Worried Newbie

[Geoff Catley]

Hi
I am new to the hobby and would just like some advice

I purchased a Chilli Rose from a private seller about 7 weeks ago and from when I bought the T it did not eat and I was getting worried but about 3 weeks ago the T started laying a web and had a moult, so from what I had read on the forum and net I asumed that was why the T had not eaten due to getting ready to moult
It has been 3 weeks since the moult and my T has still not eaten anything and now I am getting a little worried is this normal
I have tried Crickets and meal worms with no luck
From what i've read Chilli Rose T's are funny eaters so am I worried about nothing
The T still moves around the tank well and from what I have read the heat and humidity are right not sure of sex but would love to know

Look forward to your replys

Cheers

Geoff

[vincent winyard]

hi geoff and welcome to the forum. as far as the feeding goes i wouldn't worry to much as like you said g rosa's are very hit and miss with there feeding habits. as long as she or he has fresh clean water at all times should be ok. i have rosa red phase that moulted about six weeks ago and turned out to be a male and he hasn't eaten yet but he seems really lively and ok. i suppose they'll eat when there ready so dont worry. as for sexing your t all i can tell you is females generally have bigger abdomens than males and the legs on males are longer and slimmer. also most male species have little mating hooks about a quater way up the two front legs and have what look like little boxing gloves on the end of there pedipalps. im sure someone with more experience will explain this to you with more detail as im no expert yet but know a fair amount anyway geoff i hope this helps you a little good luck mate.

[Geoff Catley]

Vincent thanks for the reply
Makes me feel a bit better about its eating habits
Where do you guys get your live food from do you order it from the internet or do you buy it from petshops
I have noticed quite a lot of places sell them and mail them out just wondered if you guys had used this sort of service before

Cheers

Geoff

[vincent winyard]

hi geoff i get my live food from a local exotic pet shop but if you click on to the spider shop they do a wide variety of live food and send it by post. i think quite a few members use this site to get other t's from aswell. they deliver very quick as well.

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Geoff, welcome to the forum, we use Mantis World exotics, and have found them to be reliable and competitively priced, but we do buy in bulk. They do have a freephone number 0800 6128 798, alternatively you can check their site on e-Bay

[Geoff Catley]

At last my Chilli Rose has eaten
It eaten 4 Crickets one after the other well chuffed, Can't believe how fast it is when it catches them
I must have just sat there for about 2 hours (my missus said I was sad) but I was fasinated to see it eat for the first time
Next thing is to try and find out what sex it is

One happy T owner

Thanks for the info and help guys

Geoff