James wrote: I bought a Grammostola Pulchripes (Chaco Golden Knee) spiderling that hadn't even gotten its colours yet on the 7 September, it is my first tarantula. It has molted twice since then - its most recent molt was on Monday 25th November. It is still very inactive and when I tried to feed it today (after waiting for its exoskeleton and fangs to harden) it would not eat, whereas after its first feeding after its first molt its prey didn't last 30 seconds in the enclosure.
It keeps going into the corner of the enclosure (or burrowing) and contracting its legs so that its knees are above its body. It was doing this before the molt but I thought it was just because it was in premolt, now I am worried that it may be sick.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
You fail to tell us how big (DLS) this tarantula is.
We also need to know what sort of cage/enclosure/container you keep it in. What size?
What kind of substrate do you use? Damp or dry?
What sort of ventilation does the caging afford?
A photo of the tarantula in this posture, plus a photo of its cage would also be a very good idea.
Awaiting your response...
DLS = Diagonal Leg Span = The linear distance between the tip of one
front leg to the tip of the rear leg on the opposite side when the tarantula is
in a normal, resting position. Yes, it's very inaccurate. Yes, it's very unfair.
But, we're not competing for gold medals or a new car. We're just trying to
figure out how big your spider is.
"Mine's bigger than yours is! Neener, neener, neeee-ner!"
