Unexpected Pet Hole

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Thanks for that , that's put my mind at rest abit more , I expect if you've a large number of Ts you wouldn't at times know if they had moulted anyway . So far Ive got six !

 

As far as I'm aware, roaches won't bite your Tarantula (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), crushing the head is either for feeders that are known to injure/kill Tarantulas (mealworms/superworms/crickets/locusts) or to stop them from burrowing/playing dead (mealworms/superworms/dubia roaches).

As for the crushing method, I place the feeder in a small container/vial then grab it by the head with my tongs and squish.

 

You can feed your T if it's in a premolt, it's only when they have actually moulted that you need to stop feeding , for about a week , or when the fangs have gone black . It's all very daunting when your new , and I expect more experienced members will adverse you as well . I've been keeping Ts since November 2017 , so I'm still learning.

 

Duration of premoult depends on a lot of different things (temps/feeding frequency prior/the individual/etc.) so there's no way of knowing for sure, mine at that size was in premoult for a couple of weeks, when the bald spot changes to black then it's close to moulting.

I got a 2" female at the start of June 2016 (9 months ago), her moult history is as follows (bear in mind yours won't be the same):

1st July - stopped eating 10-14 days prior (this was before I had an app to track all of this)
19th Aug - stopped eating 14 days prior
6th Nov - stopped eating 29 days prior

She's currently in premoult, I stopped feeding her 10 days ago when she developed bald patches on both sides of her abdomen, when those turn black I know she'll moult within a week or two at her current size.

 

In my opinion I would feed it as it sounds like it hasn't moulted yet , they can be in premolt for a longtime .