my pinktoe

[Tarantula Lover]

my pinktoe has not ate a cricket in 4 days, should i worry? i have 4 crickets in there, and a mealworm in the soil(it dug) should i try something like a superworm? they have them here at petco, is she/he moulting or in premoult? thanks!

James Kakos

 

[Code Monkey]

Should you worry, no.

Is it in pre-moult, who knows.

Repeat the holy mantra: if your tarantula is not noticeably losing weight, it NEVER means anything negative whether they are eating or not. Never, never, never, and then never some more.

They aren't dogs, they aren't cats, they aren't even an iguana when it comes to nutritional needs. The only time to worry about a T eating or not eating is if they are losing weight. I have read reports of Ts voluntarily going more than 18 months without eating (and no weight loss). These things can slow their metabolism down so far that a single cricket will keep them going for months and they normally have plenty of fat stored.

The reason I say you can't know if it's in pre-moult is that you are clearly feeding "too often". That's not to say that you're feeding too much, but you are feeding so often that it's impossible to say if your T is in pre-moult or just full. However, you are feeding it too many prey items at a time if you've got 4 crickets and zoophoba loose in the cage.

Here's what I would do assuming your avic is in a tube web and not subject to being harrassed by the crickets/zoophoba. Remove everything but one cricket. If your T is hungry, it will find the one cricket without a problem unless the cage is simply huge. If in another week it still hasn't eaten, assume it's in premoult and take that cricket out.

 

[King_Looey]

TL, i thought you were bored of your Pinktoe, and wanted a more aggressive spider, whats changed?

 

[Tarantula Lover]

hi

now it is eating and making a web and i enjoy it, my mom let me move it upstairs where the temp rose from 67 to 75 because she felt sorry for it, i will be getting an usambara pink zebera and a salmon pink, if not my mom will let me get another pinktoe, now i named it pinky, and i now love her/him very mich!!!

 

[Henry Kane]

Well, the rise in temp will undoubtedly increase it's metabolism. It should become a bit more active and in turn it's appetite may increase as well. Good luck on your new T's.

Atrax