Is this common with Avics?

[JoshDM020]

My little dude molted 10 days ago. Double avic for those who havent seen the pics ive been posting all day. I fed him three days ago counting today. The next day he was in a hunting stance. I told him he was gonna eat me out of house and home and gave him another. Well two hours after he finishes that he's back in his little hunting stance. I waited until earlier today and when he continued going back to his spot, i fed him again. I know im feeding him a little more than average. Before he molted he was getting one every five days, but hes practically begging for it. Hes barely 3" dls and its rather funny, but i guess my question is, is this normal? And should i just ignore it and feed him on my schedule? I thought i had this guy figured out and then he, as chris would say, goes on a 360°.

 

[14pokies]

IMO it's best to get a T back up to normal weight as soon as possible after a molt. If it's hungry feed it.
Once it's as fat as it was before the molt you can resume the normal feeding shedule..

That's how I do it I'm sure many others do it differently.

 

[JoshDM020]

IMO it's best to get a T back up to normal weight as soon as possible after a molt. If it's hungry feed it.
Once it's as fat as it was before the molt you can resume the normal feeding shedule..

That's how I do it I'm sure many others do it differently.

Thats what i read somewhere on another thread, i just wanted to see if more than one person practiced that to make sure it wasnt a bunch of BS. Thanks!

 

[THExMETAL666]

continue feeding it the way you are until its good and plump again then resume your normal feeding schedule lil dude should be fine. ive had my seemanni take two and sometimes three crickets at once lol.

 

[Venom1080]

I feed once a day for about 3-5 days. Then go back to the normal schedule. No need to feed so much at once.

 

[GreyPsyche]

I just kinda go with it. I wouldn't feed an arboreal too much though, I like them lithe and athletic looking not over engorged.

 

[TomKemp]

I also double check water dishes when they are molting to make sure they are nice and full. There is that wait until they are hard enough to take on food again so I always feel safer knowing for sure they have a water source until then as well.

 

[CEC]

I don't go by their behavior with feeding unless they are under weight or recently molted like yours. Even the fat ones will want to keep eating, even though, they surely don't need to.

I feed once a day for about 3-5 days. Then go back to the normal schedule. No need to feed so much at once.

IMO there is no need to spread out your feeding that much. For example, an Avicularia of that size feeding say 4 crickets at once and waiting a couple weeks to feed again is no different than feeding 2 crickets per week. As long as they get the same amount of crickets, in the same amount of time, your golden. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not saying go dump a dozen in and wait 12 weeks to feed again. There still has to be moderation and balance. The more experience you have feeding the easier it is to find a good ratio of schedule and ration.
You feed your way and I'll feed my way, ultimately it doesn't matter if done right. Routinely providing drinking water is what's important for this genus, anyway.

Just my 2¢.

 

[Andrea82]

Double Avic?? I read that somewhere else but I thought it was an autocorrect thing...
Maybe I am a bit picky, but why not simply use A.avicularia....it only has one letter more...no need to use common names and then shorten that too....

 

[Venom1080]

IMO there is no need to spread out your feeding that much. For example, an Avicularia of that size feeding say 4 crickets at once and waiting a couple weeks to feed again is no different than feeding 2 crickets per week. As long as they get the same amount of crickets, in the same amount of time, your golden. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not saying go dump a dozen in and wait 12 weeks to feed again. There still has to be moderation and balance. The more experience you have feeding the easier it is to find a good ratio of schedule and ration.
You feed your way and I'll feed my way, ultimately it doesn't matter if done right. Routinely providing drinking water is what's important for this genus, anyway.

Just my 2¢.

What do you mean? I fatten them up and then put them back on a normal schedule..

 

[Ungoliant]

Thats what i read somewhere on another thread, i just wanted to see if more than one person practiced that to make sure it wasnt a bunch of BS.

I do tend to accelerate the feeding cycle a bit during the first 1-2 weeks of post-molt feeding.

My tarantulas (Avics included) never refuse food except in pre-molt.

 

[CEC]

What do you mean? I fatten them up and then put them back on a normal schedule..

"No need to feed that much at once"

If you don't mean you feed 1 cricket per day for 3-5 days then go back to schedule, then I misunderstood... and man do you feed a lot more than I. I just throw in a like 4 crickets and call it done with feeding for 2 weeks.

 

[Venom1080]

"No need to feed that much at once"

If you don't mean you feed 1 cricket per day for 3-5 days then go back to schedule, then I misunderstood... and man do you feed a lot more than I. I just throw in a like 4 crickets and call it done with feeding for 2 weeks.

I do. Once they're at normal weight I go back to schedule. Schedule is once a week for young ones, hi weekly for the larger ones , then about monthly for adults, or whenever they get a little skinny.i think I'm misunderstanding something.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

For juvies/adults I either feed a larger meal than I would normally do for the first couple of feedings or halve the amount of time between scheduled feedings for the first week or two then go back to normal, if I fed some of mine every time they adopted a hunting posture then they'd be so fat that they wouldn't be able to lift their abdomens off of the ground.

I just keep slings on their normal schedule, they fatten up quickly enough as it is.

You have to remember that these are opportunistic hunters, they never know when their next meal will be so they'll be looking to snag anything they can whenever they can until they go into premoult.

 

[Ellenantula]

I never minded spoiling a recently moulted T with a little extra food -- I figure moulting takes a lot out of them. That said, I am not talking a heavy feeding schedule for months -- just the first few weeks. If you overfeed too much for too long, you'll probably end up with a longer fast before the T is ready to moult again. Just my experience. Other good keepers will weigh in on both sides of the issue, I'm sure. Mine is just one way that happens to work well for me.

 

[GreyPsyche]

After feeding mine quite well lately I've almost regretted it as they're all either fasting and/or in PreMolt but mine are slings so it's kinda to be expected.

 

[JoshDM020]

After feeding mine quite well lately I've almost regretted it as they're all either fasting and/or in PreMolt but mine are slings so it's kinda to be expected.

Mine just got his grown-up colors and barely hit three inches, so im assuming he's a juvie, so im not too worried about getting him anywhere quick. Just kinda rollin with what he wants for a few days, i guess.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Mine just got his grown-up colors and barely hit three inches, so im assuming he's a juvie, so im not too worried about getting him anywhere quick. Just kinda rollin with what he wants for a few days, i guess.

It won't hurt your avic to feed him more often, especially at that size they need lots of food to grow. I feed a lot more then most people on these boards and all my Ts are very healthy. He will refuse when he isn't hungry and or in pre molt, it's also completely normal for him to go back in his hunting stance shortly after a meal. They are opportunistic, and will eat until they can eat no longer, feeding a lot in a short time frame will usually just trigger a longer pre molt phase, won't harm it in any way shape or form. Also some species need to be fed more then others, my Theraphosa's get fed alot in comparison to most of my other species and don't put on weight as fast.

 

[viper69]

And should i just ignore it and feed him on my schedule?

First there's no schedule in the wild, and people feed when they want for all sorts of reasons...Great good for them

Frankly, I don't care about my schedule, I care about my Ts schedule. I feed them as much as they will eat, as frequently as they will eat. I have Avics that ate the day before they molted. Others that waited 3 months to eat again.

I have some that eat 2-4 on day 1, 1-2 on day 2 etc etc.

In short, there's no schedule I have them on.

What's more important is keeping their abdomen plump with a combination of food and water. However you achieve that is all that matters all things being equal.

 

[GreyPsyche]

Im lucky to get any of mine to eat more than once a week but then again they're all babies...