How often to feed my Burgundy Goliath, and care sheet stuff

twentyeggs · Nov 3, 2011

hey guys, so i just got my Burgundy Goliath Bird eater. Here is a pic of it.

Don't worry She was only in this terrarium for an hour while i set up a suitable terrarium of coco coir, moss, and got the appropriate humidity and temperature.

I have a question that i can't seem to find an accurate answer for. How often do i feed her? as a 4 inch spiderling, and as it grows? i plan to give her crickets until she is large enough to safely eat madagascar hissers which i am currently breeding. her legs and fangs need to be large enough to hold and clear those spiky legs the hissers have. So my question is how many crickets per week/month?

my other tarantulas would only eat 1-3 crickets a week. but this is a large fast growing spider so this may change

ALSO i found this care sheet from a top selling popular website called animal world, i am not sure if i agree with what it says about the humidity best to be kept on the dry side??

right now, i have her in a 5 gallon tank, 80 degrees F, 80% humidity, COCO coir, shallow water dish, moss, and a hemicircle log for a hideout. I have a 50 gal terrarium that i would like to put her in when she is matured but i've heard they should be kept in small enclosures. Doesn't make since being that in the wild they don't live in inclosed habitats/environments (except their burrow)

here is the URL: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/reptiles/spiders/GoliathBirdEatingSpider.php

Thanks in advance!!

jfuente31 · Nov 3, 2011

I feed my T stirmi about 5-6 crickets once every week, but my girl is about 8" right now. I guess since your T is only about 4", 1 large cricket per week should be enough. If your still not sure, just check the abdomen, I am usually comfortable seeing my T has about the same size as their carapace, if I see it smaller then I know its feeding time.

And you may want try to raise up your humidity level to around 90% or so, the higher the better at least for this species. Although 80% may be ok, but it is better to be on the safe side since this species can be a bit sensitive to lower humidity. Just my two cents though.

As far as enclosure goes, 5 gallon should suffice for now and maybe transfer her to a bigger enclosure after 2 or 3 molts. Maybe 50 gallons is a bit overkill, I think a 30 gallon (36x12x16) is a more suitable size for the full grown one, I may be wrong though.

Just make sure the humidity is high and she should be a happy T

enjoy

-Jay-

Ran · Nov 3, 2011

I presently am raising 3 T. blondi's 4.5" each, and 2 stirmi, one is 8", the other a 2" sling. I feed them every other day when they are at the entrance to their burrows checking for passing prey..but I feed them roaches that are about a quarter of their length, not prey their own size or even 1/2 their size. If they stay inside their "dens" then I pass on introducing prey items. They seem to regulate themselves in this manner. Their enclosures are kept in swamp like conditions..ie...quite moist, warm, and humid. Haven't had any molting issues this way. These are gentically engineered to grow rapidly since they come from a tropical environment where they need to grow quickly to avoid being the prey. Tropical jungles are full of predators and prey in close proximity to one another, unlike deserts where the T's are able to grow slower because they are less likely to run into predators as often as their tropical cousins. Make sure they have a temperature gradient inside their enclosures so they can adjust accordingly.

Slevin · Nov 3, 2011

beautiful tarantula! most tarantulas are excellent at adapting to environments and i see many published articles and books stating you can get away with keeping them in drier habitats than what they're used to. however, with the theraphosa's, i think it it's better to keep their humidity high and most people here will say the same thing. i keep my T. stirmi enclosure humidity fluctuating between 80 and 90 percent and never lower.

1 to 2 crickets a week will be more than enough for her. i feed my t. stirmi (which is also now around 4 inches) one medium b. dubia a week and it still plumps up her abdomen just fine.

some people keep full grown theraphosa's in 5 to 10 gallon tanks but it's mostly for saving space. some argue that large tanks make it harder for them to find their food but i always make sure she eats after i drop one in. if you want to put her in a 50 gallon once she's got some size go for it. as long as you don't overdue the decor to where she could injure herself it's all good. i have the space to spare so i prefer larger tanks for adults

Ultum4Spiderz · Nov 4, 2011

Slevin said:
some people keep full grown theraphosa's in 5 to 10 gallon tanks but it's mostly for saving space. some argue that large tanks make it harder for them to find their food but i always make sure she eats after i drop one in. if you want to put her in a 50 gallon once she's got some size go for it

30 Gal long is ideall. but i dont got the room LOL
....5 Gal for a adult sounds impossible..
I never owned one, buying one SOON:biggrin:

twentyeggs · Nov 4, 2011

my 10 gal tank is 12 inches tall and right now my T is climbing up-side-down on the lid. should i be concerned? The bottom is layered in 2.5-3" inches of soft coco fiber.

Slevin · Nov 4, 2011

Ultum4Spiderz said:
....5 Gal for a adult sounds impossible..

ha, you'd think so. but i'm pretty sure jon3800 has a video on youtube of one of his in a 5 gallon! i don't blame him though, guys got walls of spiders. btw ultum, if you find a place selling blondi or apophysis spiderlings, please make a topic or put it in your sig of where you found them because i've been dying to buy some to go with my stirmi

twentyeggs said:
my 10 gal tank is 12 inches tall and right now my T is climbing up-side-down on the lid. should i be concerned? The bottom is layered in 2.5-3" inches of soft coco fiber.

is it a theraphosa, twenty? and how long is its diagonal legspan roughly? if the tank is 12 inches, you should have at least 6 inches of substrate in there so she won't fall and hurt herself

twentyeggs · Nov 4, 2011

Yes, commonly called a burgundy Goliath bird eater, sci name is Theraphosa stirmi

her leg span is about 3-4 inches if they were stretched out.

i will add some more substrate. will she always climb around when she get larger or will she get too fat and lazy and stay on the ground? She was up there almost all night and day so im wondering if she doesn't know how to get down once she gets up there. She is using the corners of the walls because there is rubber for her to cling onto and climb, i think.. I took her down myself since i didn't know if she got stuck or not. wasn't very happy about a giant hand since it was the first time i handled her and didn't give much of a heads up, she gave me a warning at first by turning around with just her two front legs in the air, but quickly gave up and crawled on my hand with some back leg brushing. she stayed put too, and seems very docile from what i hear about T's. but she is so fast!

jfuente31 · Nov 4, 2011

twentyeggs said:
Yes, commonly called a burgundy Goliath bird eater, sci name is Theraphosa stirmi

her leg span is about 3-4 inches if they were stretched out.

i will add some more substrate. will she always climb around when she get larger or will she get too fat and lazy and stay on the ground? She was up there almost all night and day so im wondering if she doesn't know how to get down once she gets up there. She is using the corners of the walls because there is rubber for her to cling onto and climb, i think.. I took her down myself since i didn't know if she got stuck or not. wasn't very happy about a giant hand since it was the first time i handled her and didn't give much of a heads up, she gave me a warning at first by turning around with just her two front legs in the air, but quickly gave up and crawled on my hand with some back leg brushing. she stayed put too, and seems very docile from what i hear about T's. but she is so fast!

maybe an inch more of substrate and you should be good. If you just put your T in her new enclosure then she is probably just not used to it yet, just give it a couple or so more days and she will eventually settle down.

Jones0911 · May 24, 2015

I'm not sure if you all are talking about glass tanks specifically but I have found that when I had my huge Ts (had to sell them because I kept relocating) one being a strimi, humidity is held better in rubber maid bins with holes poked in the top/sides. I'd only need to mist it twice a day.... what type of enclosures are you all using?

Poec54 · May 24, 2015

jfuente31 said:
- 1 large cricket per week should be enough.
- you may want try to raise up your humidity level to around 90% or so, the higher the better at least for this species. Although 80% may be ok, but it is better to be on the safe side since this species can be a bit sensitive to lower humidity. Just my two cents though.

- 1 cricket a week isn't enough at that size, it should be getting several at a time at 4".

- Forget the humidity gauges, they're not accurate. Moist substrate (not soggy), cross ventilation, and a full water bowl. It's pretty simple.

---------- Post added 05-24-2015 at 09:43 AM ----------

Slevin said:
- i see many published articles and books stating you can get away with keeping them in drier habitats than what they're used to. however,
- with the theraphosa's, i think it it's better to keep their humidity high and most people here will say the same thing. i keep my T. stirmi enclosure humidity fluctuating between 80 and 90 percent and never lower.

- Keeping tarantulas as dry as you can possibly get away with is bad advice from the TKG, the author having far more experience with species from dry regions than wet tropics. To Stan, Theraphosa and Hysterocrates are 'swamp dwellers' (compared to the Brachypelma and Aphonopelma he kept); it's is a poor term, as they live in rain forests not swamps. Some people take it literally and overdo it.

- Again, ditch the gauge. Theraphosa don't require constant 80-90% humidity. They're fine with 60-70% with cooler temps and moist substrate. In fact, you don't want them too moist when room temps are below 70. Temps and humidity are tied in to each other. The writers of care sheets giving specific humidity's usually don't know details of those climates (and almost none have ever been to those countries), yet they pick numbers out of the air and owners try to bend over backwards to achieve them. Most places have wet and dry seasons.

EulersK · May 24, 2015

Poec54 said:
Again, ditch the gauge. Theraphosa don't require constant 80-90% humidity. They're fine with 60-70% with cooler temps and moist substrate. In fact, you don't want them too moist when room temps are below 70. Temps and humidity are tied in to each other. The writers of care sheets giving specific humidity's usually don't know details of those climates (and almost none have ever been to those countries), yet they pick numbers out of the air and owners try to bend over backwards to achieve them. Most places have wet and dry seasons.

Poec54 gave me very similar advice when I got my MF stirmi, and she's been a happy girl ever since. Listen to the man. Moisten different areas of the enclosure to avoid mold, that's all I can add. Just listen to your spider - they (usually) give pretty obvious signs of stress when conditions aren't right. That can come in the form of a curl. For me, my stirmi practically lived on top of her water dish for the first few days I had her, telling me she needed higher humidity.

Probably the best advice he gave was to NOT mist! Just pour water, misting stirs up the hairs. I didn't believe him. I itched for days, man.

cold blood · May 24, 2015

Poec54 said:
- 1 cricket a week isn't enough at that size, it should be getting several at a time at 4".

- Forget the humidity gauges, they're not accurate. Moist substrate (not soggy), cross ventilation, and a full water bowl. It's pretty simple.

---------- Post added 05-24-2015 at 09:43 AM ----------

- Keeping tarantulas as dry as you can possibly get away with is bad advice from the TKG, the author having far more experience with species from dry regions than wet tropics. To Stan, Theraphosa and Hysterocrates are 'swamp dwellers' (compared to the Brachypelma and Aphonopelma he kept); it's is a poor term, as they live in rain forests not swamps. Some people take it literally and overdo it.

- Again, ditch the gauge. Theraphosa don't require constant 80-90% humidity. They're fine with 60-70% with cooler temps and moist substrate. In fact, you don't want them too moist when room temps are below 70. Temps and humidity are tied in to each other. The writers of care sheets giving specific humidity's usually don't know details of those climates (and almost none have ever been to those countries), yet they pick numbers out of the air and owners try to bend over backwards to achieve them. Most places have wet and dry seasons.

+1

Well said Rick.

Poec54 · May 24, 2015

EulersK said:
Probably the best advice he gave was to NOT mist! Just pour water, misting stirs up the hairs. I didn't believe him. I itched for days, man.

Sorry you had to find out that way, but now you know that you don't want to do anything to stir up Theraphosa hairs. They deliberately put them around their territory (and especially molting beds), like barbed wire. Very effective defense.

EulersK · May 25, 2015

Poec54 said:
Sorry you had to find out that way, but now you know that you don't want to do anything to stir up Theraphosa hairs. They deliberately put them around their territory (and especially molting beds), like barbed wire. Very effective defense.

Yeah, see, didn't know that. Luckily it was very mild, not like I got a face full or anything. But my specimen (and many others, from what I can gather) kicks hairs with every step when bothered. That, and the stridulation is absolutely constant. I find it interesting just how quickly this species will go into defense mode rather than just running like most others.

vespers · May 27, 2015

Poec54 said:
- 1 cricket a week isn't enough at that size, it should be getting several at a time at 4".

- Forget the humidity gauges, they're not accurate. Moist substrate (not soggy), cross ventilation, and a full water bowl. It's pretty simple.

---------- Post added 05-24-2015 at 09:43 AM ----------

- Keeping tarantulas as dry as you can possibly get away with is bad advice from the TKG, the author having far more experience with species from dry regions than wet tropics. To Stan, Theraphosa and Hysterocrates are 'swamp dwellers' (compared to the Brachypelma and Aphonopelma he kept); it's is a poor term, as they live in rain forests not swamps. Some people take it literally and overdo it.

- Again, ditch the gauge. Theraphosa don't require constant 80-90% humidity. They're fine with 60-70% with cooler temps and moist substrate. In fact, you don't want them too moist when room temps are below 70. Temps and humidity are tied in to each other. The writers of care sheets giving specific humidity's usually don't know details of those climates (and almost none have ever been to those countries), yet they pick numbers out of the air and owners try to bend over backwards to achieve them. Most places have wet and dry seasons.

Just so you know Rick, you're responding to people that don't post here anymore. Jones0911 bumped a 4 year old necro-thread lol.

Poec54 · May 27, 2015

vespers said:
Just so you know Rick, you're responding to people that don't post here anymore. Jones0911 bumped a 4 year old necro-thread lol.

It's so others reading here know too.

vespers · May 27, 2015

Poec54 said:
It's so others reading here know too.

That same info is in at least twenty other threads, probably more.

Poec54 · May 27, 2015

vespers said:
That same info is in at least twenty other threads, probably more.

But as we've seen, most people, especially newbies, don't do any searches prior to asking questions. No harm in old threads being revived, some have a lot of good info. There's no virtue in itself of a thread being newly-started, just look at what's current now.

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