Healthy abdomen size?

[gambite]

I am very particular about how fat I like my T's to be. For me, an abdomen any larger than 1.3x the size of the carapace is too fat. Granted, I am sure that small of a distinction is not going to make a difference, its simply my aesthetic preference. Ideally, for me, it should be between 1x-1.25x the size of the carapace. Of course, I let it slide for slings and small juvies whom I want to grow; this it more for the larger specimens. Anyone else have similar ideals?

However, I often see pics online of spiders with HUUUUGE abdomens, easil 2-3+x the size of the carapace. This must be unhealthy and dangerous at some point. But, where is the rough cut-off? Any documentation (or dare I ask... anecdotal evidence) of any kind of health-detriment caused by a fat abdomen? I know the obvious is them falling, is there much besides that?

 

[gambite]

bump........

 

[Rochelle]

We prefer to have the abdomens at about 2x the carapace.
We would worry about problems during molt if any larger. The idea is this; if they are too distended; then small, unseen weaknesses can occur while moving about. Molting may allow for rupture at those weak points...
Anecdotal; but we adhere to it. It makes sense to us.
Besides; being obese isn't good for the health of anything.
Being too skinny has it's disadvantages as well. There aren't enough reserves for times of growth, stress or famine (family vacation...lol)

 

[gambite]

cool

anyone else?

 

[bugster]

keep it real

Frankly it's all going to come down to preference and why you keep Ts in the first place. Some people just love to watch their Ts eat and so they're going to always overfeed them because it's all about that moment of watching them tear into a cricket or pinkie mouse without much concern to whether they've had one too many or not by now.

For myself, I think if we're going to keep wild animals as pets, the best possible care for them is to keep them as close as possible to how they'd live in their natural environment. With the exception of bears and raccoons that eat out of trashcans in parks, you don't see many wild animals that are overweight or engorged too often. Most animals are lean and in good condition, if not a little on the skinny side. There's advantages and disadvantages to this: during hard times, some will die off, but they are also much healthier (than being overweight) and are capable of running away from predators or catching foodstuffs all that much easier without extra "junk in the trunk".

IMO, there's nothing wrong with feeding your Ts a little more perhaps than they'd get in the wild (keeping them nicely round) but err on the side of keeping them in good health, rather than these giant butts dragging on the ground behind them that really aren't natural.

I even try to maintain a pattern of binge and fast for my Ts sometimes, simply because that's how it works in the wild, especially for desert species. (It'll be dry for months with no prey, and then suddenly a rainstorm makes everything hatch or come to the surface and they'll have tons to eat for a few days/weeks). This is how nature works. If you want to keep your Ts naturally (which is probably ideal as they were intended to live) than avoid overfeeding.

My two cents. . .

 

[xhexdx]

I don't compare abdomen to carapace. I want the abdomen to be well-rounded and full-looking, not shriveled or shaped too much like an oval. I guess as long as it's wider than the cephalothorax I'm happy.

And the pictures you're looking at could always be potentially gravid females...you never know.

 

[Spyder22]

I've seen some pics of T's that have been over fed and gotten abdomen drag that caused cysts that scared the hell outta me! I keep my tarantulas on the trimmer side now, even my voracious eaters...precisely for that reason.

 

[Brewser]

Overfeeding resulting in obesity should be avoided with all animals.

 

[TheraMygale]

Since it was brought back up for discussion, is this a thing: abdomen size vs carapace?

i have not seen (i didnt search for this yet, i havent heard if this in any videos i have watched) threads discuss this.

i have noticed some breeders liking big abdomens for their breeding females, but they dont disclose the size vs the carapace.

i am curious about this size calculation.

a gravid female will most likely have extra weight.

 

[Mike41793]

Overfeeding resulting in obesity should be avoided with all animals.

Agreed. The only exception I'd say is for females you're wanting to pair. To me it makes sense to fatten them up a little so they're less likely to go after the male.

I have not done a ton of breeding myself though so I have done this and had pretty good success with my small sample size but I'm more so just repeating it cuz I've heard quite a few other people who've bred more than me say it too.

Would be curious to take multiple females of different species and Fatten up some females but not others and see if there's any difference in how they do with males when pairing. Maybe someone's already done something like that. Not sure lol