My Arizona Blonde has refused to eat for some time.

[slimeygrimeysyd]

I purchased my Arizona Blonde back in December of 2021 from a reptile expo, his name is scribble. The vendor i purchased him from wasn’t able to tell me when he ate or molted last so i gave scribble some time to get comfortable in his new enclosure. after about a month or two i tried feeding him and he refused. so i let him be for a few more days and tried again, refused food again. so i figured he was in pre-molt (he is not my first T, i’ve owned roughly 3 before him for years).
eventually he molted and i gave him some more time to recover from his molt before attempting again. once again refusal.
this cycle has been going on since 2021 to current day. ever since he has been in my care he hasn’t eaten anything. it’s concerning because he’s slim looking. he’s still very much active even though he won’t eat.

he always has water in his enclosure, i regulate his temperature in his tank, i have some springtails to keep his substrate clean (i also do regular cleanings myself by changing his substrate once in a while and cleaning his tank and additions to his tank), and misting his tank often to keep the humidity at a good level.

I’ve given him all sorts of bugs since 2021 to see what he prefers such as: mealworms, silkworms, dubia roaches, small-ish crickets, etc. but he refused all of them.

if someone could please help me that would be much appreciated. i’m just very confused as to why he won’t eat or how he’s lived this long without eating.

he just molted today with no issue (never had a troubled molt) and is still active.

photos: first one is from 2021 when i first brought him home. second is from today.

he’s rather small sized (smaller than my palm) so he is in i think a 10 gallon enclosure with enough substrate for him to tunnel in throughout the bottom. each molt he hasn’t gotten any bigger

 

[Marcostaco]

Sounds like a mature male. Pictures are needed

 

[NMTs]

It's not unusual for north American Aphonopelma species to go long periods without eating. 2+ years is a long time, though. What temps are you keeping it at? Also, I would stop misting and just add water directly to the sub by pouring it down a corner to make sure the bottom inch or so is damp, but the rest of the sub should be mostly dry with a water dish. Pics of the spider and the enclosure will help us help you.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I purchased my Arizona Blonde back in December of 2021 from a reptile expo, his name is scribble. The vendor i purchased him from wasn’t able to tell me when he ate or molted last so i gave scribble some time to get comfortable in his new enclosure. after about a month or two i tried feeding him and he refused. so i let him be for a few more days and tried again, refused food again. so i figured he was in pre-molt (he is not my first T, i’ve owned roughly 3 before him for years).
eventually he molted and i gave him some more time to recover from his molt before attempting again. once again refusal.
this cycle has been going on since 2021 to current day. ever since he has been in my care he hasn’t eaten anything. it’s concerning because he’s slim looking. he’s still very much active even though he won’t eat.

he always has water in his enclosure, i regulate his temperature in his tank, i have some springtails to keep his substrate clean (i also do regular cleanings myself by changing his substrate once in a while and cleaning his tank and additions to his tank), and misting his tank often to keep the humidity at a good level.

I’ve given him all sorts of bugs since 2021 to see what he prefers such as: mealworms, silkworms, dubia roaches, small-ish crickets, etc. but he refused all of them.

if someone could please help me that would be much appreciated. i’m just very confused as to why he won’t eat or how he’s lived this long without eating.

he just molted today with no issue (never had a troubled molt) and is still active.

Any pictures?

 

[viper69]

Plenty of posts like yours - helps to research

 

[fq314]

As others have said, it’s hard to be sure without pictures.

 

[HOITrance]

As stated, pictures please.

he just molted today with no issue (never had a troubled molt) and is still active.

This makes it sound like it was just in premolt for two years, which is long yes, but not unheard of. Give about 2 weeks so he hardens up and try to feed him. He should jump on prey post molt so long as he hasnt matured

 

[slimeygrimeysyd]

It's not unusual for north American Aphonopelma species to go long periods without eating. 2+ years is a long time, though. What temps are you keeping it at? Also, I would stop misting and just add water directly to the sub by pouring it down a corner to make sure the bottom inch or so is damp, but the rest of the sub should be mostly dry with a water dish. Pics of the spider and the enclosure will help us help you.

most times i just make the substrate wet like the corner like you said and keep the water dish filled but sometimes i do have to mist the tank entirely if the humidity drops too low due to environmental weather but that’s not all the time. let me find some photos of him

As stated, pictures please.


This makes it sound like it was just in premolt for two years, which is long yes, but not unheard of. Give about 2 weeks so he hardens up and try to feed him. He should jump on prey post molt so long as he hasnt matured

he’s molted numerous times in the time i’ve had him. since 2021 he’s molted roughly 5-6 times and today being the 6th time. i’ve given him proper amount of time after each molt to harden to try to feed but still refuses each time. he drinks plenty of water but turns down food.

Sounds like a mature male. Pictures are needed

he’s molted numerous times in the time i’ve had him. since 2021 he’s molted roughly 5-6 times and today being the 6th time. i’ve given him proper amount of time after each molt to harden to try to feed but still refuses each time. he drinks plenty of water but turns down food.

As others have said, it’s hard to be sure without pictures.

first photo is from 2021 when i first brought him home. second is from today

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

first photo is when i brought him home, second is from today

Did you check the molt to make sure it was male or female? It doesn’t look hooked out.

 

[slimeygrimeysyd]

Did you check the molt to make sure it was male or female? It doesn’t look hooked out.

i did check his molt when i pulled it from his tank and he did have hooks. it’s hard to see in the photos i took especially the second photo but i check every molt he has

 

[darkness975]

i did check his molt when i pulled it from his tank and he did have hooks. it’s hard to see in the photos i took especially the second photo but i check every molt he has

So it's a MM.
It will likely not eat much or at all with the short time remaining.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

The only thing my MM will eat (Psalmopoeus though) is prekilled superworms at the entrance to his hide. Not sure if you’ve tried that one yet.

 

[NMTs]

first photo is from 2021 when i first brought him home. second is from today

i did check his molt when i pulled it from his tank and he did have hooks. it’s hard to see in the photos i took especially the second photo but i check every molt he has

The T in the second pic (the recently molted one) is not a mature male. The pedipalps are not modified as they would be if it was mature - the last segment would basically be gone. See this for reference: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/mature-male-appreciation-thread.289459/post-3367940

most times i just make the substrate wet like the corner like you said and keep the water dish filled but sometimes i do have to mist the tank entirely if the humidity drops too low due to environmental weather but that’s not all the time. let me find some photos of him

I'm not sure where you live, but it's highly unlikely that the relative humidity there gets lower than it gets in the natural environment this species comes from (the Sonoran desert, where humidity ranges from 10-30% daily). Misting isn't necessary and is ineffective for raising humidity for longer than it takes the substrate to dry out (30-60 minutes?).

As for your T not eating in 2+ years, the one in the photo from 2021 is obese. It really shouldn't have been climbing that high, as a fall from even that short distance would have likely killed it. It's no wonder that it hasn't eaten in that long - it had no reason to eat. It is now a more normal weight, so I would expect it to start eating in the next few weeks. Feed it sparingly (like once a month or even every other month, just to maintain the current weight) and it should do fine. If it doesn't eat, however, I see no reason to be concerned about it, because it is still not thin.

 

[Olan]

An adult or semi-adult Aphonopelma has molted 5-6 times since 2021? This I find very hard to believe.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

An adult or semi-adult Aphonopelma has molted 5-6 times since 2021? This I find very hard to believe.

yep
Probably 1-2 years molt cycle at that size .