b. smithi question

[dan hewitt]

hi, my young b.smithi hasnt eaten for a couple of weeks now, i keep finding dead crickets in the tank. i also noticed this afternoon that its pale patch on the rump has gone black. i understand this is a sign of a due moult, but any idea on how long it should take from turning black to moulting? is there anything i should do? its tank is fairly dry so i gave it a quick spray on the sphagnum moss to raise humidity a bit.
sorry if it sounds silly but its my first moult!
dan

[Erik Heidrich]

Definitely sounds like pre-moult. Stop offering crickets at this point, but make sure it has water. Depending on the size of the tarantula, it could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks before it moults. Following the moult, do not offer food until the fangs turn black, a sign that they have hardened. This should take at least a week.

[dan hewitt]

thanks for the quick reply! its only a small one, probably 1.5inch leg span.
i've not offered any food for a couple of days now, i guessed it might be starting to moult.
do i need to put a water dish in or is the spraying ok? there tends to be moisture on the sides of the tank most of the time, i thought that was enough.
dan

[Erik Heidrich]

At that size, moisture on the side of the tank should be sufficient. Hopefully you will be lucky enough to witness the moult. Mine have the annoying tendency to do it while I am at work. Just keep checking from time to time and you will see it on its back when the moult is about to begin.

[dan hewitt]

just an update and another query. it still hasnt moulted yet, its been a week since i noticed the darkening of the abdomen. its just been sitting in its hide doing not a lot. do i put a cricket in there just incase its not moulting and im seeing things or do i just leave it be and hope it moults. how long is safe to go without feeding?
cheers
dan

[Mark Lynes]

Leave it; if its abdomen has gone black it is definitely due to moult. It can take a while before they get around to it.

Mark.

[dan hewitt]

all done and dusted. unfortunatly missed it, but i got back from work and it was sat all nice and fresh coloured, and looking a lot bigger than before.

[Glen Feasey]

Lookin good Dan!

[Richard Simmonds]

Dan, she is looking good, Have one just like yours, but all of a sudden she hid herself in her hole and covered the entrance . It was three weeks till i saw her again and she had moulted and i missed it. Got the moult that was it. But she is making up for it now. Good luck

[dan hewitt]

cheers, it was a shame i missed it. working away has its down falls!
its certainly picked up a bit of speed with the moult! took the lid off to take some pics and it was across the tank like a flash!
god only knows what the p.fasciata will be like!!
dan

[Neil Martin]

I have a similar query, so I may as well use this thread?

My Smithi is a captive bred 2004, so about 2.5 - 3 years old and I have had it since last May. I Don't know if it is male or female as I couldn't "read" the 2 moults which were dried up and crinkled by the time I got to them.

Anyway, it moulted within about a month of getting it, then 3 months later in September, so I naturally expected it to moult again around Christmas time.

However, it is now 6 months since its' last moult and there are no signs that it is likely anytime soon - its' hairs are in as good condition as 6 months ago, no patches at all.

I feed it every other day with a brown cricket and it always takes them, actively hunting them from around 8pm onwards with no apparent concern about us watching at all. It doesn't climb the walls and to my untrained eye seems perfectly content in its' environment?

Conditions are the same as always, warmer one end, 21 degC and 70% RH, with a plentiful supply of water in a bowl and a large bark log hide that it sits up the end of (in the dark) during the day.

My concern is that I am not feeding it enough and there may be a problem with its' new skin forming or is it more likely to be a male, pretty well adult (?) and not got many moults left?

Anyone got similar experiences/advice - thanks in advance.

[Daniel Carpenter]

That sounds about enough ( are they adult crickets ? ) but yer...that does sound enough fully grown tarantulas should have bout 5-7 crickets per week depending on the species. Also you can never relly over feed a taranula...they will only eat what they waht to eat...although some species can get greedy...
Hope this helps,
Dan.

[Neil Martin]

Cheers Daniel (sorry for delayed response!).

Situation is still the same, the T is still hunting and eating but seems to be getting a little more lethargic in how it goes about it.

It chases (if the apparent time-lapse position changes can be classed as chasing!!) the crickets around for about 2 days now (they manage to escape it's first attacks, whereas it would pounce on them instantly before.

Perhaps it is getting close to a moult?

[Daniel Carpenter]

I wouldn't have thought so ( only because when mine are bout to moult they go right off food ) but its not rare for a tarantula to miss the food frist time ....you could if you were worried put the crickets into the fridge only for a short period but this would slow them down and make it less hard for your tarantula to get them.
Dan.

[Ray Hale]

Hi ,
personally I dont feed my tarantulas that much. A cricket every other day seems a little excessive to me but you can of course remove the cricket if they are not taken.. I feed once a week and then a maximum of two crickets often only one Dont panic you are not starving your tarantula. In the wild a tarantula will eat only when it can catch food which may be few and far between.

I have seen very fat tarantulas that struggle to moult. Also dont worry about the length of time between moults. Tarantulas moult when they are ready and when they feel secure. Maintain you humidity and temperature and enjoy

Ray Hale