Pink Toe Not Eating

[ALord]

Good Morning! I'm new to the group and a new T mom! I'm a middle school science teacher and have researched pink toes for almost 2 years. I just got one about a month ago. I need some help! I have my baby in a small but tall habitat. She hasn't moved much. But she has started a couple of webs already. I'm concerned that she isn't eating. But honestly, I don't know how to tell if she is. I've been giving her crickets. She just stays at the top and I've never seen her come down.
How long can she go without eating?
How do I know if she really is eating?

Lastly, she started her web on the door and I don't want to ruin it by opening the door. But I'm not at the point I need to. Is it bad to do this? Will she start another web?
Thank you so much for any help on this!

 

[m0lsx]

First, welcome to the hobby & the forum.

Second, the web. It is not ideal when we need to destroy a web just to open their enclosures, but sometimes we need to. And yes, some enclosure designs are far from ideal for heavy webbers. I like top openers, with some form of lip that keeps the webbing below the lid level.

Next. Tarantulas can go many months without eating. In the wild, they are ambush predators, so simply sit & wait for the prey to walk in front of them. So probably eat only very occasionally in the wild. Tarantulas also stop eating before they molt. But food size & type can have an impact on feeding. Food needs to be of the right size to initiate a feeding response.

I have found roaches do not work well with my T's. The same with hoppers (Locusts.)

I have a few T's where crickets that should be the right size, gets no response at all. So I feed these, slightly smaller crickets. What size is your T? Personally, I feed all of my smallest slings prekilled mealworms, only moving onto very small crickets at about 1 to 1.5 inches.

Uneaten food should in general be removed after 24 hours, as it can stress your T. However, give it 48 hours & see if the food disappears then. I have a couple that need that extra night.

Some T's only eat when the lights go off, so in general, do not worry if your T does not seem to eat. It will eat when it wants to & you may simply not be there when your T does feed. Just give it the opportunity to eat each week & enjoy your T.

 

[Lawrence b]

Welcome to the Forum .

 

[geoba]

Good Morning! I'm new to the group and a new T mom! I'm a middle school science teacher and have researched pink toes for almost 2 years. I just got one about a month ago. I need some help! I have my baby in a small but tall habitat. She hasn't moved much. But she has started a couple of webs already. I'm concerned that she isn't eating. But honestly, I don't know how to tell if she is. I've been giving her crickets. She just stays at the top and I've never seen her come down.
How long can she go without eating?
How do I know if she really is eating?

Lastly, she started her web on the door and I don't want to ruin it by opening the door. But I'm not at the point I need to. Is it bad to do this? Will she start another web?
Thank you so much for any help on this!

Hi. Most likely she is getting ready to molt. Don't leave any crickets in her cage because they can kill or hurt her if she does molt. They can easily go for months without eating. My 23 year old chilian rose didn't eat for a whole year before she molted. Good luck with your little one

 

[ALord]

First, welcome to the hobby & the forum.

Second, the web. It is not ideal when we need to destroy a web just to open their enclosures, but sometimes we need to. And yes, some enclosure designs are far from ideal for heavy webbers. I like top openers, with some form of lip that keeps the webbing below the lid level.

Next. Tarantulas can go many months without eating. In the wild, they are ambush predators, so simply sit & wait for the prey to walk in front of them. So probably eat only very occasionally in the wild. Tarantulas also stop eating before they molt. But food size & type can have an impact on feeding. Food needs to be of the right size to initiate a feeding response.

I have found roaches do not work well with my T's. The same with hoppers (Locusts.)

I have a few T's where crickets that should be the right size, gets no response at all. So I feed these, slightly smaller crickets. What size is your T? Personally, I feed all of my smallest slings prekilled mealworms, only moving onto very small crickets at about 1 to 1.5 inches.

Uneaten food should in general be removed after 24 hours, as it can stress your T. However, give it 48 hours & see if the food disappears then. I have a couple that need that extra night.

Some T's only eat when the lights go off, so in general, do not worry if your T does not seem to eat. It will eat when it wants to & you may simply not be there when your T does feed. Just give it the opportunity to eat each week & enjoy your T.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I knew I found the right people. I need to measure her but she is a juvenile. I tried meal worms-but they were alive and then died. I tried a couple sizes of crickets but no luck. I'll keep with the smaller crickets to see what happens.

This makes me feel a lot better! She seems to be a big webber. I was able to slightly open the door to replace her water dish without disturbing the web too much.

I didn't know about removing the food like this so thank you! I'm learning a lot.

 

[ALord]

Hi. Most likely she is getting ready to molt. Don't leave any crickets in her cage because they can kill or hurt her if she does molt. They can easily go for months without eating. My 23 year old chilian rose didn't eat for a whole year before she molted. Good luck with your little one

OH MY an entire year?! Thank you I didn't know about the crickets. I just want her as comfy as possible. I'm already in love...

 

[m0lsx]

With mealworms & roaches, you need to behead them, to prevent them burrowing. Both will continue to move for at least 24 hours. A roach can live without it's head for a couple of days. With mealworms, they can return as darkling beetles. And with crickets, you could try killing them & offering those.

 

[geoba]

OH MY an entire year?! Thank you I didn't know about the crickets. I just want her as comfy as possible. I'm already in love...

It sure is easy to love the little ones. They're absolutely wonderful creatures

 

[geoba]

It sure is easy to love the little ones. They're absolutely wonderful creatures

You might want to keep the humidity up in her cage for a while until she does molt that will help the whole process a lot