Will my neglected L. parahybana ever get larger?

tabor

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OK, so i bought this gal almost SIX years ago as a sexed juvie (2 inches maybe?) female, and i was jsut recently able to confirm the sex. Now the past 4 years ive been extremely busy with school. I had to get rid of all my spiders but one, and chose to keep her :)

Anyways, there was a point in there were I was under the impression I had left the spider at my moms house and she was caring for it, when in fact, the spider was in my apartment, chilling by the hot water heater! She went 6 months with out eating (believe me I feel guilty as hell and now spoil her).

It was about 2 months ago I "rediscovered" this long lost T, so i put her outside and fattened her up. Sure enough she molted for me (finally, last time was damn near two years ago).

I've attached pictures of her latest exuvium along side a ruler. Doesnt she seem awfully small for a spider her age? She just molted and that leg span went up a lot however. I'm wondering if I accidently permanately stunded her growth or if she will eventually reach full size. Thanks!

PS: I swear I normally take wonderful care of all my animals, this one just slipt through the cracks for a couple of months, but she came out healthy so alls well that ends well.
 

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AubZ

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She must be around 6in min by now. Was she in her enclosure the whole time?? The not eating is not a major thing as they can go for months without eating. I'm sure she will get near her full size if you don't forget about her again. :)
 

tabor

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Haha, no intentions of forgetting about her again. I baby her now, all she can eat. Seems really small for this age though, after this molt shes pushing 6.5". She's atleast 6 years old. Maybe I inadvertently slowed her metabolism and she will live forever {D
 

AubZ

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If only. Hehe. If you keep up your feedings she will continue to grow and you should time how long it takes for the next molt.
 

P. Novak

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If you don't feed your T alot, or nothing for that matter, it can go months without it, but it will slow down it's growth, not stunt it though. It will reach adult size, but as for how long that all depends on how much you feed it.
 

Mushroom Spore

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Yeah, spiders don't age/molt/grow based on time, but other factors (so "small for her age" is meaningless :) ). If fed less and kept cool, they slow down. She's not neglected at all, her growth just got a temporary pause.

There's a thread on here somewhere where someone lost a parahybana sling in their house for like four years. They found it almost the same size as it was when it was lost, but growth resumed with regular feedings.
 

tabor

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Glad to hear this guys. She easily went 6 months without food, insanely hardy, but not something i'd recommend! Good to know she wont be stuck at the "small" size of 6.5" for the rest of her life.

btw, this is a close up of her molt from two days ago. pretty sure its a female after all!
 

Crotalus

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I have a male LP that are now mature. He was found in my friends bathroom in 2004 where he lived hidden for 4 years with little food to eat - we had an eggsack hatching at the time and this guy apparently escaped.
After my friend found the spider he gave it to me. I fed him regulary and he ate like a pig like a LP should do, and molted without problems. He molted out last year and are very large - just as large as other LP males I had before.
Heres a thread about it:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=30619&highlight=lasiodora
 

Drachenjager

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Good to know she wont be stuck at the "small" size of 6.5" for the rest of her life.
umm that molted skin is no where near 6.5" so i assume the T grew at least 2" or so with this molt?
 

tabor

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umm that molted skin is no where near 6.5" so i assume the T grew at least 2" or so with this molt?
That skin is about 5" legspan when stretched out. So im guessing she grew about an inch and a half give or take. Maybe just 1", I like the sound of 6.5" though {D

I'll try to get new photos of her up tonight just for you!
 
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