First T owner question

Giles52

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
7
Hi everyone, I bought my first T back in May of last year - a B. Smithi. He's a juvenile (pictured in my DP). When I first got him he was eating very well. He's molted once since then and I haven't had any issues. Then about a month or so ago he stopped eating. He's now in a 5 gal. aquarium (a Zilla Critter Cage). At first I thought he stopped eating because he was going to molt, but it didn't take him this long last time. Now I'm thinking maybe he's too cold? We keep our house at around 72 degrees in the winter. Could this be killing his appetite?
 

TownesVanZandt

Arachnoprince
Joined
May 12, 2015
Messages
1,041
Hi everyone, I bought my first T back in May of last year - a B. Smithi. He's a juvenile (pictured in my DP). When I first got him he was eating very well. He's molted once since then and I haven't had any issues. Then about a month or so ago he stopped eating. He's now in a 5 gal. aquarium (a Zilla Critter Cage). At first I thought he stopped eating because he was going to molt, but it didn't take him this long last time. Now I'm thinking maybe he's too cold? We keep our house at around 72 degrees in the winter. Could this be killing his appetite?
He might be in premoult or he might just not be hungry. You never know how long a tarantula will be in premoult or how long the moulting process will take as this varies from time to time. As long as the water dish is filled and his abdomen looks ok, I would not worry. Lower temperatures will make them eat less, but 72F is completely fine for most species.
 

ledzeppelin

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 8, 2013
Messages
433
A T of that size can easily through a month of premolt.. Even two, three sometimes.. Higher temperatures do boost appetite and general movement, but at 72 you should be fine. If it kicked any of its hairs, then you could observe the abdomen darken with time. :)
 

Walker253

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 12, 2016
Messages
554
A 5 gallon tank is very large for a juvie B smithi. While visually appealing to you, it's not that great for your T. They tend to do better in a smaller enclosure. The will eat better is part of that. Think medium size Critter Keeper. That being said, I have 2 B smithi's. They aren't big feeders. When they do eat, make sure you don't overfeed, or a long fast may follow
 

Oliverhenderson

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 26, 2016
Messages
34
Hi everyone, I bought my first T back in May of last year - a B. Smithi. He's a juvenile (pictured in my DP). When I first got him he was eating very well. He's molted once since then and I haven't had any issues. Then about a month or so ago he stopped eating. He's now in a 5 gal. aquarium (a Zilla Critter Cage). At first I thought he stopped eating because he was going to molt, but it didn't take him this long last time. Now I'm thinking maybe he's too cold? We keep our house at around 72 degrees in the winter. Could this be killing his appetite?
i wouldn't worry about a T not eating as long as there abdomen looks a decent size they should be fine and thats if there not in premolt
 
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