Some questions on our new baby

[IcantBreath]

Hi!
We recently got ourselves another Grammostola Pulchripes as our first one died during molting.
She is a beauty! About 4" and very friendly.

We just a little concerned on one thing. Eating.
Now I have heard they can fast and go without for long periods. Is this true?

The pet store told us she molted about 4 days ago and they used to feed her 3 medium crickets per day. Is this too much?
We had her 2 days now and she wont eat at all.
We have had her out and she is still friendly and never gave any sign of aggression at all.

Is this normal?
Any other advice would be great!

Thanks!

 

[jungalist86]

hi,if it only moulted 4 days ago i would leave it a few more days before feeding or handling,i normally wait a week to ten days to feed because the fangs are not hardend after the moult,same thing with handling body still fragile,and i would just give it 2 crickets a week,personally wouldnt listen to anything the pet shop said,ive been keeping ts 2 years and have learnt everything i know just through searching this site and another site,and never had 1 bad exsperience with any of my ts,all the best anyway nice looking t

 

[IcantBreath]

Thanks a lot!

 

[tarantulagirl10]

If she molted 4 days ago. Leave her be for about a week with a full water dish, then try feeding. 3 crickets every day definitely seems like too much. A few a week will be plenty. My 6" G pulchripes gets only usually 2 large crickets a week and is very fat. I wouldn't be handling her at all until she is hardened from her molt, and settled in.

 

[madamoisele]

Take everything a local pet store tells you about animal care with a salt shaker. You were wise to come to the internet and a trusted forum to seek out information.

I used to feed my tarantulas every week, but after awhile, they started refusing food. I did more research on feeding and now, I offer my pulchripes a superworm once every two weeks. Sparser feeding mimics their natural food cycle, where they go long periods of time without food, and will cut down on food refusal.

I also keep an eye on the abdomen, and gauge by its size whether or not they're dehydrated (shriveled abdomen, hasn't happened to me yet!), too skinny (maybe I'll offer two worms), too fat (I might skip feeding it that time), etc.

Your tarantula will have times where it will go months without eating - don't panic. It's not unheard of for them to go a year without eating, and the record is 2.5 years, that we know of. Just watch the abdomen. As long as it's not shriveled, indicating dehydration, you're good to go. Keep a water dish full at all times in the cage and you'll have no issues.

Hope this helps.

PS - At the current size, wait a MINIMUM of one week after a molt before feeding.

 

[ElevenBravo]

It is possible that you have harmed her by handling her so soon after a moult you should wait at least 7 to 10 days. Her fangs will be a pinkish maroon color if she is not hard yet.

Trust me when I tell you that G. pulchripes has a very healthy appetite my large 6" female would take and eat my tongs if I let her I have to tether them to my wrist with paracord for christs sake!!! My tiny 1.75" G. pulchripes sling has jumped up onto the tongs took the cricket and ran to his hide ripping the cricket in half in the process.

As far as how much to feed her the rule I go by is to keep the abdomen just slightly larger than the carapace dont let her eat till she looks like a tick because she will. Her risk of injury from a fall is higher with a abdomen that is tooo large. You will learn by feeding her if I fed my chaco 3 med crickets a day shed look like a baketball in a months time. My baby girl gets two to three superworms a week and shes slightly on the thick side.

I understand your concern when I got my chaco she didnt eat for about a month and a half she was in premolt but i was still worried about her relax give her a few days im sure shell eat fine

 

[IcantBreath]

Thanks for the info.
We have left her alone and she hid away for a while, but has surfaced since yesterday a bit.
Will try feed her by the weekend.

 

[IcantBreath]

Ok, so just an update.
Thanks for the info and we will never listen to pet shops again!!!

She molted yesterday!
Pet shop said she had just molted when we got her and was eating 3 crickets a day...
Well I guess that was a major bull story.
She was in pre molt, obviously why she didnt want to eat and was hiding away most the time.
We left her alone and 2 days ago she started spinning major web all over the corner of her tank.
Yesterday morning she was on her back!
Last night she was completely out and is looking good and healthy.
Will wait a week or so before feeding her now.

Thanks again for the advice and will post pics of her as soon as she is a little more active!

 

[ArachnidJackson]

If she molted 4 days ago. Leave her be for about a week with a full water dish, then try feeding. 3 crickets every day definitely seems like too much. A few a week will be plenty. My 6" G pulchripes gets only usually 2 large crickets a week and is very fat. I wouldn't be handling her at all until she is hardened from her molt, and settled in.

is your G. pulchripes M or F and would you be willing to sell/trade or lend for breeding project? I am desperate in finding the MM in my care a mate.

---------- Post added 11-20-2011 at 12:29 AM ----------

Thanks a lot!

is your G. pulchripes M or F and would you be willing to sell/trade or lend for breeding project? I am desperate in finding the MM in my care a mate.

 

[grayzone]

i know this is a re-opened thread but lol too funny.. i was just gonna say no way, she didnt molt before you got her ... her butt is way too plump in that pic to be bouncing back from molting... glad she finally did for ya though.... stupid lps salesmen... also i was reading the original post and wanted to point out that pre/post molt or not its best to give a t a few days of adjusting to a new home before attempting to feed... glad everything has worked itself out though, you have a beautiful chaco. cant wait till my 2 are that size