Strange G.Rosea eating habits?

[david11]

So my g rosea molted 9.19.2015 and before that she was a good eater but when she molted i waited a week before offering her a cricket and she did not eat it. Now she is eating but very rarely? i offer her crickets and superworms every other day and she doesnt eat them,she only eats some of them when im not looking but after she finishes it she wont eat for another week or week and a half? is this normal? i dont mist the tank,she only has a water dish and a hide in her enclosure and i keep the temperature at 23-24 celsius.

 

[Enn49]

You don't say what size she is but normally slings are fed twice a week and adults once a week at most. G. roseas are known for fasting too.

 

[Entity]

Rosea are notorious for fasting. up to a year or even 2 in very rare cases. Unless it is a sling like enn said, u dont even need to be offering food more than once a week. if it isnt eating even once a week offer food every 2 weeks until it eats. if you said it is still eating on occasion than u already have a good eating rosea. also u r absolutely right about the enclosure conditions. water dish NO misting. rosea do not like dampness.

 

[Chubbs]

Another one of these threads? [emoji14]

If I had a dollar for every" My G.rosea isn't eating" thread I'd be a millionaire by now.

 

[Entity]

Yeah @Chubbs i think we could probably just do the write up similar to what i posted and just keep cutting and pasting lol

 

[Chubbs]

We have a molting thread for noobs, so it might be a good idea to create one for rose hair care as well.

 

[Entity]

We have a molting thread for noobs, so it might be a good idea to create one for rose hair care as well.

lol. yeah i think thats the one we get the most questions on. I guess it makes sense since a lot of people get those as their first...unfortunately. Everyone calls them a good beginner tarantula, but i dont think so personally. They raise a lot of questions and are not as "docile" as people think sometimes.

 

[Fuzzball79]

I think Roseas are the Royal (Ball) Pythons of the spider world (minus all the whacky "morphs"). They're also recommended as beginner snakes and many new keepers despair at their feeding habits (exclusions apply as with G. Rosea). If you look on snake forums you'll see just as many threads on their eating (or better not eating) habits.
Still love my Rosea though (my first). She's a nice girl and I know not to worry about her occasional fasting. She's not been too moody neither (wouldn't bother me if she was) and is not a pet rock.

 

[Enn49]

@Fuzzball79 Don't you insult Royal Pythons, they're the comedians of the snake world, great characters lol. I had 17+ royals over the years and only ever had feeding problems with 2. My current one is a pig.

We never had a problem with my son's rosea. He always ate well until about a week before he died and was never moody. Guess we were lucky.

 

[RedCapTrio]

This issue over the G. rosea/porteri has me dancing "Chacha" whether to get one or not.

 

[Chubbs]

This issue over the G. rosea/porteri has me dancing "Chacha" whether to get one or not.

There are so many better beginners species you could get IMO.

 

[RedCapTrio]

Yeah, kind of thinking the same thing. I am on the lines of "what about an arboreal T for next in line?"

 

[Chubbs]

Weren't you recently commenting on how fast your B.smithi seemed to you? An arboreal is going to be a handful for you then since all of them, Even Avics, are faster moving than Brachys.

 

[Entity]

I dont think avics are bad for beginners, at least not an avic avic. they r jumpy and erratic sometimes. but no more than my b. smithi or GBB. But mine is a lot less shy that my others. SHe comes out and crawls on me frequently when i get in her enclosure for maintenance.

 

[david11]

she started eating normally again ^^ im tired of all those g rosea posts too but this is really strange cuz she was and wasnt eating

 

[Entity]

Not tired of the posts per say just commenting on how many we get. no worries. if u have a question ask!

 

[MassExodus]

she started eating normally again ^^ im tired of all those g rosea posts too but this is really strange cuz she was and wasnt eating

David, after owning her for awhile you'll relax, and it won't bother you so much. They eat when they want to eat, if they don't it's no big deal You'll see many people say things like "feed slings two times a week, juvies once a week, adults every 2 weeks or every month", but those are general guidelines, not meant to be strict rules you must adhere to. How many times a sling will eat a week depends on what prey items you're feeding and how large the item is. The simple fact is, every spider is different, with different habits for eating and molting and wandering, and that behavior will change periodically. It's not just roseas that fast, either, other species do it as well. Mature males of any species are notorious for it. Some spiders will go into a long pre-molt, others will enter pre-molt and molt quickly after that. Some will be moody, some won't, regardless of species. Some roseas will bite you readily, some are as tame as pet rocks...until they have a bad day. This applies to every species of spider you can name. Sorry, I'm long winded when I'm in a good mood Hope this helped.