worried about my p murinus sling...

mephisto13

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 15, 2016
Messages
50
IV had it for one month and 5 days..I thought possibly it was in premolt but I never see it..its not eaten for possibly 7 days and havnt seen it at all....no signs of it making new web or anything for over a week...would it molt on top and do obts take longer in the molting proccess...its kind of freaking me out ....IV raised most my ts from slings but I usualy at least see them some times or at least a sign they are there.......I almost want to put a live cricket in there by chance its molted and just can't find the dead pray...but not sure....also its .75...Im using a cap of water instead of mist because they are a dry t...but now Im thinking I should mist ..should I be freaked out by this ...temp is 70 and crickets it ate were big...not to big but the size of it minus the legs...so maybe its just not hungry...can any one help me ....thank you....
 

Jason B

Arachnosquire
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
88
Nothing that is currently worrying you is really a cause for worrying. The most likely scenario is since the feeder you were giving it were on the large side in comparison, it went it to premolt before its body was ready for the molt. Which is fairly normal behavior for slings. They only need so much food to take them to their next molt, after that they hunker down someplace and wait for their new exoskeleton to grow.
This is a very hardy species.
 

Tomoran

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
239
IV had it for one month and 5 days..I thought possibly it was in premolt but I never see it..its not eaten for possibly 7 days and havnt seen it at all....no signs of it making new web or anything for over a week...would it molt on top and do obts take longer in the molting proccess...its kind of freaking me out ....IV raised most my ts from slings but I usualy at least see them some times or at least a sign they are there.......I almost want to put a live cricket in there by chance its molted and just can't find the dead pray...but not sure....also its .75...Im using a cap of water instead of mist because they are a dry t...but now Im thinking I should mist ..should I be freaked out by this ...temp is 70 and crickets it ate were big...not to big but the size of it minus the legs...so maybe its just not hungry...can any one help me ....thank you....
Sounds fairly normal to me. My first OBT sling was VERY reclusive, and I rarely caught it out until it hit about 3". It burrowed a bit, webbed a whole lot, and stayed out of sight the majority of the time. If I wanted to catch it out, I would sneak down at night. One winter, it closed its burrow and disappeared for about three months (it was around 1.5" at this time). It didn't eat during that period at all, and it was fine.

If yours was eating larger prey, it's probably just preparing to molt. They generally stay hidden during this process. I would keep that water dish full, and wait for signs that it's ready to eat again. You might notice it's burrow opened up, or signs of some new webbing that mean it's been out and about at night. You can always try with a prekilled cricket if you're worried it still might be molting.
 

BishopiMaster

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Messages
356
Your real problem is now the cricket you put in there by equal chance that your tarantula IS molting
 

mephisto13

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 15, 2016
Messages
50
Cool..I was kind of thinking all that but wasnt sure I never did put a live cricket in there...ill wait till this weekend and put a fresh killed one in.....thank you for all your advise and help...its good to have confirmation when your concerned again..thank you
 

Devin B

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 30, 2016
Messages
326
My OBT sling was in his burrow 24/7 for about a month or so. If its hungry itll find food no problem.
 
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