I'm New: Help Needed Please

dwdeloach

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
101
Let me start by saying I am new to the wonderful world of Tarantulas. I have read quite a bit and have purchased my first. I am new to this forum and am seeking advice from those with more experience.

My new addition is a B. Smithi. My T is still young appx. 2" leg span. I will try to attach a photo. I have questions that are probably quite common.

I was told in another forum that I do not have a B. Smithi, but a B. Emilia because of the triangular marking on the carapace. Can someone please look and tell me if I do? It believe it to be B. Smithi without all the color and hair yet.

My T is in a 5 gallon aquarium on 4" of a 50/50 organic compost/vermiculite mix. Temp stays around 75, humidity between 60-70%. Within a couple of days a nice burrow was dug and has completely sealed itself in. As you see in the picture, there is a pink bald spot on the abdomen. I do not believe a molt is soon.

I know some T's dig burrows including mine. When will it unseal itself? This has been going on for about 2 weeks now. Apparently it is eating because the crickets are disappearing during the night. I assume it is coming out of the burrow and then resealing itself again???

Let me know if anything seems wrong with the current setup and conditions. They were obtained from different caresheets from around the internet.

Sorry for the long post. Any comments and help would be appreciated.
 

Aragorn

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
361
That is a B. smithi! ;) It looks just like mine, exept mine is younger and I can see a black patch of hair on top rear of the abdomen, and the rest have very little hair scatter through out with tan skin. You see the red markings on the knees that look like a flame with fainted yellow makings...that is a redknee.



"The enemies will never Aragorn come to the throne of Gondor!";P
 

Aragorn

Arachnobaron
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Dec 21, 2003
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361
I say, if it is acting normal as it would in the wild, like digging a burrow and seal it with the silks, and eating well, it is perfectly fine there laddy!;)



"The enemies will never Aragorn come to the throne of Gondor!";P
 

caligulathegod

Arachnodeity
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 26, 2002
Messages
391
You'll love it. That's a great T to start out with. Much less quirky than the Rosehair. When it stops eating for a month you know that a molt is going to happen, not just the spider being capricious.
 

dwdeloach

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
101
Originally posted by Aragorn
I say, if it is acting normal as it would in the wild, like digging a burrow and seal it with the silks, and eating well, it is perfectly fine there laddy!;)



"The enemies will never Aragorn come to the throne of Gondor!";P

I have read that they seal the entrance with silk as you mentioned. I do not see any silk. Mine has just pushed up a large pile of substrate to close it off. I forgot to mention the burow is under a half log. Nothing seems to be able to get in or out. Should this be removed?

Eating seems to be hit or miss. It will eat a cricket wait a few days and then maybe eat another. I have read where others claim theirs eat daily or a couple after 2-3 days. What is normal? I have only actullay seen it eat once. Usually one will just disappear.
 

dwdeloach

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
101
Thanks for the replies. Sorry for all the questions. Just excited about this new pet and want it to do well.

Based on size, appx. 2" legs pan. How old do you thing he/she is? How often should I expect a molt? About what size do the colors start to really show?
 

GoTerps

Arachnoking
Old Timer
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Sep 18, 2003
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2,115
Ya definetly have a smithi. The way it looks you should start to see even more adult color with the next molt.
 

rosehaired1979

Arachnoking
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Apr 14, 2003
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2,900
If its eating I wouldn't worry because its probably coming out in the night to eat.
 

defour

Arachnobaron
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Joined
May 17, 2003
Messages
347
Originally posted by dwdeloach
Thanks for the replies. Sorry for all the questions. Just excited about this new pet and want it to do well.

Based on size, appx. 2" legs pan. How old do you thing he/she is? How often should I expect a molt? About what size do the colors start to really show?
Its growth rate depends so much on environmental conditions that an age estimate is really approximate. Having said that, most of the red knees I've had were somewhere in the 2 - 3 year range at that size and molted two or three times per year.

You don't have to worry about it constructing anything it can't deconstruct. When it closes off its burrow it knows what its doing. Often, when they take the time to block it off with substrate (as opposed to just webbing over it) they're approaching a molt. Just make sure it has water available and it will take care of everything else.

Steve
 

Aragorn

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
361
Originally posted by dwdeloach
I have read that they seal the entrance with silk as you mentioned. I do not see any silk. Mine has just pushed up a large pile of substrate to close it off. I forgot to mention the burow is under a half log. Nothing seems to be able to get in or out. Should this be removed?

Eating seems to be hit or miss. It will eat a cricket wait a few days and then maybe eat another. I have read where others claim theirs eat daily or a couple after 2-3 days. What is normal? I have only actullay seen it eat once. Usually one will just disappear.
That is normal I wouldn't worry about that. i think he/she uses a combination of dirt and silk to seal the burrow, which may look like plain dirt.

And for the miss and hit thing that's normal. As long as, you keep a close eye to see if he has been eating enough, that shouldn't be a problem!
 

dwdeloach

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
101
Thanks to all for your replies. I feel more comfortable after reading your responses. I just wish my T was a bit more visible. I must say people in this forum seem like they are more experienced and more willing to help. Thanks again. I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on. Thanks again.
 

sunnymarcie

Celestial Spider
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
1,294
First a welcome to the boards;)

And one thing the others did not say..........
at least I didn't see it:p

Make sure that all of the live food is removed if it has not been eaten. If your tarantula is about to molt the live food will cause
problems.
Cute little bug looks just like mine:D

After the molt that triangle
should change to more of a rectangle.
 
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