T Post-Moult Period

musihuto

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
666
hi,
i'm a compulsive optimizer, so I came up with the following formula to address the question of "how long do i wait to feed my T after its moulted?"
the integer part of (squareroot(legspan in inches) times 7) + 1
the code which you can paste into excel:

=INT(XX^0.5*7)+1

just replace XX with the legspan of the T in inches...
this yields the minimum number of days of waiting after a moult, before feeding.
some examples: 0.5" = 5 days, 2" = 10 days, 6" = 18 days, 11" = 24 days, etc.

think i'm nuts, or otherwise have a problem with this formula? i welcome comments!

the (very similar) scorpion equivalent of this formula can be found here:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?p=813499#post813499

cheers! :D
- munis
 
Last edited:

Scorpiove

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 9, 2004
Messages
841
Think you would also need to know how much food was in the ts belly before it molted :). There are to many unknown variables I think to come up with a truely accurate formula to go by to feed the ts. Example metabolism etc. Each tarantula from individual to individual and from species to species can vary greatly. Still cool you came up with a formula though that probably is useful atleast to some extent. I just offer food after a couple days and if they eat they eat if not I try again later. :)
 

cheetah13mo

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 10, 2006
Messages
2,151
I agree that there are too many variables that could not be acurate enough for a formula. The info that you've applied could definitly get you in the ball park for molt recovory. Molting difficulties would change this value too.
 

becca81

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 17, 2004
Messages
3,783
I don't find this to be a reliable indicator at all.

I've found variances between species, etc. You can't take a certain time and definitely apply it to all spiders.

Also, it's not uncommon for a 0.5" spiderling to be ready to eat in 3 days or for an adult T. blondi to take 5 weeks before eating again.
 

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
I agree with Becca..... I have had a few adult Ts take food 5 days after a molt, and some refuse it for 6 months and both of the Ts were the same species and same size and weight after molt. There are to many what ifs to make any sort of set formula.

You will come to find that if you set youself to doing something like this all that is going to happen is T's are going to go on breaking all the formulas and bending all the rules...... :D :D
 

bushbuster

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 11, 2006
Messages
344
I agree with her too, my Lasiodora paralybana sling and Megaphobema robustum female both just molted. Larry, (the sling) molted fast and ate right away 2 days after his/her molt. Rozilla (the robustum) went into what I suppose you all call a pre-molt for about 2 weeks prior to Christmas, in which she refused food, molted on the 2nd of Jan., and finally ate a cricket today. Thats over a month without food. Thanks for your advice, Becca, I added a bunch of substrate, and she dug down even deeper.
 

musihuto

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 21, 2006
Messages
666
heh... yes i'm sure there are MANY variables! :p
out of curiosity, are there any papers out there on the subject?
i.e. an investigation of factors that effect the length of the post-moult period?

and yeah, T's aren't the only strange ones, i have an s. mesaensis which is very fat, but hasn't eaten since early november! i'm "sure" it'll moult any day now! ;)

thanks! :D
- munis
 
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