AH! Why won't my tarantula eat??

[Lost_Tarantula]

Grr! My tarantula stopped eating. It shouldn't be molting, since its already a mature male. Becoming a mature male WAS his ultimate, right? Then why is he fasting?

 

[Code Monkey]

Well, one, it's not uncommon for mature males to not want to eat, they've got other things on their mind
Two, while uncommon, some males do undergo a post-ultimate moult. They often die in the moult, but they sometimes live with either missing or damaged pedipalps (can't pull them boxing gloves out properly). Regardless, nothing unusual to see mature males refuse to eat.

Also keep in mind that mature anything may go on a fast before they die. While a female, I had a B. smithi that refused to eat for about nine months before she finally died of old age. Really didn't lose any weight or anything during that period, her metabolism had slowed down so much she didn't have anything more to do but wait for the rest of her body to figure it out on its own.

 

[smith_k18]

is yours a female cobalt blue tarantula.if yes i am having the same prob too man.

 

[Joy]

What Code Monkey says is my experience also. I've had males who never ate again once they matured, although this is atypical. Most do continue to eat, but with greatly reduced appetites.

Joy

 

[rknralf]

I agree.
My A. geniculata once matured was not interested in eating at all. Usually after a molt, he would consume 3 to 4 crickets a day once he started eating again.
On the maturing molt, I saw him eat 2 crickets in the entire time before I sent him out for mating.
The drive to reproduce takes over and other body concerns seem to definately take a back seat.
Ralph

 

[MrDeranged]

Here's another question on the subject of mature male's appetite or lack thereof.

In a mature male that has not been eating much, has anyone noticed an increase in appetite when a female is placed nearby?

The reason that I ask this is because with two of the mature males I had (P. murinus and A. seemanni) neither one was eating much at all. Once I got some mature females and placed their containers near the males, I noticed a very significant increase in their intake of food.

Just wondering if this is a fluke or if anyone else may have had the same experience

Scott

 

[Rookie]

Complete opposite

I have the complete opposite problem. Instead of a mature male, i have a spiderling (unsure of the gender), and instead of not eating, it never stops. This is obviously a good thing. Nice healthy little baby spider with a growing appetite for a growing arachnid. However, I've been expecting to see Peso's first moult (in my care) ever since I got him, and he still hasn't turned down a cricket. I shouldn't be so impatient, especially with a G.Pulchra (a known 'slow grower') but I think it's because I really want to see my first moult.
Just adding my own spin..
Paul

 

[AlbinoDragon829]

I'm wondering the same thing about my sub adult P. Murinus. It's only eaten about one since I got it a few weeks ago. It spends all day in it's burrow at the side of the tank, and comes out maybe once a week. People whom I've talked to who have this tarantula have had opposite experiences. I dropped a cricket in the tank last night and I saw it pace around it's burrow, but it didn't leave. Any ideas, or something I don't know about P. Murinus?

 

[AlbinoDragon829]

Lost_Tarantula's avitar

What kind of haplopelma is that? Minax?

 

[Joy]

Originally posted by mrderanged
Here's another question on the subject of mature male's appetite or lack thereof.

In a mature male that has not been eating much, has anyone noticed an increase in appetite when a female is placed nearby?


Just wondering if this is a fluke or if anyone else may have had the same experience

Scott

How interesting, Scott! I will have to give this a try and see if I have the same experience.

Joy

 

[Jobe]

HEY! I had the same prob, but the Deranged dude gave me a good tip, I have a pair of anoraxic arachnids that just didnt wanna chow...

Mr deranged told me to give them some time on their own and cover them up, so i covered their tanks with a black shirt each and let them be, checking on them once innawhile...just came back from work, and found the female had eaten(i think, it looked quite mangled) a dead cricket i placed in there yesterday...but the coolest thing is now she is grooming herself and not going into 'freakout mode' with the tank partially uncovered
Its the first progress i have seen since i got them(Cobalts) and i am quite excited about it.
Thanx Mr.Deranged.

Just a note, i live in a tropical climate, and its wet weather now, so i didnt really mist their tanks much, tho u might want to. Took them approx 4 days solitude to get where they are now, but you might get better results as mine were WC...

Cheers man, and all the best.

 

[Tranz]

Re: Complete opposite

Originally posted by Rookie
I have the complete opposite problem. Instead of a mature male, i have a spiderling (unsure of the gender), and instead of not eating, it never stops. This is obviously a good thing. Nice healthy little baby spider with a growing appetite for a growing arachnid. However, I've been expecting to see Peso's first moult (in my care) ever since I got him, and he still hasn't turned down a cricket. I shouldn't be so impatient, especially with a G.Pulchra (a known 'slow grower') but I think it's because I really want to see my first moult.
Just adding my own spin..
Paul

My G. Pulchra sling has refused food for over a week and seems a little lethargic, and its color seems somehow muted and darker. I'm anxiously watching for a molt.

 

[Code Monkey]

Re: Re: Complete opposite

Originally posted by Tranz
My G. Pulchra sling has refused food for a week and seems a little lethargic, and its color seems somehow muted and darker. I'm anxiously watching for a molt.

You might be waiting a while. My G. pulchra sling seems to be on this schedule: moult, eat for 4 weeks, fast for 8-12 weeks, moult...

It and my Flagstaff Oranges are definitely duking it out for the crown of the slowest growing and cheapest to feed Ts in the collection.

 

[Tranz]

Re: Re: Re: Complete opposite

Originally posted by Code Monkey
You might be waiting a while. My G. pulchra sling seems to be on this schedule: moult, eat for 4 weeks, fast for 8-12 weeks, moult...

It and my Flagstaff Oranges are definitely duking it out for the crown of the slowest growing and cheapest to feed Ts in the collection.

Is there a way to tell if the molt is going to happen very soon - within the next few days? It can be skittish, but I wanted to try to handle it, mainly as a process of continuing to overcome my own fear, but I'm afraid I would do damage if subjecting it to this type of stress directly before a molt. Are those concerns valid?

 

[Lost_Tarantula]

Re: Lost_Tarantula's avitar

Originally posted by AlbinoDragon829
What kind of haplopelma is that? Minax?

Yeah. Good eye!

 

[JacenBeers]

Re: Complete opposite

Originally posted by Rookie
I have the complete opposite problem. Instead of a mature male, i have a spiderling (unsure of the gender), and instead of not eating, it never stops. This is obviously a good thing. Nice healthy little baby spider with a growing appetite for a growing arachnid. However, I've been expecting to see Peso's first moult (in my care) ever since I got him, and he still hasn't turned down a cricket. I shouldn't be so impatient, especially with a G.Pulchra (a known 'slow grower') but I think it's because I really want to see my first moult.
Just adding my own spin..
Paul

From my experience with spiderlings they molt very fast so if they go into molt at night chances are you might miss it so do not be too depressed if you miss a molt.

 

[kellygirl]

i have 14 curly slings that all decided to molt this past week. only 4 out of the 14 havent molted yet. you can tell they are from the same sac! but anyways, IME, jacen is right, they are quick! because of the circumstances, i was able to catch several of my babies in mid-molt. i actually found one right when she flipped over and filmed the entire process. it was fascinating! but it only lasted an hour and it started around midnight. so yeah, in all probability you will miss your little guy's molt.

kellygirl

 

[Joy]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Complete opposite

Originally posted by Tranz
Is there a way to tell if the molt is going to happen very soon - within the next few days? It can be skittish, but I wanted to try to handle it, mainly as a process of continuing to overcome my own fear, but I'm afraid I would do damage if subjecting it to this type of stress directly before a molt. Are those concerns valid?

Unfortunately there really isn't a way to tell with G. pulchra slings, at least not that I know of. Mine have gone through exactly the same cycles as Code Monkey described, eating for a few weeks, fasting for a while, then eating again. And you do have cause for concern about handling pre-molt, as it's believed tarantulas are very delicate and easily injured during this time. I'm afraid that makes your course of action less than easy and straightforward!

Joy

 

[galeogirl]

Originally posted by mrderanged

In a mature male that has not been eating much, has anyone noticed an increase in appetite when a female is placed nearby?

Scott

I've noticed this as well, both in the past and now with the G. rosea and Pterinocholus sp. that I'm trying to breed. I offered food to the male G. rosea that Botar loaned to me and he wasn't interested until I set him next to the female's cage. Since I was still powerfeeding her before putting them together, I decided to try feeding him again just to see if he'd take it. His response was immediate. He had been eating steadily for over a week when I finally got them to mate, since the mating, though, his appetite has tapered off a bit.

 

[Tranz]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Complete opposite

Originally posted by Joy
Unfortunately there really isn't a way to tell with G. pulchra slings, at least not that I know of. Mine have gone through exactly the same cycles as Code Monkey described, eating for a few weeks, fasting for a while, then eating again. And you do have cause for concern about handling pre-molt, as it's believed tarantulas are very delicate and easily injured during this time. I'm afraid that makes your course of action less than easy and straightforward!

Joy

I just found another reason not to touch my cute little piece of 8-legged evil - at least until it molts, and gets bigger - yikes!