A hello and a few questions!

[Gareth Griffiths]

Hi all!

New to the forum, and indeed new to the world of Tarantula keeping. Ever since I was a child (I'm 25 now) I've been fascinated by tarantulas and always wanted to own one as a pet, and now that fascination has come true.

Last week I purchased a spiderling B. smithi from TheSpiderShop.co.uk - it's one of the bigger ones (4-5cm across) and he/she is absolutely gorgeous. I've named it Smithy, naturally Also bought the juvenile starter kit from the same shop, so got a tank with a flower pot hide, coconut-based substrate and all the tools like hygrometers and thermometers.

Here's a pic:



I have a couple of questions though.

Firstly, is it normal for b.smithi to spend 99% of it's time inside the
flowerpot? It doesn't seem to come out at all, not even to hunt, it
waits for the crickets to walk vaguely in front of the flowerpot and
then quickly snatches them up.

Oh, and will he kick all of the leftovers from his food out of the
flowerpot at any point? Obviously I need to get rid of them as part of
the regular maintenance, but I don't want to take the flowerpot out of
the tank to get at them as it'll disturb the little guy.

Thanks in advance!

[Stuart Lee]

Hi Gareth, Your new little spider looks great, I have 2 B. Smithis Not quite as big as yours tho yet.

Just a few things, Make sure your coconut fibre is dry, Smithis dont like it wet. The little guy is prob hiding cos everything is new and big. Spiders like small spaces so maybe he isnt coming out of his pot yet cos he's a bit scared.

Shouldnt worry too much tho, He's eating which is always a good sign.
One of mine just sits there all thie time and doesnt move even when you open the lid, the other climbs all over the tank and when I open the lid s/he runs and hides lol.

Might be just getting used to the new home.

[Phil Rea]

Your spider is settling in by the sounds of it, and there's nothing abnormal with it wanting to stay in the flowerpot. That's why it's called a hide

I wouldn't worry too much about prey remains. Unless they're fairly large bits then it shouldn't become a problem. Does the spider have access to water?

Try sneaking in and looking at it when it's been dark for a while. You may well find it having a stroll around

p.s. Welcome to the forum

[Faye Sweeney]

oh wow! what a little cutie! congrats on your first Tarantula...
I found that when my B.smithi was in a tank larger than she needed, she just stuck to 1 corner... she occasionally wondered around, but mostly stayed in her little area that she felt secure in. She too would just sit and wait for prey to get close enough

[Peter Lacey]

Congrats on your new T and welcome to BTS and the world of keeping Tarantula. B. smithi come from Mexico, preferring things on the dry side like most Brachypelma however its sensible to include a water bowl - put a stone in this to stop either the T or the food items from drowing. Naturally B. smithi are burrowers, hence the hide, but in captivity you'll often find them out in the open. Initially however its likely to feel a bit uncomfortable and not wishing to be disturbed. Give it some time alone and within a week or so you should find a more content T. Feed it once or twice a week with insects the size of its abdomen and remove anything that's not eaten after a couple of days. You may find food remnants but tbh I rarely find these so a fortnightly check is all you need and there's rarely a need to renew the substrate.
One word of warning, Brachypelma are renowned for flicking irritant hairs, hence their knickname flickypelma, which shouldn't cause too much problem but do be careful of getting too close with your eyes and throat.
We all love to see good pix of even the most common species and you'll probably find plenty of advice so don't hesitate to ask questions, and don't forget that camera!

[Gareth Griffiths]

Cheers to everyone for the welcomes and advice. My girlfriend noted that he was out and about in the tank this morning but quickly hid again when she walked past, so he's probably just coming out at night for now.

I have been moving the tank about quite a bit trying to find a suitable spot for him, so he's probably been disturbed with the movement. I've got him all nice and set up now so the tank will be fixed for a while, should give him a bit more confidence

[Alex Ferguson]

Ours tend to sleep or settle during the day and find around 7pm onwards they become active if there isnt to much disturbence around. Ours prefer the dark as well so red lense torches at the ready =D

alex and julie

[Gareth Griffiths]

The little guy seems to have barricaded himself inside his hidey-hole now. Just using dirt though, not web. What would that mean? Mind you, I've only discovered that by shining a red-lensed torch down the hole, perhaps he's barricaded himself in there because he doesn't like me shining the light in there?

[Brendan Owens]

Hi Gareth,

I wouldn't worry too much, it's quite natural for them to barricade themselves in. Mine do it all the time and then they just appear after a few weeks. One of mine has two hides and he has just blocked both up with coir. I thing that maybe shining even a red lensed torch down the hole might annoy them slightly. I know what it is like though if you don't see them for few weeks you start to worry and then try to find them. If it was me I would leave it for a while now and let him settle in properly. He could also be heading for a moult and hence hiding for a while

[Peter Lacey]

The advice from everyone here is leave it alone, let it become accustomed to its new home for a while, and yet 3 days after that advice you're reporting the same and you've been moving the T about and shining torches!
Think of it this way, YOU'VE just moved house, you have boxes everywhere, things to rearrange and put away in the hope that the house soon becomes your home. And wouldn't you know, the neighbours come around, the family pops in, your mates want to see your new gaff, your work colleagues visit, all within the first 3 days!!!

Pete puts his soapbox away for another day

[Gareth Griffiths]

Yeah, I know, was bad of me. Still, can't change it now!

He seems to have settled in anyway, he hasn't barricaded himself in as such, he's been burrowing like a nutter and the barricade was just the dirt he'd kicked up. He's basically excavated a huge home for himself right at the side of the tank so I can see him down there now too.

Fascinating creature, to be sure, and I won't be doing any more red lens torch shining!

Just out of curiousity, can tarantulas see infra-red light? My camcorder has a nightvision mode on it but I don't want to use it if the IR illuminators on the front are going to piss him off.

[michaelmckinney]

As far as I am aware Gareth, tarantulas ocular tubericle (bunch of eyes) can distinguish only between light and dark and infra red is a high wavelength spectrum so I doubt it would be able to see it. Even animals with an advanced retina (tapitum lucidum) cannot see infra red light.

[Phil Rea]

It's ocular tubercle

From experiments carried out on the ocelli of Aphonopelma chalcodes by R. Dennis Dahll and A. M. Granda, they could 'see' wavelengths between 350 and 640 nm (which actually includes red) if I remember far enough back to my schooldays

Spectral sensitivities of primary and secondary eyes in the Theraphosid spider, Aphonopelma chalcodes Chamberlin, were investigated by recording intracellular receptor potentials from single photoreceptors. The responses of all cells were graded depolarizations, monophasic in waveform. All cells showed dual spectral sensitivities, with a primary peak near 500 nm and a secondary peak in the near ultraviolet at 370 nm. The 500 nm peaks were fit well by a Dartnall nomogram. Spectral sensitivity curves were similar under both dark and light adaptation suggesting the presence of a single photopigment. Intensity-response functions with white light showed sensitivity differences between primary and secondary eyes. Secondary eyes had greater sensitivity ranges and smaller slope coefficients showing them to be more sensitive than primary eyes.

[michaelmckinney]

Thanks for that Phil you learn something new everyday in the world of theraphosids LOL I was basing my theory on my limited knowledge, so now I will remember that LOL.

[Phil Rea]

Thanks for that Phil you learn something new everyday in the world of theraphosids LOL I was basing my theory on my limited knowledge, so now I will remember that LOL.

Bear in mind that despite the fact that they can theoretically see the wavelengths that comprise red light, it's unlikely that they are very sensitive to it.

They have sensitivity peaks near 500 nm, which would be round about blue/green light, with prominent peaks in the near ultraviolet at 370 nm.

You're right about the learning something new stuff. I'm the same. They never cease to amaze me