# Acanthoscurria geniculata growth rate?



## Crusaderwithgat (Sep 12, 2008)

My baby hasnt changed much since the end of May. Wondering how slow do they grow?

Thanks, Jim


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## Flying (Sep 12, 2008)

They grow rapidly, like weeds. Mine goes from eating to moulting in about 4 days and 4 days after that she's eating again.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## jerseygirl (Sep 12, 2008)

I got my first A. geniculata on 8/26 from kenthebugguy at .25. It molted 9/2; so now it's maybe 3/8"? It gained some color in there (became darker and you can see teeny, tiny white knees). I let it eat as much as it wants. Say a cricket every other day?  Hope that helps.


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## the nature boy (Sep 12, 2008)

jerseygirl said:


> I got my first A. geniculata on 8/26 from kenthebugguy at .25. It molted 9/2; so now it's maybe 3/8"? It gained some color in there (became darker and you can see teeny, tiny white knees). I let it eat as much as it wants. Say a cricket every other day?  Hope that helps.


Lol.  Let a A. geniculata eat as much as it wants and you're going to have a humongous, still hungry, tarantula very quickly.  They don't believe in passing up food--*ever*.  When it becomes mature I'd definitely back off the constant feeding.  If not you'll have an overweight, unhealthy T.  Some claim that power feeding also produces difficult moults.  It certainly will shorten a lifespan.

--the nature boy

Reactions: Face Palm 1


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## aluras (Sep 12, 2008)

the nature boy said:


> Lol.  Let a A. geniculata eat as much as it wants and you're going to have a humongous, still hungry, tarantula very quickly.  They don't believe in passing up food--*ever*.  When it becomes mature I'd definitely back off the constant feeding.  If not you'll have an overweight, unhealthy T.  Some claim that power feeding also produces difficult moults.  It certainly will shorten a lifespan.
> 
> --the nature boy


YEP!! Ihave two of these, one is maybe an inch and the other is 1/2¨ They eat a small cricket every few days, and they have grown pretty quickly. I have had them a few months and I got both of them at the same size,,,,,.25¨ so they grow at different rates depending on the T

Reactions: Dislike 1


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## equuskat (Sep 12, 2008)

A previously stated, if an A. geniculata isn't eating, it's probably dead or molting.  A genic will take down huge prey and eat every bit.  

Mine would eat WAAAAAY more than I allow her.

Reactions: Like 2


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## ShellsandScales (Sep 12, 2008)

aluras said:


> YEP!! Ihave two of these, one is maybe an inch and the other is 1/2¨ They eat a small cricket every few days, and they have grown pretty quickly. I have had them a few months and I got both of them at the same size,,,,,.25¨ so they grow at different rates depending on the T


The different growth rates _may_ be due to sex. I noticed with the two I have, one is male(2 1/2") one is female(just under 2") verified by molt, That inspite of my best efforts to keep the male cooler and fed less he is growing faster and molting more friequently.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## fishykid (Sep 12, 2008)

My A. Genic is a pig also.  A medium cricket jumped out of the critter keeper and had the unfortunately luck of jumping right into the plastic case I had my A. Genic in.  The little guy was all over that medium cricket in seconds flat. I call it little because its only .5" diagonal, the cricket was about 25% bigger than the T.  I guess I can move up in food size and add a few extra days to my feeding cycle.


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## stonemantis (Sep 13, 2008)

Crusaderwithgat said:


> My baby hasnt changed much since the end of May. Wondering how slow do they grow?
> 
> Thanks, Jim


Jim, 

From my experience with this species here is what I found.

When being kept 73-78 degrees farenheit, at 65%-75% humidity, being fed 2-3 times a week:

.25"-.75" spiderlings molt 1-2 times a month.

1"-3" spiderlings molt 1 time a month

3-5" juveniles/ subadults molt every 2-3 months

5"+ (Unmated/bred) adults molt 1-2 times a year and (Mated/Bred) adults molt about 2 times a year

You'll know when they are going to molt because they will reject food and their adomens will show a bald shiny dark spot (Which is normally tannish white when not in premolt)

I hope this helps

Reactions: Like 4 | Helpful 1 | Clarification Please 1 | Face Palm 1


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## Crusaderwithgat (Sep 14, 2008)

Fed the little rascal an adult cricket abdomen only, checked the next morning and he had eaten some of it, webbed the rest a little bit and then molted!!! 
He's much bigger now and his little white stripes are really showing off. 
Thanks for all the replies.

Jim


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## Jones0911 (Sep 12, 2013)

I only I see crickets here so I'm just double checking. ...no one ever tried feeding hissing roaches or dubia?


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## korg (Sep 12, 2013)

Jones0911 said:


> I only I see crickets here so I'm just double checking. ...no one ever tried feeding hissing roaches or dubia?


You are bumping a five year old thread to ask if anyone has ever fed roaches to A. geniculata?

The answer is yes. They will eat roaches (appropriately sized) and people have fed them roaches.


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## Poec54 (Sep 12, 2013)

korg said:


> You are bumping a five year old thread to ask if anyone has ever fed roaches to A. geniculata?
> 
> The answer is yes. They will eat roaches (appropriately sized) and people have fed them roaches.


+1.  Genics are not fussy eaters.

Reactions: Like 2


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## McGuiverstein (Sep 12, 2013)

At ~1", my genic would probably seriously consider eating a small cat. It's tied for most aggressive eater with my N. chromatus and LP.


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Sep 13, 2013)

Who bumps a 5 year title/??/that isn't factual

As said Growth is Extremely fast


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## MissouriArachnophile (Oct 3, 2018)

5 year bump required lol. This is what happens when you read old threads you find informative.

Reactions: Face Palm 1


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## Vinny2915 (Oct 3, 2018)

It's weird. I found that mine was somewhat slow from 1/4" to 3/4" and then it just exploded in growth. it was insane. In it's first year it has reached 5.75" from 1/4".

wow, nevermind, should've read the date.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## MissouriArachnophile (Oct 3, 2018)

That's why I bumped it, then the last post said it wasn't factual. I was looking for reliable growth information for them. This old thing was what I found. Thanks for the input though.


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## ShockWave (Jan 8, 2019)

I have an AF a. geniculata that I purchased at 7.5”. She’s awesome and a vicious eater. 

Recently acquired a tiny 0.25” sling. It’ll be very cool to see the growth rate and the white knees develop!


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## Yeahhtrue (Mar 22, 2019)

Here's a growth rate comparison of mine. Left side is April 2018 when I first purchased, right side is February 2019, so about 10 months of growth here.

Reactions: Like 5 | Thanks 1 | Wow 1


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