Where's my T. gone?

[Martin Burnside]

Hi All,
I've just joined this forum after spending some time looking at other threads posted & have some questions of my own to ask.

I have owned my first T (it's a B. Smithi) for the past 3 months & had lots of pleasure watching it grow from a 1cm sling to a 3cm (in 3 moults). It was feeding on average 3 crickets a week. Inevitably it outgrew it's 2" x 1" plastic box so I have moved it into a proper Viv. 8" x 12" x 8" high. I have put in a bag of Zoo-Med forest floor bedding, which is made up of Pure Red Cypress mulch., it is about 3" deep. It has a proper T-Rex hide & water dish with a sponge in it. I have also added a thermometer & humidity gauge. Temperature is around 65 - 70degrees & humidity 96%.

Now the background scene is set here's my dilemma.

1. I have not seen my sling for over 2 weeks now. It isn't in it's hide & it has not escaped. I can only assume it has burrowed in the substrate. I added a couple of crickets but they are still there wandering around. I am worried that it may have died. What should I do? Do I rummage around looking for it or would this be too risky & lead to me squashing it?

2. I can see a lot of tiny white things moving around in the substrate. Are these mites & will they harm my T? I read that you should bake the substrate before using it. If I must bake it I need to find my sling first? I have a dilemma !!!!

Any advice would be very helpful.

[mary walters]

Leave it till late night and then see if you can see it wondering round, it has probably burrower as the opportunity is now there.


For goodness sake take the sponge out of the dish, they do more harm than good, mites, bacteria, all sorts of other nasties, just bin it....please.

[Martin Burnside]

Thanks for the advice. I'll get my torch out tonight then.

Regarding the sponge - I read about it somewhere that it stops the crickets from drowning. Also I wouldn't want my T to fall in either.

[Nicola Dolby]

Just out of curiosity Martin, what Type of tarantula are you keeping?

[James Box]

to keep a sling or crickets from drowning, you can use a bottlecap with some small gravel in it. no need to use a sponge.
i've heard of people using cotton but changing it often...not something i'd do, i'd rather spray down the side of the tank near where the sling is.
doubtless your spider has burrowed!
as for the tiny little things, do they hop when you bother them? if so, they are springtails and welcome tank cleaners. if they just crawl around slowly and are a bit beige in colour, they're probably detrivorite mites, and opinion is divided on how good it is to have them around. technically they are tank cleaners too, but rather unsightly, and have been suspected for causing deaths (probably unfairly though).

[Martin Burnside]

It's a Mexican Red Knee (Brachypelma smithi).

When it was in it's small housing I had a small plastic bottle top with pea shingle in it, but now it's in a bigger housing I've put a proper water dish in for in. Maybe I should fill it with some small pebbles. From the sounds of the replies I really should ditch that sponge.

The little crawlies are light coloured - beigh is a good description. They don't jump but just crawl around very slowly. They are really small - like pin heads.

[Peter Lacey]

Mites! there's 1000s of different kinds of mites but this recent post helps illuminate the worries: http://www.thebts.co.uk/forums/showp...91&postcount=6

They're usually quite easy to remove, just stop watering the substrate, they'll congregate around the water bowl so remove that and they'll soon die off. Don't worry about having a few but keep your eye out for a population explosion. Smithi isn't happy on a moist substrate so you may wish to reduce your watering and try to clear out any uneaten food. They will bury but this may be due to a variety of reasons, eg.
Its about to moult
The temperatures are too high or too low
You're supplying too much light
Its constantly disturbed.
Hopefully over time it will show itself again.

[michaelmckinney]

Hey martin hope u find ur b.smithi, but for spiderlings so small i would'nt use use forest floor bedding coconut husk substrate mixed with vermiculite is best with a small piece of sphagnum moss for moisture.

[Louise~Nichols]

Hi Martin,

I personally wouldn't have a 3cm spid in a huge space. My youngsters of that size live in cadburys boxes, as it's easier to keep track of them until they are of proper juvenile proportions.
Next up...for young spiders, milk bottle lids work best, they're shallow and no risk of drowning to the youngster.

Temperature and humidity...errrm...of all the things that could cause a problem, being soaking wet (96%) and cold (65F) is a good way to tempt fate. Your Brachypelma Smithi should be around 80F and 60% to 70% humidity.
I may sound a little harsh, but better research before purchase would have been a good idea...but there we go, you're here now and we'll do our best to help.

My thoughts are that it would be wise for you to set up a smaller box, using coir as the substrate, give it a gentle spray at one end, rehouse your sling and provide a little more warmth, as it may have gone into hiding through being too cold.

Anyhow..I hope your Smithi hasn't curled up and died, and good luck with it for the future.

[Martin Burnside]

Hello Louise - I know it doesn't look like it from my posting but I did do my homework & I also bought a good T. book & read it cover to cover - I'm like that with anything I go into.

The problem here is that a colleague (who has kept & bread for a number of years) recommended that at 3cm my sling was ready to move into a bigger home. The mistake I seem to have made is to place a bag of forest floor bedding in the viv, straight from the bag. Unfortunately it is rather damp & therefore too humid. I have placed the viv in sunlight to dry it out, but it is taking it's time. Also the inside walls are steaming up a bit. I have now junked the sponge & replaced it with small pebbles. Now there are some mites in the water dish.

I think my best approach it to search him out & put him back in his original box which is about 3" x 4" for a bit longer. I though it was too small really, but after reading some postings I suspect it's ok for a few more months.

I will also junk the bedding & may try some peat bedding as that seems to be a good recommended option.

[Nicola Dolby]

hi Martin,
yes I'd move your spider back again until after its next moult. When she gets to 4-5cm then maybe a petpa thats 6" x 12". also as well as a "hide" or "cave"give your tarantula enough soil to burrow in and only cover half the substrate in moss. I know that Brachys like it dry as they get bigger but dry moss is really soft and my lot love it (especially my B. bohemi for some reason). Hope this helps.

[Martin Burnside]

Ok - so now I have the whole contents of the viv strewn across the bottom of my bath (hope the wife doesn't get home just yet !!!). I have carefully sifted through it all, twice but I can't see the little fella. If he has died, shouldn't I be able to at least find a skin????

He has been missing for nearly 3 weeks now so maybe he's decomposed. Anyone got any ideas?

[Peter Lacey]

You should be able to find something, I've purchased Ts that have 3 or 4 moults in the substrate. If you think of the body mass of your T that's probably about the size you're looking for when its cradled itself up. So, check under any items that are in the tank and carefully sift through.
Any substrate that's kept moist will be a suitable home for mites and will encourage them to multiply. So, if you have a dry region T you should try to emulate that with the substrate. Cocofibre, vermiculite and sphagnam moss are all great at holding the moisture which is why I reduce these in my dry substrates. They're obviously great for moist conditions which would be suitable for Avics and Pokies.
Fingers crossed you'll find your little fella.

[SylviRigden]

Maybe he's not there at all, could he have got out? My smithi is always looking for a means of escape.

[Nicola Dolby]

try lookin for signs of web as a clue. Good luck!