Feeding after molt, how long to wait???

[scottyk]

I would tend to think that a T in the wild through an entirely natural process will take prey after a molt when it's ready... be it 4 days or 14... without injuring itself.

I think you are missing the point of the advice. No one is saying that a tarantula that attacks and eats a cricket isn't ready to.

In captivity, there is no harm in waiting a few extra days. However, if you feed before the tarantula is ready to eat, there is a (very small) possibility that the cricket may injure it. There is a much more likely possibility that it will annoy the tarantula needlessly and have to be fished back out of the enclosure.

 

[Skipcress]

I'm a bit of a newbie, but what I've always done with my G. Pulchripes sling is feed it killed prey after a molt. Its usual feeding schedule is Wednesday and Sunday, and I go back to that after it molts. For example, if it molts on a Tuesday, I'll skip Wednesday's feeding because I know that will be too soon, but I'll give it a killed cricket on Sunday. If it doesn't take that after about twelve hours I'll remove it, and try again the following Wednesday, until it finally eats.

I suppose your milage may vary depending on your T's willingness to accept killed prey, but it's been working for me.

 

[Justin H]

I'm a bit of a newbie, but what I've always done with my G. Pulchripes sling is feed it killed prey after a molt. Its usual feeding schedule is Wednesday and Sunday, and I go back to that after it molts. For example, if it molts on a Tuesday, I'll skip Wednesday's feeding because I know that will be too soon, but I'll give it a killed cricket on Sunday. If it doesn't take that after about twelve hours I'll remove it, and try again the following Wednesday, until it finally eats.

I suppose your milage may vary depending on your T's willingness to accept killed prey, but it's been working for me.

This thread is 9 years old .

 

[Skipcress]

This thread is 9 years old .

Yeah, I know. I figured I'd reply anyway, in case it's in any way helpful to someone who comes across this thread while trying to answer the same question today. I've certainly had many a question answered by reading a decade old thread I found via a Google query

 

[cold blood]

Yeah, I know. I figured I'd reply anyway, in case it's in any way helpful to someone who comes across this thread while trying to answer the same question today. I've certainly had many a question answered by reading a decade old thread I found via a Google query

True, but it can also be questionable...many old threads contain old, outdated info. For learning purposes its generally best to focus on newer threads.

 

[KenneyG]

The

I'm wondering if a tarantula in the wild knows it has to wait two weeks after a molt before it can take that prey that comes waltzing by.

They tend to know when they are ready and they will not eat until they are that is my experience anyway and I assume in the wild it would be the same.

 

[Magicis3]

1week for slings under 2.5cm
1.5-2weeks for juvi 2.5cm-7cm
3weeks-3weeks+ for adult past 7cm

Thats how I do it