She's a grammostola sp. Northern gold
Okay thanks and I'll try the head crushing thing next time
Okay thanks and have any idea of where I can get some?
I thought that fasting was one of the key features of being in premolt. Do you go by size and/or how dark their abdomen is (the latter doesn't apply to every species, such as Hapalopus sp. Columbia)? I thought that I should continue to offer food regularly to slings as long as they're eating it (so far I've only been offering pre-killed prey so no danger to them). I expect them to go into premolt once they're abdomen's visibly grown but I thought I should live it to the tarantula when to stop eating. What harm is there in offering food while a tarantula is in premolt (not counting something live left in with the tarantula which could harm it while molting)?
Good to know, thank you!
I definitely feed my adult T's differently (watching their size rather than all they might care to eat), although it is hardly necessary with Euathlus sp. reds -- true to reputation, they are determined to eat less often than I feed them. It is one of my Ephebopus murinus slings that is laser focused on becoming a full-size predator ASAP! Not only did it eat right up until molting, it wasted no time in making a well-webbed burrow from the starter I made in its enclosure while it's siblings took much longer to figure out what they were doing and now spend more energy on extraneous webbing (the last sling to build its burrow did so at the side of it's deli cup and then added a webbed tunnel nearly all the way around the circumference -- pretty funny when it was startled by something and ran the long way back to its burrow! )
What species do you have? I really don't think you can go by any time table, but it does help alleviate worry if you know to expect a particular sling to be slow growing.
Yeah should have said they are avic sp amazonicas. And I was going on a guesstimate of around every 6 weeks (they were online around this time ago as 1st moult) but yeah from what I gather it's just as you say..What species do you have? I really don't think you can go by any time table, but it does help alleviate worry if you know to expect a particular sling to be slow growing.
In my admittedly newbie, opinion, you have nothing at all to worry about -- your slings are eating and you're feeding pre-killed prey and removing it if uneaten which is exactly what you should be doing. When I first got my B. smithi sling, I thought they were in premolt because they didn't eat any of the live small crickets (probably weren't small enough but what I had), bean beetles, nor phoenix worms I offered it. It lost some weight before I switched to pre-killed crickets and mealworms; it ate and gained back the weight and then some before it stopped eating again, this timw with its abdomen large and dark and clearly in premolt. Still, it was another month before it molted. I was a bit anxious for it to molt (my Hapalopus sp. Columbia sling went into premolt around the same time but molted at least a week sooner) but know this is a slow growing species and it is doing just fine.
I know nothing about avics but assuming care should be similar to other slings, it sounds like you're doing things right although you might try feeding more often, if they will eat more often. It could be why they are taking a bit longer to molt again. I feed my slings a freshly killed cricket or mealworm (or portion of if the prey is big) two or three times a week, depending in part on how avidly they're eating, if they "seem hungry" to me, and admittedly, how busy I am -- nothing set or scientific, but so long as they're eating regularly (outside of premolt for those that choose to fast), growing, molting, and acting "normal" for each sling, I do not worry. For me, offering pre-killed prey eases my mind greatly as I don't have to worry about it hiding and me thinking it was eaten.
That would take having adult crickets (you'll hear chirping) and place to lay eggs where they are kept moist enough to incubate and hatch and then you'll have teeny tiny crickets about which I've read take two months to mature (I feed tiny crickets to my dart frogs whenever I can get them). I don't keep my crickets on substrate but on a paper towel with a paper towel roll (both of which have to be changed regularly -- they are eating pooping machines) in a Kritter Keeper. And now you have a beetle... It sounds to me rather more like additional crickets and now a beetle are finding a way in, probably drawn to what your feeding your crickets. Where and in what are you keeping your crickets?
In large tubs with holes nr the top. (way to high for them to crawl out). And kept in the bathroom and it's only one beetle so far so I think it came from the pet shop. I'll have words next week with the owner about this.
All sounds well then and yeah, sounds like they are breeding, which is definitely a bonus if you don't mind the chirping! I was imagining an enclosure sitting in a garage and here it is very warm out -- all sorts of bugs and life. The beetle may not be a bad thing -- now that you mention it, I have occassionally gotten larvae of some sort with my crickets, always the same type although I never found out what. Maybe they eat the dead ones? Regardless, I don't think it's a bad thing.
Oh they are silent ones...! I need a beetle expert. And yeah am cleaning out the dead crickets quite often or their moults?
Well that's odd... if you are indeed getting new crickets, perhaps the females had already mated before you bought them. Do you recognize adult crickets? They're the only ones with wings. The females have a long ovipositer on their rear and have smooth wings while the males of course lack an ovipositor and have ridged bumpy wings to chirp. (Forgive me if you already knew all that; better to make sure, I figure, and avoid unnecessary confusion.)