Signs of Hunger!

[Donovan]

So I need some help in telling when my little friend is hungry. So far I have a few guesses but none are certain signs. These are some signs I have been going off of and I am wondering if any of these have truth behind them.

*Wandering around the cage as if wandering for prey

*Not moving a whole lot once it has been wandering for a while since its hungry it has decided to let food come to it.

These are all I can think of at the moment, any other signs to tell when to feed? Since the crickets I am feeding him are rather small (3/8"-1/2 at the biggest) I am not sure how many to feed him at one time. He ate four of them in about 6 hours yesterday. Given that was all he had to eat for about a week cuz i went out of town. Right now he is still wandering around and not going back into his burrow so I was wondering if i could conclude that he was still hungry.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

I think one of the clearest signs are when the T is fully stretched out and possibly close to where prey might walk by (an arboreal hanging close to the ground for example). If it isn't already overfed, or in pre- or post-moult (or a rosea) pretty much any T can shove down a little more

 

[Donovan]

I was askin bout those signs just because ever since I put that hide in there she had been in it almost 24/7 never coming out. And now after a week of no feeding she has been out in the open all the time. She only goes back in there if ther is a loud vibration of some sort (me opening and closing the cage, or someone heavy walkin close to the cage). So it was kinda strange behavior on its part and I wasnt sure if I should keep feeding it until it goes back to acting normal or to wait a day or 2 and feed it as normal, which even then as I said my crix are small so i may be underfeeding.

 

[SpiderZone2]

I feed mine only once a week. They kind of sense when feeding day is approaching. So maybe it does have an idea that food should be falling from the sky soon. Just throw a cricket in a see what happens. I have a few that will wonder or come out of there hyde when feeding day approaches. I know they can't tell time, but I usually always feed mine the same day every week. So I do think they have some kind os sense when that will be. If it doesn't eat it then take the cricket out.

 

[Arlius]

I like my GBB for this. It tells me exactly when it wants food. Food (because of webbing) only comes in on one side, right agaisnt the side (whole cage is webbed up) She is normally on the opposite side, within her tubes. When she is hungry though, walks over to the 'entrance' (the side I drop cricks in) and waits (for days if I don't feed) until I drop food. She nails it the second it hits the ground (shes definately expecting it) and carries it back into the depths of her webbing. (She's 4 inch LS)
Wish they were all that easy....

 

[BLS Blondi]

A Neat Trick

Here is a neat trick to know. Keep the water dish next to it's den (for terrestrials) when you pour water in to refill, a T lunging at the water dish is a hungry one. Works every time. For deep burrowers, use an eye dropper and drop small droplets of water on the webbing at the entrance, if it comes out it is hungry. For tree dwellers, do the same. For the large T's (6"+)that are deep burrowers, throw a mouse or pinkie by the entrance. It will be gone by morning. My C. crawshayi female tends to come up at 3am (like clockwork) so I just put feeders in and look the next morning.