Chromatopelma - a slow eater?

[KaroKoenig]

Just something I observed: my Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens seems to be a very slow eater. She's about 4.5 to 5'' dls. Takes her about 8-10 hours to finish an adult silent cricket (Gryllus assimilis). That shouldn't be much more than a little snack for a spider her size. My much smaller Brachypelma hamorii (~ 2.5'' dls) takes just 2-3 hours to dispose off the same prey.

So here's my question. Are Chromatopelmas known for taking longer to feed, or is it more a matter of individual specimens? Before you ask: When she molted, I checked her skin. The sucking stomach looks just fine.

Could it be that different prey items get digested faster? When I feed her locusts, she seems to take less time.

 

[Poonjab]

Mine devours food. Just depends from T to T

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Mine was slow on the uptake but I've had her for 3 months now and she eats like a demon. Finishes prey within an hour. I think it just depends on individuals, I've always heard that this species is a great eater.

 

[Feral]

As long as she's able to feed properly, if slowly, i think it could be fine... But if it were me, I would still check both of her fangs to be sure they're okay and one or both haven't broken or are malformed/missing from the previous molt, and checking the surrounding structures like the labium, gnathocoxae, and basal segment of the chelicerae. If she has a "chipped tooth" or some other structural defect it could be maybe slowing her eating. I'm crossing my fingers she's fine!

Oh, and good on you for paying such close attention to her! Yay!

 

[cold blood]

Sounds like what happens when a t is working with just one fang. Either way, its eating, so how long it takes is inconsequential. Any real issue would be fixed after the next molt.

 

[RezonantVoid]

Ive have a 3" Selenotypus sp. Champagne Robustus who before her last molt was only working with 1 functional fang, and she could easily go through 2 large crickets in like 2 hours. Not really sure tbh. Maybe yours just wants to savour the taste of the cricket for a long time?

 

[KaroKoenig]

It's really hard to get a look at her underside, because she isn't moving along the glass walls at all since her last molt, and she never did that a lot since I have her. Basically, she has made her den and settled in. All in all, I would take this as a good sign. She is definetly not roaming around trying to find an escape/better spot to settle. She is also not webbing much, which I actually also take as a good sign. She seems to be comfy with the web hide she has and chooses not to waste resources any more than needed. During twilight, she usually sits at one of the entrances, looking pretty. When I had the opportunity, her mouth parts looked okay to me. But as I mentioned, it wasn't more than a short glimpse. She also was a slow "digester" before molting, so that's nothing new.
What I can say is that her hunting behaviour is much more vigorous when I feed locusts, compared to crickets. She seems to sense locusts much better and will stop at nothing to get them, all over the enclosure. Crickets - not so much. And as I mentioned, even bigger locusts seem to be digested quicker than a cricket half the weight. Maybe some sort of specialization for her natural habitat/prey availability?
I just tried to tickle her out with a paintbrush, and her reflexes are as quick as ever. Didn't get a threat pose out of her, she just isn't that kind of girl. I'm not going to rip her hide apart just to cup her for a ventral look.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Just something I observed: my Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens seems to be a very slow eater. She's about 4.5 to 5'' dls. Takes her about 8-10 hours to finish an adult silent cricket (Gryllus assimilis). That shouldn't be much more than a little snack for a spider her size. My much smaller Brachypelma hamorii (~ 2.5'' dls) takes just 2-3 hours to dispose off the same prey.

So here's my question. Are Chromatopelmas known for taking longer to feed, or is it more a matter of individual specimens? Before you ask: When she molted, I checked her skin. The sucking stomach looks just fine.

Could it be that different prey items get digested faster? When I feed her locusts, she seems to take less time.

I have 5 GBB slings...I got them back in early October. They are all doing well and growing. Most of them are very steady feeders. But I have this one GBB sling, GBB#3, that just is a slow feeder...and at times a very finicky feeder.

This little GBB#3 is about 1/2 the size of the others...but, yeah, just a slow feeder and predictably finicky.

 

[KaroKoenig]

Well, I wouldn't call my girl "finnicky", except maybe when faced with dubias. She really needs quite a bit of persuasion to grab those, so I usually don't bother with them anymore. My comments regarding locusts vs. crickets was more about the hunting reflex. When I put in a locust anywhere in the enclosure, she seems to sense them very well and goes after it immediately, leaving her hide no problem. An absolute pleasure to watch. With crickets, I basically have to dump them right into her webbing for her to react quickly.

She also doesn't seem to react well to feeding multiple crickets in one go and ignores/evades the second helping. I stopped trying that as well and instead give her one cricket every two days. After three crickets, I stop feeding for 7-10 days, depending of opistosoma size.

 

[viper69]

Just something I observed: my Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens seems to be a very slow eater. She's about 4.5 to 5'' dls. Takes her about 8-10 hours to finish an adult silent cricket (Gryllus assimilis). That shouldn't be much more than a little snack for a spider her size. My much smaller Brachypelma hamorii (~ 2.5'' dls) takes just 2-3 hours to dispose off the same prey.

So here's my question. Are Chromatopelmas known for taking longer to feed, or is it more a matter of individual specimens? Before you ask: When she molted, I checked her skin. The sucking stomach looks just fine.

Could it be that different prey items get digested faster? When I feed her locusts, she seems to take less time.

Why would you compare 2 different species in this instance, this doesn't tell you a thing.

Now if you compared 100 of the same species you may observe something or not.

 

[KaroKoenig]

Now if you compared 100 of the same species you may observe something or not.

Not a very helpful answer with a rather flawed appeal to scientific methods. No scientist in her/his right mind would start with THAT step. When you make an observation, you don't just start an experiment. You check if similar observations have already been made by others before you waste your time and energy.

 

[viper69]

Not a very helpful answer with a rather flawed appeal to scientific methods. No scientist in her/his right mind would start with THAT step. When you make an observation, you don't just start an experiment. You check if similar observations have already been made by others before you waste your time and energy.

Your answer isn't helpful at all, it's nothing but a poster typing out a "gotcha" moment.

Listen up, I'm not hear to list out all the activities one would do in order to investigate a hypothesis. I appreciate your uncanny ability to understand the obvious, i.e. conduct a thorough a literature search BEFORE carrying out said research, communicate with others in field etc.

I made an assumption that the person posting would know the above information you quickly "informed" me on,

Perhaps you should create a thread for all the readers on the scientific method, because frankly I don't have the time to do so, but clearly you do.

If you want to post more "gotcha" posts, have fun. I simply don't have the time to be 100% complete in my answers when it's not necessary (I give the readers a lot of credit at times- you don't).

You didn't even list any databases for the person to conduct the proper research so s/he could investigate a hypothesis. Not a very helpful answer as someone once told me.

And while you're at it, don't forget to list funding sources for the person too, I don't have the time.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I think that what viper69 is saying has a lot of validity.

If you want to learn about a species, raising just one is going to give you snap shot, but not a very detailed nor in-depth snap shot.

But if you raise 100 slings, you will experience a much broader and in-depth understanding of the species as a whole.

Think of each sling that you grow out and raise as a data point for that species. Raise one sling, you have one data point. Grow out 100 slings, you have 100 X’s the experience, compared to the person that has only done it once.

There is validity to what viper69 is saying...

 

[Smotzer]

My C. cyaneopubescens sling absolutely devours prey, second I drop it in enclosure it feeds and doesn’t take very long to finish it either. And it is a great hunter. But I only have one so I can’t say it’s true among all specimens

 

[Colorado Ts]

My C. cyaneopubescens sling absolutely devours prey, second I drop it in enclosure it feeds and doesn’t take very long to finish it either. And it is a great hunter. But I only have one so I can’t say it’s true among all specimens

Isn't that just amazing?

And such a beautiful species. I've seen lots of images of the GBBs, but I've yet to find that image that does them justice, without being way overly photoshopped or edited.

 

[Smotzer]

Isn't that just amazing?

And such a beautiful species. I've seen lots of images of the GBBs, but I've yet to find that image that does them justice, without being way overly photoshopped or edited.

It is quite amazing the feeding response for such a tiny sling!! I even gave it a probably too large dubia nymph (looked small in my hand but larger in the enclosure) and did not care one bit! It hunted it down within seconds and went to town devouring it!

 

[Colorado Ts]

I’m getting some D diamentinensis, and the seller sent me a short video clip of a larger sling feeding, and a smaller sling feeding...they were taking down prey items as big or bigger than they were...

This hobby is so fricken interesting and enjoyable.

 

[viper69]

Isn't that just amazing?

And such a beautiful species. I've seen lots of images of the GBBs, but I've yet to find that image that does them justice, without being way overly photoshopped or edited.

There are some nice images out there. I mean who doesn't own a neon blue GBB

 

[Smotzer]

I’m getting some D diamentinensis, and the seller sent me a short video clip of a larger sling feeding, and a smaller sling feeding...they were taking down prey items as big or bigger than they were...

This hobby is so fricken interesting and enjoyable.

I originally planned to only get the Caribena versicolor sling, but when I went into the pet store they had 1 C. cyaneopubescens also, and I got it. I was expecting the versi to be my favorite, but its so far a dud of an arboreal, my GBB on the other hand is a beast! It'll eat anything that comes its way and its pretty active too

 

[viper69]

I’m getting some D diamentinensis, and the seller sent me a short video clip of a larger sling feeding, and a smaller sling feeding...they were taking down prey items as big or bigger than they were...

This hobby is so fricken interesting and enjoyable.

I owned a couple. They are mini-GBBs IME, males mature out reasonably fast too. I like them better - no urticating setae.