new hobbyist need help

[Burak Guzeloglu]

I have a chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, almost 1 year old now, it used to be very healty in its 9x5x6 inch box, molted 7 times now.. but before last molt on Oct 19, it stopped eating on Aug 15... even after last molt it is not eating anything, thus living happyly with 2 grasshoppers in its terarium... 3 weeks now after the molt.. Should I worry ?? Or else....(temp is around 75-80 F)

[James Box]

hi mate, i guess it's probably a good size now?
i am thinking that it's still recovering from the moult.
i'm not all that knoweledgeable about the species but mine isn't the fastest grower in my collection.
sometimes it takes spiders a bit longer to feel like eating after a moult then the usual week, hopefully that's the only problem.
how does she look, is she still reasonably fat or looking a bit thin?
though they normally like it dry maybe it's good to just make sure she has a good opportunity to drink, as she may do that even if not eating yet.
keep us posted and hope she's ok!

[Phil Rea]

I wouldn't worry, but take any prey items that are in there out, leave her undisturbed for a week, and try putting food in ater that

[Burak Guzeloglu]

I appreciate any prompt reply, thanks for helping out.. Firstly I do not know how to determine the sex..... I took the preys out. Will put back next sunday.. Before your recomendations she started drinking water already. (I was spraying on its net before - now in a pot)

It seems quite happy but not fattish..
How do you determine the sex ?

[Peter Lacey]

Hi Burak
Nice to see a turk on here after a few of us have visited Turkey this year, personally it was my 3rd visit and thoroughly enjoyed Fethiye although the temperatures of 45-50c kept most activities at bay.
C. cyaneopubescens or GBB as they're commonly referred to, come from very dry areas of Venezuelan scrubland, however the morning mist/dew helps to provide a water supply for the inhabitants. I found providing a water supply in a bowl was always webbed over, as was all other furnishings but you can still add water to the bowl and provide some occassional light spraying to the web.
Sexing the mature male of any tarantula without a moult is quite easy - most species have tibial spurs on the front legs and all have the emboli on the pedipalps which are used to transfer the sperm. Males will also tend to have a reduced abdomen and may have longer slender legs than the females.
To get a sexing of tarantula that are not mature males requires a keen eye and examination of other specimens eg by the position of the book lungs, or for most people an examination of the moult. If you have a recent moult, put it in a sealed cricket tub for 10 mins with some warm water and kitchen towel. This will help to reduce the brittleness of the moult. Open the abdomen up carefully to reveal the inside area around the book lungs (4 white oblong areas). Between the top 2 lungs you should find the epigastric furrow - a horizontal slit and above this the spermathea or lack of. You should see a leaf like area possibly with 2 protrusions to indicate a female. Its worth doing a google search for images of GBB spermathea as different species have varying spermathea.

[Burak Guzeloglu]

Wow... thats a quite explanation.. Thanks for the info.. I will try...

Next time you are around please inform me since I am a travel agent myself based in Ankara.. I have some connections...