quick question

[Drew Acton]

im quite new to the hobby and not sure on a few things.
first thing my G. rosea has stopped eating and become slightly aggressive. is this because she is comming up to a molt.

also what is the easiest way to sex a pink toe?

[Peter Lacey]

Quite likely your G. rosea is coming up for a moult but they are notorious for fasting. You should see a small dark patch at the rear of the abdomen which indicates the new skin and hairs, when a moult is close. However, in the case of Grammostola, Brachypelma and Aphonopelma close can be a long term

The easiest and most accurate way to sex any tarantula is via the moult. I don't try to sex anything smaller than a couple of inches as its often the case the spermatheca is not fully developed. Ventral or folio sexing can be achieved with some species but its never 100% accurate. Of course the easiest of sexing is a mature male who will show emboli and in most species tibial hooks.

[Drew Acton]

thanks il have to just wait and see. my pink toe is only small and im not sure what species it is yet all i know is its got pink toes.

[Drew Acton]

a quick one

how long dose it normally take for an arboreal to settle in to a new home and start building?

[Peter Lacey]

Your best form of identity on the pink toe is to discuss this with whoever sold it to you. The genus Avicularia is in a bit of a mess at the moment and likely to be for a long time. Many look the same with only slight variations in colour and size. Unless you can trace the ID I'd suggest you don't use it to breed. Unfortunately I have a couple that can't be given a correct ID but they still make fascinating additions to the collection.
I often find tarantula will web as they take food. Slings will often create some web within the first week but larger specimens tend to take more time to settle in. You need to provide plenty of opportunity for them to attach their web and then play the waiting game. Don't worry too much, there'll come a time when you wish they didnt web so much so you could see them more.

[Stanley A. Schultz]

im quite new to the hobby and not sure on a few things. ...

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/stansrant.html

... first thing my G. rosea has stopped eating and become slightly aggressive. is this because she is comming up to a molt. ...

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

Yes. Molting season is quite close. But, if you've been overfeeding it, it may just be getting fat, lazy, and frustrated with boredom and lack of sensory input. As a gentle experiment, throw a clean, new, ping pong ball in with the tarantula. You may be amazed at what happens!

Report back on the results, please.

[wayne balcombe]

in my experience its difficult to over-feed a spider, they dont tend to gorge feed and will ignore invert food sources when they are not hungry.

G. Rosea even when they are a juvinile can go months without feeding when in pre-molt they are as peter expressed notorious for it.

mine was sold to me as a 4 inch l/s sub adult female and was in pre-molt for 4 months befor it finally molted into a MM with a 6.5" l/s in red metalic colour form. (i'm told this is quite rare for a MM G. Rosea)

rosie who was then re-named ross lived a further 14 months before passing away of old age(for a male). only time will tell my friend.

wayne.

[Drew Acton]

put the ball in yesterday. just got in from work and it hasn't seemed to move what am i looking for?

[Craig Mackay]

I'm guessing it's meant to represent an egg sac.

[Drew Acton]

iv looked at all the signs for my G.rosea molt and it looks like its on its way. thanks for all the help and is there anything i should do to help her on her way ?

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Drew, make sure you remove any live food from her enclosure, and she's got a good sized water dish available to her at all times.

[Drew Acton]

thank you she looks like shes all set just wait for the big day

[Drew Acton]

atlast she has molted started last night i woke up tis morning to find a freshly molted G. rosea thanks for all the help

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Drew, you'll have to put a pic up of her freshly moulted

[Drew Acton]

Will do next time she comes out for a walk she's hiding under her cork bark