Sauga Bound
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2024
- Messages
- 11
Hello everyone,
I got a lovely G. Pulchra juvenile female (1 yr old; 2") about six weeks ago. The breeder told me she had last molted a month earlier, so in late October. She's my first tarantula and first pet arachnid, so I've never been through the molting process before, and I know these slow growing spiders can take their time going through the process. A week after I took her home, she settled in and started eating like a champ. I was feeding her mostly crickets, twice per week. I started her on 1/2" crickets, then switched to 3/4" adults. I also fed her a couple mealworms.
Ten days ago, I put a cricket in her enclosure, and for the first time she seemed to have no interest. At one point she was standing right over it, but just turned and slowly walked away into her burrow. Eventually I crushed its head and left it there for her overnight. The next morning she still hadn't eaten it. It was the last cricket in my stash, so I tried to feed her mealworms for the next couple days, to no avail. She would stand over them while they were wriggling, and I would have to periodically use my tongs to prevent them from burrowing before eventually taking them out, crushing their heads, and putting them back overnight. She didn't eat one.
Wondering if she might be in pre-molt, I bought two adult crickets from a local shop, crushed one's head (if she was in pre-molt, I didn't want to have to try and fish a cricket out of her enclosure) and left it by the entrance to her burrow overnight. She didn't eat it, and when I tried the same thing with the second one a few days later, it was also no dice. Combined with her disinterest in food, she displayed other signs of being in pre-molt, including: spending most of the time in her burrow compared to before, not climbing the sides of the enclosure, and being far less active. She also has a big ole abdomen, but the skin underneath hasn't darkened.
One thing she has been doing since she stopped eating is a lot of excavating at night. She's digging her burrow much deeper and leaving the substrate against the sides of the enclosure. Although her burrow's top half is a half-round of cork, partially buried, weeks ago she dug a little tunnel out the back, which I call her back door. So, a few days ago, she plugged up the back door with substrate and I thought to myself, okay, she's definitely in pre-molt. I've offered her mealworms every few days, but she never eats them.
Then this morning, I opened the shade and she was out of her burrow. She spent the whole day out like she used to, snoozing in the sunlight. At some point, she even removed the substrate that she used to close up her back door. She's there right now, half inside and half outside the burrow. I offered her another mealworm and she didn't take it. From everything I've read, I believe she's in pre-molt and I should just be patient. Her abdomen is still nice and plump, but her behavior is throwing me off because some days she's more active like today. Reopening her backdoor also threw me off.
I'm going to post some photos taken of her during the last couple days and I would love to hear feedback from others who have had G. Pulchras or experience with slow-growing spiders. I really love my spider and am doing everything I can to care for her according to best practices because I want her to be healthy and feel safe. I hope to spend many years with her and could really use some reassurance that she is in pre-molt. Or, if some don't think she is in pre-molt, some advice on what to do would be appreciated. I know I have to be patient with a T like her, but it's my first time going through this, so my confidence isn't high.
Thank-you in advance to anyone who replies.
I got a lovely G. Pulchra juvenile female (1 yr old; 2") about six weeks ago. The breeder told me she had last molted a month earlier, so in late October. She's my first tarantula and first pet arachnid, so I've never been through the molting process before, and I know these slow growing spiders can take their time going through the process. A week after I took her home, she settled in and started eating like a champ. I was feeding her mostly crickets, twice per week. I started her on 1/2" crickets, then switched to 3/4" adults. I also fed her a couple mealworms.
Ten days ago, I put a cricket in her enclosure, and for the first time she seemed to have no interest. At one point she was standing right over it, but just turned and slowly walked away into her burrow. Eventually I crushed its head and left it there for her overnight. The next morning she still hadn't eaten it. It was the last cricket in my stash, so I tried to feed her mealworms for the next couple days, to no avail. She would stand over them while they were wriggling, and I would have to periodically use my tongs to prevent them from burrowing before eventually taking them out, crushing their heads, and putting them back overnight. She didn't eat one.
Wondering if she might be in pre-molt, I bought two adult crickets from a local shop, crushed one's head (if she was in pre-molt, I didn't want to have to try and fish a cricket out of her enclosure) and left it by the entrance to her burrow overnight. She didn't eat it, and when I tried the same thing with the second one a few days later, it was also no dice. Combined with her disinterest in food, she displayed other signs of being in pre-molt, including: spending most of the time in her burrow compared to before, not climbing the sides of the enclosure, and being far less active. She also has a big ole abdomen, but the skin underneath hasn't darkened.
One thing she has been doing since she stopped eating is a lot of excavating at night. She's digging her burrow much deeper and leaving the substrate against the sides of the enclosure. Although her burrow's top half is a half-round of cork, partially buried, weeks ago she dug a little tunnel out the back, which I call her back door. So, a few days ago, she plugged up the back door with substrate and I thought to myself, okay, she's definitely in pre-molt. I've offered her mealworms every few days, but she never eats them.
Then this morning, I opened the shade and she was out of her burrow. She spent the whole day out like she used to, snoozing in the sunlight. At some point, she even removed the substrate that she used to close up her back door. She's there right now, half inside and half outside the burrow. I offered her another mealworm and she didn't take it. From everything I've read, I believe she's in pre-molt and I should just be patient. Her abdomen is still nice and plump, but her behavior is throwing me off because some days she's more active like today. Reopening her backdoor also threw me off.
I'm going to post some photos taken of her during the last couple days and I would love to hear feedback from others who have had G. Pulchras or experience with slow-growing spiders. I really love my spider and am doing everything I can to care for her according to best practices because I want her to be healthy and feel safe. I hope to spend many years with her and could really use some reassurance that she is in pre-molt. Or, if some don't think she is in pre-molt, some advice on what to do would be appreciated. I know I have to be patient with a T like her, but it's my first time going through this, so my confidence isn't high.
Thank-you in advance to anyone who replies.
