Lasiodora parahybana pre-moult behaviour?

[j d caisey]

Hi all,I've had my juvenile salmon pink for a month now but just this last 10 days it's behaviour has changed dramatically.It seemed quite settled and there was a definite pattern to it's behaviour.It would frequently sit outside the hide during the day on top of it's log and when it wasn't sitting outside it would sit at the entrance to the hide waiting for it's dinner.When i would check on it in the mornings i would discover a water bowl full of substrate and over the space of a week it had removed almost all of the substrate from inside the hide!It was also eating like a spider possessed and the first week i had it it ate 6 small locusts!I have since learnt that this is bit too much food and have been feeding 2 a week.Anyway as i said the past 10 days have been completely different.It basically stays in the hide all day and is not eating.When i lift the lid on the tank to mist it and change the water it buries itself in the corner of the tank at the back of the hide.I understand that this could be pre moult behaviour so i'm only popping a cricket in every other day for a couple of hours and then removing it just in case.The thing that is worrying me is how long can a juvenile spider go without food?I have seen it outside the hide late at night but only just ouside the entrance almost like it's waiting for prey.I keep checking on it every morning expecting to find a freshly moulted spider but every day it hasn't happened i get more worried that it's not eating and that it could be ill.Should i leave food in overnight?Any advice would be greatly appreciated as i am becoming an extremely worried dad.Conditions in the tank seem fine with a temperature of 26 degrees and humidity at 78%.

[Matthew Bagley]

I wouldn't worry , T's can go a surprising amount of time without food . If you want to leave food in there for a while , use a locust as I've never had a problem with locusts running round a tank and I've never heard any either .

How big is your LP ? You've said juvenile but that's a bit vague .

[j d caisey]

Hi,Matthew thanks for the reply.It's got a leg span of roughly 70 mm.

[steven simcock]

My 15 year old Lasiodora parahybana just molted 2 weeks ago and she stopped eating for over 2 months before her molt. She even sat there with a cricket runing over her back and did nothing about it. If she is drinking ok i would not worry to much.

[j d caisey]

Thanks Steven,fingers crossed it's just a pre moult thing.I haven't seen him/her at the water bowl though.Do they become alot more shy when they're coming up to a moult?

[steven simcock]

They seem to go very sluggish and don't move around much as for not seen at her bowl she may drink at night when you are in bed.