A. Geniculata sling molting

[kasgul]

Hi,

First T owned, A. Geniculata sling roughly 2 inch across. Purchased unsexed so I don't know whether male or female.

We gave her 2 full size crickets which she demolished (one daily) then refused a 3rd which we removed. She seemed to show signs of premolt and then she blocked her hide and disappeared probably to molt.

This was a week ago. Considering the size and breed, how long until she emerges?

Also, usually when a T blocks their hide, will they wait until their exoskeleton hardens before exiting.

I'm asking so I don't feed too early.

Thanks all

 

[Mike41793]

Don't feed daily. Feed when the abdomen looks like it's about the same size as the carapace or smaller. Once the abdomen is bigger than the carapace, there's no need to keep offering food. For this species they are great eaters and do grow at a decent pace compared to many others, so personally I'd consider feeding weekly if they look like they need it. But since it's your only T, assuming you don't keep the crickets for anything else, you could feed every 2-4 weeks even to save yourself time and money going to the pet store to get crickets. Mealworms are a great option as well since you can buy a container of like 50 or 100 and keep them in the fridge and they won't grow into the beetles. No smell to them either really. Some Ts mealworms won't work for cuz they'll burrow and you don't want uneaten prey in the enclosure but genics are usually aggressive eaters and out and about, if you drop the worm near them they should snag it right away.

As far as time to emerge, they do that when they're ready. I wouldn't start to consider uncovering the burrow unless it's been like a month or longer. If it hits that point I wouldn't dig them up though, I'd just uncover the entrance and leave a pre killed prey item up top. If they're ready to eat again they will come up and find it. The smaller the T, the faster they will harden up. For that size genic I'd say give it at least a week. Or until you can see the fangs are nice and black again. There's really no rush when it comes to Ts, the more patience and time, the better (for the vast majority of concerns).

 

[Mustafa67]

Hi,

First T owned, A. Geniculata sling roughly 2 inch across. Purchased unsexed so I don't know whether male or female.

We gave her 2 full size crickets which she demolished (one daily) then refused a 3rd which we removed. She seemed to show signs of premolt and then she blocked her hide and disappeared probably to molt.

This was a week ago. Considering the size and breed, how long until she emerges?

Also, usually when a T blocks their hide, will they wait until their exoskeleton hardens before exiting.

I'm asking so I don't feed too early.

Thanks all

Be patient

 

[viper69]

Hi,

First T owned, A. Geniculata sling roughly 2 inch across. Purchased unsexed so I don't know whether male or female.

We gave her 2 full size crickets which she demolished (one daily) then refused a 3rd which we removed. She seemed to show signs of premolt and then she blocked her hide and disappeared probably to molt.

This was a week ago. Considering the size and breed, how long until she emerges?

Also, usually when a T blocks their hide, will they wait until their exoskeleton hardens before exiting.

I'm asking so I don't feed too early.

Thanks all

You ONLY feed when fangs when BLACK, or fangs can get damaged and T can die if that happens.

1. It’s a SPECIES of tarantula, not breed- massive massive difference.

2. No one can tell you when- a week maybe 3

3. yes on exit, BUT may still harden up more so pay attention to its posture.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Congrats on your genic! They have quite a following here. It’s really easy to over feed these tanks, so as mentioned above every week or two or three or four depending on where they are in their molt cycle and how big their abdomen is. Only feed when fangs are fully black. If you can’t see them, 7-10 days after molt at that size is usually good. Give her longer as she gets bigger. She won’t starve.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Fangs black ready to attack is usually what I go by. I wait a week for slings and up to a month for adults. Often time I cannot see there fangs.

 

[Scoot]

How long before she moults? No-one can say. She may indeed re-emerge having not moulted. Only she knows exactly what she's doing and why.

Assuming she is going to moult, regarding feeding afterwards, as @IntermittentSygnal says, there's no rush - she won't starve.

Fangs are the best indicator, if you can see them. Also, watch her behaviour too see if she's sitting out and 'ready'. You could test her out by dripping water onto the sub in front of her; see how she reacts.

Mine's a large juvenile / subadult female, around about the 5 1/2" mark; she moulted 12 days ago and she's still doing some rather active post-moult yoga. I won't think about feeding her for at least another two weeks.

If in doubt, keep water topped up and wait.