feeding problems

[vincent winyard]

hi everyone i need some help here please, the problem is i have six t's and only one is eating on a regular basis. i have 2 chilli roses 1 chilli rose red phase 1 very young fire leg and 2 mexican red knee's. the only one eating well is one of the smithi's the younger one of the two. the young chilli's not eating as i think it's going to molt soon and the adult female just kills her food or part eats it. the adult female smithi hasn't eaten since i got her which has been about 2 months now and the fire leg doesn't always take the food on offer. the only thing i can think of that might be causing this problem is where my t's are positioned in the room i have them in. the sun comes round in the afternoon where they are but i do make sure the curtains are pulled so it's not so bright for them, do you think that this could be why they are not eating so well at the moment.
thanks in advance for any info.

[greigmason]

Hi Vincent, how are things going now? I had a similar problem with my first g. rosea. In the lead up to her first moult she would kill the food I offered her but not eat it. I wondered why she was just killing it but as it turns out she was leading up to a moult and didn't seem to want anything in her territory around that time so she may be about to moult. When I got my little b. smithi she didn't eat for almost two months before taking a few crickets in consecutive days. I thought that was her settled but then she stopped eating again, housed herself in her burrow and then moulted 3 weeks later. So I wouldn't worrytoo much. You sound like you're doing things right. Also I wouldn't think the sun thing is a problem. Remember these guys can go months without eating then will start again for no reason! Hope this helps, greig

[vincent winyard]

Hi there greig
thanks for all that info I'll just carry on doing what I've been doing then
hope- fully they will all settle very soon and start to eat again I'll keep you posted
as to what happens thanks
Vince

[Beth Sargeson]

Mine too!

I'm a newbie to all this and also have a rosea who is not eating. She's approx 4 years old, was a gift from a pal who has a small collection and she hasn't eaten since christmas eve. My pal keeps telling me not to worry, he says she's probably coming up for a moult but of course I'm a woman/wife/mother so I do worry!

Now and again she makes a web, and I was hopeful last week when she made a sort of mat out of webbing and sat on it, but nothing further developed. I keep the tank at around 28 degrees, well moist, around 2 inches deep of substrate and she has a log hide but prefers sitting ON it as opposed to IN it. I mist the tank a couple of times a week and keep the water bowl filled. If it's empty she drops the biggest hint ever by going and sitting in it. Makes me laugh every time coz she might as well hold a sign up saying 'Oy! There's no water in here you idiot!' Lol!

It just seems such a long time for a wee beastie not to eat, I'm used to dealing with bigger pets (cats/dogs/kids etc.) that require feeding several times a day. Am I worrying unecessarily? Sorry if I am, but I would hate to cause her harm because of my lack of care. When I get a little experience behind me I would love to have a few more, I find her totally enchanting.

Thanks, Beth.

P.S. No, I don't handle her.

P.P.S. Anything yet Vincent? Oh give me some hope!

[Andy Wood]

Adult Tarantulas can stop feeding for extended periods, the longest I've
experienced was 10 months with my adult female L parahybana, freaked me
out a bit at the time but that was 10 years ago and she's still doing fine. so I
wouldn't worry too much Beth....

AndyZoo

[Peter Lacey]

G. rosea are notorious for fasting for long periods, ppl have recorded them fasting for 1-2 years! but a few months is quite common. Make sure you supply a water dish and things should be fine.
You shouldn't, however, keep the substrate moist for this species, at least not the whole of the substrate. These are dry living species, from the outskirts of the Atacama so its likely the only moisture they see is the morning dew, certainly not regular rain Fill the water bowl and overflow once a week.
As tarantula don't move around much and as they don't create their own heat or even inflate lungs, they use very little energy and therefore its unnecessary to feed them as regular as many other pets. 2 crickets a week, the size of the abdomen is the most I'll give them, and as adults I often knock it back to 1 per week.

[vincent winyard]

hi ya beth sorry i didn't get back to you sooner. she's still not eaten. like you said we cant help worrying about our t's when something's not quite right. like andy said they can fast for quite some time i just thought there might be some other reason for her not eating though she's not the only one i have four others that are not taking food at the moment. all i can say is dont worry to much and just make sure there's a constant supply of water. hope all goes well for you beth.

[vincent winyard]

hi there peter. thanks for your reply. you say g rosa's can go without food for up to 2 years. thats a long time i only hope mine eats before then 2 years is a long time to be worrying lol. many thanks for the info pete.

[Peter Lacey]

well I wouldnt consider it the norm but I know of ppl who claim that. Its probably the one reason why chile rose don't make the ideal first T, they just love to fast!

[kn morris]

feeding problem

Hello to all,
The only time i have had a problem with feeding has been prior to a moult, my chile rose is a hog of a T and ate 3 days before moult and a couple of days after. eats vigourously every day, my b.smithi is less eager though and often doesnt seem interested for long periods. Recently acquired T.Blondi and a versicolor, nice Ts (thanks tony). Both ate the same day they were relocated, hope your rosea eats soon as its part of the fascination for me, still makes me jump, the speed they move at when grabbing they prey, its like watching my kids at the dinner table but the spiders make alot less mess!!!
hope all turns out ok

[Beth Sargeson]

Finally!!!!!!!!!

Mine ate a cricket eventually the other day - yay!! About blinkin' time! She really had me worried for a bit there, nowt worse than someone trusting you enough to give you a living gift then it going downhill because of your (supposed) lack of proper care. My friend seemed somewhat bemused by my state of excitement - and relief - and just simply shrugged and said 'I told you not to worry'. Easy for him to say, he's kept them for years, I'm very new to all this.

Being careful now to not over wet things in the tank and she seems happy enough for now, still keeping busy making web mats in a particular corner. I'd like to see her moult at some point. Thanks for all the great advice people!