Molting

[Aferullo16]

My Tliltocatl albopilosum hasnt eaten since January 10th, 2024, he just molted about 2 weeks ago and I tried to offer him food and he still won't eat. Usually after a molt, he eats about a week to 10 days after molting. Why will he still not eat? I would assume he's hungry after a year of not eating .. i know they can go long periods without food though.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

My Tliltocatl albopilosum hasnt eaten since January 10th, 2024, he just molted about 2 weeks ago and I tried to offer him food and he still won't eat. Usually after a molt, he eats about a week to 10 days after molting. Why will he still not eat? I would assume he's hungry after a year of not eating .. i know they can go long periods without food though.

What size is the spider, if it's an adult I leave them at least 3 weeks for food after a moult. Do you have the moult there to examine and make sure it's moulted properly?

 

[TheraMygale]

We need more info. Photos, age, etc.

sometimes it can take extra long for bigger tarantulas to molt.

if they have internal issues it can prolong this.

we can’t provide further insight because we don’t know what we are looking at.

even in healthy tarantulas, there is no fixed time. And every molt is different in the aging/maturing process.

 

[Aferullo16]

Nevermind, he just picked up his prey. I left it in his tank for a little bit. I do not have his molt because he absolutely destroyed it this time around like right after molting haha. It was in his way of his hide away spot lol. He's older. This was his 3rd molt with me, his last one wasn't since the 22nd, his one prior was 1 year before that. His abdomin is usually larger tha. This. Hes usually quite bulbous haha. It shrunk this molt.

Not the 22nd, 2022*

It just took him like forever to pick up his prey. Sorry for the useless thread haha.

 

[TheraMygale]

This abdomen looks fine and not shriveled. Plenty of energy left for a while that would allow it to take its time after a molt.

Not all tarantulas like a quick live prey after a molt. Some react better to prekilled.

good for you that it ate. Seems like all is as its supposed to be.

for the record, and i am not saying you do this, but tarantulas dont need to be fat. In fact, 1x2x the carapace is more then plenty.

obese tarantulas are exposed to many dangers, including bad molts.

This my d pentaloris. Its too fat. I havent even fed it that much.

if i kept feeding, it would eat. But it sort of doesnt want to. And i know it shouldnt.

tarantulas look cool when they are all Big and Plump.

But they don’t look like that in the wild, except gravid females. And even then…

outdoor weather and light also affects tarantulas.

my indoor heating isnt at max and my tarantulas are at low 70s. This is impacting their metabolism. The light is slowly increasing, but they know that its less then this summer when they were at 80s heat and full morning to night light.

i know tarantulas are animals of darkness and dont require light. But they are not that stupid. They sense these little changed in their surroundings. These are cues for their natural instincts. This is how they guage weather and seasons.

so my house is in winter mode.

many of my tarantulas could be ready to molt. But they are waiting for heat to go up. Thats my interpretation.

 

[Aferullo16]

My tarantula got lazy, he doesnt like to "hunt" anymore and im serious. He won't chase down a cricket or a roach. He only like super worms with crushed heads dropped directly in front of his face. If I drop it behind him, he won't even turn around. He is EXTREMELY lazy. He would never make it in the wild haha.

I learned this through trial and error of feeding times lol.

 

[TheraMygale]

My tarantula got lazy, he doesnt like to "hunt" anymore and im serious. He won't chase down a cricket or a roach. He only like super worms with crushed heads dropped directly in front of his face. If I drop it behind him, he won't even turn around. He is EXTREMELY lazy. He would never make it in the wild haha.

I learned this through trial and error of feeding times lol.

I dont think its a bad thing. Atleast it eats the worms.

i have a mature female g pulchripes. I bought her as an adult. Shes only ever eaten crickets.

she is in dormance right now, but the day she pops out, i will try superworms.

in the end, what matters most, is that a keeper had the patience and right observations to know what their tarantula needs.

its in a captive setting anyways. So what if it doesnt hunt. You give it what it needs. Besides, if its smart enough to train you to crush a worms head, then its a privilege. You have more then a pet rock.

you have a highly evolved prehistoric arachnid that makes choices. Thats a sign of awareness. No matter how a scientist would want to interpretate that.

to me, that is precious. Its absolute.

 

[Aferullo16]

Thank you