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These are photos of my G.rosea. She hasn't eaten anything since last July. She did moult in October but hasn't eaten since. She has plenty of water and I do see her drink quite regular. I'm thinking that she looks healthy enough but am starting to get a little worried now. Has anyone any tips for me and am I right in thinking she looks ok? All advice welcome. Oh and she is around three years old.
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hi terry and welcome to the forum. i also have a g. rosa and she went nearly a year and half without eating. these t's are notorious for going long periods without food. mines an adult female and she'll take one cricket every two or three weeks but once in a blue moon she might take two in one week very rare though. yours looks in good health and just as long as there's water available all the time i wouldn't worry to much. she will eat when she's ready so don't worry. just keep trying her a couple of times a week she will eat eventually
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I second everything that Vincent has said apart from the frequency of offering food. I would offer her food once per month at the maximum or every other month if you can stand the excitement !
In circumstances like this I pick a set day or date of every month so that I dont forget but it doesnt really matter if you forget for a week or two.
I have a few Grammostola sp that get fed once a month, to remember this I feed them on the first Sunday of every month. Sometimes they eat and sometimes they dont. No big deal either way.
Have you tried putting her in the outside shed for a few weeks/months where it is cool and then bringing her back inside before feeding her ?
Dont forget that Chile has the same or cooler temperatures than the UK and she may need to experience a 'winter' before feeding again.
ps. It is extremely unlikely that your rosea is 3 years old as 99% of adult rosea are wild caught and this means that it could have taken anywhere from 5 to 15 years to get to her size.Comment
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Thank you for the advice chaps. Peter are you telling me that she is older than three?Comment
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Going by photo, yes.
G rosea grow slower than rocks in captivity and much much slower in the wild.
Possibly as little as 1cm per year, the same as some of the Aphonopelma sp.Comment
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I have a sling that I purchased in 2007 that isnt mature yet, definitely less than 5".
My G. rosea are the last ones to get fed and they never seem bad for it, plus most of the time the food gets ignored.
As Peter has suggested above the cool temperatures are probably a key to feeding. In their natural habitat they will experience temps that go as low as 50F but they'll also experience snow. During this time they'll live an almost dormant life, and its extremely unlikely there's much food available. As the temperatures warm up, spring arrives and the level of vegetation and therefore food items increases. This is when they are likely to eat lots and by doing so over the summer where temps never go over 72F, by winter they have enough stored for a good fasting over winter.
Its my opinion that if we followed this a bit better we wouldnt see such long terms of fasting.
You might be a bit late for trying the shed route, but its worth a try for a month before it gets too warm and then bring it back into the house. That's probably the easiest method of copying their natural habitat.My Collection - Summer 2011
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You might be interested in reading Care and Husbandry of the Chilean Rose Tarantula. In fact you might be interested in reading the entire Spiders, Calgary website. Maybe it couldn't hurt at the least.Originally posted by Terry Henshaw View Post
Nice spider! I like the really fuzzy ones!
POP QUIZZES DAILY, YOUR LITTLE 8-LEGGED YODA WILL BE GIVING YOU!The Tarantula Whisperer!
Stan Schultz
Co-author, the TARANTULA KEEPER'S GUIDE
Private messaging is turned OFF!
Please E-mail me directly at schultz@ucalgary.caComment
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