# Small Abdomen?



## Mr.Scorpion (Sep 13, 2006)

I was wondering, I have an A. Seemani and she has a smaller abdomen compared to the rest of her body, she seems healthy though. Is it normal.


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## Windchaser (Sep 13, 2006)

Without seeing a picture it is hard to tell. Generally tarantulas will have small abdomens right after a molt. This is normal and they will get larger as they recover. If it has not molted recently, a small abdomen can be a sign of dehydration or insufficient food. You are necessarily looking for its abdomen to be huge, but it should be proportional to the rest of its body.

You may want to increase feeding for a couple of weeks and make sure you provide access to water.


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## Morro_Narcissa (Sep 13, 2006)

Maybe not necessarily just "small" but if the abdomen looks shrivelled in any way (looks like a raisin?), then the T is definitely in need of some food, water & TLC. If the T is post molt, you'll want to wait until the fangs have hardened and turned black to offer any food, but water should be accessible at all times.


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## Mr.Scorpion (Sep 15, 2006)

Ok, I am feeding her more now (it doesnt look like a raisin though). So it should grow bavk to proportion and everything alright? It seems to have gotten a bit bigger in the past few days.


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## Mr.Scorpion (Sep 15, 2006)

Also, is their anything else I can feed her other then crickets that will get her fatter faster?


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## Rounder (Sep 15, 2006)

Crickets will do fine.  the larger the spider the more crix you'll need.  didn't you say in another thread that it was about 3.5" or so?  after a molt it would probably take at least 4-8 crickets to plump up that abdomen (depending on size and quality of the crix).  

You really don't need to worry about fattening her up "faster".  She will be fine with a few more crix.  After Ts have eaten a few crix, you'll notice a plumper abdomen.  

Relax, if the abdomen isn't shriveled like a raisin, it's eating and you're providing a water dish, it will be fine.  Just keep it on your normal feeding routine.


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## bonesmama (Sep 16, 2006)

You could try mealworms, waxworms, or even earthworms, although not all T's will eat these, it's a good way to vary their diet.


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