Overfeeding Pink Toe?

Squeekymeatball

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So I saw this male pink toe at a pet store and empathy struck me. His abdomen was very slender, and looked almost dehydrated. The store said they were feeding him every other day. Should I keep to this regiment or give him more small crickets to help him "plump up"? I don't want to overfeed him and create problems for the poor guy.
 
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ladyratri

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Post a photo. And make sure he has access to water.

Feeding every other day is excessive. Even my small slings only get fed every 3-4 days.
 

ladyratri

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He has water and I keep his environment misted twice a week (my house is dry). And that's what I thought about it being excessive but that's what the store said (which is why I'm asking on here ☺)
Misting is unlikely to be helpful, and can be dangerous for Avics if you don't have very good ventilation in your enclosure. I provide moisture by keeping the water dish full and pouring some over a corner/edge of the substrate -- preferably so it runs down to the floor of the enclosure and wets the substrate from below -- just to make it damp for a few days and then let it dry out again for a few days.

If you have concerns that he won't come to the water dish, the best thing is to use a pipette/dropper to put a few drops of water on leaves, webbing, or the sides of the enclosure. That's how my Avic drinks.

How big is he? He looks big enough that even feeding once a week would be a lot unless they are pretty small meals compared to his size. The best way to judge is learning to watch their behavior for signs of hunting, and watching how quickly their abdomen gets fat. If you feed too frequently, he'll end up fasting for a long time (which can make it harder to manage water well.)
 

viper69

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So I saw this male pink toe at a pet store and empathy struck me. His abdomen was very slender, and looked almost dehydrated. The store said they were feeding him every other day. Should I keep to this regiment or give him more small crickets to help him "plump up"? I don't want to overfeed him and create problems for the poor guy.
you can’t overfeed avics- unlike humans, they are animals that will stop eating upon satiety
 

Squeekymeatball

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Misting is unlikely to be helpful, and can be dangerous for Avics if you don't have very good ventilation in your enclosure. I provide moisture by keeping the water dish full and pouring some over a corner/edge of the substrate -- preferably so it runs down to the floor of the enclosure and wets the substrate from below -- just to make it damp for a few days and then let it dry out again for a few days.

If you have concerns that he won't come to the water dish, the best thing is to use a pipette/dropper to put a few drops of water on leaves, webbing, or the sides of the enclosure. That's how my Avic drinks.

How big is he? He looks big enough that even feeding once a week would be a lot unless they are pretty small meals compared to his size. The best way to judge is learning to watch their behavior for signs of hunting, and watching how quickly their abdomen gets fat. If you feed too frequently, he'll end up fasting for a long time (which can make it harder to manage water well.)
Sounds good thank you. And as far as size he's smaller then the size of my palm, so smaller then the bottom size of a coke can. I had to zoom for picture.
 

viper69

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I read that is you over feed them because their opportunistic that it could complicate their molting process.


They are opportunistic. I don’t recall typing about a complication on molting? If you would link me to that I’d appreciate it. I need the exact part you are citing me. I’ve had peeps cite me inaccurately

I feed mine on the heavy side due to travel for my work.

I can also tell you I’d rather have a plump Avic for molting than a slender one as they don’t always use a water bowl for post-molt hydration
 
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ladyratri

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I’d rather have a plump Avic for molting than a slender one
This advice is super helpful for those times nearing pre-molt when I am in doubt, especially as my A. purpurea and my versi both are pretty much out of the sling stage now.
 

Squeekymeatball

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They are opportunistic. I don’t recall typing about a complication on molting? If you would link me to that I’d appreciate it. I need the exact part you are citing me. I’ve had peeps cite me inaccurately

I feed mine on the heavy side due to travel for my work.

I can also tell you I’d rather have a plump Avic for molting than a slender one as they don’t always use a water bowl for post-molt
It's something I found on google, looking for it now but not able to find it. Someone had posted that if you feed to much before molting that it could create issues for the molting process. But I've also read that specific species have slower metabolisms and dont need as much food. This is why I'm here asking, so much info out there it's hard to figure what's good to know and what's garbage.
 

viper69

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It's something I found on google, looking for it now but not able to find it. Someone had posted that if you feed to much before molting that it could create issues for the molting process. But I've also read that specific species have slower metabolisms and dont need as much food. This is why I'm here asking, so much info out there it's hard to figure what's good to know and what's garbage.
well you wrote that I said all that, now it’s “someone”.

I never wrote that about feeding/molting
 

viper69

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This advice is super helpful for those times nearing pre-molt when I am in doubt, especially as my A. purpurea and my versi both are pretty much out of the sling stage now.
YW- this is why I write succinct messages
 

IntermittentSygnal

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I think the OP meant "You" as the generic you, such as "one", versus you personally. I read this as, "I read if someone overfeeds them..."
 

cold blood

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His abdomen was very slender,
This is actually of no concern, and is, in fact, perfectly normal.....this simply means the t is recently molted (matured even), as all ts will be at their thinnest following a molt, and with arboreals its generally dramatic, but still normal and of no concern....it just needs food....but it doesnt need it in excess, or even immediately.
The store said they were feeding him every other day. Should I keep to this regiment
No, that's absurd...the only thing this will lead to is a t sealed up in its web tube for half (or the whole) year as it prepares to molt.
I don't want to overfeed him and create problems for the poor guy.
You cannot really over-feed a tarantula, they generally stop eating at some point...and there are no complications related to over-feeding....although as mentioned, some terrestrials that don't know when to stop eating (lol), can get so fat they can get marks from dragging an abdomen, such things are actually quite rare ad pretty much unheard of with regards to arboreals.
He has water and I keep his environment misted twice a week (my house is dry). And that's what I thought about it being excessive but that's what the store said (which is why I'm asking on here ☺)
That's a smart way to work it when things are dry....misting lightly wont ever be an issue as it evaporates way too quickly, but it does give the t a chance for an easy drink, and IME, Avics particularly seem to like drinking droplets off the walls.
I read that is you over feed them because their opportunistic that it could complicate their molting process.
Most ts will at some point (ts only need so much food per molt cycle), tend to stop eating, and at that time will just wait for the body to catch up so it can molt.

Being fat really doesn't do anything to significantly endanger the molting process, at least I have never seen or read anything suggest it does.... large number of ts in captivity are "over fed" and consistently very fat, and it just hasn't ever shown to be an issue.....a t that is more drought and famine resistant is about the end result (kinda vipers point, I believe).

I will say though, getting too fat can be a difficult thing to reverse, as they will come though molts still fat, but remain just as ravenously hungry as any other freshly molted spider.

There is one situation though where being obese could actually be beneficial, such as a bad molt where the t cannot eat or drink after....a fat t will have the reserves to be able to go through an entire molting cycle without eating, while a slimmer t may starve to death in the same situation....but this is an uncommon occurrence and I am not suggesting making ts obese by any means, just giving an example of why your concern shouldn't be a concern:)
Sounds good thank you. And as far as size he's smaller then the size of my palm, so smaller then the bottom size of a coke can. I had to zoom for picture.
If its a male that size, it could easily be mature, which would also make a lot of sense, as a MM avic will have a teeny tiny abdomen....regardless of how much you can get it to eat....which won't be a ton as most MMs aren't too food motivates past the first few meals.

If its not yet mature, you can bet it will next molt.
I can also tell you I’d rather have a plump Avic for molting than a slender one
see above:)

You cant help when they molt....but for sure, if I would be gone a lot, that plumper t is going to need less from us than that thin one that just molted.

I am betting the t in question is in fact, mature.
 
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