Maybe one too many crickets for this little one

[Stemmy101]

So I more or less just wanted to take this opportunity to post pictures of my rather plump T. vagans, but I might as well ask, does this look like premolt to you? I apologize for the poor camera quality

 

[pongdict]

Thats one plump T. I am not experienced but comparing it to some premolt pics, it does look like it is. Dark and shiny abdomen.

 

[Smotzer]

It’s very plump, doesn’t need any more food, so “premolt” or not it doesn’t need to eat again until after it molts.

 

[Stemmy101]

It’s very plump, doesn’t need any more food, so “premolt” or not it doesn’t need to eat again until after it molts.

I agree, I wasn't planning on feeding it for a long while. Previously I was feeding it once a week, but I'm thinking the crix were too large to be feeding so frequently. This is my first T so I'm growing with it in a way

Now I'm curious, what are the effects of "obesity" in a T? Is over feeding detrimental to its health in the same way its harmful to a dog or cat? I know over feeding is something you should avoid. But just how dangerous is it, essentially, am I accidentally killing my T by over feeding it?

 

[Smotzer]

I agree, I wasn't planning on feeding it for a long while. Previously I was feeding it once a week, but I'm thinking the crix were too large to be feeding so frequently. This is my first T so I'm growing with it in a way

Yes that’s normal to grow with and important to learn this stuff about feeding now before adding more. , as you see feeding on a set schedule can lead to an overly plump tarantula , you can now feed based off abdomen trying not to get back to this size but smaller, varying size and frequency in doing so. Tarantulas need far less food than people in the hobby seem to think because seeing super fat T’s is common place.

 

[viper69]

Now I'm curious, what are the effects of "obesity" in a T

Humans get obese because they can't control their urges to eat food and then exercise it off for example

For Ts- they STOP eating.

A T that FAT however can drag its abdomen on the substrate and rub the ventral surface raw- not good.

Is over feeding detrimental to its health in the same way its harmful to a dog or cat?

No- see above

You can't overfeed an animal that will stop eating. However, like I said above there is that chance this could happen. We've seen it plenty here.

Remember, they don't know when their next meal is in the wild, so they eat quite a bit. Some species can pack on mass like no others. Vagans is one of them, albo as well as many others. Avics- no

 

[pongdict]

Some species can pack on mass like no others. Vagans is one of them, albo as well as many others. Avics- no

I am interested which species? Is it more the terrestrials since they don't climb much so getting heavier is not much of an issue?

 

[viper69]

I am interested which species? Is it more the terrestrials since they don't climb much so getting heavier is not much of an issue?

Quite a few, many Brachy’s, and some commonly kept Grammo’s, and some Apho’s as well.

I am not sure why terrestrials exhibit this more, but they don’t have to climb so that is one reason. Wouldn’t be good for an arboreal to get so massive.

These species also have long lived females. My AF emilia and AF boehmei can be quite massive.

Though P regalis can be quite massive as well, but they are larger than the species I have in mind above.

Look around the images posted here, you’ll see some FAT ones

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I know over feeding is something you should avoid. But just how dangerous is it

It can result in drag injuries which can lead to abdominal ruptures, the LP pictured below (not mine, taken from FB with the owner's permission) tried to moult with a drag injury and ruptured the abdomen in the process.

 

[Stemmy101]

It can result in drag injuries which can lead to abdominal ruptures, the LP pictured below (not mine, taken from FB with the owner's permission) tried to moult with a drag injury and ruptured the abdomen in the process.

I'd hate to lose a T that way. Because fat T's are so common, what should a healthy T look like? I was aware that my T was very fat, hence why I planned on refraining from feeding it. However, being new to the hobby and with so many overweight T's as my examples, it's difficult for me to differentiate a healthy T from a fat one.Thank you for sharing



Also the T molted successfully (i think?) last night. It's still huddled in its burrow recovering but I'll post pics when it resurfaces

 

[The Grym Reaper]

what should a healthy T look like?

There isn't really a specific "healthy" look, a freshly moulted tarantula whose abdomen is half the size of its carapace is still healthy (because tarantulas come out of moults like that sometimes), as is a tarantula in heavy pre-moult whose abdomen is swollen to twice the size of its carapace (because the newly formed exo and fluid secreted to separate that from the old exo cause the abdomen to swell up even further).

Between those two points I basically gradually fatten them up until the abdomen is around 1.5x carapace size and then maintain that (but that's my personal preference, I like them to have a little junk in the trunk but not get so fat that they end up looking like engorged ticks).

 

[nicodimus22]

what should a healthy T look like?

The guideline I use for juveniles onward is that when viewed from above, the abdomen should be roughly between 1 to 1.5 times the size of the carapace. Much more than that can risk injury to the abdomen and the pedicel (the piece that attaches the abdomen to the rest of the body.)

Small slings can be much fatter than adults and it's usually OK because they put all of those nutrients towards the next molt, but any heavily overfed tarantula can rupture its abdomen, especially during a fall, so use your best judgment. Mature males often refuse to eat at a certain point and get tiny abdomens, so this guideline doesn't apply to them either.

 

[Stemmy101]

UPDATE: Post Molt pictures *on my dumb phone camera*

I'm not sure why it always likes to sit with its belly on the glass, it does that all the time. Anyone have an explanation or is it just a weirdo?