double molt

[vincent winyard]

hi everyone thought i'd let you all know my young smithi molted for the third time since i've had him. i found him on his back last night while doing the daily rounds on the gang. as i went to check the babies i also found my young brachypelma boehmei on it's back i couldn't believe it. both molted with no problems and are doing really well. the adult female smithi i got about five weeks ago has finaly settled down she's digging out her hide webbing up the front realy making her self at home. anyway there you go no problems at the moment anyway. im thinking of getting a brazilian white knee i've read there not quite as forgiving as the old faithfull smithi can anyone advise me on these t's as i dont want to take on anything that i cant put my hand in the tank without being bitten cheers everyone.

[matthew spooner]

congrats on the successful moults. yeah the white knee can be quite an agressive lil bugger lol. def not one i would put me hands in with

[vincent winyard]

thanks for that matthew. i'll have to try and get a bit more info on the brazilian white knee there must be a way to keep these brilliant looking t's without to much risk to the keeper. thanks again matthew.

[James Box]

congrats on moults, it is always exciting no matter how many you see, and always a relief when it all goes well!

it's really easy avoiding getting bitten! my (admittedly young) A geniculara run rather than fight. perhaps they gain more confidence as they grow, but by then you'd be used to the personality.
there's no substitute for a long pair of tweezers to do maintenance if necessary, however. then there's no risk.

so-called "aggressive" spiders are actually defensive, and will only defend themselves if they perceive a threat. if you're calm and patient and don't cause unecessary upheaval in their homes (for example unecessary cleaning, they almost never need it! just removal of dead cricket bits when possible), chances are you won't see alot of skittishness or bad temper, except directed at their food items.
water bowls can be placed conveniently so you can just pour a bit of water in when you lift the lid to minimise annoyance for the spider.

that being said, i whiped some condensation off the side of my square 8x8x4 Haribo style sweet tub that i've got my Augacephalus sp "Mozambique" in, and not the slightest hint of anger from her until i snapped the lid on, as that causes alot of sudden vibrations, and she got a tad skittish.
where i whiped wasn't too near her, despite her being adult, so it was ok. i am not silly enough to go close to her, but the "aggression" of many spiders is overblown, as long as you respect the spider and do your best not to freak them out.
my genics are wusses that run for cover if they're bothered, or just get a bit jumpy if only slightly disturbed.

[vincent winyard]

thanks for your reply james. what you say about t,s being defensive rather than being aggressive makes it much more understandable and not such a bad thing. if i do deside to get a white knee i have a lump of clear perspex that i could use to pen it in one corner while i have to do what ever needs doing.

[Mrs Linda Street]

Glad to hear the good news about the moults. The A. Geniculata are lovely T's they grow to a good size, ours spend their time in the open and are almost as colourful as the B. Smithi and well recommended as display T's, but they are fiesty.

[vincent winyard]

cheers for that linda. i will get one in the end and im sure i'll be ok with it just need to tread carefully though lol.