New to Tarantulas- Some questions!!

The Aquarist

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 18, 2014
Messages
2
Hello!

Well, I a got a tarantula. I got it as a "pink toe tarantula." I was told that it's a good beginner species. I researched it, and it looks like the guyana pink toe tarantula. AI mist it every day, just to keep everything moist, and in its cage is a small water bowl, and some logs for it to hide. It has a legspan of about 2 inches. Now, to the questions:

I got it on Wednesday. I also watched it poop on Wednesday. I put in a cricket today, and it doesn't seem hungry. Is this normal?
Also, I just noticed that it has only 7 legs!:confused: Will it grow them back?
Lastly, will it chew through screens? This has me worried. The petstore lady told me this absolutely won't happen, but I read that they can chew through metal. I then got it a new cage with a stronger top.

I have a lot of experience with fish, and I even own a frog, but I am completely new to tarantulas.

Thanks!
 

BobGrill

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,669
You don't need to mist. Too much moisture can actually kill them. This makes the air in the cage stuffy which usually results in a dead tarantula. Also, are you aware that these guys are arboreals, and therefore require a tall cage and a vertical hide?
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
Can we get a picture of your new 8 legged friend and its enclosure? It will help others to help you get a good start in the hobby and help make your first T keeping experience a good one.
Welcome to the hobby! Stick around, read and browse the threads, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience here that you s imply wont find anywhere else ime.
Nice to meet you. :)
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
Avics need to be kept dry, on dry substrate, which cross ventilation. A water bowl provides the humidity. Misting should be weekly, and then only lightly and on their silk, for them to drink from, not for raising the humidity. They live in trees where the breezes dry things out quickly after rains. What you're doing is going to kill your spider.
 

DVMT

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 12, 2012
Messages
91
Hello!

Well, I a got a tarantula. I got it as a "pink toe tarantula." I was told that it's a good beginner species. I researched it, and it looks like the guyana pink toe tarantula. AI mist it every day, just to keep everything moist, and in its cage is a small water bowl, and some logs for it to hide. It has a legspan of about 2 inches. Now, to the questions:

I got it on Wednesday. I also watched it poop on Wednesday. I put in a cricket today, and it doesn't seem hungry. Is this normal?
Also, I just noticed that it has only 7 legs!:confused: Will it grow them back?
Lastly, will it chew through screens? This has me worried. The petstore lady told me this absolutely won't happen, but I read that they can chew through metal. I then got it a new cage with a stronger top.

I have a lot of experience with fish, and I even own a frog, but I am completely new to tarantulas.

Thanks!
The following message has been brought to you by The Tarantula Whisperer himself....Mr. Stan Schultz. Re-posted for you. Enjoy

Ah, ha! Did you hear that? That was the newbie alarm! :biggrin:


WELCOME TO THE HOBBY!

WELCOME TO THIS FORUM!


Please don't be offended. Tarantulas have been around for several hundreds of millions of years, and have been evolving and fine tuning their lifestyles steadily, seemingly almost forever. So, we're all playing catch-up here, and in a sense we will be newbies for a long time to come.

I strongly urge you to go to the Spiders, Calgary webtree and start reading. At least scan through the entire website, picking out topics that catch your attention, but be sure to read the following webpages. (Even experienced aficionados can sometimes benefit from a little review.)

STAN'S NEWBIE INTRODUCTION. No, you start out with the RIGHT foot first.

STAN'S RANT. Read as many of the books mentioned here as you can find.

MYTH WEBTREE. How did we ever get into this mess?

CARE SHEETS: THE MOTHER OF ALL MYTHS. How to avoid both going crazy and killing your spider at the same time.

TEMPERATURE. You may suffer hot flashes or cold chills but your tarantula doesn't.

RELATIVE HUMIDITY. You've been lied to!

GROWING YOUR OWN. No, we're talking about tarantulas here, not the other "stuff."

CARE AND HUSBANDRY OF THE CHILEAN ROSE TARANTULA. The pièce de résistance for everybody who has a Grammostola rosea.

SUBSTRATE. Getting to the bottom of it all.

The best news is that 90% of the questions you wanted to ask plus a lot, LOT more that you didn't think to ask are all laid out for you for ABSOLUTELY FREE if you read that website and take advantage of your friendly, neighborhood, public library! All you need do is read.
 

The Aquarist

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 18, 2014
Messages
2
Hi everyone,
thanks for the responses

I will cut back on misting. The substrate is pretty much dry now, and everything looks good. How deep should the water bowl be? Right now, I have a very small amount of water in there, because I read that they drown easily. So, I mist only once a week? Will it get its water from the water bowl? I moved around a lot in the night. I don't see the cricket, but it could be hiding. Also, it has began to spin a web! I think everything is going good so far. I do have vertical hides for it, and maybe I can get a picture of it soon.

Again, thanks for the responses!

checked out your website, Damonvikki. It's a wealth of information!
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
I will cut back on misting. The substrate is pretty much dry now, and everything looks good. How deep should the water bowl be? Right now, I have a very small amount of water in there, because I read that they drown easily. So, I mist only once a week? Will it get its water from the water bowl?... Also, it has began to spin a web
For a 2" spider, I use the lids from 16 oz plastic water bottles. It can't drown in that. I don't know where you got the drowning info, but it's not correct. I've had spiders dive into their water bowls to hide from me, and stay there awhile.

Spinning is a very good sign with an Avic. It means the spider is starting to feel at home. The silk is what you want to mist, lightly, once a week or so, and not the rest of the cage. That's so the spider can drink in case it hasn't ventured down to the water bowl (they do drink from water bowls though). In the wild they're used to rain and dew on their silk and drinking from that.

The biggest killer of Avics in captivity is moist, stuffy cages. People don't give them enough airholes, and keep misting like madmen. The cage gets soggy, can't dry out, and the spider develops respiratory problems. When in doubt, keep them a bit drier than wetter.

---------- Post added 10-20-2014 at 08:24 PM ----------

are you aware that these guys are arboreals, and therefore require a tall cage and a vertical hide?
Not true. A majority of my collection is arboreals, with a fair share of Avics, and none of them have tall, vertical cages. They just need to be a few inches off the ground. Too far, and they may not get their food and water. They're more sedentary than long-legged arboreals.
 

BobGrill

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,669
For a 2" spider, I use the lids from 16 oz plastic water bottles. It can't drown in that. I don't know where you got the drowning info, but it's not correct. I've had spiders dive into their water bowls to hide from me, and stay there awhile.

Spinning is a very good sign with an Avic. It means the spider is starting to feel at home. The silk is what you want to mist, lightly, once a week or so, and not the rest of the cage. That's so the spider can drink in case it hasn't ventured down to the water bowl (they do drink from water bowls though). In the wild they're used to rain and dew on their silk and drinking from that.

The biggest killer of Avics in captivity is moist, stuffy cages. People don't give them enough airholes, and keep misting like madmen. The cage gets soggy, can't dry out, and the spider develops respiratory problems. When in doubt, keep them a bit drier than wetter.

---------- Post added 10-20-2014 at 08:24 PM ----------



Not true. A majority of my collection is arboreals, with a fair share of Avics, and none of them have tall, vertical cages. They just need to be a few inches off the ground. Too far, and they may not get their food and water. They're more sedentary than long-legged arboreals.
Sorry I have to disagree with you there.
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
This isn't a competition.
My apologies. I got carried away and assumed that because I have 34 species of arboreals and have successfully bred and hatched out 8 of them, that I knew how to keep them properly. I stand corrected. I bow to your superior experience.
 
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BobGrill

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,669
No, it isn't. Your comment of tall cages being 'required' wasn't accurate, or I couldn't do what I do with arboreals.
Well I feel it is. I don't agree with your methods here. Deal with it.

Yeah yeah I'm impressed. I don't care how long you've been in the hobby or how many species you've kept, I'm not going to worship you like some sort of internet God. Anyway you're being annoying and argumentative again, so I think I'll be blocking you for now.
 
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