A. geniculata pic, How old?

[Tamara]

Hi
This is my new genic. I've had her for just over one month. She molted a week and a half ago and in this position she is about 3 inches, LI to RIV. Can anyone tell me approximately how old she is? I know that can be relative, but she's been well cared for and probably had regular feeding and molting to date.
Thanks!
Tamara

 

[Sam]

Hmmmm.., i quess she is about ½year old becourse i have had mine b.vagans at start of this year and (s)he is now little over 2" (i think they have pretty same growth rate)

 

[tabor]

its hard to tell how old a tarantula is just by its size. I think growth rate has alot to do with the conditions the spider is raised in. How often theyre fed and what temp theyre kept at, stuff like that. For example, i've had my a. geniculata for over a year, and its still not as big as yours its body is probably 1.5" or less. Maybe this is cause i keep it at room temperature and hav ebeen feeding once every ten days. If i was to feed it more often and keep it at a higher temperature it would probably be alot bigger now. Now that i think about it, im not sure of anyway to accurately age a T unless you know whn it was born... anything else would just be a guess.

 

[Bjorgly]

When I got my A.geniculata it was 3" as well. I know it was less than a year old when I got it. I feed mine well and keep the room at 75-80 degrees and it she is now 4+ inches and probably around a year old give or take a few months. As Tabor said though, it heavily depends on the conditions it is kept in.

Mark

 

[Tamara]

Hmmm. Thanks everyone. I was hoping there would be a simple answer to her age, but I guess not. Before she molted she was just over 2 inches. She eats a cricket every day or two, and the man I got her from said the same. Also, she had molted shortly before I got her, so it was about 1 1/2 months between her last molts. So probably she's on the younger side, I figure, if she's been eating and molting at this rate her whole life. Likely not more than a year old?
Tamara

 

[TheDon]

I just bought a 2" whiteknee and shes a beauty. Good eaters for sure. Shes a little crazy too. I didnt like the tank she was in so I was moving her and before I did that I had to remove her water dish so I had room to get a plastic container in to cath her. Well when I put the tweezers in to grab the dish before it had even gotten a couple inches in she turned around and tried to smoke it. Needless to say I got her moved with a little prodding. Good luck with your whiteknee

peace

TheDon

 

[WYSIWYG]

Originally posted by Tamara
Hmmm. Thanks everyone. I was hoping there would be a simple answer to her age, but I guess not. Before she molted she was just over 2 inches. She eats a cricket every day or two, and the man I got her from said the same. Also, she had molted shortly before I got her, so it was about 1 1/2 months between her last molts. So probably she's on the younger side, I figure, if she's been eating and molting at this rate her whole life. Likely not more than a year old?
Tamara

You don't need to feed her every day or even every other
day. Usually, once a week is enough. My Predator is a little
piggy and she just LOVES to eat! It's fun to drop about 3 or
4 crickets in her enclosure ad watch her round them all up only to have them all hanging out of her mouth. I named her "Predator" after I saw her do that. Sometimes I decide to feed her last just to enjoy the pleasure of watching her do what she does.

Wysi

 

[Tamara]

That's priceless, Wysi! Mine is also full of character, but she's only ever had one cricket at a time. I think I'll try her on more than one and see if she goes for 'em. She seems to have two speeds: 0 and lightspeed. She never moves slowly, like my other T's did (this is my first new T since I got out of the hobby about 5 years ago). A week after she molted she was so hungry that she chased down the cricket, over the log, behind the rock, and across the tank. Lightspeed! At first she didn't seem to have her usually bang-on accuracy with cricket-catching, as if being 1/2 an inch bigger took a bit of adjusting to.

TheDon--yes, mine has the temper and the speed to keep me on my toes! Fun!
Tamara