Is this considered powerfeeding?

[Arachne97]

so someone told me that I have been powerfeeding my MF B Vagans. I feed her about two superworms per week. Is this powerfeeding? As far as I know, you cant really powerfeed adults since they'll just fast if they're full. This vagans actually fasted for about two times(about 1-3 months each) before she matured. Can you really powerfeed an adult t? I personally think I'm not powerfeeding her

 

[Jeff23]

Most of what I hear the term related to is for the rate to get your sling to adult size. So I would figure the label does not apply. However you can overfeed your adult T and make it fat by essentially doing the same thing. The T will get beyond the optimum size before it starts fasting.

 

[Arachne97]

Most of what I hear the term related to is for the rate to get your sling to adult size. So I would figure the label does not apply. However you can overfeed your adult T and make it fat by essentially doing the same thing. The T will get beyond the optimum size before it starts fasting.

So am I feeding it too much?

 

[Jeff23]

So am I feeding it too much?

I will let someone else answer regarding use of super worms since I use crickets. The amount for a meal differs between prey. I usually go by the abdomen size to determine if I am feeding my T enough or too much. You don't want a shriveled abdomen or overly fat one for an adult T.

EDIT* Do you have a picture of your tarantula that you can post?

 

[Arachne97]

Idk why but my pics here take forever to upload. All I can say is that her abdomen is considersbly bigger than her carapace. You could call it fat or plump but not disproportional

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Power-feeding is basically when you ramp up the temps to the high 70's/low 80's to speed up the Tarantula's metabolism and then proceed to feed it as often as it will eat, this is usually done either to speed along a sling's growth to the less fragile juvenile stage or to get males to mature ready for breeding.

Technically, I wouldn't say you're power-feeding her but you'll end up with an overly fat T that fasts a lot out of necessity if you keep feeding at that rate, I only feed my 6" A. geniculata and L. difficilis females 1 super a fortnight.

 

[Arachne97]

Power-feeding is basically when you ramp up the temps to the high 70's/low 80's to speed up the Tarantula's metabolism and then proceed to feed it as often as it will eat, this is usually done either to speed along a sling's growth to the less fragile juvenile stage or to get males to mature ready for breeding.

Technically, I wouldn't say you're power-feeding her but you'll end up with an overly fat T that fasts a lot out of necessity if you keep feeding at that rate, I only feed my 6" A. geniculata and L. difficilis females 1 super a fortnight.

So is 1 superworm a week ok?

 

[Arachne97]

Btw this is the only one of my adults that take this much food. My others eat only once every 2 weeks to a month(all brachys and grammys)

 

[Kayis]

I'd actually cut her down to match your other adults. You definitely aren't "power feeding" it but more than likely maybe "over feeding" it. It's honestly your call how you want to feed your spider, make your judgment depending on appearance of her versus your other adult T's. I feed adults once every 3-4weeks and offer those that need "plumping up" multiple prey items during that feeding session and skip or give a smaller prey item to those that look too plump.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

That's probably fine, I personally wouldn't feed any more frequently than that though, I only feed slings twice a week up until they hit 2" then I slow down to once a week until they approach subadult/adult size then slow down again to once a fortnight, I only do that to try to keep fasting to a minimum.

 

[Rittdk01]

One super a week. That's proportional to several crickets. If it gets too fat I would stick with crickets.

 

[Venom1080]

thats overkill, thats a good way to get a obese spider. they are much more susceptible to falls and dragging their abdomen. keep the abdomen a little bigger than the carapace unless youre fattening up for breeding.
also, powerfeeding is having food in the cage 24/7, basically making the spider eat whenever it has the slightest urge to. so no, not powerfeeding.

 

[EulersK]

The term "power feeding" shouldn't really be used in this hobby, as there's no solid research on amount of food corresponding to quicker molts. In fact, "power feeding" certain species will lead to a long fast, actually delaying a molt.

Adult females need very, very little food. They've done their growing, they simply need to maintain at this point. So yes, you're feeding too much. An obese tarantula can end up with drag injuries on their abdomen. A large abdomen is also easier to rupture in a fall. The goal is not to make them look like a softball, there's just no need.

Personally, I aim for my adult female's abdomen to be just slightly larger than the carapace (unless they're gravid or pairing). They don't need to be massive to be healthy. For NW terrestrials, that equates to feeding about once every six to eight weeks for me. They get an adult male dubia roach, which is roughly equivalent to three or four large crickets in mass. This feeding schedule has resulted in more activity, fewer fasts, and shorter fasts when they do happen.

This vagans actually fasted for about two times(about 1-3 months each) before she matured.

That's not fasting, that's just not being hungry and/or in premolt. Probably not hungry given the feeding schedule. When hobbyists refer to "fasting", we're talking about six months or more.

 

[Red Eunice]

"Power feeding" is a term used in the reptile hobby and long ago transcended into the invert hobby. A useless term IMO.
Correct term would be "over feeding" a T, juvenile/adult, causing more chances of injury due to an oversized rump. If their rump becomes larger than 1 1/2 times of the carapace I feed less often (diet).
I've yet to "over feed" a sling irregardless of the species.

 

[Arachne97]

Ohh sorry my bad. I guess I'll just switch her sched to once a week(but for now I'll feed her once every 2-3weeks). I thought I was feeding her just enough because I heard that the species with better appetites tend to need more food than say a b smithi or g rosea. I also made a wrong estimate to what the equivalent of one superworm is

 

[cold blood]

Yeah, I am another that doesn't like the term...but its too widely used to do anything about. Ask 10 different people what it means and you will likely get 10 different answers. To me it means having food available 24/7/365. Nobody really does this. I prefer to just say its a heavy, light or normal feeding schedule. 2 supers a week is a fairly heavy feeding schedule.

I personally wouldn't feed an AF brachy that much, IME that's just setting it and you up for two things...1, an obese spider, and 2, a very long fasting period before its next molt.

I feed adult Brachys 1-3 times per month, depending on where they are in their cycle. Just after molting I might feed every 7-10 days, once it starts to look a little plumper, I might stretch that to once every two weeks...once its plumped and is nearing molt (of the size it needs), I will back off and feed once a month.

Its also tough to just determine how heavy your (the average person, not anyone in particular) schedule is because it varies for the size of prey, now in this instance, the op specified supers (so we can be confident in our answers), but most feed other things or a variety. Smaller size prey items, means you can actually feed more, but still have a lighter feeding schedule than one that feeds large prey items much less frequently.

See, one could feed every 3 days for a month, one medium cricket per feeding.....frequent (about 10 crickets), and seems heavy....but another could feed every two weeks, but be feeding an adult dubia roach with those feedings. Just two feedings in a month seems meager. But in this case, despite feeding at a rate of 5 crix:1 roach, the person feeding only 2 roaches per month is actually feeding with a heavier feeding schedule.

This is why its so difficult to answer when we are asked "how much should I feed"....there's a lot of variances and variables.

Adult Brachys have longer molting cycles, so you have a lot of time to plump them up, there's no rush.

Different story with slings that are growing and molting at a considerable faster rate (generally), with them obesity isn't an issue and because of significantly shorter molt cycles (the time it takes to grow a new exo), they can take advantage better of heavy feeding schedules.

In general, the earlier in the molt cycle, the more you can feed, plumper the t, the less you feed...and you should put more time between feedings after feeding larger prey, and less time between feeders after feeding small prey.