Gbb behavior...

[mrsoul1974]

Hi, all...
So my gbb looks like it's in final molt as a male after it's last molt about 3 months ago. Spider looks great. Like mist gbbs... it would always eat like a cha.p. afy8its last molt 3 months ago, it ate once and refuses weekly feedings. All he does is circle his enclosure and drink tons of water. Any advice about what's going on is greatly appreciated. Much love.

 

[mrsoul1974]

 

[Casey K.]

Did you check his last molt to see if he lost his sucking stomach? His abdomen is very small... even for a male and GBB are usually aggressive eaters. His behavior is odd. Drinking a lot of water means he is dehydrated from not eating food (which is usually where most of their hydration comes from). I hope he is OK. Since it's been 3 months since his last molt, I'm not understanding why he wouldn't be eating by now. I could be wrong but there may be an underlying reason why he isn't eating. Have you checked for nematodes? Also, check to make sure his fangs are still intact.

 

[mrsoul1974]

Thanks, Casey. I dropped a roach in last week, but could not confirm a feeding. I will try feeding again this week and let you know what happens. Yeah, his butt is really small and is still drinking from the water dish daily. I'll double check when I get home this afternoon, but I did not notice anything unusual as far as his mouth and fangs go. Fangs looked normal and nothing messy that would indicate nemotodes. Just very strange behavior for a really good eater...

 

[mrsoul1974]

Thanks, Casey. I dropped a roach in last week, but could not confirm a feeding. I will try feeding again this week and let you know what happens. Yeah, his butt is really small and is still drinking from the water dish daily. I'll double check when I get home this afternoon, but I did not notice anything unusual as far as his mouth and fangs go. Fangs looked normal and nothing messy that would indicate nemotodes. Just very strange behavior for a really good eater...

also, last molt didi not have the stomach. I actually posted it to sex him.

 

[Arachnoclown]

So is he or isnt he mature? Male Gbbs lose that feeding frenzy mentality when they mature. Sure they still eat (when they can grab that food with those boxing gloves on.) As for the sucking stomach it really doesn't matter at this point (if hes mature). The only thing to fix it is molting again and that's probably not going to happen. I'm sure he's alright. If he makes a sperm web you should think about breeding him...speed up his life cycle.

 

[mrsoul1974]

So is he or isnt he mature? Male Gbbs lose that feeding frenzy mentality when they mature. Sure they still eat (when they can grab that food with those boxing gloves on.) As for the sucking stomach it really doesn't matter at this point (if hes mature). The only thing to fix it is molting again and that's probably not going to happen. I'm sure he's alright. If he makes a sperm web you should think about breeding him...speed up his life cycle.

He's got the tibial hooks and the boxing gloves on his pedipalps, so I guess we go with mature. He's still not eating and just wanders and drinks. I would have to send him out to a breeeding project if I went that route. I have very little space to start getting into breeding. Thanks for the advice!