Feeding and size

[Paramite]

As we all know tarantulas will grow much faster, if you feed them a lot. However, I recently heard that the final size of the spider can be smaller, if you don't feed your spider enough, when it's growing. So is feeding directly connected to the size of the tarantula, or is this just crap? To me it doesn't make much sense, concerning WC King Baboons are pretty damn big and they go long perioids without any food at all.

Personally I power feed pretty much all of my younger Ts, so I'm not so worried about them. However, I still buy sub-adult females time to time. If I get them from a big dealer, it's not a secret they have been fed poorly.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

However, I recently heard that the final size of the spider can be smaller, if you don't feed your spider enough, when it's growing.

We've heard this theory a few times; my opinion is that it's definitely crap. People are confusing tarantulas with animals that grow based on time and AGE, and there are only certain spans of time in their lives when they really grow at all--after that, your bones stay the way they are.

But tarantulas only have their growth periods when they molt, and at no other time. If a tarantula takes, as an example, its 4th and 5th molts a month apart or six months apart, it doesn't matter, it's still the same 4th and 5th molts.

 

[Talkenlate04]

I don't think the idea of that is wrong. But it seems to only apply to males. The few times that I tried to really slow down a male so the female grow and mature for mating, I ended up with a really small MM.

Now other then me seeing that in person I have nothing else too base that on. And ever since I have seen it I don't starve males anymore so I don't think I'll have any more supporting evidence anytime soon. Maybe someone else can tinker with it some.

 

[Talkenlate04]

But tarantulas only have their growth periods when they molt, and at no other time.

How can you know that there is not a time restriction to their growth?
Like for a MM. What if they have a given window of time to mature based on their internal time clock?

I don't think you can shoot down this idea without more studying being done. I have several friends that have seen small MM's as a result of underfeeding to slow down a male.

 

[Paramite]

I don't think the idea of that is wrong. But it seems to only apply to males. The few times that I tried to really slow down a male so the female grow and mature for mating, I ended up with a really small MM.

Actually that makes sense. Females have pretty much all of their life time to grow. Males need to actually Mature when the time comes.

 

[lucanidae]

I've just had a friend have a well fed male mature much smaller than most males of its species would. Growth and mature size is not just a function of feeding, but also of genetics and other environmental factors during the molting period. I do know that you can slow down growth in slings a LOT by not feeding them, and I'm also convinced that power feeding doesn't necessarily lead to animals with larger leg spans than they would have had if fed 'normally'.

 

[arachnophoria]

From my very limited experience with Ts,I am finding that some species don't eat if they are not hungry....they cannot be ''powerfed'',b/c they simply won't eat and eat and eat.I think think that abdomen size is a good indication of health and feeding...to large on a normal T(not gravid),you should feed less,too small,feed more.I think species that live where the climate and food availability are consitent,should be fed to mimic this.I do this with a few smaller prey items a week,the abdonem size is maintained,but not overly increased.Faster growers get more food also,these are generally the same ones that hail from tropical areas with regular food availability.The Ts,like rosea and Ts or desert areas might do better on a weekly schedule of a larger(roach sized)meal or maybe twice a week for the season that would correspond with when food would be most available,then less food,maybe one prey item every third week for the months that correspond with dry or preyless conditions.
I also tend to feed slings at least twice a week with and appropriate meal,that they can tackle themselves and eat within a few hours.
You can feed a T a lot more small crickets without overfeeding,then you can feed the same T larger roaches.It depends on many factors how I feed my Ts,but I don't think powerfeeding or underfeeding is fair to the T.Of course,what I consider a normal feeding regime may be too much to one peron and not enough to another.I try to replicate nature and not really concern myself with much of the other theories that abound.

 

[Paramite]

From my ver limited experience with Ts,I am finding that some species don't eat if they are not hungry....they cannot be ''powerfed'',b/c they simply won't eat and eat and eat.

I have to disagree on this. I managed to feed a juvenile X. immanis in a condition where she couldn't move properly.

Also, this has nothing to do with the issue at hand...

 

[arachnophoria]

It may have gone a bit left of the original subject
I really don't see what you disagree about,since I said very specifically SOME species will not overeat.I also mentioned that this what I have observed in my limited experience.It is a certain fact that some of my Ts refuse food for a few days,then accept food another day,thus they are self limiting and could not be overfed.That may not be true of ALL species,all Ts,or evern most Ts,or all Ts of a given species for that matter,but certainly cannot be proven false for the individual T.