P. metallica not a big eater?

[Jerry]

Why female p Metallica is not a big eater is that normal for this species I give her a head smashed dubia ever week and the last time she ate that I know for sure was 2 weeks ago

 

[Tenebrarius]

In my experience yes, my P metallica is a picky eater, tried every food, just doesn't care. Leave the fresh kill for it over night and remove if not eaten, also can be in pre molt.

 

[Jerry]

Well she molted not to long ago and she doesn't appear to be in pre molt just to date she is the most expensive T
I have and makes me nervous

 

[lostbrane]

What's the size of your P. metallica? Picture of her might help too. Two weeks without eating is nothing to worry about though.

 

[Tenebrarius]

Well she molted not to long ago and she doesn't appear to be in pre molt just to date she is the most expensive T
I have and makes me nervous

very understandable, I love that goes into Ts just to lose them is saddening, if the abdomen i shrunken id be more worried, means it needs food and water pretty badly, if you can send a picture so people can see if it's well or not, i dont know you experience with this species, but I've had mine for a year and a few months now and I seems to have it behavior pretty set in my mind. Nightmare scenario would be if it didn't molt its sucking stomach.

 

[Jerry]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.



JUST WENT UP TO TAKE A PIC TO POST AND THIS IS WHAT I FIND
That would be a dubia hanging from her grasp there

 

[Drezan]

From research I have done, P. metallica are a picky eater. I would just leave the dubia in over night and if she doesn't eat then take it out and try again in a couple of days.

 

[Gaherp]

A couple of weeks is not an issue. If it starts looking a bit thin then I would worry. Have your tried differed prey items? I did have one P. metallica that fed perfectly on roaches up until it reached around four inches. At that point she would only eat crickets. I still have her and she still refuses everything but crickets. All the other ones I own have no problem taking anything that moves.

 

[Drezan]

From research I have done, P. metallica are a picky eater. I would just leave the dubia in over night and if she doesn't eat then take it out and try again in a couple of days.

Also, depending on how much you feed her, if she molts, she might fast for up to a few weeks.

 

[Jerry]

1 medium to large dubia a week

 

[boina]

1 medium to large dubia a week

For an adult spider? That's a bit much. No wonder it's 'picky'. 1 large Dubia a month would be fine...

 

[Tenebrarius]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.



JUST WENT UP TO TAKE A PIC TO POST AND THIS IS WHAT I FIND View attachment 287857
That would be a dubia hanging from her grasp there

told you they are just picky a bit, like how some people cant pee with people looking.

1 medium to large dubia a week

thats kind of a lot of food, even if you're power feeding its still a lot, my 1.5 eats a cricket once a month, still picky but whatever.
you will have obese T but better to have a fatty than a skinny T.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Q: P.metallica not a big eater?

Well, let's say that they (P.metallica) aren't exactly 'Slimer/s' like A.geniculata are, ah ah

Another thing that I always love to point out is that, according to my experience, a lot of arboreals often tends to be quite choosy when it comes to B.dubia and such, unlike for crickets.

 

[antinous]

thats kind of a lot of food, even if you're power feeding its still a lot, my 1.5 eats a cricket once a month, still picky but whatever.
you will have obese T but better to have a fatty than a skinny T.

Power feeding isn’t really a thing for tarantulas. You can really only powerfeed reptiles.

Since I’m on my phone I can’t really explain, here are a link to dispel the whole ‘power feeding’ situation with tarantulas:
https://tomsbigspiders.com/2015/08/21/power-feeding-tarantulas/amp/

 

[Jerry]

So I'll start rotation and feed ever 3 to 4 weeks for the adults and every other week for my sub adults

 

[14pokies]

It all comes down to the Tarantula..

I have two P.mets that eat like pigs,
just like most of my other pokies..

I have a rufilata that is picky and rarely eats weekly with the rest of the hord, instead preferring to eat bi-weekly.

Another picky pokie I have is large juvi female smithi.. She rarely eats during the day, once night falls she is glutten though

My other odd eater is one of my AF P.vitatta,she waits untill I leave the room before she eats.. She's extremely high strung,often bolting like an Olympic sprinter,at the slightest disturbance.

 

[Tenebrarius]

Power feeding isn’t really a thing for tarantulas. You can really only powerfeed reptiles.

Since I’m on my phone I can’t really explain, here are a link to dispel the whole ‘power feeding’ situation with tarantulas:
https://tomsbigspiders.com/2015/08/21/power-feeding-tarantulas/amp/

I read this before, but if the increase temp speeds up the metabolism needing more food, then that is what will sped up T growth. Power feeding is kind of a meme, if your not increasing the temp your just making an obese T.

So I'll start rotation and feed ever 3 to 4 weeks for the adults and every other week for my sub adults

Some Ts will eat when Fat, pokie seems to fast and be self conscious like a high school girl, but she is beautiful the way she is i just want her to eat *sad face emoji*

It all comes down to the Tarantula..

I have two P.mets that eat like pigs,
just like most of my other pokies..

I have a rufilata that is picky and rarely eats weekly with the rest of the hord, instead preferring to eat bi-weekly.

Another picky pokie I have is large juvi female smithi.. She rarely eats during the day, once night falls she is glutten though

My other odd eater is one of my AF P.vitatta,she waits untill I leave the room before she eats.. She's extremely high strung,often bolting like an Olympic sprinter,at the slightest disturbance.

this is something i never even considered, that they might be night hunters, I mean my P. metallica is always out when im asleep, im kind of dumb for not at least thinking about this, I will test it out for science. unless someone knows already.

 

[BoyFromLA]

Below is my female Poecilotheria metallica.

I feed her (1 Superworm or 1 adult Dubia) every two weeks or three weeks whichever I feel like it.

Unless she is pre molt or post molt, she’ll eat anytime I feed.

 

[Jerry]

Hers the best pic I have of my girl

 

[Dovey]

She looks just fine!

I think one of the reasons P Metallicas get the reputation for being picky eaters is because they are so bolty when they are juveniles and slings. You put food in, and they are just too busy bolting around like nutcases to get down to the business of hunting. I also think there may be something to their preference to eat at night. I've noticed that my sling feeds better at night. Frankly, I rarely see her eat, and I'm always surprised to see when she has shed into a larger size. She must be eating something!