Lasiodora parahybana won't eat

[jdoolittle761]

Hi,

So I purchased my L. Parahybana about two weeks ago and for the first week she pushed dirt into the entrance of her hide and wouldn't come out even for water but now she is out and about so the past few days I crush the head of a super worm and drop it in and she just walks right over them and doesn't even take notice of them. Thoughts?

 

[Trenor]

Hi,

So I purchased my L. Parahybana about two weeks ago and for the first week she pushed dirt into the entrance of her hide and wouldn't come out even for water but now she is out and about so the past few days I crush the head of a super worm and drop it in and she just walks right over them and doesn't even take notice of them. Thoughts?

What size is it?

 

[BorisTheSpider]

Have you tried a cricket ?

 

[jdoolittle761]

She's about 4 inches currently

 

[jdoolittle761]

And no I have not tried any crickets yet

 

[Trenor]

Snap a photo of her and the enclosure. She might be still adjusting or not hungry.

As long as she is plump I wouldn't worry much yet.

 

[Nosiris]

An Lp that refuses food is either dead or in premoult. They're one of the most enthusiastic eaters out there. There's a small possibility that she's unwell or something but I'll bet it's premoult.

btw: Is that a recent pic of her in your avatar? If so, could easily be in premoult.

 

[jdoolittle761]

Yes my profile pic is from about a week - week and a half ago

 

[G. pulchra]

Maybe the prey is too small or it isn't moving enough. I personally never had good luck with feeding T's superworms. Try something different.

 

[Rittdk01]

Hmmm Mine only refuse food in premolt. My biggest has never refused food--not once. She's my avatar and thats a super worm in her mouth. I feed my biggest tarantulas mainly supers, and they rarely refuse to eat. There is a trick to crushing a supers head without making it just lay there. Crunch only half of the head and they will roll around and attract loads of attention. Your lp could need a bit to adjust to the new surrounding, so I wouldn't worry. Btw, Lp's are one of my favorites

 

[Anoplogaster]

Another vote for premolt. Food refusal is practically a litmus test for premolt with this species

 

[cold blood]

Another vote for premolt. Food refusal is practically a litmus test for premolt with this species

or freshly post molt....at that size it can be weeks before they eat.

Since it emerged from a sealed hide, I wonder if it didn't molt

 

[Gutpile]

Try this. Put a cricket in a ziplock bag and stick it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Drop the dead cricket in the spider's enclosure. Spiders are scavengers as well as predators and I've had T's eat this way when they refuse live prey.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The only time mine doesn't brutally tackle prey like she has a personal score to settle is when she's in premoult.

Crunch only half of the head

I was going to suggest something along those lines, if you only partially crush the heads then they retain enough movement to elicit a feeding response as opposed to the occasional spasm you get after completely flattening the heads which might be otherwise ignored.

 

[Charlottesweb17]

Hmmm Mine only refuse food in premolt. My biggest has never refused food--not once. She's my avatar and thats a super worm in her mouth. I feed my biggest tarantulas mainly supers, and they rarely refuse to eat. There is a trick to crushing a supers head without making it just lay there. Crunch only half of the head and they will roll around and attract loads of attention. Your lp could need a bit to adjust to the new surrounding, so I wouldn't worry. Btw, Lp's are one of my favorites

Am getting an L.P, my first T!