I have a new tarantula, grammostolla pulchra spiderling around 1.5inches.
It's eating a lot. 1 superworm per day for the past 4 days.
I heard they don't overfeed , and since i am a kid I can't resist putting a super worm everyday leaving it for a few minutes, and if she doesn't eat it I take it out.
Anyways is this a good or bad thing?
How do you know if she is stressed?
My enclosure is a fish bowl, yeah, around 5 inches in diameter. I have plastic covered on top with a few holes. About 1 inch of substrate. and a little cut box, where she stays, in the middle of the bowl. Any comments suggestions for a newbie?
Every night time, when i touch the bowl it is quite cold and i really have no idea what to buy (heating mats or whatever) or is this a normal thing? pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I really am fascinated with these creatures :P I'm gonna ask my parents to buy me more other newbie species :D
Tips for people like me? :) THANKS

I want her to moult :( but she's eating alot so that must mean it's gonna be a while since she molts :|

Okay...lets start with the food issue. I would cut down on the food a bit. 2-3 superworms per week is still a lot of food for a 1.5" spiderling, While "powerfeeding" or feeding as much as possible to your T to help it grow is possible...one per day is still awfully high. At least cut it down to once every other day.

Next, to tell if your T is stressed out, just observe. A stressed out T will usually bunch up in a little ball, tilting the first segment of their legs over the top of the carapace...basically looks like they're covering their eyes. A stressed out T probably won't move much either, unless it's trying to escape a heat/cold source.

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Your enclosure isn't ideal, but it's not bad either. I would really get some more substrate in there. In my experience, many T's under 3" like to burrow. I've got one now that I can't get the substrate deep enough...he's 1.5 inches, and has burrowed through 5 inches of substrate right to the bottom. I would get a container that allows for substrate to be at least 3 inches deep, if not more. Your little hide should be fine though, especially if your T likes it. Don't worry about a water dish until the T gets at least to 2.5-3 inches, then get a small, very shallow one.

As for heating, I would get a thermometer, and just keep the temperature above 70 degrees F. If you must use a heat mat to do this, just don't put it under the cage. T's burrow to escape heat, and if your T burrows towards the heat source, you end up with a crispy critter. It might be tricky with the goldfish bowl. You might consider buying a 5-10 gallon aquarium, and putting the goldfish bowl AND a heat mat inside the aquarium, then cover MOST of the top of the enclosure...creating kind of a micro-climate. Also, when your T gets big enough, that larger aquarium might come in handy anyways.

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Next, molting for a T that size should come about once every 1-2 months until they reach 3 inches or so, especially on a diet of a superworm every couple days. You don't want your T to grow up too fast anyways :)

Finally, if you really want to expand your collection, I can offer a few tidbits of advice.
-Try to buy online, and don't skimp on shipping costs. Online breeders will have better selection, and better prices than pet stores, plus many pet stores don't really know how to care for T's very well, whereas online providers do. If you live in the states, both Swiftinverts.com and kenthebugguy.com have been very quick to answer my questions and have a good reputation with the hobby. Shipping is expensive...like 30 bucks or something, but if you buy 2 tarantulas at the same time for 15-20 bucks less than the pet stores would sell them, you make up that 30 dollars very quickly.

-If you buy in the pet stores, your best newbie species are probably going to be B. smithi (Mexican red knee), G. rosea (Chilean rose hair), and A. avicularia (pink toe). All are excellent choices, although if you already have a G. pulchra, I say skip the Chilean rose. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

-If you buy online, I recommend any species from the genus "Brachypelma" Do beware...many of them like to flick urticating hairs at you, but they will very rarely bite, and usually are docile. Also, any species from the genus "Avicularia" and "Aphonopelma" are also usually good. Outside of those, C. cyaneopubescens (green bottle blue), A. geniculata (giant white knee), and P. irminia (Venezuelan suntiger) all make great intermediate species.