Arizona Blonde won’t eat, losing abdomen size

Rgfleischer

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
6
Hello,
I have had my Arizona Blonde (aka Desert) tarantula for about two years now. I purchased her as an adult and was told it was a female.. the seller did not know how old she is. I am a first time owner and she is housed in a 10 gallon tank with about a 2inch layer of eco earth. She has a small water dish designed for inverts, and a fairly large cave to hide in and I use a very small heat pad on the side of the tank during the winter. She started off as a good eater but For the last couple of months she has refused food but has not molted for me once since I’ve owned her. At first I wasn’t worried but now she is losing size in her abdomen. I drop 2 crickets in her enclosure once a week and remove them after 24 hours. Even if I try to feed with tongs she intentionally avoids the crickets. Do you have any suggestions on what to do or any insight as to why she is not eating? I also have frozen pinkies for my snake that I would be willing to try and feed but am not sure if it’s a good idea or not.
Thank you
 

ColeopteraC

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 8, 2020
Messages
425
1: You need far more substrate within the enclosure, that’s not an adequate amount. 4-5” minimum... (essentially half your enclosure)
2: Heatmats are another no no, they aren’t particularly efficient and can cause lots of stress for T’s being designed for reptiles who like and require hot spots... What’s your room temp? If below 21-22C you’ll need a space heater, if above them don’t worry about additional heating
3: Feeding vertebrates to T’s is a rather disputed topic around here, I’d recommend avoiding it however. A tarantula being highly unlikely to intentionally capture a rodent or live on a staple of them in the wild, I’d sure they can manage it but if it’s unnecessary and unnatural with little health benefits there is no point. So don’t try that..:

Each of these factors may be influencing your T, try altering them and see what happens... For more info on care use Tom Morans website/blog ‘Tom’s big spiders’. Incredibly informative and helpful, hope your T improves...
 

Rgfleischer

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
6
Wow thanks so much for your prompt response! I’ll be sure to remove the heat mat and add the appropriate substrate immediately! My apartment is between 70-77 degrees at all times and never drops below 68 so i don’t think a space heater would be needed. Thanks again for all your help!
 

Rgfleischer

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
6
Are you 100% sure your t is female ?
I was under the impression that this species show sexual dimorphism. With females a light brown and males almost black and mine is definitely light brown. I got mine at an expo from an invert dealer who told me it was definitely female
 

mack1855

Arachnoangel
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Sep 5, 2016
Messages
820
How big is this T?.The ten gallon is way to big,and as @ColeopteraC has said,not enough substrate.But my question would be,
Female????did you verify this through a molt?.When was the last meal given?And was it a confirmed feeding?.Did you actually
see the A.chalcodes take the prey,and eat it ?
Have you been measuring the T to confirm its losing size???.And does it have access to water?.Just because its a desert T doesn't mean it needs no water source.
My apologise,missed the water bowl detail.
 

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fried rice

Arachnoknight
Joined
May 25, 2019
Messages
286
Hello,
I have had my Arizona Blonde (aka Desert) tarantula for about two years now. I purchased her as an adult and was told it was a female.. the seller did not know how old she is. I am a first time owner and she is housed in a 10 gallon tank with about a 2inch layer of eco earth. She has a small water dish designed for inverts, and a fairly large cave to hide in and I use a very small heat pad on the side of the tank during the winter. She started off as a good eater but For the last couple of months she has refused food but has not molted for me once since I’ve owned her. At first I wasn’t worried but now she is losing size in her abdomen. I drop 2 crickets in her enclosure once a week and remove them after 24 hours. Even if I try to feed with tongs she intentionally avoids the crickets. Do you have any suggestions on what to do or any insight as to why she is not eating? I also have frozen pinkies for my snake that I would be willing to try and feed but am not sure if it’s a good idea or not.
Thank you
You can occasionally feed pinky mice to your tarantula, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Mealworms are great, and can last for months in your refrigerator.
 

Swagg

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 15, 2019
Messages
262
A picture of the T and the entire enclosure would help everyone.
 

Rgfleischer

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
6
A picture of the T and the entire enclosure would help everyone.
Here is the tarantula (as you can see abdomen is clearly not plump) and here is the improved enclosure following the suggestions made by ColeopteraC

How big is this T?.The ten gallon is way to big,and as @ColeopteraC has said,not enough substrate.But my question would be,
Female????did you verify this through a molt?.When was the last meal given?And was it a confirmed feeding?.Did you actually
see the A.chalcodes take the prey,and eat it ?
Have you been measuring the T to confirm its losing size???.And does it have access to water?.Just because its a desert T doesn't mean it needs no water source.
My apologise,missed the water bowl detail.
I do very much appreciate that you are trying to help my tarantula. However, if you reread my post, you will see that I already wrote that I have never had my tarantula molt for me and that the last confirmed feeding was a few months ago obviously I cannot give an exact date. It’s last food offering was about 2 hours ago and I dropped the cricket right in front of her. Your tarantula looks beautiful btw.

Are you 100% sure your t is female ?
It’s what I was told by the dealer and I specifically asked if he had any adult females for sale. However I am not all that knowledgeable about how to determine a tarantula’s gender and am only going off what I was told and what I could find online about her species
 

Attachments

Joined
Oct 10, 2019
Messages
424
Hello,
I have had my Arizona Blonde (aka Desert) tarantula for about two years now. I purchased her as an adult and was told it was a female.. the seller did not know how old she is. I am a first time owner and she is housed in a 10 gallon tank with about a 2inch layer of eco earth. She has a small water dish designed for inverts, and a fairly large cave to hide in and I use a very small heat pad on the side of the tank during the winter. She started off as a good eater but For the last couple of months she has refused food but has not molted for me once since I’ve owned her. At first I wasn’t worried but now she is losing size in her abdomen. I drop 2 crickets in her enclosure once a week and remove them after 24 hours. Even if I try to feed with tongs she intentionally avoids the crickets. Do you have any suggestions on what to do or any insight as to why she is not eating? I also have frozen pinkies for my snake that I would be willing to try and feed but am not sure if it’s a good idea or not.
Thank you
Hi
Aphonopelma chalcodes are known for their fasting.Mine AF has not eaten since August 2019 .Just have her water bowl full and be patient .Shrinking of abdomen is not likely cause she is not eating as mine is nice and plump as it was when I bought her in October without a single meal taken.Have you seen yours drink that may be why her abdomen is shrinking.I have seen mine drink quite few times.She has periods where she is a bit lethargic and when she is very lively too.She is always out and rarely uses her hide if undisturbed. I try mine with food once a month and take it out in 24 hours if not touched.I keep mine on bone dry substrate with dept of 3 inches in 40cm x 30cm enclosure and Im careful not to overflow the dish wich is leveled with the substrate.
I know ideally she needs more substrate but untill she tries to burrow or at least dig a bit Im leaving her be like she is.
Regards Konstantin
 

mack1855

Arachnoangel
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Sep 5, 2016
Messages
820
Your right....I think maybe you have nothing to worry about.Your chalcodes looks just fine.Best of luck,but dont sweat the eating issue.
 

Rgfleischer

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 30, 2020
Messages
6
Hi
Aphonopelma chalcodes are known for their fasting.Mine AF has not eaten since August 2019 .Just have her water bowl full and be patient .Shrinking of abdomen is not likely cause she is not eating as mine is nice and plump as it was when I bought her in October without a single meal taken.Have you seen yours drink that may be why her abdomen is shrinking.I have seen mine drink quite few times.She has periods where she is a bit lethargic and when she is very lively too.She is always out and rarely uses her hide if undisturbed. I try mine with food once a month and take it out in 24 hours if not touched.I keep mine on bone dry substrate with dept of 3 inches and Im careful not to overflow the dish wich is leveled with the substrate.
I know ideally she needs more substrate but untill she tries to burrow or at least dig a bit Im leaving her be like she is.
Regards Konstantin
I make sure she has fresh water daily and I’ve seen her sitting directly on top of it quite a lot. I assumed she was drinking when she was doing this but I cannot 100 percent confirm that she was.
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

Your right....I think maybe you have nothing to worry about.Your chalcodes looks just fine.Best of luck,but dont sweat the eating issue.
Thank you very much! So should I not be concerned that yours appears significantly more plump than mine?
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2019
Messages
424
Hi

Hi
you will know if she is drinking.I need to top up mine almost daily some days.Maybe give her something bigger to drink from and put it so the edge of the bowl is just levelled with substrate.In case of dehydratation sometimes the animal lacks the strength to climb over for a drink.Not that Im saying that this is the case with yours but better safe than sorry
Regards Konstantin
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
This species can go the best part of two years without food, just make sure it has water available and offer prey every 4-6 weeks.
 

Vanisher

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
2,533
Its a myth that a tarantulas abdomen should not decrease in size, and if it does it is something wrong with it.

Tarantulas like G rosea and A chalcodes often loose abdomen size while fasting, because they absorb fat reserves that made the abdomen plump in the first place.

Just keep a full waterdish and your tarantula should be good
 

Olan

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 23, 2002
Messages
857
Sometimes a fast will end when spring comes. So you may get some feeding in the next month or so. Then again, I would not count on it.
 

Jesse607

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
715
I suggest moistening at least half of the substrate, especially if she is frequently hovering over the water dish. Contrary to popular belief, moist substrate is not harmful to A. chalcodes, and simulating a moist rainy period may stimulate her to be active and feed again. It may be counter intuitive, but desert adapted species may stop feeding and decrease activity (lower metabolism) to wait out long droughts. In the wild they plug the entrance to their burrow and wait for conditions to improve sheltered inside. Food is often more scarce during long droughts, hence the "hunkering down" adaptation.
 

Asgiliath

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 4, 2019
Messages
404
I was under the impression that this species show sexual dimorphism. With females a light brown and males almost black and mine is definitely light brown. I got mine at an expo from an invert dealer who told me it was definitely female
Just going to add -- sexual dimorphism is only apparent once a male matures.
 
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