Will a tarantula eat too soon?

gmrpnk21

Arachnobaron
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My A. Geniculata molted about a week ago, and I dropped a cricket in today to see if it was hardened yet. It grabbed the cricket up and is munching now, but I am wondering if it was really ready. It molted from 3" and grew about an inch or so. Will a tarantula eat if it isn't ready?
 

Blackbeard

Arachnopeon
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The fangs have hardened properly when they turn black.
Juviniles take less time than adults and a week sounds just fine to me.
 

Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
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It varies dramatically by size. My 3 inch p ornatas hardened up in 4 days. My Goliath bird eater took a month to harden.
 

Chris_Skeleton

Arachnoprince
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The question was will a tarantula eat before it's hardened.

Anyway, I am unsure as I have not fed one before it was hardened. I have wondered this as well too though.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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My opinion is no, it won't. If it took the prey item, it was ready.
 

Blackbeard

Arachnopeon
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@ Chris_Skeleton

Good point.
I have always waited for a bit until what I thought was safe.
It won't feed very shortly after a molt because it is physicaly unable to do so.
I don't know for certain if they will feed before they have fully recovered from a molt.
 
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Fran

Arachnoprince
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Actually years ago this happened to me;

A Theraphosa spinipes molted, she was already around 9", so it was a really large one.
About 2 days after the molt, while cleaning enclosures,dont ask me why but a stupid cricket jumped out of the bin and landed on the burrow and she catched it inmediately.

I thought this was very strange, but she was eating it and I couldnt believe she was internaly "ready" for it!.

Well, the spider didnt eat again for almost 4 months after that damn cricket. She was getting extremely skinny to the point of really thinkins she was gonna die. Actually she was attacking the crickets but not eating them.
It got into a point that I thought that she actually "messed up" and something wasnt right while she ate that cricket and actually something had to happen internally.

I talked about it to a guy who had some experience with Theraphosa, mod in another forum...And he told me this have happened to him and he got the same reaction.
His spider almost died of "starvation" after the incident, kind of like mine.
 
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JC

Arachnolort
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Well there you have a report from first hand experience. Try not feeding until two weeks post molt.

I've noticed my pokies will take food one week after molting. Then looked at there fangs as they ate and noticed they where still a reddish color. So don't expect your spider to "know" when they can do something. Always take precaution.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
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I had a 5" P. rufilata who took a cricket that was in there with her before she molted, the day after she molted.

She's still alive and doing just fine.

As a rule though, I'd still stick to the 2-week waiting period. Better safe than sorry.
 

Lorum

Arachnosquire
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I have fed pre-killed prey to freshly-molted T's (one or two days after the moult) with no visible troubles associated. I don't do it often, though, just in some "special" cases.

+1 On the "better safe than sorry", in "normal" conditions.

P.S. What I have seen is that usually T's run and/or hide when disturbed short after a molt (sometimes they don't even move, if they have just shed the exuvia). That (being disturbed) includes potencial prey running near of the T's; at least IME, tarantulas don't hunt when their chelicerae are not hard enough. I repeat, that's just IME, but there maybe exceptions (have you ever seen a tarantula in a typical defense position short after a molt? It happens, and they will probably try to bite, even if their fangs are still "soft").
 

gmrpnk21

Arachnobaron
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It's hard to tell if the fangs are still a tad red or if the red hairs make it look like that. I will wait another week to give it anything else, but it ate the cricket pretty fast. I think it will be ok...
 

gmrpnk21

Arachnobaron
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Well I chased it into a catch cup today and examined the fangs. Nice and black :). I also took a stab at sexing it ventrally and it looks female to me :D . I will post pics AFTER I feed her tomorrow (out of large crickets)
 
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