G. Pulchra spiderling with identity problem

Robyn8

Arachnoknight
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Feb 24, 2016
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Apparently my G. pulchra sling (1,5cm body) thinks it is a A. geniculata, has a big fat premolt butt, but is still eating two small crickets like crazy. I expected it to refuse food, but this one is a better eater than my Brachypelma sp.
 

EulersK

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Slings should always eat like mad. The only slings I've cared for that are picky have been P. cambridgei and A. ezendami (thanks, @cold blood).
 

Robyn8

Arachnoknight
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Feb 24, 2016
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well yeah, should. :p tell that to my Euathlus sp red slings. Not interested in food, the wide world is much more interesting.
 

mistertim

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Your sling is absolutely having a crisis. I offer my services as a Licensed Tarantula Counselor. Please send the sling to me and all will be well.
 

Paiige

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Apparently my G. pulchra sling (1,5cm body) thinks it is a A. geniculata, has a big fat premolt butt, but is still eating two small crickets like crazy. I expected it to refuse food, but this one is a better eater than my Brachypelma sp.
Mine too. It JUST molted yesterday (thank god, I was waiting for it to pop from being so fat) but the thing is an eating machine! I had no idea a tiny little T could eat so much before I got it. It's about 1 1/4" dls now, got it at 3/4" and seems to be growing a solid quarter of an inch every molt (every 5 weeks or so). If all slings of this sp. are such voracious eaters I'm definitely going to have to pick up a few more :p
 

KezyGLA

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I find pulchra to have one of the best appetites of the genus. I just wish they grew as fast as they eat :shifty:
 

Paiige

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I find pulchra to have one of the best appetites of the genus. I just wish they grew as fast as they eat :shifty:
Mine seems to be growing pretty quickly, though I've heard they slow down once they get to 3" or so. This molt is the first where the black coloring is really evident instead of a dark brown though so even though I was hoping it'd increase in size a liiiiiiittle more, I'm still pretty happy. I only saw it briefly yesterday and it MAY be as big as 1.5"
 

KezyGLA

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Mine seems to be growing pretty quickly, though I've heard they slow down once they get to 3" or so. This molt is the first where the black coloring is really evident instead of a dark brown though so even though I was hoping it'd increase in size a liiiiiiittle more, I'm still pretty happy. I only saw it briefly yesterday and it MAY be as big as 1.5"
You will be waiting a while until 3" still. They are slow growers unfortunately. All the males I have kept are slow growing. The females that I have remaining are just under 3" and have been growing so slow aha
 

Paulhodgkinson

Arachnopeon
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Apr 26, 2016
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You will be waiting a while until 3" still. They are slow growers unfortunately. All the males I have kept are slow growing. The females that I have remaining are just under 3" and have been growing so slow aha
I get at least an inch worth of growth every time a T moults. Maybe I take this hobby too seriously.
 

Paiige

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You will be waiting a while until 3" still. They are slow growers unfortunately. All the males I have kept are slow growing. The females that I have remaining are just under 3" and have been growing so slow aha
What size were they when you got them/how long have you had them?
 

Paiige

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the current females I got at 3cm DLS and since january
Alright, well that's about 2" of growth in a year...it could be worse I guess? :D I wouldn't exactly say that I'm power-feeding but I'm definitely feeding more often than I've ever fed a T before. But only because he/she has such an appetite! So we'll see where it is a year from now. Hopefully it grows into a big fat lady.
 

KezyGLA

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ahah true. When most of your collection are baboon species the Grammys and Brachys(apart from a few) seem to take lifetime
 

Paiige

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I have mostly (adult/sub-adult) slow, lumbering, lazy dinosaurs (as I call the Grammys and Brachys) so this little bulldozing, backflipping, garbage disposal of a pulchra is wonderful :D
 

cold blood

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Apparently my G. pulchra sling (1,5cm body) thinks it is a A. geniculata, has a big fat premolt butt, but is still eating two small crickets like crazy. I expected it to refuse food, but this one is a better eater than my Brachypelma sp.
That's 100% typical for a pulchra.

Slings should always eat like mad. The only slings I've cared for that are picky have been P. cambridgei and A. ezendami (thanks, @cold blood).
Haha

P. cams are the bestest eaters around...what are you doing to my babies? All their siblings are insatiable....lol.

I find pulchra to have one of the best appetites of the genus. I just wish they grew as fast as they eat :shifty:
Yep.
 

EulersK

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Haha

P. cams are the bestest eaters around...what are you doing to my babies? All their siblings are insatiable....lol.
I'm actually not sure. They just won't eat - crickets, dubias, mealworms. Tried them all. Advice is more than welcome.
 

cold blood

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I'm actually not sure. They just won't eat - crickets, dubias, mealworms. Tried them all. Advice is more than welcome.
Mine eat everything that moves, they even attack the water when I fill their dishes. Are you sure pre-molt isn't the issue, they go pre-molt before they get super plump...IME the only time a cam won't eat is during pre-molt.....or maybe you just broke them.

I literally feed them and half are out hunting again as soon as they finish.
 

EulersK

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Mine eat everything that moves, they even attack the water when I fill their dishes. Are you sure pre-molt isn't the issue, they go pre-molt before they get super plump...IME the only time a cam won't eat is during pre-molt.....or maybe you just broke them.

I literally feed them and half are out hunting again as soon as they finish.
The one that I got through Jen molted shortly after I got it, so that explained it not eating. That was over a week ago though, still no meals. The other one is a molt ahead, and it hasn't eaten since the last molt about three weeks ago either. I've tried bumping their humidity, prekilling, you name it. What's strange is that they seem interested, they just never take it down. I'm going to rehouse them on Tuesday if nothing changes by then as a last ditch effort.
 

cold blood

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The one that I got through Jen molted shortly after I got it, so that explained it not eating. That was over a week ago though, still no meals. The other one is a molt ahead, and it hasn't eaten since the last molt about three weeks ago either. I've tried bumping their humidity, prekilling, you name it. What's strange is that they seem interested, they just never take it down. I'm going to rehouse them on Tuesday if nothing changes by then as a last ditch effort.
Dry them out, they come out a lot more.

What are they housed in?
 

EulersK

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Dry them out, they come out a lot more.

What are they housed in?
I'm probably too dry. Between running this heater and the natural humidity here, even I can tell it's dry. They don't seem to mind the dryness very much, but they clearly prefer humidity. It's not a matter of me seeing them, they're pretty much always out. I just keep misting so that they have something to drink at least. I have witnessed both of them drinking, so there's at least that.

They're in the small Amac boxes. I can get a picture if need be, but it's a pretty standard setup. The larger one has webbed extensively, the other not so much.
 
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