concerned

[vincent winyard]

hi all sorry to be a pain. i mentioned the other day i had got myself a brazilian white knee and there's a couple of things that concern me. first there supposed to be really good eaters but for some reason she's not. she refused a large cricket two nights on the trot. so i try'de her on a large locust last night but she seems to back of. i dont know if these t's fast like rosa's or there's something wrong. the second thing is i cant seem to get the temp high enough for her. there's a large heat pad at one end of her tank with polystyrene behind it to help throw some heat in her tank as i do with all the others. the temps ok in the other tanks but it just wont go up anymore in my brazilians tank probably because her tanks bigger than the others. i just need some idea's on how i can raise the temp. it's sitting around the 70 mark but needs to be between 75 to 85. any help please thanks all.

[James Freeman]

Hi there, i've had an adult female of these for quite some time now and she seems happy with the temp at 70, its about 75 at the moment but only because the room is warm with the sun shining in, so i wouldn't worry to much about the temp. As for feeding, she always eats so i'm not sure.

[vincent winyard]

cheers for that james it's good to know the temp's not such an isue as for the feeding i can only presume she'll eat when she's ready thanks again mate.

[matthew spooner]

is there any darkening in colour? could be in premoult

[vincent winyard]

hi matthew not to sure if there's any darkening she spends most of the time in her hide although she was out the other day and i couldn't see any tel tale signs of a premolt. i've only had her for a week so prehaps she's still settleing in. i'll try and get a closer look next time she comes out. thanks for your reply matt.

[Christian Elowsky]

If you don't notice premolt darkening and it's been a full month, then you might be a tiny bit concerned. Heavy feeder or not, most species can easily go a few months without a noticeable drop in weight.

I also don't know what species this is, vulgar names are a rough lot, but if it's a South American species, then let it settle. Possible it'll get a burrow or at least a retreat webbed up a bit.

Finally, I wouldn't bother trying to feed for 10 or so days at all, the stress might be too much, and when you do feed, pull anything that's not eaten the next day. I've seen too many tarantulas flick themselves bare because someone left 6 crickets in with them! Not that you're doing that, but others may read this and need that tiny piece of advice.

Good luck!

[vincent winyard]

hi cristian i dont think she's in a premolt state as i saw her this morning. i've had her only two weeks now so i suppose it's early days yet. i've only try'de to feed her three times and removed the food item the next morning so i think i'll leave her for another few days before i try her again with something to eat. thanks for your help and advice cristian .