How long does it take a T to realize there's prekilled food in its enclosure?

[InternetSwag]

I've been putting prekilled/precrushed smallish turkistan roaches in my slings enclosures. With some luck, sometimes without.

But my L.Klugi who is really small hasn't eaten since I got him on 24/7/19.

Is it possible he just doesn't realize there's dead roaches? Can I just assume he aint hungry?

 

[Potatatas]

If the enclosure is too big it might struggle to find the food. But a week without eating is fine, especially since you've only just got it. Could be still settling in or in premoult. Photo of enclosure would help too.

 

[InternetSwag]

 

[Potatatas]

Looks alright to me, although I can't see the spood and have no idea about klugi care! I'd add a bit of cork bark for a hide though

 

[SteveIDDQD]

How big are the roaches compared to the spider? If LK's are anything like an LP, it'll take on anything it can wrestle down... Maybe try live food?

But a week without food is no problem, so just try again in a week.

 

[nicodimus22]

I put them in after dinner, and if they're untouched the next day, take them out before the mold starts.

 

[Moakmeister]

You got him on July 24? That’s like, a week, bro. Tarantulas can fast for far longer than that.

 

[draconisj4]

It probably is in premolt or just not hungry. It takes them a while to settle in. My klugi sling didn't eat for 6 days after I got it and then wasn't the best eater now at 4" it eats well but is so skittish it runs from its food to start with. Just continue to do what you are doing.

 

[Vanisher]

This us the reason i like live food better. One has more control of the spider eating. If dead food is put into a container with a shy pethole, the spider may eat less readily. If a live insect is put into the same enclisure, the spider pounce on it! Dead food works well for some speicies, but i think live food works better overall!

 

[Ungoliant]

But my L.Klugi who is really small hasn't eaten since I got him on 24/7/19.

Is it possible he just doesn't realize there's dead roaches? Can I just assume he aint hungry?

I have one Avic sling that has been known to wait 2-3 days before feeding on pre-killed prey; I guess she likes it to age. Most, however, begin feeding within a few hours.

Note: if the prey has been moved, it's likely the sling fed, even if the prey doesn't look smaller.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I have one Avic sling that has been known to wait 2-3 days before feeding on pre-killed prey; I guess she likes it to age.

I bet it takes 2-3 days for the dead insect to start stinking enough for your Avic spiderling to smell it and find it. When feeding dead prey, I always cut it in half so the little spiders can smell it from anywhere in the enclosure.

 

[Ungoliant]

I bet it takes 2-3 days for the dead insect to start stinking enough for your Avic spiderling to smell it and find it. When feeding dead prey, I always cut it in half so the little spiders can smell it from anywhere in the enclosure.

These are all diced-mealworms that I put right next to her.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

It varies... Sometimes immediate sometimes it takes awhile.

 

[Vanessa]

I wouldn't be too concerned. That enclosure isn't so big that they wouldn't be able to find it. They might be getting adjusted to their new home, they might be freaked out by being transported, they might not be hungry, or they might be approaching a moult... take your pick.
Also, are you absolutely certain that they haven't been snacking on it? If it is really big prey, then they might have eaten some of it.

 

[EtienneN]

Some spiders can be finicky, you just have to find what works for yours. You can get roach nymphs online if you are looking for easy live prey. I do think that gutting the prekilled prey probably helps entice the spider to it as well.

 

[Lice1721]

I bet it takes 2-3 days for the dead insect to start stinking enough for your Avic spiderling to smell it and find it. When feeding dead prey, I always cut it in half so the little spiders can smell it from anywhere in the enclosure.

Can tarantulas actually smell things?

 

[InternetSwag]

I put in a live pinhead cricket but no dice.
can i leave the pinhead in there?
I checked its fangs and theyre black

 

[Ungoliant]

Can tarantulas actually smell things?

Yes. From Biology of Spiders, pages 97-99 (internal citations and figures omitted):

It has been known for a long time that spiders react to chemical stimuli. Just as humans can differentiate between the sense of smell (olfaction) and taste, so can spiders. Taste involves contact with a substance, usually at high concentration, whereas olfaction involves volatile substances that affect receptors over relatively large distances, and often at very low concentrations. With many highly volatile substances (such as essential oils), one can easily elicit a behavioral reaction from the spider simply by putting the compound close to the animal. Strongly odoriferous substances usually cause the spider to run away, or at least to exhibit a local reaction such as withdrawing a leg. Although such experiments prove the existence of an olfactory sense, they tell us little about the significance of olfaction under natural conditions.

In the natural environment the spider most likely uses olfaction to find a mate during courtship and perhaps to recognize prey and enemies (see chapter 9). It has been shown that male spiders are apparently attracted by the "scent" given off by the female. A male will not be attracted to a female until just before her last molt; immediately after she molts, however, often several males will flock around her web. Presumably the mature female produces sex-specific substances (sex pheromones) that attract the male. Such pheromonal effects are well known from studies of insects (such as butterflies), and the pheromones involved have been chemically analyzed in great detail. The sex pheromones of only a few spiders have been identified chemically (e.g., R-3-hydroxybutyric acid in a linyphiid).

Although there can be little doubt about the spider's ability to smell, the location of the olfactory organs has been under debate for a long time. The tarsal organs have remained likely candidates since they were first described in detail by Blumenthal (1935). Usually the tarsal organs are small pits on the dorsal side of each tarsus, although in some spider families they may appear rod shaped, like a hair. In either case they are multiply innervated (by about 20 neurons) and are connected to the external environment by seven small pores. The first electrophysiological investigations showed that different volatile substances can excite the tarsal organs. However, according to more recent studies, the tarsal organs are primarily hygroreceptors. Each of the seven sensilla consists of three sensory cells, two responding to changes in humidity and the third one reacting to changes in temperature. The sensitivity of these sensory cells is noteworthy: while the "warm" cell can resolve temperature differences of 0.4°C, the "moist" and "dry" cells will discriminate differences of 10% in humidity. Such humidity receptors serve a vital role for most spiders—namely, avoiding possible desiccation. They enable spiders to find the right moisture in their environment and also to find water droplets (dew), which they can imbibe directly. Although the tarsal organ does respond to certain pungent odors such as acids or ammonia vapor, it appears to be unresponsive to alcohols, aldehydes, esters, and so on, and to natural scents coming from other spiders or insects. Thus we are still left with the question of where the spider's odor receptors are actually located. A putative olfactory organ was described between the rostrum and the palps, but its function has never been determined.

The most important chemoreceptors of spiders are the contact chemoreceptors, or taste hairs, which are found mainly on the distal segments of the legs and palps. At first glance these hair sensilla resemble the normal tactile hairs, yet they differ from them in three respects: (1) they arise at a steep angle (about 70°) from the leg surface;(2) the hair shaft is S-shaped; and (3) the hair tip is open to the outside. Each taste hair is usually innervated by 21 sensory cells: 2 nerve endings (mechanoreceptors) with tubular bodies terminate at the hair base, while the other 19 (chemosensitive) dendrites traverse the hair shaft to the opening near the hair tip.

 

[InternetSwag]

So my Klugi here just sits on the side of his enclosure, he crawled up against the plastic and just sits there, for days now. I put in a pinhead cricket live, but no interest. It even jumped into him.
I'm just gonna leave my sling for like 5 days and try again.
I can see his body nicely though coz he's right on the plastic. I don't see any premolt features other than not eating. He not skittish, or hiding, fangs are black, abdomen isn't huge or shiny.