Brazilian Pink Salmon Tarantula Has his/her front legs curled up

StuffedOrange

Arachnosquire
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Mar 2, 2015
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74
Hey,

I finally got myself a tarantula and this is currently my first one :)

i was told it is a Brazilian Pink Salmon Bird eating Tarantula.

i have a question.

my Tarantula is like 2 inches large a bit more, and for some reason it has its front legs curled up, just its front legs, her back legs are stretched out fine but her front legs are curled up. What does this mean? Oh and the tarantula does not move a lot.

i tried my best keeping it hydrated, i dont think it is something serious?. i feed her 1 worm each week. and each worm is like around it size.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!!!!
 

Poec54

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Mar 26, 2013
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May be dehydrated, does it have a water bowl? Usually one good drink and they're fine within 24 hours.
 

StuffedOrange

Arachnosquire
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Mar 2, 2015
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Yes it does have a bowl. i don't know much about tarantulas, but The bowl i have for her is like a deep cap of a jar.
 

tarantulashack

Arachnopeon
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Jan 20, 2015
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17
great choice for a first tarantula they are vicious eaters and grow like weeds...as for the curling is it the front legs or the pedipalps there smaller and sometimes look like there curled up there located right next to the fangs.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
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Jul 12, 2014
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Do you have a picture you can share with us? It sounds like maybe you're looking at its pedipalps. Are you referring to the very front most "legs" next to its mouth? If so, that's her pedipalps, analogous to antennae in other Arthropoda. If you really are looking at the first set of legs, she might be grooming them. T's groom a lot like cats do. ;)

Welcome to the hobby, welcome to the boards and imo I think you made a great choice for a first T. :)
 

StuffedOrange

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 2, 2015
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Hey Everyone! Thanks for all of your replies!! :D

Here are some pics, and i was talking about the legs not the pedipalps .
http://gyazo.com/1d7ab4854f78784c2cfe2d76fcc3f94c
http://gyazo.com/5759fa387137cfb586dbe5aee51ea4fc
http://gyazo.com/5972287cca15bb7e12190167d47f85ab
http://gyazo.com/2199e83b5af9418fac6fc5c2c840a379

Oh and btw i held her twice and she is very docile, not aggressive at all, she/he is very calm. she never raised her legs and popped her fangs out.

So what do you guys think? is it normal for her to have her front legs like that? she only has them like that when she is standing still, when she is walking, she walks normally i guess.

Thanks for the help everyone!!! This forum is amazing!

P.S. i have anachrophobia, but i overcome my fear!!! :D I will be spiderman soon.
 

Skrupo

Arachnopeon
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Jan 27, 2015
Messages
22
Hello, I have an LP, about 4+ inches. That seems to be a pretty standard position for her to meditate the meaning of life, or at least she spends a lot of time in it. She is usually out in the open, so maybe by curling her front legs, she is less bothered by light...but that is just my theory.
About them being good beginner Ts...mine a quite feisty, not to be handled, very defensive and eager to bite. Huge change after my experience with the chillest BS you can imagine. Other than that, she is great - nice, large and easy to care for.
 

StuffedOrange

Arachnosquire
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Mar 2, 2015
Messages
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Hello, I have an LP, about 4+ inches. That seems to be a pretty standard position for her to meditate the meaning of life, or at least she spends a lot of time in it. She is usually out in the open, so maybe by curling her front legs, she is less bothered by light...but that is just my theory.
About them being good beginner Ts...mine a quite feisty, not to be handled, very defensive and eager to bite. Huge change after my experience with the chillest BS you can imagine. Other than that, she is great - nice, large and easy to care for.
Thanks, now i'm not worried anymore although she refuses food after trying to feed her multiple times but yea as you said mine also stays outside 90% of the time. for example. she stayed in the same position for hours till next day xD but i see these things are lazy. btw any idea when she will start placing webs in her enclosure?
 

HungryGhost

Arachnoknight
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Jun 23, 2014
Messages
153
My LP has never webbed his enclosure at all. I've had him over a year. I don't think they're heavy webbers.
 

Poec54

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Mar 26, 2013
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Looks okay, plenty fat. I don't know what you have for substrate in there, but dump it and put in something better. I use bagged top soil from a garden center (no fertilizers or anything added). The water bowl should be sunk into the substrate.
 

StuffedOrange

Arachnosquire
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Mar 2, 2015
Messages
74
Yea i changed the substrate. i cleaned the whole enclosure. i used Some sort of Gardening substrate for plants. i heard it works best.

:)

Thanks for the help everyone!
 

LythSalicaria

Arachnosquire
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Jun 4, 2014
Messages
122
That looks like a pretty standard position to me - many of my slings sit in that position. It could be refusing food because its in pre-molt.
 

StuffedOrange

Arachnosquire
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Mar 2, 2015
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Hmm alright but the guy i bought it from told me that it should eat in 3 days, since he told me to feed it 1 mealworm each week but ok, any idea on how long they will last in premolt then proceed to actual molting?

---------- Post added 03-31-2015 at 07:29 PM ----------

oh and btw. she keeps grooming alot from time to time.
 

Poec54

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Hmm alright but the guy i bought it from told me that it should eat in 3 days, since he told me to feed it 1 mealworm each week.

Youngsters eat until they get plump, then they shed and get skinny again. Then they eat, get plump, and shed. They don't stay fat for long. Premolt can last for days, weeks, or months. Patience is a virtue in this hobby.

Be very careful with mealworms and superworms. They'll immediately try to bury themselves in the substrate, and can resurface weeks or months later to chew holes in molting tarantulas. When I use them as feeders, if take them out with forceps if the spider doesn't grab them in a second or two.
 

Blueandbluer

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Mar 17, 2015
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I'd argue that for a T keeper, patience is more than a virtue, it's a dire necessity. They live their lives at a different pace than we live ours, I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it. :)
 

scott99

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Jan 8, 2015
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my LP won't eat when he is stress,he will act like g rosea when I try to feed him. one way to lower stress is to leave them alone for a few days.
 

cold blood

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Hmm alright but the guy i bought it from told me that it should eat in 3 days, since he told me to feed it 1 mealworm each week but ok, any idea on how long they will last in premolt then proceed to actual molting?
T's aren't, or don't need to be on a set schedule for feeding. They can go long periods of time without eating, even hungry species. Create your own schedule.

Pre-molt time can vary from species to species and individual to individual. The more you feed and warmer its kept, the faster the process will play out. Sometimes they may molt a day or two after eating and you don't go through any real pre-molt period (with regards to fasting and hiding), other times they could go into a lethargic pre-molt period that lasts months and months, for some species as much as a year. Also the larger the t is, the longer all of this will take...same with the period of hardening following a molt...a sling may be ready to eat 2 or 3 days after molting, an adult may need 2 or 3 weeks. With your size, if its kept warm, I'd expect pre-molt to last less than 2 weeks....if its kept on the cool side, could be much longer.

I would also change it up with regards to the prey. Meal worms (all worms, really) are a really fatty meal. I even switch up the kinds of worms I feed during a cycle between waxies, supers and mealies. Probably not anything critical, but different prey offer different things, and I believe the worms to be more fatty and crickets and roaches to be better suited to every day feeding with regards to nutrition.
 
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