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  • #1

    Mexican Red Knee.

    Hi you guys. Thanks for the replies to my last post.

    At the moment I have a Mex Red Knee in an Exo Terra 12x12. It has a burrow into the substrate and I can see it undergrournd (well partly). I have not seen it above ground in weeks . I have popped crickets in and thy dont get eaten, well it ate a couple but that was about three weeks ago (perhaps a little more) I am beginning to worry. I know my T is still alive as I see it moving around from time to time. What do you guys think?
    Also the water bowl appears to have fungus growing under it, this is well away from my T. I would not say it is overly wet but it is constantly moist to add a bit of humidity, any suggestions regarding this. Souould I remove the substrate and replace it.
    I look forward to hearing your replies. Thanks. (Glasgow Andrew)
    Tags: knee, mexican, red
  • #2
    Hi Andrew,

    I'd remove the mould/fungus ASAP, also give the bowl a good wash before putting it back in.
    I haven't kept red knees before, so don't know a great deal about them, but I could guess and say that your tarantula may be coming up to a moult.

    When my tarantulas are due to moult, they stop eating and I don't see them for a while, they hide away.

    If your red knee is an adult, 3 weeks isn't very long for it to go without eating. My salmon pink birdeater went nearly a year without eating, bear in mind though that she is big. lol


    Someone should give you some better advise soon

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    • #3
      Hey Andrew,

      I wouldn't worry too much like you said, you know it's still alive cos you can see it move around. Also I would take the water dish out of the tank permanently, Brachypelma smithi require less humidity than most tarantulas so just put a small chunk of sphagnum moss in the corner and spray once a week, it shouldn't be humid enough to allow fungus to grow. Also the exo terra, your T is in are good, but I wouldn't recommend the 12 inch height for a heavy bodied terrestrial, they can scale a side from time to time and a fall could could be heart breaking. Better to be safe than sorry.

      Michael.
      2xB.vagans, B.smithi, 2x L.parahybana, L.polycuspulatus, G.aureostriata, C.fasciatum, B.albopilosum, B.boehmei, P.pulcher, H.maculata, C.crawshayi, L.violaceopes, C.cyanopubescens, 3xP.irminia, 2xP.murinus RCF, 2xP.cambridgei, C.fimbriatus, C.schioedtei, A.pupurea, A.azuraklassi, A.versicolor, H.lividum, P.reduncus.

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      • #4
        ok, ill quickly tell you what setup i have my smithi under. firstly, as said before, get rid of the fungus. i personally do like to have a water bowl in the tank, as my smith has been seen drinking out of it...once... so i just dont want to get rid of it, just in case. Plus the water in it, supplies all the humidity needed. if id does get a bit dry, i just do a quick spray of water. also, you say ur substrate is alsways moist. THey live in desert areas, so it doesnt really need to be moist. my substrate is probably 95% dry. i may spray it once a month... maybe twice at most. as long as my water bowl is constantly topped up. thats all the tank needs for humidity. Now, i cant see anywhere about sizes... so ill presume its at least a decent size juvi, or it shouldnt really be in a 12 x 12. mines about 4.5 inches, and recently stopped eating for about 2 - 3 months before he moulted, so 3 weeks isnt a worry. also before there coming up to a moult, they tend to hide away anyway..(at least mine did). so dont worry about that either. and to ur last question, i wouldnt worry about changing the substrate. if ur smithi is coming up to a moult, its best u dont disturb it much. just let it dry out a bit. think that'l do

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        • #5
          oh yeah.. and hight.... i have a 12 inch high tank as well... mine has now stopped climbing... (to my knowledge) but ive removed all hard objects away from the edge. never really had any probs... but a lower height is best. and even tho there Terrestial.. they sure can climb. in its old tank, it managed to escape and climped out the tank, across the shelf its on (near the floor) and climbed up my wall 7 feet up. so they can climb bloomin well for a terrestrial.

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          • #6
            My B.smithi has gone through various phases of burrowing and then thinking its a semi arboreal tarantula, so bear that in mind with a 12" tank. Keep the substrate soft (not compacted) so should there be a fall, it will be onto softer substrate.
            My substrate is of the coir type and the top 33% is virtually bone dry. The water dish gets filled and occasionally gets spilt over the edge. This is enough to keep the humidity at the right level.
            As for not eating, mine hasn't eaten for a month. It moulted just a week ago. Normally it will have had starter by now, but its not even interested.

            The best advice I can offer is to keep up the tank maintenance (ie get rid of the mould), offer food and if it isn't taken in a day or so, remove it. Try and keep the tank at the right humidity by filling just the water dish and just keep an eye on your tarantula.
            Gloria my little Brachypelma smithi.

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            • #7
              Dont worry too much about the spider not eating, try it occasionally and if uneaten, remove the food the next day.

              As for the mould, i'd remove this area, with as little disturbance as possible, and replace it with fresh.
              A thing to consider is putting a dozen or so woodlice in the tank, they will eat the mould spores before it establishes, they will live in the damp area around the waterbowl.
              The woodlice should be from a chemicle free area such as undisturbed woodland. If you have a problem getting any PM me your address and i'll send some home bred and sterile woodies to you first class ok.
              Don't forget to learn what you can, when you can, where you can.



              Please Support CB Grammostola :- Act Now To Secure The Future

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Andrew Murdoch View Post
                Hi you guys. Thanks for the replies to my last post.

                At the moment I have a Mex Red Knee in an Exo Terra 12x12. It has a burrow into the substrate and I can see it undergrournd (well partly). I have not seen it above ground in weeks . I have popped crickets in and thy dont get eaten, well it ate a couple but that was about three weeks ago (perhaps a little more) I am beginning to worry. I know my T is still alive as I see it moving around from time to time. What do you guys think?
                Also the water bowl appears to have fungus growing under it, this is well away from my T. I would not say it is overly wet but it is constantly moist to add a bit of humidity, any suggestions regarding this. Souould I remove the substrate and replace it.
                I look forward to hearing your replies. Thanks. (Glasgow Andrew)
                Hi Andrew, we have 3 B.Smithi, a male and two females, one of our females went into pre moult about 2 months ago, we found this to be normal with the Smithi and re the water dish, even though we keep our tank pretty dry the moisture from overspill will encourage mites, we have seen them swimming in the top of the water (little tiny white specks) so its worth keeping that area around the dish dry.

                Comment

                • #9
                  I had little white mites in my lividums tank before, on the top of the water.
                  I'm not sure how they got there, but they always appear if the ground around the water bowl is particularly damp.

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