Baldy Spid

[benmaffin]

I noticed that my Curly Hair Spiderling has gone a bit bald on his abodmen. He's eating and spinning webs and moving about okay. Is this normal?

I don't handle him and he's not been in any fights to my knowledge.

Any ideas?


Ben

[Johanna Turner]

My recently moulted L, parahybana had an almost totally bald abdomen until it moulted yesterday - I put that down to when I had it in the post, stressful transit.

It's not always down to active flicking of hairs, sometimes they line their burrows/hides with the hairs too.

I wouldn't worry too much if you can't see any indicators of stress.

Where is it kept? What kind of temp/lighting are you allowing into the pot? Bright light can stress them out and a lot of banging and loud noises (Vibration) will also stress them out.

Some things to consider but I would be more worried if you see it happen again after a moult but a little patch is not necessarily a lot to worry about (If it's got a totally bald bum on a regular basis, then I'd be likely to worry!)

[Ray Hale]

Dont worry Ben it is perfectly normal for some species to lose a little hair,
They tend to rub their abdomen as a defence mechanism. It might be that a cricket startled it or even when you opened the lid.

Its nothing at all to worry about and it will regain it after the next moult.

Ray

[benmaffin]

Spider Living

Where is it kept?
It's kept in a tank in my kitchen though there's no vibration problems from the washing machine (as it's not in the kitchen). The worst it gets is me cooking.

What kind of temp/lighting are you allowing into the pot?
There is no specific lighting. Just ambiant lighting from the room (which is off in the evenings). It's got a plant pot to hide in and it can hide under it's bark.

The temperature is via a heat matt.

Could it be some sort of infection or stress from mites? I've only ever seen one mite? Or could the tank be too moist? I spray it once a week?

Kind Regards,
Ben

[sarah Smith]

I really would not worry bout the bald patch but curlys like it on the dryer side so you might want to reduce your spraying a little.

[benmaffin]

Bald Spider Video...

Not too sure if this will work or not...

I've put a vid of him on YOUTUBE...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrqGaEdcvtY"]YouTube - Baldspid2[/ame]

[Robin Johannessen]

Hi!
I think you should change his sustrate to peat instead of gravel. This will allow him to dig, and make it a much happier T
I don`t think you need the additional heat source, as long the temperature in you kitchen is between 18C(65F) and 27C(80F).


Good luck!

Regards
Robin

[Colin D Wilson]

I think, from the look on the video, it's actually vermiculite that it's on Robin.

[Robin Johannessen]

I think, from the look on the video, it's actually vermiculite that it's on Robin.

ohh, I`m sorry
Anyway, I would have change to a least a mix of peat and vermiculite.

[Colin D Wilson]

Definitely, Peat and vermiculite mixture is personally my favorite.

[Matt P Kent]

Benmaffin, your spiderling-blogs were great, I have to say thank you. I wanted to keep spiders for more than a decade now, but coming accross your spiderling-blogs months ago made me start my research and eventual 'delve'.