Is this normal for a rosie?

[AraneaeRosie]

Hey again haha I got a question for all you rosie keepers (and experienced T keepers in general )...How long is my rosie going to refuse food? Is it normal and healthy for her to not eat for this long?

I got my rosie march 2016 and shes refused food over half a year now, shes eaten ONCE since i got her. i try and feed her and she just moves her feet away like 'ew dont touch me' kinda way and lets the pray get away, i've rehoused her to a more 'natural' envoirment cuz maybe thats the reason but nope, nothing. I don't see her belly getting darker either, so no molt...i was told shes 3-4 years old and had one more molt to go before being a full grown adult. shes around 13cm idk what thats in inches but i guess 5 inches...5'5?

I do see her drink water, i've spotted her drinking a couple of times actually, her abdomen is as big as her body, she has a bit skinny legs i'd say compared to my B smithi female (8y old) she also grooms herself pretty often...I'm worried because when i search G rosea on google i always see these Rosies with huge abdomens looking like they're about to burst haha, I know they can go up to 2 years without food but i'm worried now, it's stressing me out it's been so long :/

 

[Sarkhan42]

Could you post some photos? Chances are she's just fine, as you said as long as they have water provided they can fast for long periods, I personally would not be worried at all. Photos would just help confirm, and make sure she's healthy/she is a she.

 

[DeanK]

Completely normal. As long as she's drinking all is good imo. They are notorious for going on crazy long fasts

 

[Formerphobe]

Some will go months to years without eating.
Abdomen about the same size as the carapace is good. Slightly smaller is even okay as long as abdomen not wrinkled or pruney looking. Bigger than carapace increases risk of rupture in event of a fall.
Maturity isn't necessarily determined by legspan. Females are mature enough to breed when their spermathacae sclerotize (examine next molt). A 5 inch legspan G rosea is most likely mature, and most likely older than 3 to 4 years.
As long as she's behaving normally otherwise and her abdomen is well rounded, don't worry about her not eating. My grandma porteri only eats about 2 to 3 times a year, if that.

 

[AraneaeRosie]

There she is right now, took it a few minutes ago

 

[Realevil1]

@AraneaeRosie could you post some temp and housing specifics aswell? She sounds healthy. I had a B. Albopilosum that went off food for a while but would only drink.

 

[AraneaeRosie]

@AraneaeRosie could you post some temp and housing specifics aswell? She sounds healthy. I had a B. Albopilosum that went off food for a while but would only drink.

In my room it's around 21-24 degress...so thats 69- 74 degress F...also i dont spray her cage at all, her only source of moisture is her water bowl, which she usually sits n chill next to if i spray she will climb the walls untill its bone dry

 

[AraneaeRosie]

Could you post some photos? Chances are she's just fine, as you said as long as they have water provided they can fast for long periods, I personally would not be worried at all. Photos would just help confirm, and make sure she's healthy/she is a she.

 

[Sarkhan42]

The angle looks like she could use some more sub- but the T itself looks very healthy, and not a mature male at least. I wouldn't be worried.

 

[Misty Day]

I agree with more sub. A fall could be fatal.

From the pictures, particularly the second one, it looks like she's in premolt. She has a very obvious black spot on her abdomen.

 

[DeanK]

I agree with everyone on needing more substrate but I don't think the enclosure is going to allow it because it appears to have sliding doors on the front

 

[darkness975]

@AraneaeRosie Your spider needs way more substrate in her enclosure. You may need to rehouse if you cannot do that in that (seemingly) sliding glass front enclosure.

Regarding the Tarantula itself though; she looks fine to me.

 

[viper69]

I own a young female B. albo. Big abdomen, she didn't eat for over 18 months. Temps were constant 75F day/68F night.

Looks like you have sliding glass front. If so, you need a new container that will allow you to have less distance between sub and container lid to prevent fall death/fall injuries. An ExoTerra BreederBox would work fine. 1.5X diagonal leg span for distance from sub to lid as a general guide.

Terrestrials that fall from heights often die.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

In my room it's around 21-24 degress...so thats 69- 74 degress F...also i dont spray her cage at all, her only source of moisture is her water bowl, which she usually sits n chill next to if i spray she will climb the walls untill its bone dry

Your temperature range is fine, especially if 24° C day. In the night, a drop never harmed no one and it's normal, btw. I always kept my T's at 20° C night. Never had an issue.

Like others said, add substrate. Why being a 'Scrooge' with substrate, btw, I will never understand that. It's "dirt", not gold. Add that

 

[KezyGLA]

I kept my gal in room temps 19-23C for 10 years. She has had 2 fasts that have lasted over a year, the longest being 14 months

 

[AraneaeRosie]

thanks all for your messages
the tank shes in dosent allow more substrate to be put in :/ the 'experienced' guy i bought her from said the enclosure was fine

 

[cold blood]

I agree with everyone on needing more substrate but I don't think the enclosure is going to allow it because it appears to have sliding doors on the front

Yet another classic example of a terrestrial housed in an arboreal enclosure.

thanks all for your messages
the tank shes in dosent allow more substrate to be put in :/ the 'experienced' guy i bought her from said the enclosure was fine

His experience appears to be quite lacking IMO...he's wrong. To utilize that enclosure you would need to lay it on its back so the doors are on top, its the only way you will get enough substrate in there to provide a safe environment.

Onto the subject at hand, fasting is what this species does, sometimes it its a pre-molt thing, but often its not....this, combined with the fact they almost never kick hair, makes them one of the most difficult species to visually determine pre-molt...although such a long fast is a pretty good indicator of PM. When mine fasts, I just stop offering until I see the t in a hunting posture, continuing to offer food is just a waste of time and effort.

They also have about the best tolerances for colder weather of all ts, your temps are indeed more than fine.

This species has about the lowest food requirement of all ts as well, meaning that 90% of them in captivity are heavily over-fed (which is why you see all those over-weight rosies on your google searches). I feed one cricket per feeding, and 2-4 per month and my girl stays fat, but fasts a lot less than when I used to feed more heavily.

Not eating is about the most "normal" thing for a rose hair to do.

 

[cold blood]

@AraneaeRosie could you post some temp and housing specifics aswell? She sounds healthy. I had a B. Albopilosum that went off food for a while but would only drink.

An albo and a rose hair aren't an even comparable at all when it comes to fasting. All ts fast, most don't fast for a year plus, that's rosie territory (and a few Aphonopelma)

 

[Misty Day]

@Olan why was I disagreed with?

 

[Andrea82]

These enclosures are used a lot in Europe for terrestrial T's. BUT substrate is much higher at the back, creating a slope downwards to vents and opening. And there are also a lot less things in there that T could fall on. Things with edges or sharp corners are not good for a tarantula enclosure, I would remove all that, and put in more substrate at the back, if you want this enclosure for the T. I don't use these, but I've seen others use them here in the Netherlands.