Tarantula finds her appetite!

[Larry Shone]

I cleaned the tank out-I think it was a bit too damp. Put new coarser vermiculite in, got rid of the half pot(she never used it!) and put a nice looking rock in instead.
I did the usual,put a cricket in and waited. Later that night I couldnt find the crik and it looked like something was between her jaws- we were convinced my chile Rose was showing her appreciation of the tidy up by eating for he first time since buying her a month ago!
So next day i put 3 crix in, and later in the day there was no sign of any of them, and there was a distinct sign of cricket parts between her jaws, no doubt, my T has found her appetite!
Shes also a lot livelier now, moving about a lot more!
My partner said she has a bigger bum now too!
I wonder if she'll molt again soon?
(I found a shieldbug on the wall earlier and put that in with her but its still there.)

[Simon Batten]

thats cool mine just seems to have lost her appetite and my pink toed hasnt eaten since I got her but that was only 2 weeks ago

[Phil Rea]

My G.rosea hasn't eaten for a couple of months now. Typical weird Chile Rose behaviour

[Daniel Carpenter]

Yes .... G.rosea do have from time to time very weird behaviour, i have had the same problem many times.
Dan

[J M Clegg]

Remember that coming up to a moult it's not uncommom for a spider to loose their appetite, in fact I often use this as a barometer to judge moulting patters in my spiders. And don't forget a spiderling will moult more often than an adult spider so it's appetite will vary more.
Also, spiderlings can be prone to stress, moving them from house to house, changing the viv to suit how you want it to look, poking fingers in to see if their OK, non of this would happen in the wild. Stress can often be a bigger factor in loosing spiderlings than getting temperature and humidity right. When it comes to raising a spiderling - Less is often more, if you understand the saying. You can do more for them by interferring less!

[Larry Shone]

Well, after a few good meals now I would imagine she'd be due a molt soon. My Tegenaria molts like billy ho!

[Phil Rea]

My G.rosea hasn't eaten for a couple of months now. Typical weird Chile Rose behaviour

She started eating again tonight, she had two brown crickets. They're crazy things, G. rosea

[Larry Shone]

Well, I put two crickets in with her today and a few minutes later she had one in her jaws!
(The Tegenaria had one at the same time too!)

Ive never actually seen my T pounce on food yet, I just see it later when its working on one!

[Kristine]

Hi,

It's not an uncommon thing for Chile Roses to decide to go without food for a few months at a time... Without Moulting. I have a 9 year old T and it is horrendous for going for long periods of time without eating then all of a sudden devouring everything that comes within inches of her/him... It should have been due it's annual molt about 2 months ago but still not had one yet... Last one was 18 months after the last... Temperamental little thing that it is...

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, just keep offering food every couple of weeks, I pop in 2 locusts evert fortnight just to see it it will eat, if not do remember to take them back out or they will die and make the tank smell... It will cost you a bit in uneaten food but in the long run at least you will know that your T will not have to go too long without food...

If possible keep the locusts in another tank with a bit of dried cereal for them to eat (should hopefull keep them alive long enough to offer to the T again) and make sure that any food you buy is not too big for your T, this could be a reason for not eating.. I have found that my T will eat small locusts but not medium ones..

Happy feeding.

Krissie

[Larry Shone]

LOL, I think a locust would be rather too big for my T just yet!

(Does anyone have trouble staying logged in? Evereytime I click on a link from an email or come here from favourites i have to log in)

[Sean Odell]

Yes, I have the same problem with logging in. Very annoying at times!
Regards, Sean.