did i feed my Chaco Golden Knee too early post molt?

becks0303

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
28
he/she is about 3.5-4.5 inches DLS, molted 9 days ago.

i fed her as she was moving around already and responding to water droplets hitting the drinking dish (signaliing she is hungry)

I fed her a small dubia and noticed the part that connect her fangs to the main body (the chelicerae?) is still reddish , did i feed too early? please see pics to see what i mean by 'reddish'

20220805_231433.jpg 20220805_231439.jpg
 

Finikan

Painter of Poorly Rendered Images
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
307
Feed when fangs are black.
Chelicerae =mouthparts. Carapace=body.

How do you figure disturbance from water dish being filled signals hunger?
 

becks0303

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
28
Feed when fangs are black.

How do you figure disturbance from water dish being filled signals hunger?
i've already fed her, sooo too late on that oops.

what is the red body part? is that the chelicerae
 

becks0303

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
28
Feed when fangs are black.
Chelicerae =mouthparts. Carapace=body.

How do you figure disturbance from water dish being filled signals hunger?
also to answer ur question about using water to gauge hunger - i took it off advice off another T forum lol
1659713798256.png
 

Finikan

Painter of Poorly Rendered Images
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
307
Well, i can see where you got that advice from and it smells like hogwash to me.
 

Finikan

Painter of Poorly Rendered Images
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
307
A quick search of the forum tells me what i know to be true:

Red chelicerae after a molt means the fangs have not hardened. Black chelicerae means they have hardened and they are ready to eat.

Using the search function at the top of the page is a valuable wealth of information. As far as dripping water in front of your T, thats a good way to get a bite going, as the tarantula has been disturbed and becomes defensive.
 

becks0303

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
28
thanks! anything i can do to remedy this? or i just hope its fangs are fine
 

Finikan

Painter of Poorly Rendered Images
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
307
Only thing you can do is learn more and next time, wait until they're black. Good luck.
 

goonius

Arachnoknight
Joined
Aug 6, 2020
Messages
195
The inside of the chelicerae aren't black on my G pulchripes. In fact, many of our tarantulas have reddish inner chelicerae. What matters are the fangs, and since they are sunk into the dubia in this photo it's actually not a great photo for assessing how much they have hardened. However 9 days seems a reasonable wait, and if the tarantula still has its fangs you are in the clear.

I couldn't find a photo of my pulchripes, but you can definitely see red on her inner chelicerae in this thread my daughter posted: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/m...-something-weird-with-her-fangs-again.337456/

Also a photo of my N chromatus whose inner chelicerae are red/pink. She’s not molted in a long time.
 

Attachments

Arachnolove420

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 8, 2022
Messages
40
also to answer ur question about using water to gauge hunger - i took it off advice off another T forum lol
View attachment 425587
Yeah, it could signal a feeding response... or a T upset that something is disturbing it's peace lol

The red part you are seeing are the chelicerae; the appendage to which the fangs are affixed. The chelicerae should not be confused with the fangs themselves, as chelicerae of some species are always red. The fangs themselves should be black. I tend to go by fang color when I can, or waiting extra time when I can't get a good look, but I try to wait at least a few more days after the fangs have turned completely black before feeding.
 

becks0303

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
28
I
Yeah, it could signal a feeding response... or a T upset that something is disturbing it's peace lol

The red part you are seeing are the chelicerae; the appendage to which the fangs are affixed. The chelicerae should not be confused with the fangs themselves, as chelicerae of some species are always red. The fangs themselves should be black. I tend to go by fang color when I can, or waiting extra time when I can't get a good look, but I try to wait at least a few more days after the fangs have turned completely black before feeding.
Interesting! Wonder which speices have non black chelicerae... like my Chaco golden knee. Not sure what color ir is normally
 

Arachnolove420

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 8, 2022
Messages
40
I
Interesting! Wonder which speices have non black chelicerae... like my Chaco golden knee. Not sure what color ir is normally
Reddish on the inside of the chelicerae is normal for G. pulchripes. It's a little more pronounced in the picture you provided, but the exoskeleton of the chelicerae itself may still have not fully hardened. That said, the chelicerae are not the fangs themselves and I don't believe your T's chelicerae would have been damaged by feeding 9 days after molt. If you're worried about knowing when the fangs have hardened, give it a full 2 weeks after molting before feeding again instead of checking the fang color.
 

coolnweird

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 20, 2019
Messages
512
A quick search of the forum tells me what i know to be true:

Red chelicerae after a molt means the fangs have not hardened. Black chelicerae means they have hardened and they are ready to eat.

Using the search function at the top of the page is a valuable wealth of information. As far as dripping water in front of your T, thats a good way to get a bite going, as the tarantula has been disturbed and becomes defensive.
I disagree here, fangs are on the chelicerae but are not the same thing. The chelicerae of most of my Ts is reddish, no matter how long ago they molted.
 

Finikan

Painter of Poorly Rendered Images
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
307
I disagree here, fangs are on the chelicerae but are not the same thing. The chelicerae of most of my Ts is reddish, no matter how long ago they molted.
You're allowed to disagree when I am using the wrong terms! It was my understanding that what we call fangs are actually the chelicerae tips, which are shaped like fangs. I am very likely remembering this wrong.
 

Arachnolove420

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 8, 2022
Messages
40
You're allowed to disagree when I am using the wrong terms! It was my understanding that what we call fangs are actually the chelicerae tips, which are shaped like fangs. I am very likely remembering this wrong.
In technicality of spider anatomy the chelicerae and fang are the same appendage, in that the fang is an part of the chelicerae as a whole. You are correct there.

The real difference is that the term "fang" is used to specifically refer to the hard, needle like portion at the end of the chelicerae. In terms of hardening, It's the "fang" portion of the chelicerae, specifically, that you are looking to see turn black.
 

Finikan

Painter of Poorly Rendered Images
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
307
Ahhh I see. Having checked replies on my laptop, i can now see the pictures OP posted. I'll bet my responses were a bit confusing.
 

coolnweird

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 20, 2019
Messages
512
You're allowed to disagree when I am using the wrong terms! It was my understanding that what we call fangs are actually the chelicerae tips, which are shaped like fangs. I am very likely remembering this wrong.
Well, looks like I was wrong about them not being two parts of the same appendage! I guess everyone learned something 👍🏻
 

aprilmayjunebugs

Fiery but Mostly Peaceful
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Nov 7, 2019
Messages
435
Well, i can see where you got that advice from and it smells like hogwash to me.
I use this water trick, doesn't always work but it can give you an idea. Though I always wait at least two weeks to even think about feeding them.
 
Top