sudden change

I am new to tarantulas, I got my first one a two weeks ago. Now, I didn't get this for handling I understand the risks that can be put on it when being handled, I have only handled it four or five times. Once the day I purchased it, the second day I had it when I was able to finally put in its incloser, again to put dryer bedding down, than again to put more bedding because I was told my bedding wasn't enough. This tarantula has never once acted with any kind of aggression what so ever. Tonight I went to change the water in the water dish and it was standing in the corner across from the waterdish, and it raised up at me, so i used a pair of long tongs to pick up its water dish and dump it so I can put fresh water in. I have been doing this every other night normally with it on the other end of the tank.

I bought last two Saturdays ago, fed it four good size red runner roaches last Wednesday, didn't do a feeding this week yet because I have been sick in bed, but I was told that the size of pray items I gave it that it could a few more weeks with out food. Now keep in mind I am still a little afraid of tarantulas, but I am not saying this really freaked me out or anything but really makes me not want to handle at all (which is fine), but as I sat the water dish back down it attacked and latched on to the tongs?

my question is could this be that it was just having a bad night, hungry, or an impending molt? I forgot to say the species, we believe is a G. Porteri.

Sometimes they defend the water dish. Mine sometimes does this. She now uses her hide so I just weight till she is in her hide or feeding on crickets on the other side of her enclosure to change out her water bowl. As long as her abdamon is plump they can go long periods without eating and sometimes have long pre molts.

They are more defensive in their homes because they are defending their territory. The key is to never touch her while she is in there, but rather prod her out with the tongs or something. Once they are out, a lot of Ts become docile again.

Good luck and welcome!

Also, you probably don't have to clean the bowl every other day. Just maybe once a week but keep it full.

Its a good possibility that it just hungry and thought that the tongs were food, i get that alot with my G. Pulchripes and i handle mine on a regular basis.

The simple answer is its a Grammostola they are known for sometimes being a little temperamental. From time to time yours may think its an obt instead of the supposed docile t

You don't need to change the water daily. If the bowl isn't fouled, just top it off once a week or so. Obviously it doesn't like all the disruption.

They're wild animals, and unpredictable. We don't know what makes them tick. That cage is the spider's territory, which it's life revolves around in the wild. Intruders may not get warm welcomes. More and more spider keepers today are respecting their spiders and want them to live as naturally as possible. And handling is being seen for the old school stunt it is. Besides posing a danger to the spider, handling is the reason that most people get bit. In fact, there are far more bites by docile species, because people handle them and get complacent with sloppy maintenance techniques, than there are with defensive species. I've kept a lot of old world tarantulas for decades and have never been bit. I don't handle any of my spiders, and use forceps for cage maintenance, not fingers. These are not 'hands on' pets.

It is a good idea not to handle Ts at all, they are very unpredictable. Think of it as fish in a tank, it's nice to look at, but you won't take it out and pet it would you? Also, good idea to use tongs to do maintenance etc. Grammastola (especially rosea and porteri) likes bone dry substrate, peat moss is a great substrate and can be mixed with vermiculate and coconut fibre, don't use wood chips/shavings or sand for substrate though. They are known to fast so don't let it surprise you if your T refuses food for a long time. Also the substrate must be deep enough for it to burrow (4-5" at least), also you can place half a flower pot for a hide or something similar purchased from a pet store. They may move things around such as the water bowl, may even fill it up with dirt occasionally. Rosea/porteri are also known to have mood swings so the sudden threat pose isn't surprising, good beginner T though, very hardy. Also don't mist the enclosure, water bowl provides enough humidity it requires. Make sure the substrate is also laid high enough incase it might decide it's an aboreal, to prevent any injury from falling, but also not too high since (depending on your enclosure) they might try to lift up the lid. Since they are terrestrial there must be an adequate amount of ground space. Don't overfeed it, as long as the abdomen is nice big and plumb (bigger than the carapace at least) it is fine, just make sure it has access to water, especially when molting. Talking about molting, since a lot of first time T owners come on here asking why the T is laying on its back, if you find your T laying on its back, just leave it alone, Ts molt mostly laying on their backs legs stretched out. Remember that G. Porteri are slow growing T's, and that every specie requires different husbandry and that the above mentioned doesn't apply to all species of tarantula. Welcome to the hobby! Hope you'll stay and that you'll enjoy your T, and that there will be many more to come!:giggle:

lalberts9310 said:

Also, good idea to use tongs to do maintenance etc.

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+1. If he wasn't using tongs, it would have been his fingers the spider was biting.

Never handle your T's unless you really know what you are doing, you do so on the floor or bed, and rarely so so. Just added stress for them.

Crepers86 said:

I am new to tarantulas, I got my first one a two weeks ago. Now, I didn't get this for handling I understand the risks that can be put on it when being handled, I have only handled it four or five times. Once the day I purchased it, the second day I had it when I was able to finally put in its incloser, again to put dryer bedding down, than again to put more bedding because I was told my bedding wasn't enough. This tarantula has never once acted with any kind of aggression what so ever. Tonight I went to change the water in the water dish and it was standing in the corner across from the waterdish, and it raised up at me, so i used a pair of long tongs to pick up its water dish and dump it so I can put fresh water in. I have been doing this every other night normally with it on the other end of the tank.

I bought last two Saturdays ago, fed it four good size red runner roaches last Wednesday, didn't do a feeding this week yet because I have been sick in bed, but I was told that the size of pray items I gave it that it could a few more weeks with out food. Now keep in mind I am still a little afraid of tarantulas, but I am not saying this really freaked me out or anything but really makes me not want to handle at all (which is fine), but as I sat the water dish back down it attacked and latched on to the tongs?

my question is could this be that it was just having a bad night, hungry, or an impending molt? I forgot to say the species, we believe is a G. Porteri.

Click to expand...

These links should be helpful. Click and read them all for a wealth of information. Stan put this together as a nice little welcome into the hobby....so, welcome!

Damon

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.

---------- Post added 12-20-2014 at 10:33 AM ----------

Also, I highly recommend getting a copy of The Tarantula Keepers Guide 3rd edition available online fairly inexpensive. Well worth the read if you have 1 tarantula or 50. You will sift through this book and find some very interesting and amazing tidbits of information that you would have never imagined! These creatures are more complex than many, including myself, would have ever thought.

Damon

Crepers86 said:

I am new to tarantulas, I got my first one a two weeks ago. ...

Click to expand...

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

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 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."

SUBSTRATE. Getting to the bottom of it all.

ADDENDA AND ERRATA. Changes, additions and all the material that never made it into the printed version of TKG3.

CARE AND HUSBANDRY OF THE CHILEAN ROSE TARANTULA. The pièce de résistance for everybody who has a Grammostola rosea. This one is necessary only if you already have a Chilean rose or are getting a Chilean rose. Otherwise it may only be interesting reading to give you a broader data base. Also, remember that this webpage was written primarily for Northern Hemisphere enthusiasts. Keeping a Chilean rose in another Southern Hemisphere country should not pose any issues like the dreaded Hemisphere Shift.

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.

Crepers86 said:

... I forgot to say the species, we believe is a G. Porteri.

Click to expand...

Care for G. porteri the same as G. rosea (see above). I am not sure if G. porteri undergoes the dreaded Hemisphere Shift like G. rosea, so be prepared for either scenario. DON'T OVERFEED YOUR G. porteri! Until it begins to appear markedly thin, feed it precisely the same as you would a G. rosea, as above.


Best of luck. Hope this helps.

Wait! You're in Houston! So am I! Send me an E-mail at Stan Schultz.


____________________________________________________________________

YOU NEED TO BE REPROGRAMMED! Yes, this is genuinely, sincerely, profoundly correct! While you may have developed some proficiency at the proper care of aquarium fish, turtles or lizards, parakeets, gerbils, and even the family dog or cat (although there is some genuine question about who has who as a pet with these last two), you need to set all those prejudices and practices aside, and start again with a clean slate.

-- /The Tarantula Keeper's Guide, Edition Four/, S. A. Schultz (In progress.)

____________________________________________________________________

Wow hey guys, that was some awesome information. Thanks for all that. Yeah I never bought this pet with intention handling it, and because I want more now, I plan I reading as much as I can through all the info that was given here. Stan I will email in a few before noon, I love to find local keepers I can connect with... I also thank you may be part of some of the same FB groups I am part of too.

Crepers86 said:

Wow hey guys, that was some awesome information. Thanks for all that. Yeah I never bought this pet with intention handling it, and because I want more now, I plan I reading as much as I can through all the info that was given here. Stan I will email in a few before noon, I love to find local keepers I can connect with... I also thank you may be part of some of the same FB groups I am part of too.

Click to expand...

Awesome, just do as much research as you can on a specific specie before buying it. If you are wondering about about something, hesitant about something or unsure about anything, ASK. Don't hesitate asking any questions here on the boards, there's a lot of experienced members here who loves to help. Also try to buy yourself the tarantula keepers guide, in there you will learn all the information on tarantulas that there's currently available. Glad you're hooked hehe, this hobby is one of the greatest addictions around, and sooner or later you'll find yourself with a 'must get' list. There are wonderful and beautiful Ts out there, just remember, don't rush into anything, take it one step at a time.:smile:

I have to point one thing out to Crepers.

14 days is not enough time to judge the "personality" of your wild pet.