Juvenile b. smithi runs away from food.

[Gareth Griffiths]

What size cricket would I be able to feed a b. smithi juvenile? She's about 4-5cm across (with legs stretched) and I started off feeding her small crickets from thespidershop.co.uk and she wolfed them down.

Then I got an adult g. rosea and as I was feeding her with medium crickets (again, from thespidershop.co.uk) I started giving medium ones to my b. smithi.

The first couple she ate, although she couldn't kill them out in the open, she had to wait until they ran down into her burrow and were in a tight space. They were always too fast/powerful for her out in the open.

But now, she's running away from them, no matter where they are. In the burrow, out in the open, she's not even going anywhere near them and is actively trying to stay away. Is this normal? She's not eaten for about 2 weeks now and I'm getting a bit worried.

(plenty of water in the tank though)

I'm about to order some more small crickets from thespidershop to see if she'll go for them, but in the mean time is there anything non-live I can try and feed her? A bit of raw beef or something?

She's not molted in the time I've had her (since October) so it could just be she's coming up for one.

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Gareth, if the Smithi was happy taking small why change !!, she may feel a bit intimidated by larger ones, or she could be going into premoult. Try her again with small (as long as they are smaller than her abdomen) and see if she takes them, if not she's probably up for a moult. Dont' worry too much about Smithi's they don't do anything very quickly and can go off food for months, with no adverse affects.

[Robert Martin]

Alright Gareth,
It sounds like she's coming up for a moult mate. I wouldn't recommend a lump of raw beef.If she was a spiderling she might have accepted a dead cricket but at that size i think she'd of stopped scavenging.Is her abdomen swolen and is she dull in colour? Thats a good indication that she's about to moult.
Hope this helps.
Rob

[Andrew Ferguson]

My smithi is juv/sub adult depending on who you ask. For the first several weeks following a moult, she will happily eat anything offered. Sometimes straight away, sometimes after a day or so. Then she won't touch anything, shying away or raising herself up so the cricket can walk underneath. She looks healthy enough and has a small bald patch on her rump. I check almost everyday to see if the bald patch is darkening, and as yet it isn't. I have one cricket left and its in the tank wondering around (but not bothering) my smithi. If it isn't eaten by the end of the week, it will be removed and I'll not offer anything until a moult has occurred. My smithis rump is a nice size (not too big), so I know she's not malnourished.
The main thing to remember with tarantula's, and sorry if I sound patronising, is to remember they are tarantulas. Humans too easily tend to anthropomorphosise animals. And when they stop behaving, or don't behave as we would, they feel there is cause for concern.
So to sum up, I think your smithi is fine and is most likely getting ready for a moult. Hopefully you may have a vibrantly coloured and bigger tarantula soon.