starving spider

[jr47]

ive had a p. muranus for about 4 months. she molted soon after purchase and since has rufused food. i dont think she will last much longer but have tried everything to get her to eat. i can put crickets in her tank and it sounds like she is going nuts in there at night. she will kill all the crickets and leave them lay. i know its nothing with the crickets cause all the other spiders eat them. ive tried varied sizes, changing to a smaller cage and covering her tank so she feels secure. also have tried changing temps. out of ideas. please, if you can think of anything i would be thankfull. she is about 4 inches. thankyou

 

[Transylvania]

ive had a p. muranus for about 4 months. she molted soon after purchase and since has rufused food. i dont think she will last much longer but have tried everything to get her to eat. i can put crickets in her tank and it sounds like she is going nuts in there at night. she will kill all the crickets and leave them lay. i know its nothing with the crickets cause all the other spiders eat them. ive tried varied sizes, changing to a smaller cage and covering her tank so she feels secure. also have tried changing temps. out of ideas. please, if you can think of anything i would be thankfull. she is about 4 inches. thankyou

I don't have that problem, but my B.smithi does have some trouble catching crickets cause of the large tank I keep her in, so I isolate her and the cricket by putting a cut-out half-gallon milk jug (w/ holes of course) over her and the cricket, which blocks out a lot of light by itself and after a couple hours of being in there, she gets in the mood to eat and can easily catch the cricket which is conveniently right beside her. You could try that out and see if it works for ya.

 

[Tunedbeat]

How big is she? Maybe, she is fastin..I don't think cage size would really matter with a murinus. They hunt,stalk,kill anything that is movin in their tank. I've also seen my murinus kill crickets without eatin them.

 

[cheetah13mo]

Cage size does matter. Tarantulas are not wanderers over a large area. When they leave their home, they usually lay down some webbing so they can easily follow it back in case of a threat. You'll rarely see a T more than a few feet from it's home in the wild unless it's a mature male looking to have some fun. They will not risk the danger of getting too far from home and if food does not roam through their small area, they will not go looking for it and they will starve. A ten gallon would be ideal for the largest of T's and the 2 1/2 gallon K. Keepers and the 5 gallon tanks are perfect for all the rest. Too much room will stress them out so keep them confined and they will feel more sucure and be happier.

I have my 4 1/2 female murinus in a medium K. Keeper with a piece of cork bark laying down in the middle of the container. She's dug out underneath it and webbed the crap out of it. I keep her very dry and keep a small water dish full. I cricket a week and she's good. They are very easy to keep and hard to mess up so don't over think this. Stick to the basics and she'll be fine.

 

[TheNatural]

Are you sure its a SHE? I guess it may be a HE, many males dont eat after they get mature.

 

[brachymad]

Minimum enclosure size has to be observed but i honestly cant see why a maximum size is important at all. So long as enough food is being found by the tarantula it will just ignore any of the tank it deems to be outside its own domain. Yes it would give the potential pray more opportunity to stay clear of the T but you would simply introduce more to compensate for this.Humidity and temperature gradient is a lot easier to maintain in a larger area.

As for your murinus how large is its abdomen compared to its carapace ?

 

[ErikH]

Are you sure its a SHE? I guess it may be a HE, many males dont eat after they get mature.

That is what I was thinking too.

 

[jr47]

i was told it is a female but got her at a pet store so may not be. she or he is about 4 inches so im thinking its not matured yet. i have found her all over the cage. she also has made 3 places she hides in. uses all three. one day shes in one the next she will be in another. which i think is a little odd. the odd thing is i can put a dozen crickets in her cage, get up the next day and they will be laying everyplace dead and turned white and all puffed up. im wondering if her last molt could of left her unable to eat for some reason cause all was well till then. i have her in a ten gallon tank but i think i may try a smaller cage again.
thanks for all the input. will hope she starts eating again soon. will try to get a pic tomorrow. batteries are dead in camara.

 

[fartkowski]

how soon after the molt did you feed her?
if it was too soon maybe there is a problem with her fangs
i have an OBT that molted into a mature male about a month and a half ago and hasn't eaten yet

 

[jr47]

i usually give it a week before feeding after a molt. i put her in a smaller cage and put her in the closet so shes not disturbed. hopeing this will do the trick.