Hi, I am new here, my name is Kristen and I bought a pink-toed tarantula on my birthday, June 9th! I was wondering if she is about to molt because she is not eating! Normally she eats a cricket as soon as or soon after I release the cricket in her enclosure...however she has left the cricket alone this time for 3 or 4 days. I just wondered if there may be a problem because it has been a week or two before I fed her the cricket I put in! So if she is not molting what could the reason be?
Thank you for your help! =)
P.S. The enclosure is getting a bit dirty so I'm gonna clean it soon, but I wondered if that effected her eating habits at all?
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pink-toed tarantula question
kris0707
Jun 29, 2009 10:14 PM
Replies (2)
wolfpackh
Jun 30, 2009 12:05 PM
As long as your tarantula is not loosing weight and basically looks "normal", don't worry about her. Tarantuals can go for months without eating. Yes, they often stop feeding pre-molt. As for a dirty cage, just wipe any wastes up, pick out dead crickets and whatnot. No need to thoughrly clean tarantua cages. Spiders are not big on periodic re-aranging of their furniture, it stresses them out.
Krawll
Jul 01, 2009 12:06 AM
Hi
I have a pink Toed T. myself and i was wondering the same thing when i first bought him .
It's totally normal that they stop eating before molting and it could take up to 3 weeks from the day she stoped eating to the day she molts. Then after the molting session is complete, it WILL take up to another full week before she starts eating again.
They need that time to allow their new skin to dry and harden up before they can start hunting again.
And about the dirty enclosure, if i were you i would wait untill she is done with the molting . She will probably make some webbing soon if she hasn't done it already. That web is only to hide in it and not be disturbed by anything. They usualy build it 1-2 weeks before molting and stay in it the whole time. Wait untill she's out of the web before trying to feed her again.
You'll eventualy get to understand your spider's needs just by looking at her. I've been taking care of mine for a year now and i can say i do understand it's body language p to a certain point 
Good luck with your new pet and i wish you a late happy birthday
Krawll
