Should I be worried?

[Tara Hamrick]

I have a 6 year old Chilean Rose Hair named Elise. I'm a textbook overthinker so I may be worried for nothing but I'd like another opinion. She has recently stopped eating, has spread a thick layer of web along the entire surface area of the substrate in her enclosure, and has been picking up her water sponge (which we only started using about 6 months ago since she seemed to be having trouble drinking without it) and carrying it around. We thought maybe she was trying to tell us her sponge was dirty so we've gotten her some brand new ones but she still does the same thing. She's been doing that for a month or so. I thought she was possibly getting ready to molt but she's getting skinnier and has yet to molt and it's been almost 2 months since the behaviour started. She won't take any type of food. She's pretty lethargic as well. When I take her out, she doesn't really react to my fingers like she usually does. She just kind of sits there and let's me scoop her up. Not sure if I should be worried, but I am so any information helps! Thanks! Pictures are from a few months back when she was a little more healthy looking.

 

[LC72uk]

Hi Tara
Welcome to the Group

First of all please remove the sponge as this will build up harmful bacteria over time, just use a normal water dish.
G rosea`s are known for refusing and going without food, my adult female went 4 months without a feed and she is fine. She is around 16+ years old.

 

[PanzoN88]

Follow the above advice and you will be good, as already stated they are a breeding ground for bacteria and who knows what else. Tarantulas do not drown, they float, H. gigas have been known to swim even. They are notorious for fasting for long periods of time. When it comes to molting, you won't even know they are in premolt until one day they just molt. I'm not sure from the pictures but on another note, it looks like the enclosure could use more substrate.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Beautiful spider you have there. My rosea has gone over a year without eating...just drinking water. They dont need sponges to drink. Sponges are nasty. A deep water dish overflowed once a week works well. I've seen mine drink from the substrate and moss also. Both are better to drink from then sponges. Tarantulas dont have sponges in the wild. A tarantula that is in possible premolt shouldn't be handled. They are growing on the inside and can be subjected to damage. One other thing to keep in mind is what's on your hands when you touch your spider. Cleaners, soaps, perfumes, insecticides, ect....
Welcome to the group!!!

 

[Whitelightning777]

Try to see if it's a mature male. They also put sperm webs on the ground, but chances are is just going to molt. After they molt, wait a week. Ensure the fangs are fully black and then feed it.