Is my 2" O.B.T eating ?

[82 Carnage OBT]

I have a 2'' O.B.T named Carnage. I got him 1 1/2 to 2 months ago. At first I had him in a pretty big arboreal cage I custom made out of a 10 gallon tank. I used 2 tanks and cut the glass out. Using glass from both cages and a custom screen top. I found a cricket hanging from his web the first week but it was still juicy after a few days. Wasnt sure if it just got cought up or if it was just trapped in his web.
I watched him for another 2 weeks and it seemed like he wasnt finding the crickets in such a big cage, And I could never see him. A friend suggested that I put him in a smaller cage to observe him and so he could find his prey better. So I relocated him to a small cricket feeder cage. For as small as it was I still had a background, co-co fiber, water dish, and some nice drift wood I boiled ( NOT CEDER). He built an emaculate web in it. I tried to feed him crickets in his web and Dubia Roaches. I still can not find a carcass. Some of the crickets dissapeared, but I cant find remains any where....
My friend suggested that I take some of the wood out of the cage so I could observe him better. Did That. Now he has still built a nice web, I tried to tweezer feed him last night again Crickets and Dubia Roaches. He puts his legs up at them but will not take them. Im concerned that he has not eaten' in a few weeks and He has not molted yet. The cricket cage he is in is sat on its side for arboreal. Can someone help.I also have a Curly Hair Sling I got the same day that has sence molted once and is now eating dubia nymphs and baby crickets. Shes fine. Very worried about my O.B.T though. I heard they have a good appetite but dont see it. Please help.

 

[rockhopper]

A few weeks isn't anything strange for a T not eating and if you aren't finding the remains then he may very well be eating. Just leave it alone and let it relax. Sounds like you are stressing the hell out of him with all the enclosure changes and shoving food in his face.

 

[Anonymity82]

First off, they're not really arboreal. They're semiarboreal so you don't have to set up an arboreal enclosure. It's kind of fun because you can experiment with different enclosures and see what it does. My 2.25" OBT is in an extra large starbucks iced coffee cup. Looks a little small but I know this species is very good redecorating. So now she has a giant cavern on one side building up the side of the cup. I was hoping for her to build down but she built up. Still very cool. This took a few weeks for her to create this.

The first tank was way to big, even for an adult. I plan on keeping mine in a large KK when she gets big enough. They don't get very large and I think I've read they stay around 4.5" to 6". Just give them things to build on and you're set. She's probably eating. I don't know if you know they do this but they "chew" their food and eventually the prey item becomes a bolus or a small little round crunch looking item. This bolus can easily go undetectable in a KK with this species. They usually catch their prey and drag into their "cave" or burrow. When mine finishes she pushes the bolus out the door of her tunnel. However, mine have been kept in small enclosures so far. I imagine the larger enclosure would make it more difficult to find the bolus.

Does her abdomen look plump?

 

[82 Carnage OBT]

I thought I might be stressing it out too, I just wanted to make sure it was eating. Although he built thick emaculate webbing so quick I wasnt sure. Thanks for the info I plan on leaving his small enclosere the way it is for the next 6 months hopefully. Thanks.

 

[malevolentrobot]

disregarding factoring in housing issues, again, whats the status of the abdomen? while i would say OBTs are good eaters, ime none of the four i had particularly overfed (not like say a Brachypelma). they were pretty good about making sure any excess prey was dispatched of but it was normally left whole if they were no longer really wanting to eat. the boli were not always easy to find because of their webbing, so you really had to look if you wanted that sort of evidence.

once my female was her mature size she was especially like this, and would fast on occasions. its likely nothing to be worried about. i've had some fast longer than you have owned yours

 

[82 Carnage OBT]

His abdomen looks plump. He has great color and looks healthy.Like I said crickets were dissapearing. I had just thought I wold have found a carcass. But now that you have given me information on boli. I had no Idea they chewed there pry. I just had thought they sucked them dry. My Brachyopelma Abopalosum sling loves to eat. I watch her eat all the time, Just never seen Carnage eat (my O.B.T). I have spent hours awake at night trying to see if he eats. Never have so I was wondering. His abdomen is pretty plump though. Thanks for all the great intel,Brandon Brown

---------- Post added 06-04-2012 at 03:19 PM ----------

P.S What is a KK ?

 

[malevolentrobot]

they won't always eat in front of you or immediately after prey is thrown in.

P.S What is a KK ?

KK is a shortening of kritter keeper, a type of plastic caging easily found at most pet stores. i don't love them personally, but a lot of people use them.

 

[Anonymity82]

they won't always eat in front of you or immediately after prey is thrown in.



KK is a shortening of kritter keeper, a type of plastic caging easily found at most pet stores. i don't love them personally, but a lot of people use them.

Mine usually goes for it the second I walk away or divert my attention .

I'm not a huge KK fan but they are cheap and stackable. Good for arid species because they have lots of ventilation too. When I get my own place I'm going to have a few book shelves dedicated to Ts so I might look into more attractive enclosures then.

---------- Post added 06-04-2012 at 04:33 PM ----------

Not my video but this is a good video of a tarantula "chewing." Chewing is a scientifically incorrect term for what they do but I choose to use this word anyway. I know, I'm a rebel .

[YOUTUBE]OzDS1Hr5RTU[/YOUTUBE]

 

[82 Carnage OBT]

Thanks for the "chewing" vid. Ive seen him doing that before and was wondering what he was doing. I keep him in a Kritter Keeper. I always called it a cricket cage. I thought thats what you meant, but by my terms I guess it would be called a C.C huh? He ended up molting last night at 1:30 a.m. I watched him for 2 hours. Guess thats why he wasnt eating huh? He is so bright orange now. I put his molt and his first webbing in a shadow box, 1 foot wide by 3 feet long. I plan to put a good amount of molts in it I have been wanting another Tarantula for years. I had G. Rosias when I was 18. Im 30 know and have been looking at An O.B.T for about 4 years. Finally got him and a honduran curly hair sling now. Plan to get a few more. Its as addicting as all my tattoos, and Im sleeved out. Hope to have as many T's as Tats one day. Thanks everyone for all your help on this. This is an awesome site, glad I joined. Sincerely Brandon Brown SouthBend IN

 

[Anonymity82]

I loved watching my grow from a .75" orange butt little guy to a beautiful orange 2.25" specimen. Still got plenty of growing to do too.

I had a scorpion (emperor) that died after 2 months in its molt. I went back to get an adult but then saw the Chilean Rose and now I have 5 tarantulas and a black widow that I caught at my cousins house. It's addicting. I'm just glad I didn't have the money 10 months ago or I would have probably have about 50. I eventually want to have 50 or more but not until I can have a room just for critters.

CC or KK who's counting right?

They also "chew" when they aren't eating for reasons I do not know. Have you ever seen yours groom itself? I love watching that. They release liquid from their mouths and cover the tips of their legs with it and rub it all over. So delicate and intricate.

 

[82 Carnage OBT]

No I have never seen him groom. His abdomen looks a lot thinner now that he molted. Is that normal ? How long should I wait after a molt to feed him ?

 

[malevolentrobot]

No I have never seen him groom. His abdomen looks a lot thinner now that he molted. Is that normal ? How long should I wait after a molt to feed him ?

thats normal. it should be able to eat in a couple days once the fangs harden up. for that size i wouldn't think more than 3-4 days.

(and of course you can wait longer. i just figured you wanted to know shortest time frame possible. once it gets bigger you'll want to wait progressively longer for them to harden up. once it hits 4-5" i would wait minimum of a week.)

 

[Anonymity82]

Definitely not less than 3 or 4 days. You can go a week easily just to be safe. If their fangs aren't fully hardened they could damage them. They wont starve in a week. The abdomen almost always looks pretty small after they molt.

Just make sure you spray in there so they can drink if need be. They can also "chew" on the substrate to get liquid from it. I've seen my B. vagans doing this 2 days ago.

 

[82 Carnage OBT]

Thanks man, Ill wait a few days. Im Going to try and see if hell eat a dubia roach(about as big as a cricket) this time. I want to get him off the crickets to where I can tweezer feed him. And since I have like a whole colony of 300 roaches that are breeding and the only things in the house that are eating them is my Curly Hair sling and my Brothers Jackson Chameleon. I hope he eats a roach this time......In about a 4 days.

 

[Anonymity82]

I'm not a fan of dubias but I wont get into that and possibly discourage you. Plenty of people have great success with them. I didn't. I may try again when I have dozens of Ts and possibly other arthropod eating creatures. I think I would like to try blapticas because they don't burrow and they run around like a cricket. But, I've heard they climb and possibly can infest a home if you live in a warm climate but this is anecdotal and have no first experience with red runners.

 

[82 Carnage OBT]

Actually the Blaptica Dubia roaches I have love burrowing in the substrate. Thats the one thing I dont like about them. Hard to find it seems like. All the vids I see on you tube everyone is tweezer feedong them and I figured that is why. They love to burrow.
I did here about them infesting homes in warm climates though, I live in the cold state of Indiana though so that shouldnt be a prob. I also heard that Florida will not even let them get shipped to down there. I bought my 1st colony from The Roach Cafe. He has good information about them on his site and anything you need to start breeder colonys except the totes.

 

[Anonymity82]

Theroachcafe.com? Yeah, I didn't want to get into that but that's what I don't like about them too. Not only did my rose not seem interested the roach burrowed and didn't show up until 2 months later. I tried tong feeding and she was just frightened. She hates the tongs with a passion and I'm not about to try and tong feed my OBT sling in her tiny enclosure. Crickets are fine for now because I don't need a colony.

Florida is ridiculous but that's because Florida, at least southern Florida is tropical and that's where so many creatures thrive.