I am maybe asking a stupid question but I got my first TS 2 months ago, so I am new to this. I hear and read that when your TS in in its molting stage you should not feed before, while and just after a molt, why is this?

Is it due to the TS being vulnerable, or because it might hurt him? Also it is quite difficult to recognize the sign of some of my 6 TS when they are molting so I might feed him without knowing it is that time again.

What I usually do is put a cricket in their cage. If the cricket is still there the next morning I will remove it.

The reason I am asking is because my Grammostola pulchripes ate the day before it molted.

Firstly, there is no such thing as a stupid question!!!

What I saw with mine is that they stop eating before a molt, if they are still small they often eat a day or so before a molt, but close to fully grown, they stop eating up to a month (in some cases even longer) before a molt. During a molt they can't eat, and after the molt the fangs and the rest of the "mouth" needs to harden the same way as the rest of the "Skin". I normally allow a day or 2 for small T's and a bit longer for bigger ones before I offer any food. Bottom line is they will take the food if they are able to eat, if they don't, it is best to remove it.

Thx for the explanation, makes a bit more sense now. And so im just a little bit smarter and more informed, hehe

One more thing I forgot to mention. While a T is in a molt it is totally defenceless and the overall feeling is that some feeder insects might harm the T during this phase. I never experienced it, but did read of some cases where it happened.