Little concerned about my P. murinius :?

[Ryan Simons]

I have had her for about 2 months now (guestimate) and when i 1st got her, she ate fine for the 1st month. now she just doesnt eat! i put a cricket in with her, tryed a large mealworm too, she turns round, looks interested but then walks away. I have left the cricket in there for a couple of days and she wont eat it. i have removed it and tryed again a few days later but with no success

I know 'Chile rose's' can be grumpy eaters and go for yonks with nothing, but i thought P. murinius's to be a little more greedy? She doesnt show any aggresson towards anything neither! its like a chile rose in an orange baboon suit! lol

I do wonder if perhaps she is due a moult? i dont know how to tell with this species as, where its Orange, i cannot tell any colour change on its abomen etc and where my chile rose webbs up, obv this species has a constant web layer. It does concern me tho if she is due a moult as the mealworm has burrowed and to get it out, would mean destroying most of the P.murinius's webbing. I dont want to stress her if she is due.?

Also, does it matter that she has completly covered her water bowl in a good 10mm thick silk? its a pain trying to fill the dish up!

finally, im not sure if this could be a cause of her not eating, but i dont have a proper enclousre for her yet, so i have her in a medium sized plastic container.

heres some pics to get an idea of the size..




thanx for the help

Ryan

[Phil Rea]

Hi Ryan

That silk in there looks fairly promising, and as far as I can see through the side of the enclosure, the spider has a nice rounded abdomen, so I wouldn't worry too much at the moment. Just spray the web a bit when you want to give the spider water.

I know they're generally not shy either, but possibly try some smaller prey items and see if that makes a difference