Sling has had a large abdomen for over a month

[othelloiv]

Hope you're all doing well.

Quick question just to ensure I'm going about this correctly.

Around 1 1/2 months, ago my B. Hamorii sling's abdomen got noticeably bigger. I was feeding based on abdomen size, so I put off feeding them until the abdomen shrunk a bit. Combined with slightly darker discoloration, I also assumed it was premolt.

Two weeks passed and the sling did accept a small cut up mealworm portion, but the abdomen had retained it's size. I'm worried I may accidentally overfeed, so resolved to put off more feedings until they molt.

Is this the correct way to go about it? I'll provide a picture of the sling. Worth noting the camera doesn't actually capture the color discrepancy, as it auto adjusts to capture a clear picture.

(I've owned this sling since November. They are roughly 1/2", and have not molted under my care. Last molt was early November prior to me getting them.)

Thanks :]

 

[Mustafa67]

Hope you're all doing well.

Quick question just to ensure I'm going about this correctly.

Around 1 1/2 months, ago my B. Hamorii sling's abdomen got noticeably bigger. I was feeding based on abdomen size, so I put off feeding them until the abdomen shrunk a bit. Combined with slightly darker discoloration, I also assumed it was premolt.

Two weeks passed and the sling did accept a small cut up mealworm portion, but the abdomen had retained it's size. I'm worried I may accidentally overfeed, so resolved to put off more feedings until they molt.

Is this the correct way to go about it? I'll provide a picture of the sling. Worth noting the camera doesn't actually capture the color discrepancy, as it auto adjusts to capture a clear picture.

(I've owned this sling since November. They are roughly 1/2", and have not molted under my care. Last molt was early November prior to me getting them.)

Thanks :]
View attachment 492202

WAIT

 

[Spifdar]

Looks a little chonky but you're doing it right in that feeding off abdomen size is recommended over feeding on a schedule! Same size as/a little bigger than the carapace is what I usually see recommended. I wouldn't actually worry about it (mine is fatter lol), and just hold off until it loses some butt.

 

[Gevo]

Yes, you are doing it right.

That sling is very fat and will stay very fat until it molts next, whenever that happens to be. They don't really slim down when you stop feeding them like it's a diet in the sense we think of it. Your sling will not starve if you do not feed it further; just make sure it has water available.

It's very common for slings of this size to carry more weight. Once your spider is bigger, you'll want to be more cautious about that abdomen size getting too big too quickly, but for now, you have a chonker on your hands that doesn't need more food, and it'll probably molt soon-ish (this is a really slow-growing species, so don't hold your breath!), but it's also not the end of the world that it's that fat.

 

[othelloiv]

Thanks everyone, I assumed as much. I've been making sure they have access to water as well

Cheers.

 

[Wolfram1]

you are doing fine, just observe, no need to continue feeding until it molts

just in case you are wondering,
the darker medial line with cross-ribbing you are seeing on the dorsal (upper) side of the opisthosoma (abdomen) is the heart

it happens to become visible sooner with slings since the cuticula is thinner in the first place, and yours doesn't even have a setae covered abdomen yet, but even with overly fat adult spiders it will become visible as the cuticula streches and thins while the setae covering it move further apart as a result.

 

[cold blood]

The abdomen will not reduce in size over time, this will ONLY occur after it molts....this is how spiders grow.

 

[othelloiv]

Wish I could reply to two posts at once lol. If there is a method lmk.

But thank you both for that information, it helps a lot in letting me learn more about these spiders!

 

[viper69]

Is this the correct way to go about it?

You can't overfeed a tarantula till it dies.Tons of people ask this question here, just search, and come back w/specific questions if needed, which I doubt you will if you do the research.

 

[TheraMygale]

Wish I could reply to two posts at once lol. If there is a method lmk.

But thank you both for that information, it helps a lot in letting me learn more about these spiders!

You click QUOTE when you want to share a post and reply.

then insert quotes.

if you already clicked saved,

you just quote another post, then click insert quote. Copy paste it, click edit on your original post, and paste.

you can also quote just part of a post



there are threads on the board that better explain how to do it. In the troubleshooting section.

Question - Quote

I don’t know where to find this information nor how to ask for it. once i made a post, when it comes to edit, i can not add quotes. how would i do that if it is possible, without coding. otherwise, i will learn how to code it.

arachnoboards.com

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Hope you're all doing well.

Quick question just to ensure I'm going about this correctly.

Around 1 1/2 months, ago my B. Hamorii sling's abdomen got noticeably bigger. I was feeding based on abdomen size, so I put off feeding them until the abdomen shrunk a bit. Combined with slightly darker discoloration, I also assumed it was premolt.

Two weeks passed and the sling did accept a small cut up mealworm portion, but the abdomen had retained it's size. I'm worried I may accidentally overfeed, so resolved to put off more feedings until they molt.

Is this the correct way to go about it? I'll provide a picture of the sling. Worth noting the camera doesn't actually capture the color discrepancy, as it auto adjusts to capture a clear picture.

(I've owned this sling since November. They are roughly 1/2", and have not molted under my care. Last molt was early November prior to me getting them.)

Thanks :]
View attachment 492202

When there that size I feed them till they stop taking it, then they will moult and repeat the process till you have a lovely looking juvenile then I dial back a bit on the feeding. Yours is fat but I have seen much fatter lol

 

[Brewser]

Beautiful Bouncy Brachy
Provide water n wait ...