My eight legged friends, update topic.

**Tsubaki** · 10-31-15, 02:32 PM

Seeing as there is very little spider action on this forum, i'll just update my spiders in one topic from now on! So far i have the following spiders:

Brachypelma Angustum female (Costa Rican Red)
Grammostola Pulchripes female (Chaco Gold Knee)
(Grammostola Rosea (Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula) -> after i pick it up tomorrow)

Probably won't be getting any more spiders soon, maybe when my snake room is done and have more room. Would still like a B. Smithy and B.Boehmi and maybe some ornamental spiders.

Here's a picture of their housing. All the tanks are heated on the backside by heat-tape, this is the view from the couch where i usually sit

**Tsubaki** · 10-31-15, 02:36 PM

My Pulchripes is a fairly large spider, her name is Madame Octa (or just Octa for short) named after the spider from my favorite childhood book series the vampire assistant. She had stopped eating about 2 months ago. As her housing was spot on i suspected pre-molt, and i was right. She molted last week, today was the first time i offered her a grashopper. She did not give it a chance to walk an inch

Old picture pre-molt but i like this picture.

Getting ready to molt, she build a nice molting web (and made the window all dirty)

Right after molt, still very squishy and shy.

Her empty skin

The second she noticed the food!

**Tsubaki** · 10-31-15, 02:44 PM

My Brachypelma Angustum. Fiesty little thing, very food orientated! Today i didn't even get to release the grashopper into the tank, she grabbed it from the tongs. She's a yet black spider with red hairs, but the black hairs are very shiny and make it hard to photograph her true color at night. She usually spend the days with most of her body in her hide-out (Just her legs sticking out) So all the good photo's are of her holding something to eat. Her name is Shelob, like the spider from LOTR

How she sits during the day.

**Tsubaki** · 10-31-15, 02:49 PM

4 year old Grammostola Rosea, picture taken by current owner will take it down when i made my own pictures. Don't know much about her yet, will update tomorrow

**Tsubaki** · 11-01-15, 09:29 AM

Oh that picture was so unrealistic, only the hairs at the ends of her legs have a slight pinkish hue. The rest of her is bright orange instead

pretty girl! The previous owner said she doesn't eat as well as she should but she does eat, we'll see. Here are some pictures of her and her home.

Well hello there.

SnoopySnake · 11-01-15, 09:59 AM

Nice T's. I didn't realize they could go without eating like that. I don't think I could keep any tarantulas but I can appreciate them

**Tsubaki** · 11-01-15, 10:14 AM

Thanks Snoopy, i have heard of adult T's (Especially Rosea's) going of food for anywhere between 2 months to a year. For no reason at all. They gorge themselves, and then stop eating for a while. But going off food for a molt is very normal for any spider, 2 months is a bit long but my pulchripes does not molt a lot because she is near adulthood. Also, after molting they can't eat for a while, their teeth need to harden.

jossh27 · 11-01-15, 05:16 PM

i wish i wasn't so afraid of them. they really are cool to look at. maybe one day i can dip my toes in the arachnid world... the tank would have to be massive so i could clean its cage without getting too close to it

eminart · 11-01-15, 07:20 PM

Very nice T's, tsubaki. I need to get a few more myself.

Wingbeats · 11-01-15, 08:18 PM

Gorgeous!! I'd love to see some of these in real life someday

**Tsubaki** · 11-02-15, 04:28 AM

Thanks everyone

Quote:

Originally Posted by jossh27

i wish i wasn't so afraid of them. they really are cool to look at. maybe one day i can dip my toes in the arachnid world... the tank would have to be massive so i could clean its cage without getting too close to it

This is a bad idea for multiple reasons, large tanks are not beneficial for (most) spiders. This goes against a lot of other animals, bigger usually being better. However, imagen a spider in the wild. It will only create a small home, and wait in or nearby until food passes by. In a few square inch of natural habitat, many insects and other critters will pass by. The spider will have multiple chances to catch a meal. However, in a large tank with one feeder running around in it. The spider might not even get a single chance, they're not like snakes and will not actively search for food once they see it. Also their vision is pretty poor and the food would have to get really close. Tossing in a ton of bugs is also a bad idea, starving feeders could start eating your spider, if the spider decides it's not hungry. Especially during and after a molt, stray feeders can be lethal. It also makes it difficult to monitor how much your spider has eaten. A tank about twice the adult legspan in depth, and 3 times that in width. That is a suitable size, a little bigger is ok but not too much. Also, terrestial spiders, can drop to their death from seemingly low hights. (Less than a foot)

What you could do is get a medium sized spider, watch it grow and grow with it. Pick an easy and docile species/specimen. Keep it in a top opening enclosure, with an overhanging edge. Clean and feed with tongs, cleaning is extremely minimal. Spiders keep clean house, i havent had to clean out my pulchripes tank since i got her. Just daily clean water, pick up little messes with the tongs. If the spider has to move, or if you have to put your hands in. Put a small plastic cup over the spider

good luck!

**Tsubaki** · 11-08-15, 11:50 AM

The first time i fed my spiders since the Rosea got here, she would not eat (She was still settling in so that made sense) However, it did make me wonder a bit.. The previous owner told me she refused to eat anything larger than small crickets, which just struck me as weird. He also told me she was very stressy, and shy. I seriously doubt his husbandry as she has already eaten 2 very large grasshoppers for me, and is always sitting in the middle of the tank in full sight. She has just taken another large grasshopper, about the size of her abdomen.

All 3 seem very content with their homes.

prairiepanda · 11-08-15, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jossh27

i wish i wasn't so afraid of them. they really are cool to look at. maybe one day i can dip my toes in the arachnid world... the tank would have to be massive so i could clean its cage without getting too close to it

As Tsubaki said, a smaller enclosure is better. But if cleaning makes you nervous, you can always just use a bioactive substrate! There are plenty of really chill, smaller species that you could try to start with so that you won't be too intimidated. Euathlus sp. red, for example. You can buy a baby direct from a breeder and watch it grow

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsubaki

The first time i fed my spiders since the Rosea got here, she would not eat (She was still settling in so that made sense) However, it did make me wonder a bit.. The previous owner told me she refused to eat anything larger than small crickets, which just struck me as weird. He also told me she was very stressy, and shy. I seriously doubt his husbandry as she has already eaten 2 very large grasshoppers for me, and is always sitting in the middle of the tank in full sight. She has just taken another large grasshopper, about the size of her abdomen.

All 3 seem very content with their homes.

Rosea in general are really weird when it comes to food. Maybe the previous owner's husbandry was off, but maybe not. It's possible that the only times she ate for them was when they offered small crickets, so they stopped offering anything else and assumed that was what she liked. Meanwhile, the times they offered other foods could have been times she just didn't want to eat. For a while I thought my rosea was a picky eater and would only eat crickets, but I have since discovered that she just doesn't eat very often and it was coincidence that I gave her crickets when she was hungry. Her eating habits fluctuate quite a lot; sometimes she'll eat a week after her last meal, other times she'll fast for 4 months. But she maintains her weight and stays well-hydrated. From what I've heard, this is typical of rosies in particular(my other Ts are all regular eaters, except before molting or in the case of mature males)

Your girl looks well-fed and healthy, so I wouldn't worry about her past conditions

**Tsubaki** · 11-08-15, 11:40 PM

That could be the case, that she just happened to take crickets. And i agree she seem to be in good shape, so i do believe she was cared for with the best intentions. Do feel like saying. There were multiple reasons i do not have a lot of faith in the previous owners housing. (Tiny tiny tubs he claimed were for adult ball pythons, small enough to make me cringe. For example. )

David VB · 11-09-15, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsubaki

Thanks Snoopy, i have heard of adult T's (Especially Rosea's) going of food for anywhere between 2 months to a year. For no reason at all. They gorge themselves, and then stop eating for a while. But going off food for a molt is very normal for any spider, 2 months is a bit long but my pulchripes does not molt a lot because she is near adulthood. Also, after molting they can't eat for a while, their teeth need to harden.

Yeah, my rosea is not eating for a couple of months now... But she still looks healthy so i'm not worried