# Feeding...how much? how often? Expert feedback, please!!!!



## frodogecko (Apr 27, 2017)

I've been reading lots of websites and watching lots of videos and now I'm completely confused. Some people say feed once per week for any species. Others say feed every 2-3 days, some say every 3-5 days. And some say it's different for each species. Also, how much? one feeder, two, three? Some people let them continue to eat until they're full, others say you should never do that. I'm just trying to be a responsible owner and care for all my babies the best I can. How do you experienced keepers handle feeding?


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## ledzeppelin (Apr 27, 2017)

Slings can easily be fed 2 maybe even 3 times a week. That means one cricket/roach/worm per feeding. With adults you can go once per week easily. That is just one way to make a schedule. You have to keep in mind that adults can be overweight which makes them more vulnerable for a fall and the consequent death. Slings could in theory be offered food every day because they molt frequently and grow.  My feeding schedule is Wednesday and Sunday for slings, and Sunday for adults.. Something like that is fine.


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## frodogecko (Apr 27, 2017)

What about larger species like A. seemanni and T. stirmi? Should they be fed more often or just more feeders? And how do you know how many to give them?


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## Crone Returns (Apr 27, 2017)

frodogecko said:


> What about larger species like A. seemanni and T. stirmi? Should they be fed more often or just more feeders? And how do you know how many to give them?


I don't know about T. stirmis, but have a juvie A. seemani BCF. Bottom line is she'd eat one large cricket a week, and she's savage. She's been in premolt for about 4 months .  She molted last week. Will lay out prekilled cric on sun., and will see what she does. 
You know there's plenty of threads here on AB. Just plug in names and old threads will come up.


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 27, 2017)

I've been wondering this too! I have a 2.25-2.5" A. chalcodes. I hear they grow slowly, and I know mine has molted as recently as a month ago. But she would eat as much as I could give her and she put weight on really fast! Now I had feed back on a thread saying she may be too big for her size? Is that possible for a young tarantula? I haven't had her refuse food yet! She is wild caught so does that have an influence in her eatting habits?


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## GreyPsyche (Apr 27, 2017)

I'm by no means experienced but I have several slings and I chose to feed them about 2-4 times a week depending on the size of the prey and how fat they look. My GBB was skinny when I got him about 8 days ago. I fed him a small cricket a day after I got him, two days later a cricket leg, two days after that I fed him a meal worm. My gfs rosehair I fed one cricket and one cricket leg, its refused anymore since but I've tried a meal worm and another leg. My OBT killed a cricket his second day in my care but I don't think she ate it much, I tried again a few days later and she definitely ate this one as it was large and ahe plumped up a lot I have tried feeding her once more but she refused. I'll probably try again today though with a meal worm again instead of a cricket. In fact I'll probably try to feed them all and see how it goes.


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## ledzeppelin (Apr 27, 2017)

I think 4 times a week is overkill but some will disagree  Again it's all relative.. feeding fruitflies would require you to feed 5 times a day  I don't really think it's different for some species.. Okay maybe Theraphosa genus would get 2 a week from me but that's about it.


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## The Grym Reaper (Apr 27, 2017)

Everyone is different on this so you'll most probably get a bunch of different answers.

Generally speaking, I feed:

*Slings (under 2") -* 1 prey item every 3 days.
*Juveniles (over 2") -* 1 prey item once a week.
*Subadults/Adults (over 4-5") -* 1 or more prey items once a fortnight depending on prey size.

I use an app to keep track of feeding etc. and that notifies me when each T needs to be fed.

Prey size is usually smaller than the size of the Tarantula's abdomen (tiny slings are the exception as I only feed pre-killed if they're smaller than 1" and I want them to pig out so that they grow faster anyway), larger Tarantulas get bigger/more prey items than smaller ones but I apply the same rule in that total combined prey size doesn't exceed the size of the Tarantula's abdomen.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1 | Informative 3


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## frodogecko (Apr 27, 2017)

The Grym Reaper said:


> Everyone is different on this so you'll most probably get a bunch of different answers.
> 
> Generally speaking, I feed:
> 
> ...


So far I like your answer the best. I'd also like to hear from KezyGLA, Venom1080, EulersK , CEC, and cold blood

Reactions: Like 2


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## EulersK (Apr 27, 2017)

frodogecko said:


> So far I like your answer the best. I'd also like to hear from KezyGLA, Venom1080, EulersK , CEC, and cold blood


@KezyGLA @Venom1080 @CEC @cold blood

In the future, put an @ in front of our name. None of those people got tagged (well, now they have been), I just happened to check into this thread.

I think @The Grym Reaper pretty much hit the nail on the head, but remember, a lot of what you're going to hear is opinions based on experience. Myself, I don't use an app or an actual feeding schedule. Slings get fed daily if my schedule allows - basically, it's never not feeding day for them. Juveniles get fed about every other week until their abdomen is just a tad larger than their carapace, and then feeding goes down to about once per month. Adults are the same story as juveniles, but when the abdomen is a touch larger the carapace, feeding goes down to every six weeks or so. My arid NW terrestrial adults get fed once every two months when they reach that plumpness.

Huge note here. Feeding schedules depend on what you're feeding. Many people are looking at my schedule and are appalled that I'm starving my tarantulas... until you realize that they're eating fattened dubia. I assure you that my tarantulas are all healthily plump, and in fact this schedule has triggered fasts from some of my NW terrestrials. When I feed my adults, I'm basically feeding 4-5 large crickets in the form of one fat dubia.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 4 | Informative 2


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## Venom1080 (Apr 27, 2017)

spiders up to 3" i feed probably once or twice a week. a large meal mind. 
up to 6" i feed once every other week to once a month. adults if not recently postmolt, once a month. again, a large meal.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Nightstalker47 (Apr 27, 2017)

I don't feed on a set schedule, it depends on the individual and species. Pamphoboteus, Theraphosa's and many other genera grow extremely fast as slings, they can be fed daily until they hit the pre molt phase.

Pretty much all your doing by feeding more is allowing your spider to enter pre molt faster, and thus molt and grow at a faster rate. I've bought slings before and returned for more to see the sac mates I had bought were double the size of the new additions. Why? Because I was feeding more often... 

I also think a regularly fed sling is usually much more healthy, young Ts that go too long without food seem to weaken. Limiting food is not something I would ever do with my slings or even juvies. For adult Ts I just go by abdomen size, if they get really fat I slow down feeding.

Reactions: Agree 3 | Informative 1


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## cold blood (Apr 27, 2017)

Its all dependent on a *lot* of variables...What species?  How big is the species?  What temps?  How big was the last meal?

You will see people say that any/all slings can eat 3 times a week, but it just isn't _always_ true (even if it _is_ true a lot).   A 1/4" Brachy sling may not eat 3 times during an _entire_ cycle, especially if the food is large...and lets face it, everything is large to a 1/4" Brachy.   Some adults with low metabolisms might only need one large prey item a month to get plump on.

The thing to understand is how fast of a grower it is and what its molt cycle is.  Understanding a particular spiders molt cycles can help determine how long it takes that species to potentially grow a new exo skeleton and shed the old....so minus a few weeks or a month (hardening time and pre-molt time...which may just be a few days for a fast growing sling) this is the time you have to fatten this particular specimen.  With slings and juvies you also need to consider that times will also extend for this as they grow, although there's generally periods of many cycles where length stays consistent.

Fill it up quickly, and it just has to wait (fast) until its biology has advanced to the point where it can actually molt (long pre-molt fast).   Slower feeding schedules can mean shorter fasting, and sometimes virtually no pre-molt fasting....feed at a slower pace than the t can grow a new exoskeleton and you can extend this time period significantly...but there is, for every t, a shortest possible time, and its almost always _easy_ to fill them up before they can be ready to molt, which is why pre-molt fasts are normal.

A good general rule is that the larger the feeders (or more) you offer in one feeding, the longer you can go till the next feeding and visa versa.   A person feeding one single adult roach a week is actually feeding heavier than someone feeding a medium cricket 5 days a week.  So if you want to feed your ts often, feed them smaller feeders.

An adult rose hair for instance, may go 4-6 *years* between molts, that's a _long_ time to fatten something that can get its fill in basically a few large meals...its no wonder they spend so much time fasting.

Some species, like P. cambridgei for instance, can molt really fast when they are young, and they eat like they're starving...but they can molt very very quickly, putting on huge growth per molt...for these a slow feeding schedule works directly against their metabolism...I think feeding a cam sling even once a week is entirely too little unless its a huge meal.

Its confusing for beginners because there is no one way that works best for every t, at every size, in every environment for every keeper....when keeping ts, there is a huge degree of variance between what successful keepers do...there's a lot of wrong ways to keep ts, but there's also *a lot of right ways* to do things...developing an understanding of what works for you and your collective group of ts, is all part of the fun in the learning curve with tarantulas.

Reactions: Like 4 | Agree 3 | Informative 1 | Helpful 1 | Award 4


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## The Grym Reaper (Apr 27, 2017)

EulersK said:


> I think @The Grym Reaper pretty much hit the nail on the head, *but remember, a lot of what you're going to hear is opinions based on experience.*


This, I've only been keeping inverts for about 11 months so I'm still tweaking it as I go for certain species but I've found this works for the majority of what I have so far.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## D Sherlod (Apr 27, 2017)

I feed my slings twice a week
juvi gets once a week 
I feed mostly crickets so I use a few more prey items compared to someone who uses roaches or superworms.

I always watch abdominal sizes and adjust frequency for individuals as nessessary. 

I strive for healthy plump not fat.... subjective I know

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Crone Returns (Apr 27, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> I've been wondering this too! I have a 2.25-2.5" A. chalcodes. I hear they grow slowly, and I know mine has molted as recently as a month ago. But she would eat as much as I could give her and she put weight on really fast! Now I had feed back on a thread saying she may be too big for her size? Is that possible for a young tarantula? I haven't had her refuse food yet! She is wild caught so does that have an influence in her eatting habits?


Could you post a pic?


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## Crone Returns (Apr 27, 2017)

cold blood said:


> Its all dependent on a *lot* of variables...What species?  How big is the species?  What temps?  How big was the last meal?
> 
> You will see people say that any/all slings can eat 3 times a week, but it just isn't _always_ true (even if it _is_ true a lot).   A 1/4" Brachy sling may not eat 3 times during an _entire_ cycle, especially if the food is large...and lets face it, everything is large to a 1/4" Brachy.   Some adults with low metabolisms might only need one large prey item a month to get plump on.
> 
> ...


  Yeah.  What he said.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Brumbleberry (Apr 27, 2017)

Hi! I'm a noob about feeding schedules. Just wanted to add that I'm totally eating up all this info. Thanks to all!  

Also,  Frodo, great name.

Reactions: Like 4


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 27, 2017)

crone said:


> Could you post a pic?






This was from the 15th of this month. She seems to have slimmed down a little since then. I fed her one super worm since the picture was taken.  
	

		
			
		

		
	



	

		
			
		

		
	
This is from March 27th the day I caught her. So she was pretty thin in this picture.

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## frodogecko (Apr 28, 2017)

Brumbleberry said:


> Hi! I'm a noob about feeding schedules. Just wanted to add that I'm totally eating up all this info. Thanks to all!
> 
> Also,  Frodo, great name.


Thanks! LOTR is my favorite movie/book so all of my T's are named from those characters. I'm new too and learning soooo much!!! Thanks everyone!

Reactions: Like 1


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

frodogecko said:


> Thanks! LOTR is my favorite movie/book so all of my T's are named from those characters. I'm new too and learning soooo much!!! Thanks everyone!


Speaking of which, I forgot to mention that my A. chalcodes is named Shelob

Reactions: Like 1


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## frodogecko (Apr 28, 2017)

EulersK said:


> @KezyGLA @Venom1080 @CEC @cold blood
> 
> In the future, put an @ in front of our name. None of those people got tagged (well, now they have been), I just happened to check into this thread.
> 
> ...


Sorry about the @ symbol. This is the first forum I've ever been on. I'm socially awkward (a big nerd). I don't even do facebook. Thanks for all the knowledge!

Reactions: Like 2 | Award 1


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## Crone Returns (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> View attachment 238414
> 
> 
> This was from the 15th of this month. She seems to have slimmed down a little since then. I fed her one super worm since the picture was taken.
> ...


She looks nice and tubby to me lol.  Congratulations on your care.  
I wouldn't give her any fatty worms now; a cric once a week. But that's what I do. Like everybody said, each T is different. Even day to day. 
They all have different moods, hunger etc.  Just go with the flow.


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## frodogecko (Apr 28, 2017)

cold blood said:


> Its all dependent on a *lot* of variables...What species?  How big is the species?  What temps?  How big was the last meal?
> 
> You will see people say that any/all slings can eat 3 times a week, but it just isn't _always_ true (even if it _is_ true a lot).   A 1/4" Brachy sling may not eat 3 times during an _entire_ cycle, especially if the food is large...and lets face it, everything is large to a 1/4" Brachy.   Some adults with low metabolisms might only need one large prey item a month to get plump on.
> 
> ...


It is very confusing for beginners. What's funny, I've had a G. porteri for 14 years (very healthy). So, in Oct when I decided to get 3 more T's, I figured I already knew how to keep them. Six months later I'm up to 19. I never realized how different the care could be for each species. And there's not a book or guide that has directions written out for each species.

What you said makes a lot of sense. It really should depend on the species and their growth rates. What do you think about Mike's Basic Tarantula Site? Is this a good site for information?


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## BrockiePelma (Apr 28, 2017)

its not only about how many times u feed them,its also about the size of the prey,the larger the prey the lesser the number of times u you have to feed them and vice versa.In my case,i only feed my Ts adult size S.lateralis,and their size is the same as my Ts,so i only feed them twice a week and they're looking healthy.

My best guide is to look at the size between the carapace and abdomen(for juvies and adults) the abdomen should be bigger than the carapace but not more than twice the size


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## frodogecko (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> Speaking of which, I forgot to mention that my A. chalcodes is named Shelob


Shelob's a great name, but I also have the Lego minifigure for each T next to their house and the Lego version of Shelob is too big.

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## frodogecko (Apr 28, 2017)

BrockiePelma said:


> its not only about how many times u feed them,its also about the size of the prey,the larger the prey the lesser the number of times u you have to feed them and vice versa.In my case,i only feed my Ts adult size S.lateralis,and their size is the same as my Ts,so i only feed them twice a week and they're looking healthy.
> 
> My best guide is to look at the size between the carapace and abdomen(for juvies and adults) the abdomen should be bigger than the carapace but not more than twice the size


What I've noticed with most of mine is their abdomen grows larger and larger (usually at least twice the size of the carapace) and then they molt. After molting the abdomen shrinks down by about half. My juvie smithi just molted and his abdomen went down by more than half. And I have an adult A. chalcodes that must be in pre-molt right now. He hasn't eaten in 3 weeks and his abdomen is at least twice the size of his carapace. Sometimes I don't know how they can even walk with their butts so fat. My kids like to sing that song when the T's get like that "I like big butts"

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## Andrea82 (Apr 28, 2017)

She looks healthy and plump, so you're doing fine  
Careful with handling her though, especially with such a plump spider. A small drop to the floor can cause her death.


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

Andrea82 said:


> She looks healthy and plump, so you're doing fine
> Careful with handling her though, especially with such a plump spider. A small drop to the floor can cause her death.


Thanks, I'll try to keep her abdomen around that size or slightly smaller. I don't handle her much. I wanted a good picture for size comparison. When I did get her out it is just inches above the ground (these pictures are deceiving)  Thanks for the insights. I only have one tarantula, so keeping feeders is hard :-/ I bought a tub of super worms. They will probably all be beetles by the time she is due to eat again! And I'll have to figure out a place to keep crickets outside so I don't hear them chirping. Since a dozen small cricket will mature before I finish a batch at this rate!!


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## Andrea82 (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> Thanks, I'll try to keep her abdomen around that size or slightly smaller. I don't handle her much. I wanted a good picture for size comparison. When I did get her out it is just inches above the ground (these pictures are deceiving)  Thanks for the insights. I only have one tarantula, so keeping feeders is hard :-/ I bought a tub of super worms. They will probably all be beetles by the time she is due to eat again! And I'll have to figure out a place to keep crickets outside so I don't hear them chirping. Since a dozen small cricket will mature before I finish a batch at this rate!!


Jusr keep the superworms together and they won't turn into beetles. Add some branflakes/oatmeal and some carrot-or apple slices, and you can keep them for like, five or six months. Does your T eat supers already at this size?? Quite the shenanigan!


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## Brumbleberry (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> Thanks, I'll try to keep her abdomen around that size or slightly smaller. I don't handle her much. I wanted a good picture for size comparison. When I did get her out it is just inches above the ground (these pictures are deceiving)  Thanks for the insights. I only have one tarantula, so keeping feeders is hard :-/ I bought a tub of super worms. They will probably all be beetles by the time she is due to eat again! And I'll have to figure out a place to keep crickets outside so I don't hear them chirping. Since a dozen small cricket will mature before I finish a batch at this rate!!


I feel you on the fast growth of feeders. My brother and I have two small slings, our first T's. I bought a group of pinheads and they already seem to have grown in just a week.

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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

Andrea82 said:


> Jusr keep the superworms together and they won't turn into beetles. Add some branflakes/oatmeal and some carrot-or apple slices, and you can keep them for like, five or six months. Does your T eat supers already at this size?? Quite the shenanigan!


Huh I didn't know that! I bought them because they don't chirp   I have only fed her one worm so far. It was on the smaller side, definitely smaller than her plump abdomen! She would almost eat anything at this point :-S


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## Andrea82 (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> Huh I didn't know that! I bought them because they don't chirp   I have only fed her one worm so far. It was on the smaller side, definitely smaller than her plump abdomen! She would almost eat anything at this point :-S


If this is your only T, I'd only keep the supers since she eats them just fine and don't bother to deal with those pesky micro-crickets. I need them for my A.geniculata slings since I like live-feeding, vut man, those things are a pain in the behind...
If you're feeding supers, one of those a week is plenty for your little lady. Don't forget to crush/cut the heads though, if they burrow in the substrate, they WILL become beetles and can pose a threat to a molting T.

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## GreyPsyche (Apr 28, 2017)

I've got a question that I think is on topic and relevant.

I've just bought mealworms and stored them in the fridge. It's been a few days but they're not moving much when I take them out to feed, also some have a slightly darker abdomen after I leave it in with the sling for a few hours. Are these dead or just dying when I put them in with the T? Are they just super lethargic from the cold? How long do they last in the fridge before dying?


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

Andrea82 said:


> If this is your only T, I'd only keep the supers since she eats them just fine and don't bother to deal with those pesky micro-crickets. I need them for my A.geniculata slings since I like live-feeding, vut man, those things are a pain in the behind...
> If you're feeding supers, one of those a week is plenty for your little lady. Don't forget to crush/cut the heads though, if they burrow in the substrate, they WILL become beetles and can pose a threat to a molting T.


Okay I will probably crush the head just incase next time. I've never had to leave one in there for her to eat sight unseen. She usually eats it as soon as it hits the ground.


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## The Grym Reaper (Apr 28, 2017)

GreyPsyche said:


> I've got a question that I think is on topic and relevant.
> 
> I've just bought mealworms and stored them in the fridge. It's been a few days but they're not moving much when I take them out to feed, also some have a slightly darker abdomen after I leave it in with the sling for a few hours. Are these dead or just dying when I put them in with the T? Are they just super lethargic from the cold? How long do they last in the fridge before dying?



Just lethargic from the cold, if you leave them out at room temperature for a few minutes they should liven up a bit, they last months in the fridge, they'll still pupate eventually but it takes them much longer than if they were left at room temperature, dead ones turn brown then black all over.

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## GreyPsyche (Apr 28, 2017)

Thanks! I'm wondering if the quick change from cold to warm humid GBB enclosure killed the one I tried to feed her. She didn't take it but she took a different mealworm this morning so oh well!


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## Andrea82 (Apr 28, 2017)

GreyPsyche said:


> Thanks! I'm wondering if the quick change from cold to warm humid GBB enclosure killed the one I tried to feed her. She didn't take it but she took a different mealworm this morning so oh well!


Your GBB enclosure is humid?


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## GreyPsyche (Apr 28, 2017)

Yes, not overly so but much more so than the fridge.  Haha. Bare in mind that it's a sling so it's a tad humid.

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## cold blood (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> Thanks, I'll try to keep her abdomen around that size or slightly smaller.



No, that's not the way things work with ts.....the natural progression is to molt and be skinny...at their skinniest point...from there they fatten and a t will be at its fattest just prior to molting....you shouldn't be aiming at keeping any t at a certain size...let the t determine that for the most part....now with adults there definitely comes a point where no more food is required and at that point you can just await a molt....but be aware that a t should be rather plump prior to molting.



GreyPsyche said:


> I've got a question that I think is on topic and relevant.
> 
> I've just bought mealworms and stored them in the fridge. It's been a few days but they're not moving much when I take them out to feed, also some have a slightly darker abdomen after I leave it in with the sling for a few hours. Are these dead or just dying when I put them in with the T? Are they just super lethargic from the cold? How long do they last in the fridge before dying?


Mealworms will last 6 months or more in the fridge...they go dormant...its not a big deal to keep them in the fridge.

Its also important to note that super worms must be kept at room temps or they die, they're tropical....wax worms also don't fare well in the fridge and should also be kept at room temps or just slightly lower.



Andrea82 said:


> Your GBB enclosure is humid?


Yeah, a humid cage will kill a GBB...they require it to be dry.  Only slings under 1" should be offered a damp area...and just an area.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

cold blood said:


> No, that's not the way things work with ts.....the natural progression is to molt and be skinny...at their skinniest point...from there they fatten and a t will be at its fattest just prior to molting....you shouldn't be aiming at keeping any t at a certain size...let the t determine that for the most part....now with adults there definitely comes a point where no more food is required and at that point you can just await a molt....but be aware that a t should be rather plump prior to molting.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ah so much to learn! So I should just set a schedule of feeding. Like maybe one superworm per week. And maybe she will refuse if she really doesn't want it?


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## cold blood (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> Ah so much to learn! So I should just set a schedule of feeding. Like maybe one superworm per week. And maybe she will refuse if she really doesn't want it?


Another thing to consider is that once a t starts to get plump you can 1. feed smaller prey and 2. gradually increase the time between feedings.

For Example I might have an adult Nhandu that molts....upon feeding I might feed a larger roach once a week.   The next month I may feed one roach every 10 days...eventually as it gets really plump, I may just offer a single cricket or mealworm every 3-4 weeks.  So even within this one ts feeding cycle the schedule will change dramatically.













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__ cold blood
__ Feb 10, 2017
__ 3



						coloratovillsus...with flash

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## cold blood (Apr 28, 2017)

@AntlerAlchemist 

The transformation from when you got it to now is incredible...that thing looked like walking death when you found it...looks so good now.....a testament to just how tough life in the wild really is, as well as how easy captive life is.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

cold blood said:


> @AntlerAlchemist
> 
> The transformation from when you got it to now is incredible...that thing looked like walking death when you found it...looks so good now.....a testament to just how tough life in the wild really is, as well as how easy captive life is.


True! I believe she had just molted. There was an exuviae outside the burrow. It was also early spring so she was just coming out of a long winter!


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

I should add that a lot of the wild Ts I've been seeing in the burrow while hiking are still looking quite thin at this point in the year. I like to peak in on a few that I have found with a flashlight in the evening

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## cold blood (Apr 28, 2017)

AntlerAlchemist said:


> True! I believe she had just molted. There was an exuviae outside the burrow. It was also early spring so she was just coming out of a long winter!


It was more than just freshly molted...it was shriveled....a sign of a spider on death's door.   Freshly molted it was skinny sure, but probably looked great, I mean it may have molted in fall......I was not referring to the size of the abdomen...I was referring to the shape it was in.


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## AntlerAlchemist (Apr 28, 2017)

cold blood said:


> It was more than just freshly molted...it was shriveled....a sign of a spider on death's door.   Freshly molted it was skinny sure, but probably looked great, I mean it may have molted in fall......I was not referring to the size of the abdomen...I was referring to the shape it was in.


Ha ha yes she did look bad.. she was covered in dirt (my fault) :-/ It took her a lot of grooming to clean up. But she sure looks purty now. I can't wait until she molts again so I can offically sex her using a molt, and maybe she'll get a fuzzier butt too

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## viper69 (Apr 28, 2017)

frodogecko said:


> I've been reading lots of websites and watching lots of videos and now I'm completely confused. Some people say feed once per week for any species. Others say feed every 2-3 days, some say every 3-5 days. And some say it's different for each species. Also, how much? one feeder, two, three? Some people let them continue to eat until they're full, others say you should never do that. I'm just trying to be a responsible owner and care for all my babies the best I can. How do you experienced keepers handle feeding?


I didn't read the other responses as I don't have time.

There's a paper out there that scientifically examined how much food a particular species needed to gain mass. However you don't technically need to read it for your Ts to thrive.

Feeding a T depends on so many variables. I posted about this about 14 days ago, and I'm sure CB covered them.

In short, most people feed their Ts based on what is convenient for them, hence the variability (not counting species they own, nor the temps the Ts are kept at). MANY people say "they can go w/out food for a long time, I can't drive to the store more than once a week..."

For all my Ts, I feed fine as often as they will eat. This is particularly true for slings, whose job is to grow and evade predators. I pay CLOSE ATTENTION to their abdomen size. It's an indicator of hydration and often hunger. Fat Ts will eat and drink, and I've seen it.

Some species grow faster, some don't. I have a species that in my care at least has a VERY fast metabolism, even at 5" in DLS. It eats 3-5 crickets every 2 days when hungry, sometimes more!

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 2


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