Avicularia Juvenile not eating.

[Raptorsnap07]

Hi guys it’s your boy again. I have some more questions about my Avic not eating. I got her New Year’s Eve and have her in a good cage setup with lots of airflow and cork bark to climb on. Only problem is that she will not eat. I tried roaches first cause they are easier to deal with but she refused to eat them so I tried crickets because there where dead ones she had eaten in her container when I got her so I figured maybe she was being picky. I normally feed her by taking tweezers and holding the prey by there feet and placing it in front of her. But again she is not interested at all. Her abdomen is small but she still won’t eat. She already had molted when I got her the molt was in her container and she looked bright colored. So I know it’s not molting. I’m just worried because she won’t eat and I need help. Please if you can give me ANY advice I will take it. Thankyou fellow arachnid keepers. Have a good day

 

[Arachnoclown]

Try not feeding her with tweezers. Avics like to hunt...throw some roaches in and turn out the lights. Not sure what your set up is like but you will need a little more then corkbark to make a avic comfortable. If they are uncomfortable they won't eat.

12x12x12 Exoterras for inspiration

 

[Raptorsnap07]

Ya sorry I forgot to mention I have a small water bowl and suction cup plants and other stuff sorry. I said specifically the cork bark because then she can hid there my bad but Thankyou for the advice. If that by any chance doesn’t work what should I do?

 

[Richieha2012]

Ya sorry I forgot to mention I have a small water bowl and suction cup plants and other stuff sorry. I said specifically the cork bark because then she can hid there my bad but Thankyou for the advice. If that by any chance doesn’t work what should I do?

I am in no way an expert, but sometimes when they’ve recently molted, it takes them a couple of weeks for their new exoskeleton to fully harden. She could be not quite ready yet. In that state they are pretty vulnerable and don’t usually move around or act themselves much.
I’d make sure to keep her water dish full, and giver her some time and privacy. Try again in a few days to a week to see if she acts any different.

 

[ArachnoHorn]

I am in no way an expert, but sometimes when they’ve recently molted, it takes them a couple of weeks for their new exoskeleton to fully harden. She could be not quite ready yet. In that state they are pretty vulnerable and don’t usually move around or act themselves much.
I’d make sure to keep her water dish full, and giver her some time and privacy. Try again in a few days to a week to see if she acts any different.

Yes I agree

 

[Volkswachter]

There are a million and one reasons (not really, more like 5 or 6) for a tarantula to not want to eat. They could be too hot or too cold, they could be in premolt and just off the idea of food. They could have just molted. They could be stressed. They could be just not in the mood for food. One of my M. balfouris buried himself for 6 months, no molt, no issue, just decided that's what he wanted to do for 6 months, and when he came out he still didn't care about food for a week.

Best you can do is keep offering food on a regular schedule and try to eliminate as many possible causes that you CAN control (temp, humidity, stress to a degree) and if it's none of these issues, then it's just the tarantula being a tarantula.

 

[Volkswachter]

Added, judging by your picture, the substrate looks bone dry, I'd recommend adding another few inches of substrate, and keeping it a bit damp. As others have said, maybe a few hollow cork bark logs, or cork hides. Also keep in mind that most (maybe all) tarantulas are photophobic, bright lights are not their friends, they don't like it, so this could also be causing stress if you keep your T under bright florescent lighting or anything like that.

These are my suggestions, also check the temperature, it looks like a fairly large enclosure for a juvenile, make sure it's not too cold (no idea where you live, I'm in Canada so my Ts need a small space heater near them to keep them at an optimal temp).

If none of these things help, then just offer food on a weekly basis, and if your T is hungry, she will eat.