Baby Rose Hair Not Eating!!

TechnicallyNotADoctor

Arachnopeon
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Jun 13, 2017
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1
Hi! I'm brand new to this website, so I hope answers come quickly as I am worried for my baby (or just small) rose hair. I bought him (or her, I just kinda had to assume) about two weeks ago from an exotic pet shop and he hasn't eaten any crickets yet. The man who sold him to me wasn't helpful in the slightest, so I don't know how old he is, when he last molted, when he last ate, or where he came from. Maybe he's just stressed out from being in a new place, I don't know, but I'm worried.
 

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nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
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Sep 26, 2013
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715
The abdomen looks nice and healthy. Don't worry. Sometimes rosies can go for a year or more without eating. Make sure it has water, and offer a cricket every 2 weeks to see if it gets hungry.

Also, if you're going to handle, please either do it low to the ground or over your bed. Even a short fall on a hard surface can be fatal for them. They are unpredictable. If they get spooked, they can scramble to their deaths if they're not close to the ground.

Most of us are anti-handling, because it's all risk to the animal and there is no benefit from doing it. They lack the brain to bond with you, become tamer, etc.
 
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BishopiMaster

Arachnobaron
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Jul 12, 2007
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Even if they could bond, itd still be an endangerment to the animal for selfish reasons
 

GreyPsyche

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Jun 19, 2016
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92
:banghead: Don't freak out, put her in an enclosure with plenty of top soil and peat moss with a water dish. Come back and spend about a week reading everything you can on this site. Then after that week try feeding her a cricket, if she doesn't eat take the cricket out and come back and read the boards for another week. Rinse and repeat until she molts.
 

Venom1080

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Sep 24, 2015
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Grammostola commonly fast for months at a time. I've even heard up to years. Try feeding monthly. Any more and your T will be obese and susceptible to death by fall.
Post a pic of the cage as well. Not many people set up a appropriate cage with just pet store advice.
That is in no way a baby. Probably around at least 5 years and that's if it s a male.
Please don't handle. It's selfish. The spider doesn't like it and it's only for the owner.
 

darkness975

Latrodectus
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Aug 31, 2012
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5,610
Hi! I'm brand new to this website, so I hope answers come quickly as I am worried for my baby (or just small) rose hair. I bought him (or her, I just kinda had to assume) about two weeks ago from an exotic pet shop and he hasn't eaten any crickets yet. The man who sold him to me wasn't helpful in the slightest, so I don't know how old he is, when he last molted, when he last ate, or where he came from. Maybe he's just stressed out from being in a new place, I don't know, but I'm worried.
As others have said you have nothing to worry about. The Abdomen is a good size. Keep the water dish full at all times and offer it a cricket once a week or every other week. If it doesn't eat it within a few hours, remove it and try again a week or two later. You don't want to leave the prey in for too long though in case it molts.

The species you have has one of (if not the) lowest food requirements of all Tarantulas. Mine gets 2 - 3 Crickets a month. That's it. And she still looks a bit too obese for my personal liking.

Also, I am not sure how your Enclosure is set up, but it should be set up like mine (or similar to mine):


Additionally, your Spider is not a baby. They are such slow growers it is probably more like a decade in age if not older. You cannot tell a Tarantula's age based on size or anything like that. If you don't know when it was hatched from the Egg sack then you will never know 100% for sure its age.
 

Ondottr

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 16, 2017
Messages
17
Yeah, my G. rosea is much smaller than yours (so it should eat more often in theory) and I haven't had it very long (hey there, fellow newbie) but not eating for a couple weeks or even a couple months isn't anything to write home about. They're just slow growers with slow metabolisms.
I read a good rule of thumb is to offer it a prey item every week, as long as it keeps eating. If it doesn't take the food, wait a month, and try again. It's kept things simple for me, and my little buddy is fat and healthy, and actually a pretty active little thing.
Don't worry about it!
 
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