Question about a possible aging T. Stirmi

Gpappy31

Gpappy31

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I had this Stirmi for about a month now and he is about 7inches.

My question is, how can I tell if he is aging?

I feed him roaches, crickets and superworms. BUT if I place these bugs in front of his hideout the bugs eventually get away because the Stirmi never comes out after them. The ONLY way I can get him to eat is if I place these bugs right in front of him and he feels them walking on or around him. He acts almost like he is blind but I do understand they deal with vibrations mainly.

He has never placed any webbing on the outside of his hideout so that probably explains why he never feels the bugs, but he should still be able to see them.

I purchased him at my local pet shop and he was NOT taken care of. Small enclosure, no hideout and was well under fed. He was fed crickets there and he only eats the crickets on occasion but when I feed him roaches he will eat them all day long, if placed right in front of him of course.
 
Gpappy31

Gpappy31

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Also like to add that he cannot produce any webbing. He tries but nothing comes out....
 
Poec54

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7" DLS is still a juvenile with Theraphosa. I'd had 9" ones molt into 10" mature males.

Does you cage have moist (not soggy) substrate, good ventilation, and a full, clean water bowl? Those are the keys to keeping Theraphosa healthy. That and lots of food.
 
Gpappy31

Gpappy31

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Poec54 said:
7" DLS is still a juvenile with Theraphosa. I'd had 9" ones molt into 10" mature males.

Does you cage have moist (not soggy) substrate, good ventilation, and a full, clean water bowl? Those are the keys to keeping Theraphosa healthy. That and lots of food.
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The cage is setup perfectly for a stirmi, perfect humidity and temp. He actually seems to be better and eatting like a horse. But what about the webbing issue? He grabs a large roach and tries to web the substrate but nothing comes out. And I mean nothing. I've felt the ground.
 
Biollantefan54

Biollantefan54

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Can you post pictures? Tarantulas are pretty much blind. They don't really use their eyes for much more than sensing light and dark. Are you sure its a T. stirmi? If it cant web it isn't fatal and one it molts it should be fine. Webbing isn't a life or death thing in captivity.
 
Gpappy31

Gpappy31

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Biollantefan54 said:
Can you post pictures? Tarantulas are pretty much blind. They don't really use their eyes for much more than sensing light and dark. Are you sure its a T. stirmi? If it cant web it isn't fatal and one it molts it should be fine. Webbing isn't a life or death thing in captivity.
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It's a stirmi for sure. No hair on the knee. Here's the best pictures I could take. I don't like the flash from my camera in his face.

image.jpg image.jpg

image.jpg
 
ratluvr76

ratluvr76

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Gpappy31 said:
I had this Stirmi for about a month now and he is about 7inches.

He has never placed any webbing on the outside of his hideout so that probably explains why he never feels the bugs, but he should still be able to see them.
Click to expand...
Tarantula's, apparently, have very poor eyesight despite having a cluster of 8 eyes.
 
Poec54

Poec54

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How tall is the cage? You have some hazardous objects (wood, water bowl) that it could slip off the sides and be seriously injured on. I'd use deeper substrate.
 
Gpappy31

Gpappy31

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Poec54 said:
How tall is the cage? You have some hazardous objects (wood, water bowl) that it could slip off the sides and be seriously injured on. I'd use deeper substrate.
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This pic doesn't show it but I have 9" of substrate. The water dish is half buried in the substrate he never clings to it he always drinks off the side of the walls when I mist. The wood has "deep" holes around it and he likes to sometimes dig in there. On the other side of his 20gallon long tank he has a few real plants and a round burrow bark that's turn upright and he occasionally climbs in there and hides in the plants that I have planted in there.

Where is burrow is and the plants he has about 9" of substrate and where the water dish is, the otherside he has about 3". It slopes down.

He can't climb the lid he canr reach, he has tried. Maybe I'll try and get a pic of his enclosure.
 
vespers

vespers

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Gpappy31 said:
This pic doesn't show it but I have 9" of substrate.
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There's no way. That tank is what, 12" high? The black plastic trim alone is about an inch high.

That said, the sub level on the high side doesn't look bad.
 
Gpappy31

Gpappy31

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vespers said:
There's no way. That tank is what, 12" high? The black plastic trim alone is about an inch high.

That said, the sub level on the high side doesn't look bad.
Click to expand...
I was wrong, the right side is actually 6.5" deep (not 9") The left side is 3.5" deep (not 3").......

I wish these pictures showed more definition, I have the Goliath in the middle of my spider/reptile rack where it was the darkest for him.
 
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