Do you feed fat Ts?

[aenigmatica8]

Hi all,

I’ve always gauged tarantula fullness by the size of their abdomen. If it’s fat, no need to feed, and if it’s skinny, it gets fed.

Should I still be feeding my fat Ts once in a while? What’s your food regimen?

 

[cold blood]

Depends....species, stage in life, prey, etc.

For slings, I offer till they look pre-molt, then wait at least a few weeks (for a molt) before even offering again...usually they molt, or molt after that next feed a couple weeks later..... unless they're an Aphonopelma or G. pulchra...lol, then they just remain pre molt till they're old enough to vote.

For most juvies and adults, as they plump, I offer smaller prey, less often. Usually by the time they get real plump, they're only getting a small meal like a mealworm every three weeks or so...so they're nearly at the end of the molt cycle...if they are slow to med growers, there will be a point where I just stop...even with fast growers there is a point where they just don't need more.

But fast growing juvies like Psalmopeous for example, I may let them get even more plumped (in relation to the species), than I would most other species because the molt cycles remain short (in comparison to many other species).

Once an adult t with a molt cycle consistently over a year becomes obese, it gets increasingly difficult and time consuming to reverse the obesity, as an obese t often comes through a molt still obese....but still just ravenous as any other post molt t.

 

[aenigmatica8]

Depends....species, stage in life, prey, etc.

For slings, I offer till they look pre-molt, then wait at least a few weeks (for a molt) before even offering again...usually they molt, or molt after that next feed a couple weeks later..... unless they're an Aphonopelma or G. pulchra...lol, then they just remain pre molt till they're old enough to vote.

For most juvies and adults, as they plump, I offer smaller prey, less often. Usually by the time they get real plump, they're only getting a small meal like a mealworm every three weeks or so...so they're nearly at the end of the molt cycle...if they are slow to med growers, there will be a point where I just stop...even with fast growers there is a point where they just don't need more.

But fast growing juvies like Psalmopeous for example, I may let them get even more plumped (in relation to the species), than I would most other species because the molt cycles remain short (in comparison to many other species).

Once an adult t with a molt cycle consistently over a year becomes obese, it gets increasingly difficult and time consuming to reverse the obesity, as an obese t often comes through a molt still obese....but still just ravenous as any other post molt t.

Thanks for sharing! My routine is about the same so I’m glad I’m on the right track. Haha I’ve never heard of obese Ts but I certainly have some that fit the bill! Is it bad for them to be obese? Is it like human obesity lol?

 

[cold blood]

Bad, yes....but not like people.

Dragging injuries, greater fall risk, possibly cysts and potential molting issues.

But aside from that, theyre just famine resistant....lol

 

[aenigmatica8]

Bad, yes....but not like people.

Dragging injuries, greater fall risk, possibly cysts and potential molting issues.

But aside from that, theyre just famine resistant....lol

Ohh I see! I do like a good famine resistant tarantula though lol. So cute and chubby.

 

[SquidStina]

My husband's male G.pulchra tends to end up quite fat quite quickly, but we still feed him a smaller "snack sized" thing when meal day comes around.
The exception is if he's so fat he's starting to drag his abdomen a bit, then he skips a meal day.

 

[aenigmatica8]

My husband's male G.pulchra tends to end up quite fat quite quickly, but we still feed him a smaller "snack sized" thing when meal day comes around.
The exception is if he's so fat he's starting to drag his abdomen a bit, then he skips a meal day.

A fat male! That’s unusual. I’ll look out for abdomen dragging!

 

[Vanessa]

I have received adult females with fairly severe ulcers on the underside of their abdomen due to dragging from being far too heavy. Once those ulcers are formed, you are never getting rid of them completely and they weaken their exoskeleton. The best you can do is to prevent them from getting worse.
There was someone on our Canadian Tarantula Facebook group who recently posted photos of her senior Lasiodora parahybana female laying on her back after moulting and those ulcers had ruptured and her guts were hanging out. Even looking at her, and how huge her abdomen was after moulting, you knew she was far too heavy and had likely been that way for a long time.
The best thing you can do is not let them develop to being with. While tarantulas are young and they're putting all their weight into growth, they can afford to be heavy. Also, since they are moulting with such frequency, those ulcers don't get time to form and become a problem. It's when they become adults, and are moulting with far less frequency, that you need to be more concerned about them becoming too heavy.

Brachypelma albopilosum Adult Female 6"

• Vanessa
• Aug 30, 2019
• 2
• abdomen adult adult female albopilosum brachypelma brachypelma albopilosum brachypelma albopilosum (honduras) curlyhair tarantula exoskeleton exuvia female mature female moult ulcer

She has never been kept with a heat source - this ulcer is likely caused by her very large...

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Slings - I feed them until they refuse food and then wait for a moult.
Juvies/adults - If they start to fatten too quickly then I reduce the size and frequency of meals and maybe skip the odd feeding here and there.

There was someone on our Canadian Tarantula Facebook group who recently posted photos of her senior Lasiodora parahybana female laying on her back after moulting and those ulcers had ruptured and her guts were hanging out. Even looking at her, and how huge her abdomen was after moulting, you knew she was far too heavy and had likely been that way for a long time.

If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to send me the images or screenshot the post (or both) and send them to me via PM? It'd be useful for when people in some of the UK tarantula groups I'm in try to argue that "drag injuries are a myth". Also, do you mind if I use the images in your post for reference too?

 

[Vanisher]

No

 

[viper69]

Sometimes--- but much more important FAT Ts REQUIRE WATER. I've owned Ts that didn't eat for 18 months, but definitely did drink water even though they were fat.

 

[cold blood]

A fat male! That’s unusual.

Actually prior to maturing, a male can be just as robust as a female....fat males are no less common than fat females.

Now mature males, they dont get fat, so a fat MM would indeed be unusual.

 

[Ungoliant]

I’ve always gauged tarantula fullness by the size of their abdomen. If it’s fat, no need to feed, and if it’s skinny, it gets fed.

Should I still be feeding my fat Ts once in a while? What’s your food regimen?

I generally forego feeding fat juveniles and adults. If I give them anything, it's a tiny snack -- and that's still less often than I would feed a healthy-sized tarantula.

 

[FrmDaLeftCoast]

Depends what you consider fat and/or "healthy". I have a bad habit of over feeding my T's. Eventually they end up like the the ones in the pictures. At this point...I don't feed them for a few days...oops I meant weeks.

B. cabocla sling

• FrmDaLeftCoast
• Dec 11, 2019
• brazilian redhead tarantula bumba bumba cabocla cabocla iracema cabocla sling

Aphonopelma seemanni

• FrmDaLeftCoast
• Dec 3, 2019
• aphonopelma aphonopelma seemanni costa rican zebra tarantula seemanni striped-knee tarantula

Quite bootylicious...

 

[TwiztedNinja]

One of my Curlys I feed weekly. She usually hangs out by the entrance to her hide or right under it. I did not feed her early last week because she's plump. Have noticed the past few days she's been down in her tunnel more instead of above like usual

It amuses me because its as if she knows no food is around and just decided to rearrange her burrows underground or keep busy somehow. lol

 

[CommanderBacon]

I will feed 1-2 prey items once a week until they are visibly obese (slings) or Gettin' Chonky (juveniles and adults), and then offer smaller prey items every two weeks until a molt happens or they refuse food. Water is always available.

 

[JC]

Only if they're really small. No, not until they the abdomen drags. That sounds horrible.

 

[Kodi]

I have received adult females with fairly severe ulcers on the underside of their abdomen due to dragging from being far too heavy

Interesting, I've never seen this. Was there any way of verifying the ulcers were due to dragging?

 

[Vanessa]

Interesting, I've never seen this. Was there any way of verifying the ulcers were due to dragging?

I have watched them drag their abdomens and the spot with the ulcers also has all the setae rubbed off. My photo above illustrates that.