The Lava Life -- a G. pulchra diary

ladyratri

Arachnobaron
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I left her alone for a week with The Humans Who Look But Do Not Feed.

This plaintive face was after she completely disappeared the cricket I gave her last night.
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As are these Still Hungry fangs and eyes.
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Lava, I just fed you. Seriously.
 

ladyratri

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By that booty, she doesn’t need anymore crickets right now 😂
Love the way she comes out slyly and then pulls back until her prey comes closer.
Yeah I grabbed the smallest cricket in the bin and she hadn't eaten for a little over a week. I try to give her tiny snacks about once a week or a little less to help her keep hydrated. 🤷 She's still a sling...I'll probably let her get pretty chunky before she molts at least one more time.

And yes, I love the "predator slink" followed by the "is that going to eat me or am I going to eat it" pause.
 

Pedipalpable

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This plaintive face was after she completely disappeared the cricket I gave her last night.
PXL_20230505_125600232.jpg


As are these Still Hungry fangs and eyes.
PXL_20230505_153821744.jpg
It almost looks like Lava is pointing at something with her pedipalps. There weren't by any chance any crickets nearby were there? ;)

And yes, I love the "predator slink" followed by the "is that going to eat me or am I going to eat it" pause.
She definitely hunted that cricket how you would expect an ambush predator to, waiting for it to get close before pouncing on it. As for the hesitation, I suspect she will become braver as she grows larger. Who knows, she might eventually abandon the waiting altogether and just grab it as soon as it hits the substrate. I recall seeing some people on here say that their adult/subadult G. pulchra does exactly that.
 
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IntermittentSygnal

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Oh, I totally thought the pull back was part of her lure, “No predator here..just this ball of floof..come clooooooser..”
 

ladyratri

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Likewise. Instant pounce!
My juvi P. irminia does this. I swear sometimes I'm not convinced the cricket actually hit the dirt...but yeah, Lava remains incredibly food-motivated, and I am going to really have to watch her fattening-up tendency as she grows up...or at least, watch my tendency to give her more food than she really needs.

Reminds me of my genic! :rofl:
I may yet join the cult one of these days...
 

Pedipalpable

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My juvi P. irminia does this. I swear sometimes I'm not convinced the cricket actually hit the dirt...
I have seen some folks on here mention large, tropical new world terrestrials like A. geniculata, Phormictopus spp. and Pamphobeteus spp. actually jumping at the tongs to try and grab prey before it gets dropped into the enclosure. So it is possible.

Lava remains incredibly food-motivated, and I am going to really have to watch her fattening-up tendency as she grows up...or at least, watch my tendency to give her more food than she really needs.
It‘s the same with my genic. I will need to taper off the feeding from here on out because they are looking pretty rotund. :lol:

I may yet join the cult one of these days...
Do it. We are always looking for new initiates to add to our ever-growing ranks. ;)
In all seriousness though, I would definitely recommend you consider getting a genic. They grow fast, are lots of fun to feed, look beautiful, get their adult colouration at a small size and are always out in the open. And they are easy to care for and don’t have any specific husbandry requirements. A must have for any serious tarantula hobbyist.
 

ladyratri

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Spooked Lava a bit while I was checking on her neighbor, so of course she ran straight for her hide.
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She's apparently having a very relaxed panic over there with her invisible footstool.
 

tommyno

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Dec 11, 2021
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Just dont feed it too much beacuse it will take forever to molt.... like mine ... over a year
 

ladyratri

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You didn't just give everyone else a cricket and skip me, right? You're... You're coming back? Any minute now right? You even gave BLUE one!
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Lava honey. Blue hasn't eaten in 65 days. You just got fed on Tuesday. I promise, I won't let you starve.

In fact, with that butt, I think it is officially impossible for you to starve until like, 2024.
 
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