spiderling not eating

[vincent winyard]

hi there everyone. im very concerned about my chili rose spiderling because she hasn,t eaten for the last month. im trying to feed her baby crickets but when they go near her she either backs of from it or if it goes from behind and touches her she moves forward away from it. she seems lively enough i,ve got her in a critter box as she,s only about the size of my thumb nail there,s potting compost for substrate a tiny piece of cork that she uses as her hide hole i use a small lid for the water gell and i lightly spray one corner with cooled water thats been boiled.i think im doing everything right for such a young spider but my main concern is trying to get her to eat. can anyone help or advise me thank,s.

[Phil Rea]

The spider's not coming up for a moult is it? If so, there will be a noticable dark or black patch at the back of the abdomen. If that's the case then don't try and feed it until about a week after it moults.

If not, then try pre-killing the cricket, and leaving it in overnight with absolutely no disturbance. Don't be tempted to 'have a quick look'. Remove it if it's not been eaten. Maybe the prey's a bit big for the spider?

[vincent winyard]

thank,s phil. i,ll have a good close look at her rear end to see if there,s any sign of her coming in to a moult. if i cant find any signs of a pre moult i,ll try offering pre killed food. many thanks for your advice phil.

[colin haris]

Hi Vincent

I find my slings usually eat overnight when they are least disturbed by light etc. So if your worried about a possible molt, try using squat maggots or flies, something that would not endanger the little guy should he/she decide to do so during the night.
All the best and keep us posted!

Colin

[vincent winyard]

hi colin i,ve had a look at her to see if she might start a moult but there dosn,t seem to be any sign of this happening. i,ve been told to try pre killing her food to see how she copes with that. if i have no joy i,ll try what you advise. i,ll keep you posted on how things progress. thanks for your help mate.

[vincent winyard]

hi colin just giving you the latest update concerning my sling that wasn`t eating. well i`ve managed to get her to eat. i got a tip from phil rea on this web suggesting to pre kill her food for her and it worked so there you go sorted. i just hope i dont have be killing her food for her when she`s fully grown them adult crickets look a hard nut to crack ha ha.

[vincent winyard]

hi there phil just thought i`d let you know your advice on pre killing my slings food worked. thanks again for your advice phil much appreciated.

[Phil Rea]

Good stuff Vincent. Glad it worked for you

[colin haris]

Hi Vincent

Thats good news, don't worry about having to pre kill for long, as the little guys get bigger and more at home in there surroundings they become ravenous beasts!
Now as soon as the crickets hit the soil in my my red knee pots, they are gobbled up... usually two at a time!

[vincent winyard]

cheers colin i,ll give it a few more days then i,ll try her on live food again. your right about young smithi,s they do like there food. my youngster has settled down nicely now after a few weeks and as soon as the cricket goes in she,s there. anyway thanks again for your help colin.