# Feeding after molt, how long to wait???



## Twisted (Oct 25, 2009)

Tonight is feeding night.

One of my A. versicolor slings molted 3 days ago.

My B. smithi molted 2 days ago.

Too soon to feed them or should it be ok?


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## Talkenlate04 (Oct 25, 2009)

To soon. Wait another 5-7 days.


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## Mattyb (Oct 25, 2009)

I'd wait 2 or 3 weeks to make sure their fangs have properly hardened.


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## Talkenlate04 (Oct 25, 2009)

Mattyb said:


> I'd wait 2 or 3 weeks to make sure their fangs have properly hardened.


2-3 weeks is a bit long for a sling. Just over a week should be plenty.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## curiousme (Oct 25, 2009)

Twisted said:


> Tonight is feeding night.
> 
> One of my A. versicolor slings molted 3 days ago.
> 
> ...


Sizes would be extremely helpful in order to answer this question.  

However, even small slings are rarely ready in 2-3 days.  A good rule of thumb is to wait a week for slings(which is what i am assuming you have as adult B. _smithi_s are quite expensive for a newbie), but the best indicator is to watch your tarantulas behavior.  When it is in hunting pose, not all spread out and has moved from the molting area it is usually ready to eat.(if it has been only a day or two, i would wait and make _sure_ it is displaying hunting pose)

Reactions: Like 2


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## Mattyb (Oct 25, 2009)

Talkenlate04 said:


> 2-3 weeks is a bit long for a sling. Just over a week should be plenty.


Didn't know the B.smithi was a sling.


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## Talkenlate04 (Oct 25, 2009)

Even my adults get food after a molt within 7-10 days. 
2-3 weeks wait won't harm them I am sure they can wait that out just fine, but there really is no need to wait that long imo.


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## Mattyb (Oct 25, 2009)

Talkenlate04 said:


> Even my adults get food after a molt within 7-10 days.
> 2-3 weeks wait won't harm them I am sure they can wait that out just fine, but there really is no need to wait that long imo.


3 weeks yeah maybe alittle long, but 2 weeks is fine. rather be safe than sorry. imo.


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## curiousme (Oct 25, 2009)

Mattyb said:


> Didn't know the B.smithi was a sling.


I just made the assumption that it was a sling, since the OP did not state its size.  An adult B. smithi for a newbie is a bit high price-wise.


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## Mattyb (Oct 25, 2009)

curiousme said:


> I just made the assumption that it was a sling, since the OP did not state its size.  An adult B. smithi for a newbie is a bit high price-wise.


Just because they are newbie doesnt mean they dont have money. ;P

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Ariel (Oct 25, 2009)

Mattyb said:


> Just because they are newbie doesnt mean they dont have money. ;P


true! my first T was a 4.5" _B. smithi_.


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## Mattyb (Oct 25, 2009)

Ariel said:


> true! my first T was a 4.5" _B. smithi_.


One of my first 5 Ts was a 8" T.blondi well over $100.00


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## Twisted (Oct 25, 2009)

Oh you guys are crackin me up.

B. smithi is just under 2" so we'll give him till next week or when he comes out of the killer burrow he made.

The A. versicolor is about 1.5" so we'll give him till next week too.

Talkenlate04, I have a couple T's that I got from ya in Hillsburo a few weeks back. An OBT and a minatrix that are both doin great.

Thanks for the advice everyone.


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## Stopdroproll (Oct 25, 2009)

My B. smithi was 2" and I fed 2 days after he molted. He was hardened and his fangs were black.


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## curiousme (Oct 25, 2009)

Mattyb said:


> Just because they are newbie doesnt mean they dont have money. ;P





			
				Ariel said:
			
		

> true! my first T was a 4.5" B. smithi.


lol, very true, i also figured if the A. _versicolor_ was a sling, then the B. _smithi_ probably was. Also, i forget that everyone is not as strapped for cash in this economy as we are! 
but i was right


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## Talkenlate04 (Oct 25, 2009)

SDR said:


> My B. smithi was 2" and I fed 2 days after he molted. He was hardened and his fangs were black.


Two days after a molt is bad advice.


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## Mattyb (Oct 25, 2009)

Talkenlate04 said:


> Two days after a molt is bad advice.


Agreed. There is no harm in waiting a week or so.


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## ghordy (Oct 26, 2009)

I'm wondering if a tarantula in the wild knows it has to wait two weeks after a molt before it can take that prey that comes waltzing by.

Reactions: Like 1


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## curiousme (Oct 26, 2009)

ghordy said:


> I'm wondering if a tarantula in the wild knows it has to wait two weeks after a molt before it can take that prey that comes waltzing by.


There may be more deaths in the wild due to not waiting, because they could lose a fang or large amounts of hemolymph............


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## ghordy (Oct 26, 2009)

curiousme said:


> There may be more deaths in the wild due to not waiting, because they could lose a fang or large amounts of hemolymph............


I would tend to think that a T in the wild through an entirely natural process will take prey after a molt when it's ready... be it 4 days or 14... without injuring itself.

Reactions: Like 1


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## scottyk (Oct 26, 2009)

ghordy said:


> I would tend to think that a T in the wild through an entirely natural process will take prey after a molt when it's ready... be it 4 days or 14... without injuring itself.


I think you are missing the point of the advice. No one is saying that a tarantula that attacks and eats a cricket isn't ready to.

In captivity, there is no harm in waiting a few extra days. However, if you feed before the tarantula is ready to eat, there is a (very small) possibility that the cricket may injure it. There is a much more likely possibility that it will annoy the tarantula needlessly and have to be fished back out of the enclosure.


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## Skipcress (Mar 25, 2019)

I'm a bit of a newbie, but what I've always done with my G. Pulchripes sling is feed it killed prey after a molt. Its usual feeding schedule is Wednesday and Sunday, and I go back to that after it molts. For example, if it molts on a Tuesday, I'll skip Wednesday's feeding because I know that will be too soon, but I'll give it a killed cricket on Sunday. If it doesn't take that after about twelve hours I'll remove it, and try again the following Wednesday, until it finally eats.

I suppose your milage may vary depending on your T's willingness to accept killed prey, but it's been working for me.


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## Justin H (Mar 25, 2019)

Skipcress said:


> I'm a bit of a newbie, but what I've always done with my G. Pulchripes sling is feed it killed prey after a molt. Its usual feeding schedule is Wednesday and Sunday, and I go back to that after it molts. For example, if it molts on a Tuesday, I'll skip Wednesday's feeding because I know that will be too soon, but I'll give it a killed cricket on Sunday. If it doesn't take that after about twelve hours I'll remove it, and try again the following Wednesday, until it finally eats.
> 
> I suppose your milage may vary depending on your T's willingness to accept killed prey, but it's been working for me.


This thread is 9 years old .


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## Skipcress (Mar 25, 2019)

Justin H said:


> This thread is 9 years old .


Yeah, I know. I figured I'd reply anyway, in case it's in any way helpful to someone who comes across this thread while trying to answer the same question today. I've certainly had many a question answered by reading a decade old thread I found via a Google query

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## cold blood (Mar 25, 2019)

Skipcress said:


> Yeah, I know. I figured I'd reply anyway, in case it's in any way helpful to someone who comes across this thread while trying to answer the same question today. I've certainly had many a question answered by reading a decade old thread I found via a Google query


True, but it can also be questionable...many old threads contain old, outdated info.   For learning purposes its generally best to focus on newer threads.


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## KenneyG (Jul 20, 2020)

The





ghordy said:


> I'm wondering if a tarantula in the wild knows it has to wait two weeks after a molt before it can take that prey that comes waltzing by.


They tend to know when they are ready and they will not eat until they are that is my experience anyway and I assume in the wild it would be the same.


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## Magicis3 (Jul 20, 2020)

1week for slings under 2.5cm
1.5-2weeks for juvi 2.5cm-7cm
3weeks-3weeks+ for adult past 7cm

Thats how I do it


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