode so long as you dont get to close he, she wont move until the "danger" has passed.

He hardly moves when I'm close to the tank anyway (even if I don't open it). He's a scaredy spider!

 

[SuzukiSwift]

A good thing to do sence you WILL have to open the tank is rattle it a little bit to get your T to go in hiding mode so long as you dont get to close he, she wont move until the "danger" has passed.

I don't think this is necessary, it will just freak him out. When opening the lid do it gently, he sounds comfortable in his enclosure from what you've said so if he's gona run it will most likely be to retreat deeper into his home than running out, make sure he has places in there to hide of course =) He looks great to me also, congrats on your acquisition! I've really got to get me one of these.

Btw you said it wasn't expensive which surprised me cause this species usually puts a hole in peoples wallets lol If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get it for?

 

[Wadew]

I have to wonder how many P.Metallica you have had the privilege of keeping Poec54? I can only bite my tongue for so long before I have to say you parrot a bunch of crap! A P.Metallica would not survive under your care for long I feel! This Poecilotheria is not so robust like the others and will not respond well to ill keeping habits. REMEMBER uneducated people can dispense advice and feel good "ignorance is bliss" XBlacklotusX please take what you read with a grain of salt use good judgement

-Wade

 

[Poec54]

Nice to hear your calm, unemotional views again. Little rays of sunshine. It would be nice for everyone here if you got your anger management problem under control. Since you have more knowledge and experience than anyone else here, why don't you field all the questions and the rest of us can go home.

 

[BobGrill]

Guys, you do know that there are ways to communicate without having to talk down to one another right? It's not a competition over who has more experience or knowledge of Ts.

 

[klawfran3]

Guys, you do know that there are ways to communicate without having to talk down to one another right? It's not a competition over who has more experience or knowledge of Ts.

Watching them is like watching an old married couple bicker. xD let them sort it out themselves and stay out of it.

 

[Poec54]

I'm certainly no expert. There's a lot to learn about tarantulas. I try to help people with what's worked for me, and from talking to knowledgeable collectors/breeders/dealers. A lot of times I step up to answer questions, because I don't see many, if any, other people responding, Wade included. I'd love to hear Wade's input in a normal civil and helpful manner, instead of his belligerent approach. There's a pattern here, I'm not the first who's suffered his wrath. If he knows a lot, share it with us, teach us, instead of popping by once in a while in a tantrum. His delivery is a total turn off, and what people is hear emotion and immaturity instead of the message itself, which is a shame. It gets lost in the commotion. I'm sure I could learn from him myself, but he walks in swinging fists and blowing off steam, and then disappears again for a while. That doesn't accomplish anything. People are left scratching their heads thinking: 'What the hell just happened?' Who knows what's going to set him off. You'd think someone working in retail would have better people skills. Maybe he does, but we're not seeing it here.

 

[Lopez]

I've found P.metallica to be very hardy actually. Just like most Poecilotheria. I don't think I've watered or fed my juveniles since August.

 

[Poec54]

I've found P.metallica to be very hardy actually. Just like most Poecilotheria. I don't think I've watered or fed my juveniles since August.

I keep my metallica like my other Poecs, as no doubt the vast majority of people do. If we're all doing something wrong, it would be nice to hear the details, spoken by a patient person who can act like an adult. Teach us, don't beat us with a stick.

 

[Wadew]

I have found Metallica will not power feed like other Poecilotheria. In my experience it is a spider that you have to let lead the way more so than others. When pushed or not content in general it is more likely to curl up and die. Although I have not kept large numbers of these either, The few I have had seem to have a different way about them than other Poecilotheria. I am not going to jump on a Metallica post or any other post with all the answers either! I do not feel it would be "help" to do so. I feel there is more to keeping spiders than pumping food into them without regard to what is happening. To take the hobby to the next level might require a little understanding as to what is going on. Unless your happy with watching them grow and die. I do not know what drives some people. I do know generic advice does not apply to all questions either. I also know Lopez you have a bit more understanding about what you are doing with them and like you stated do not feed 3x a week either.

-Wade

-Wade

 

[xBlackLotusx]

Btw you said it wasn't expensive which surprised me cause this species usually puts a hole in peoples wallets lol If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get it for?

The price was 45 euro.

About the discussion going on, The Tarantula Keeper's Guide states that baby Tarantulas should be ideally fed two up to six crickets per week and spiderlings' schedule should be gradually adapted to an adult feeding regimen (1~2 crickets per week). Since my Tarantula is (I believe) classifiable as spiderling, three crickets per week shouldn't be too bad.

I forgot to mention that I'm only feeding one cricket per meal, so by "feeding three times per week" I actually meant "feeding three crickets per week". Reason behing this, being still unexperienced I don't like the idea of throwing three crickets inside the cage without really being able to tell when the Tarantula is about to moult.

Opinions?

 

[Poec54]

About the discussion going on, The Tarantula Keeper's Guide states that baby Tarantulas should be ideally fed two up to six crickets per week and spiderlings' schedule should be gradually adapted to an adult feeding regimen (1~2 crickets per week). Since my Tarantula is (I believe) classifiable as spiderling, three crickets per week shouldn't be too bad.

What's the official size of a 'baby' cricket? They grow very fast and some can be significantly larger than others, and all be considered babies. 5 or 10 micro-size crickets may equal to one of what someone else calls a 'baby' cricket. You get what the store has, and the baby cricket sizes can vary each time you go there. It's just too loose to try to pin down exact numbers. Plus, slings vary in size a lot themselves, 2nd instars can be 1/4' to an 1", which makes a big difference on the relative size of the meal to the spider. You really can't do this strictly by hard, inflexible numbers. Cricket and sling sizes are too variable for ironclad rules. I know Stan's trying to help out newbies and give them something tangible, but it really takes a feel for what's appropriate. Some people take it too literally.

After a shed tarantulas are starved and thirsty, and want to regain their stored food reserves, especially slings, which use up so much with each molt's growth. They'll fearlessly take larger prey, and more prey, than normal. As their abdomen fills out, their appetites get back to normal, and as they approach pre-molt, they eat less and often prefer smaller prey. I adjust my feeding depending where they are in this cycle. With adults, there's a long 'normal' phase, with slings molting so often, it's much shorter.