Young Mexican Red Knee Not Eating (Brachypelma Smithi)

[Ben willcox]

I'm a brand new trarantula owner- my MRK is a baby- about 4 months old-see pic for size (bit bigger than a 2p)- when I first brought her home she was eating medium locusts about one every three days- now she's eaten nothing for over two weeks. Is this normal? What should I expect to see happen next (growth? moult?) - since I got her at about 3 months, she hasn't moulted.Her cage is quite small (20x17) so I don't think catching her locusts is a problem.
All advice gratefully received!
Thanks Ben

[Phil Lilley]

Every three days, that's a little over feeding Tbh mate. Most of my Ts get something once a week.

And no, don't worry...Ts can go up to 18 months without food. Basically, try her with something, if she doesn't want it, try again in a few days. As long as she had water, that they do need.

[Peter Roach]

1) You are over feeding in a BIG way. Feed once a week or fortnight
2) A tarantula not feeding for 2 weeks is like you having your dinner an hour later than normal.
3) Is this normal ? Most definitely . . . YES
4) A cage size of 20x17 (inches ?) is a very LARGE container such a small juvie. I keep B. smithi juvs larger than yours in 3in x 3in x 3in and they live quite happily in them.

Looking at the size of the abdomen, I wouldnt feed it until it moults in a few weeks/months time.

Please get it out of your head that you HAVE to feed your spider like you would a mammal.
One appropriate sized cricket, cockroach (or locust as a last resort) once every 7-14 days is ample.
If you was to feed it once every 2-3 MONTHS, the only difference that it would make is that it would take longer for it to mature.

[Ben willcox]

Thank you!

[Ben willcox]

Thank you also Peter. Cage is 20x17cm so hopefully not too far off the mark. The feeding advice I was given at the pet centre was obviously a bit off-target, so will wait as you suggest. I'm sure I will be back on the forum with more questions as I watch her grow!

[Peter Roach]

The feeding advice I was given at the pet centre was obviously a bit off-target

Hi Ben. As you will probably learn after a short time in this hobby of ours, 99.9% of the advice that you will be given from pet shops can be safely forgotten.
From the advice that I have personally heard given to new hobbyists over the years, most pet shop employees shouldnt be allowed to keep a pet rock.

[Phil Lilley]

Hi Ben. As you will probably learn after a short time in this hobby of ours, 99.9% of the advice that you will be given from pet shops can be safely forgotten.
From the advice that I have personally heard given to new hobbyists over the years, most pet shop employees shouldnt be allowed to keep a pet rock.

I'll echo this. I'm fairly new to the hobby, but I can't believe what I've been told by the 'shop' and then what I've learnt is correct.

[Paul Oldershaw]

Can i just add to the part bout the pet shop owner they are pretty useless they should come with a warning sign slapped on there forehead but i suppose you are not to knoe this when you by your first T ,when i bought my first T which was a b smithi a juve , he gave me a bag of peat that was 90 %water no joke and says that will be ok and you ought to see the size of the viv he wanted to sell me .

[Eduard Haumann]

Hi all, I just want to ask something else concerning this specimen:

Do you think that the specimen on the photo is only 4mths old?

The reason I'm asking, I had a B.Smithi about 5 years ago which I bought at 2nd instar stage. It took about 15 months from the 2nd instar to get her to a similar size shown in the photos. I was very careful to keep the temp between 20 and 28°C and fed her whenever she would take something(a couple of times she didn't want to eat for longer than 2months at a time). I thought at that time that it was quite normal as B.smithi is known to have a relatively slow growth rate and they can reach a ripe old age of around 25 years.

Would I be off by a lot if I guess that this one is more likely to be around the 12month mark?

Please correct me if i'm wrong.

[Peter Roach]

Hi all, I just want to ask something else concerning this specimen:

Do you think that the specimen on the photo is only 4mths old?

A lot depends on genetics, temperatures and nutrition. So your question is like asking ' How long is a piece of string'

The reason I'm asking, I had a B.Smithi about 5 years ago which I bought at 2nd instar stage. It took about 15 months from the 2nd instar to get her to a similar size shown in the photos. I was very careful to keep the temp between 20 and 28°C and fed her whenever she would take something(a couple of times she didn't want to eat for longer than 2months at a time). I thought at that time that it was quite normal as B.smithi is known to have a relatively slow growth rate and they can reach a ripe old age of around 25 years.

Would I be off by a lot if I guess that this one is more likely to be around the 12month mark?

Please correct me if i'm wrong.

Instead of typing for hours and rechecking some of my previous posts, I've found one that may help you out. >>> LINK <<<

[Eduard Haumann]

Peter, thank you. Really helps to get info from experienced people!
I'm inclined to reconsider getting another Brachypelma

[Peter Roach]

Remember that old saying ? . . You are what you eat.

Feed your prey insects with good quality food and your Tarantulas will reap the rewards in the long run.