Help! Is my tarantula molting or dying??

Rinfish

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
48
My G. rosea has been acting a bit off beat for about a month or two now. Shes always been a picky eater, but i think the last few times i purchased crickets she only ate maybe one or two...and that was weeks ago. she lives in a large enough cage where I keep the crickets in with her, and i ended up having to give them to my whip spider because she wouldnt eat.

She was sitting normally this morning, but i just walked by and shes half tilted herself up on the glass. Her legs looked a bit weak (like she was dying), so tried to drop some water in her mouth (I panicked) and she moved off the glass. A few seconds later, she propped herself back up on the glass in the tilted manner (which the picture shows).

She hasnt molted in a long, long time. I would say a year or two.

My first instinct is to dangle a cricket in front of her, but i don't want to stress her out if she is molting...what can I do? :(

Edit: She also made a silk bottom that she is sitting on...classic of a molt. I am still nervous though.
 

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KezyGLA

Arachnoking
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Apr 8, 2016
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3,013
Its overfed.

Arid species will fast for long periods of time, even up to over a year if offered too much food.

Dont worry your T should be fine. Just stop feeding so much and dont leave prey in with T.
 
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Rinfish

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
48
I try to feed once every two weeks, and i keep track of the crickets. She will maybe eat one or two every purchase. I didn't realize I was overfeeding her. Compared to my whip spider, it seemed like she was fasting, or sick.

Thank you for your response, I appreciate the quick answer and the feedback!
 

mconnachan

Arachnoprince
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
1,240
I try to feed once every two weeks, and i keep track of the crickets. She will maybe eat one or two every purchase. I didn't realize I was overfeeding her. Compared to my whip spider, it seemed like she was fasting, or sick.

Thank you for your response, I appreciate the quick answer and the feedback!
Your spider is fine, a bit overfed as has been said, a good way to feed is 1 large cricket a week, if it doesn't eat wait a week then try again, if there's no response leave it 2 weeks, BTW I would keep the crickets separately from your T as they can hurt it if she suddenly starts to moult in the night. The abdomen does look quite dark so an upcoming moult wouldn't surprise me, tarantulas can fast for months, but I wouldn't worry, she's had more than her fill by the looks of it, probably just fasting. Grammastolas are renowned for this behaviour.
 

darkness975

Latrodectus
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Aug 31, 2012
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5,610
she lives in a large enough cage where I keep the crickets in with her
This is not good. You should never leave prey items in with the spider for more than a few hours. For this species (It's a G. porteri, by the way, not a G. rosea) one cricket every couple of weeks is more than enough food.

With your current process, if the spider did molt, the crickets would devour it alive. Not a pretty sight to see, trust me.

Post some images of the Enclosure please. You may need to correct some aspects of it which we can help you with. It is in the spider's best interest.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
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Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
I try to feed once every two weeks, and i keep track of the crickets. She will maybe eat one or two every purchase. I didn't realize I was overfeeding her. Compared to my whip spider, it seemed like she was fasting, or sick.

Thank you for your response, I appreciate the quick answer and the feedback!
One single cricket per feeding, once or twice a month s enough to plump any chilean species. Don't worry about over feeding, it won't hurt, it will just make t fast longer and more often.

And fyi, adults of this species typically molt every 3-6 years.

Never leave crickets in with any t....ever.
 
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