T. kills cricket but doesn't eat it! help!

[Chuckmater]

Hey guys,


I recently bought a pair of Ornithoctoninae sp. Hatihati, and the female is eating like a ferocious lion, but the male is killing crickets without eating them. He's acting strange and he's often in the water dish. I try to keep the humidity up and I'm wondering if there's something wrong with him? He's a juvie btw.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Nightstalker47]

Could be in pre molt got any pictures? Is he killing them in a a predatory manner or showing defensive posturing, slapping? If he's plump enough just stop feeding for a while.

 

[Nephila Edulis]

Possibly getting ready to moult. It depends on how healthy the T is, size of the prey and setup conditions. Maybe the food is too big and he's striking out of defence? Or maybe you should vary his diet a little

 

[Chuckmater]

I doubt he's in pre-molt since his abdomen is quite small and his colours aren't bleak. He's not defensive at all. A little skittish; when I throw in a cricket, he kind of runs away from it and when I come back later, I see that he's taken it down, but the cricket looks uneaten, as you can see in the picture (the cricket is just on the right of the Hatihati). And the food is not too big, as you can also see. Any thoughts?

 

[Devin B]

Maybe he just hates crickets...

 

[Moakmeister]

Yeah he looks like he's starving. I would try something other than crickets.

 

[Chuckmater]

From looking at the pictures, do you guys think he's in pre-molt? To me, it just seems like his abdomen would be far bigger....

 

[Nightstalker47]

Not in pre molt, it looks hungry. Have you seen it's fangs lately, could they be damaged? How long has he been munching that cricket? Some take longer to eat then others.

 

[Chuckmater]

I have seen its fangs, they look normal to me, but sometimes he has his chelicerae spread apart for no reason...

 

[Nightstalker47]

Try to get a picture of his ventral and his fangs. He may have some unwanted hitchikers

 

[Nephila Edulis]

I have seen its fangs, they look normal to me, but sometimes he has his chelicerae spread apart for no reason...

Possibly has parasites, there's certain kinds that mill make it painful for a T to eat. Try roaches and mealworms with their heads crushed for some variety

 

[Chuckmater]

I don't know if it has parasites or not....I need some other opinions

 

[14pokies]

Sounds very similar to my H.crassipes.. She came out of her burrow extremely emaciated, hovers over her water dish constantly and only half eats her prey.. I have been nursing her for months now to no avail.. I'm chalking it up to some type of internal parasites or disease... Unfortunately I think In my Ts case I'm going to euthanize her before the rest of my collection falls ill.. Even with the parameters below In place it makes me very nervous keeping her around..

Keep your T isolated from the rest and don't use any of the tools that you use to work on him on any of your other Ts..Also make sure he is the last T you work with to minimise the risk of cross contamination.

Good luck with him..

 

[Nephila Edulis]

Sounds very similar to my H.crassipes.. She came out of her burrow extremely emaciated, hovers over her water dish constantly and only half eats her prey.. I have been nursing her for months now to no avail.. I'm chalking it up to some type of internal parasites or disease... Unfortunately I think In my Ts case I'm going to euthanize her before the rest of my collection falls ill.. Even with the parameters below In place it makes me very nervous keeping her around..

Keep your T isolated from the rest and don't use any of the tools that you use to work on him on any of your other Ts..Also make sure he is the last T you work with to minimise the risk of cross contamination.

Good luck with him..

Isolate Tarantulas like this to avoid parasites spreading just in case they are parasites. Mites and worms can wipe out most reptiles and invertebrates. I knew a guy who had a large snake shed and had to euthanise most of them, even animals that were several metres long died.

Is the animal in a relatively quiet and vibration free place? It could be stressed

 

[14pokies]

Isolate Tarantulas like this to avoid parasites spreading just in case they are parasites. Mites and worms can wipe out most reptiles and invertebrates. I knew a guy who had a large snake shed and had to euthanise most of them, even animals that were several metres long died.

Is the animal in a relatively quiet and vibration free place? It could be stressed

Believe me I know..hence my advice to the OP... Lol..

Yea she is on the opposite side of the house in a room that never gets used. It's not stress she was housed in about a foot of moist soil with a big water dish and all the crickets, roaches, super and horn worns she could eat.. She was W/C the other two that came in the shipment with her are doing fine as is the rest of my hord.