Need help with B. smithi

[jason holland]

oooh yeah didnt think about that. yeah that would make sense. cool, well ill still keep an eye on her/him, its still not eating... well not that ive noticed. but yeah. hibernatoin ok, thanks for that,

[jason holland]

took a pic the other day of spidey. you can see the size of it now.



still in its cave with both ends still blocked up. im hoping she or he is hibernating. how long you reckon they hibernate for?

[Louise~Nichols]

You mentioned previously that your critter has a darkening bald patch on its rump...I think that your spidey just wants to feel secure ready to shed its skin! I have B.Smithi amongst my collection...none are hibernating, and all are feeding well inbetween moult times. I have seen juves feed well right upto moulting, but I have also had times when they refused food for several weeks previous and then for a number of weeks afterwards too, although sometimes they have resumed munching within 5 days.

A few of my other specimens also *dig-in* when moulting...my Brachypelma Klaasi and my B.Emilia both do, but my G.Aureostriata shows off and does it in the open! lol

[jason holland]

fair enough...so back to the moulting theroy then lol... well ill just have to wait. keep an eye on him or her over the next few weeks. im not sure if the bald patch is darkening... it might just be me... still not overly sure. just hope everythings ok. if it is nothing to worry about (which im sure it will be) at least ill know what to do next time.

[Louise~Nichols]

Did the bald patch look sort of fleshy coloured to start with and then become brown/black? Or was it a dark area anyway...I've got some shots of my juve B.Emilia who has just gone from fleshy bald patch to black bald patch if that's any help for you to see? I know that my little *Dawn* is due a shed now anyways, so I've been expecting to see this happen.

[jason holland]

as far as i can tell its still a peachy colour. but im sure it has slightly darkened. i know that if the patch has darkened, the T is in its last week or so of the moulting stage, as the blackness or browness etc, is the pigments in the new hairs underneath forming the new colour in the new hairs. but its definatley not dark enough to be that yet. (the only real prob is, that as its enclosed in its tunnel, i cant see in unless i take the roof off, and i dont really wanna disturb her/him... although i did just now as i need to make sure its still ok)

[jason holland]

ok chaps and ladies, heres a pic of his or her rump, do you think this is starting to darken? to me it looks it..but im not sure


also while taking this picture, i startled had to move a couple of the fake plants, which made a live cricket apear. seeing as i just tried to feed and i found a live cricket, this kinda shows that its not eating. the last time i tried feeding was 2 days ago... aobut 35-40 odd hours... so moulting stages??

[Mark Lynes]

Your spider is not in obvious premoult. Brachys are somewhat individualistic, some will burrow while many, particularly B smithi, are content simply to lounge around on top of the substrate. I have many B smithi and they all go through phases of not feeding much, while at other times they are postively glutonous. I have one old girl who simply can't be bothered much of the time, as if it's too much of an effort.

B smithi are like the trees in Lord of the Rings, they do things very slowly

Mark

[jason holland]

lol. well i just hope that everythings ok. getting a bit worried but im sure its all fine. temps fine, got a wter dish, dry substrate but slightly damp underneath... well i supose i just gotta wait and se what happens

[Louise~Nichols]

Don't get too stressed, or you'll prematurely age yourself within a year of ownership!
All specimens react differently...at the moment your little friend's rump is still fleshy in colour ie: it isn't about to flip on its back and moult yet; but when a shed is nearing that area will turn dark brown/black...there'll be no mistaking the colour change!

One of my B.Smithi went through the following stages in this last month:
3 weeks ago ~ bald area developing,
2 weeks ago ~ bald area very pronounced and pinky flesh colour, juve starting to block off entrance to hide.
4 days ago ~ the bald area has blackened off, juve now refusing food, spending more time in hiding.
Today...juve sealed itself inside hide!

So...I'm waiting for a moult from this critter too.

[paul acres]

Hi,i keep all my smithi,s in dry tanks with a water tub,never failed for me.They don,t seem to like the damp.Cheers,Paul.

[jason holland]

cheers,

the thing is its not damp. it is underneath but on top all the substrate is dry? so bit wierd really