G. pulchripes fasting? No other sign of premolt

[Theist 17]

Hey all,

I know that roseas have a tendency to fast for long periods and no apparent reason whatsoever, but does this apply to all members of the genus Grammostola? I have a pulchripes sling which measures 3/4" in diagonal leg span, and it's been refusing food for the last three weeks. The last food item I successfully offered it was a live cricket (~1/2 body length, give or take), and nothing since.

I've tried dried mealworms, grasshopper legs; shoot, I even offered a live de-pincered earwig (which I've since heard is somewhat risky? Could someone elaborate?) No interest was shown at any of these attempts, which were spaced a few days apart at a minimum. The sling definitely knew that the food items were present, even walking over them at different points. I almost bought some superworms today to cut up and offer it, but decided against it. Could it be that my T only likes live crickets?

As a side note, this sling has been drinking absolute gallons of water (you know, figuratively) and has been busily leveling out the inside of its hide, moving the substrate to cover sides of the enclosure. Could this be some kind of stress reaction or indication of pre-molt? I've not seen anything similar in my searches, so that seems unlikely to me.

On the subject of pre-molt, I've noticed no obvious darkening of the abdomen, and no real webbing or burrowing phenomenon to speak of other than the substrate on the walls. Plus, isn't a three week long pre-molt period a little strange for such a small sling? If my information is correct, this little guy/gal should be popping a new exo about every month or month and a half, right?

Anyway, if anybody out there feels inclined to offer a few words of wisdom, I would appreciate it.

Bye for now!

 

[Rob1985]

Fasting can apply to all T's and the the moving of substrate is completely normal. They aren't predictable like cats or dogs, these are just T activities.

As far as food choices, only 3 of my T's will accept dubia roaches, while the others prefer super worms/meal worms or crickets. In my findings some T's don't react to slower moving prey, therefore not treating it as anything more than bothersome.

Just keep the enclosure misted on a regular basis and note any changes in behavior as such. Not every T acts the same way. The adult female G. rosea I had a number of years ago had the temperament of an OBT or a Pokie.

 

[jayefbe]

On feeding B. dubia, I've had very little success feeding B. dubia nymphs to slings. They just do not recognize them as food much of the time. Even with tong-feeding and trying to incite the roaches into movement, very few slings actually took them. Other people may have had better success, but I would try lateralis for slings. I've never used them yet, but I'm planning to start a colony specifically for the reasons outlined above.

 

[InvertFix]

Much like Jay, I have little success with feeding B. dubia to my T's. Only a select few will eat them. Which kind of sucks, since I have multiple HUGE colonies of them.

 

[jakykong]

Although since they're cheap, I decided to try lateralis roaches. My G. pulchripes sling loves 'em

But as far as fasting, yeah, G. pulchripes and G. rosea are similar. Mine is about 1" DLS right now, and the last two molts, it fasted for just over a month each. I wouldn't worry - fasting is pretty normal for Ts.

 

[Ben Oliver]

my G. pulchripes sling will tackle any thing it can, any roach species, cricket, meal worms and super worms. it now is 2" and i got it at 2 instar a year ago. and the only time mine has refused food was when it was full or in premolt.

 

[Theist 17]

Well, everybody, I'd like to thank you for your advice and input here.

It turns out that my little Chaco was, in fact, hungry. It just wanted crickets is all. Haha

I picked up about a dozen small crickets and some orange cubes from a pet shop today, set them loose in a deli cup with a little misted substrate, a bit of egg carton, and a couple of cubes, and plucked one from the fold for my sling. No activity for a while, but the cricket magically disappeared sometime over the course of an hour and a half while I was watching a movie.

So, I guess this case boils down to a picky sling this time. Good info all around, though. If anyone else feels like adding more on the behavior of their G. pulchripes specimens, feel free, but my questions have been answered and then some.

Thanks again!