Very strange post-molt behaviour from my B. Smithi - help urgently required!

[ollythompson]

Hello - my 11 year old B. Smithi molted about a month ago, and I initially thought everything had gone smoothly - I've since noticed that her Palps have come back stunted, each being about a segment shorter, and a little bit fatter than they were - she also appears to have "spurs" sticking out from under each of her first two front legs, about one segment from the end of the leg. She is still very active, and has eaten well since the molt so initially I wasn't overly concerned. Then she started acting very strangely.

She casts a lot of web on the floor of the tank, almost as if she was going to molt again, but then she climbs underneath it, upside down, so she is belly up, sometimes waving her legs about, sometimes staying still. She's done it a couple of times now, and I'm not sure what's going on. The first time she did it she was completely covered (we initially thought she's managed to escape) apart from her "fangs" which she had used to presumably bite a hole in the webbing above her.

I'm starting to worry that she is trying to go back into a molt, to sort out her stunted feelers. If that's the case then presumably, she's in some level of discomfort or distress, which is a terrible thought. Can anyone reassure me, or provide some additional information about what she may be upto?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[DJKelly]

Hi Olly

It sounds as if she is actually a He.

The palps in male are the organs used to transfer sperm to the female - if you look closely you'll see the brown chitinous organs at the ends of the palps. Males lay a sperm web upon which they lay little towers of sperm before drawing them into the organs at the end of the palps. The spurs are used to lock the females fangs out of the way as she leans over backward to receive the sperm packages.

Do a search for Tarantula Mating or some such string for more nformation.

The good news is that you've got a handsome, sexually mature male. he bad is that he's unlikely to live more than another 18 months or so.

I would suggest offering him up for mating - many owners of females will offer you a 50/50 share of any spiderlings from a successful pairing.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[ollythompson]

No way! Never occurred to me that Ruby (that's her/his name) could be a male, simply because I've had her/him so long - thought the average lifespan of a male B. smithi was about 6 years, and she/he has been with me for at least 11! But, now you've suggested it, and I've done some more digging, it sounds more and more likely. Immedeately post molt he was very "wobbly" and was very flat (someone on other board described it as "kind of spread out -splat- style") and he's been very actively "searching" his tank (assumed it was a food thing, but as he's being fed regularly, guess he's searching - looking for love!).
Very relieved that this is "normal" - had this horrible fear that the molt had gone wrong, and that Ruby was in a permanent state of discomfort that she was trying to sort by molting again. Obviously I'm gutted to think Ruby may not be with me for that much longer, but that's a thousand times better than thinking she was in pain, and not being able to do anything about it.
So - where to find Ruby a mate? I'm in Brighton, East Sussex. Anyone aware of a lonely female looking for that special older tarantula to hold her in his eight arms?

[Mrs Linda Street]

Yep, you've got yourself a male, you'll find him more restless now as he's ready for a lady friend, had you have sexed him from his previous moults then it would have come as no surprise.
It's not unusual for females to live well into their teens and longer. Why not put him up for a 50/50, they're still a very popular and pretty T.

[Mark Pennell]

No way! Never occurred to me that Ruby (that's her/his name) could be a male, simply because I've had her/him so long - thought the average lifespan of a male B. smithi was about 6 years, and she/he has been with me for at least 11! But, now you've suggested it, and I've done some more digging, it sounds more and more likely. Immedeately post molt he was very "wobbly" and was very flat (someone on other board described it as "kind of spread out -splat- style") and he's been very actively "searching" his tank (assumed it was a food thing, but as he's being fed regularly, guess he's searching - looking for love!).
Very relieved that this is "normal" - had this horrible fear that the molt had gone wrong, and that Ruby was in a permanent state of discomfort that she was trying to sort by molting again. Obviously I'm gutted to think Ruby may not be with me for that much longer, but that's a thousand times better than thinking she was in pain, and not being able to do anything about it.
So - where to find Ruby a mate? I'm in Brighton, East Sussex. Anyone aware of a lonely female looking for that special older tarantula to hold her in his eight arms?

Olly
Yes B, smithi can live for almost 30 years, males mature out and various times depending on how they are kept, the can mature in a few years or go on as yours has for a lot longer.
I had a B, smithi for over 8 years back in the eighties and it was large and presumed female when I got it.

Then up and matured into a male, a hugh one at that!

Try and find a mate for him, Ray Hale is in east sussex area and may have a female or two looking for love.

Cheers
Mark

[ollythompson]

Well, just to round the story off, Ray and Ang came over yesterday and collected my male, and hopefully we'll be getting some spiderlings in the not too distant future! Thanks to Mark for suggesting I get in touch with Ray; it was great meeting both him and Ang, and they both seemed happy with how I was keeping my spiders, which is always a nice affirmation that I'm doing everything right! Thanks also to everyone who took the time to reply to my original post.