Newbie w/T growth rate question

ronin

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I am very new to T keeping and currently have a 2 3/4" G. Rosea and a 1 3/4" B. Smithi. It is certainly true what everyone says on here about getting obsessed w/these beautiful and interesting creatures as I am ready to make my next order.

Now to my question. For the following Ts, given that they are between 3/4" to 1 1/2" and not fed more than every other day, what are the growth rates you experienced after 3 months, 6 months, and a year?

1. A. Versicolor
2. G. Aureostriata
3. C. Cyaneopubescens
4. E. Campestratus
5. N. Coloratovillosus

Thanks and you all have been a big help already by just browsing this forum for the past month.
 

Johnny_27

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I am very new to T keeping and currently have a 2 3/4" G. Rosea and a 1 3/4" B. Smithi. It is certainly true what everyone says on here about getting obsessed w/these beautiful and interesting creatures as I am ready to make my next order.

Now to my question. For the following Ts, given that they are between 3/4" to 1 1/2" and not fed more than every other day, what are the growth rates you experienced after 3 months, 6 months, and a year?

1. A. Versicolor
2. G. Aureostriata
3. C. Cyaneopubescens
4. E. Campestratus
5. N. Coloratovillosus

Thanks and you all have been a big help already by just browsing this forum for the past month.
The rosie and smithi are SLOW growers so heads up on that.

The only ones on your list i have as slings are A.versi (which is growing fast) Its about 6months old now and just hit 2 inches with its last molt a couple weeks ago.

I also have N. chromatus (pretty similar to coloratovillosus) and that is about 3 months old and already at 1 inch. So thats another fast grower.

I can also tell you that G. aureostriata is a slow grower like most (if not all) grammostolas. I have one thats about 3 months old and can fit on my pinky nail.

I am powerfeeding all these slings.

Hope that helps some...
 
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ronin

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Much appreciated Johnny_27.

By the way, the list I have is possibly my next order but I'm trying to trim it down to 3.
 

Mushroom Spore

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given that they are between 3/4" to 1 1/2" and not fed more than every other day
Feeding once a week is more like it. Powerfeeding little teenytiny fragile slings is one thing, but it also shortens their lifespan/speeds up their "aging". :(
 

cheetah13mo

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Here is an example of growth on a versi over a 9 month span. (not power fed)




The cord her foot is on is headphone cord. (just to give you an idea of the size)



As said above, the rest will be slower.
 

Johnny_27

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Feeding once a week is more like it. Powerfeeding little teenytiny fragile slings is one thing, but it also shortens their lifespan/speeds up their "aging". :(
Yea but I think most people will agree that powerfeeding to get them past that "fragile sling" stage is worth it. It is to me anyways.
 

Johnny_27

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Here is an example of growth on a versi over a 9 month span. (not power fed)




The cord her foot is on is headphone cord. (just to give you an idea of the size)



As said above, the rest will be slower.
This is a good example of the difference between powerfeeding and not. Mine was the same size as the first pic when i got it but its onlly been about 5 months to get it to the size as it is in the second pic.

Powerfeeding is totally up to you, personally I recomend it for slings.
 

ronin

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Not exactly sure what differentiates powerfeeding from normal. Is it feeding your slings more than every 3rd day/more than 2x a week?
 

Mushroom Spore

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Not exactly sure what differentiates powerfeeding from normal. Is it feeding your slings more than every 3rd day/more than 2x a week?
A "normal" diet is no more than once a week or so, for me and a decent portion of other folks here (though not all, I should think). Even my tiniest sling was fed once a week, no exceptions. My larger Ts are on even slower diets, since I'm not able to go get live crickets every single week. Instead of 2-3 a week, I toss in 4-6 every two weeks, etc.

Powerfeeding really just means that the more you feed them, the faster they grow/age. Feeding way more than they need to survive (Ts can go quite a while, it's amazing) is what generally gets classified as "powerfeeding," though everyone has their own personal cutoff point.
 

Windchaser

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In all truthfulness it is not possible to give you hard numbers for growth rates. There are many factors which influence the growth rate of a tarantula such as diet and temperature. Powerfeeding has already been discussed but temperature also plays a roll in the growth rate of a tarantula. With that said, a C. cyaneopubescens is generally a moderately fast growing tarantula. They are not nearly as slow as your Brachypelma spp., Grammostola spp. or Aphonopelma spp. but they are not the fastest growing either.
 

Code Monkey

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Beyond the limitations of their species biology, the most important factor is temperature followed by food. However, since most don't monkey about with raising temperature for their Ts (for good reasons other than laziness/cheapness :D), power feeding is the most accessible way of influencing growth rates. Me, I just feed everybody, regardless of size, every 1 to 2 weeks. This hobby is a like a marathon, it's not about sprinting, it's keeping to a pace that you can keep up forever. Whether it takes 9 months or 4 years, that sling will grow up if you just keep it at a decent temp with adequate food and water. If the prospect of spending longer than you spent in high school or college to rear up an adult Aphonopelma or Grammostola seems extreme, stick to faster growing species.

As for the C. cyaneopubescens, I reared a male from 2nd instar to close to maturity in a bit over a year so they are reasonably fast growers in my experience.
 
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