Brazilian black Spiderling - help please

[Will Gingell]

After my Cyril, my Chilean Rose departed for spider heaven, I decided to get a new little boy.
Along came Otto (Italian for eight), the Brazilian Black Spiderling. Around 8 weeks ago he stopped eating. 3 weeks later my wife and I went shopping one day, only to come back home to find we had missed Otto molting - typical.
I am just a little concerned though, as he hasn't eaten anything since. He seems happy enough in his own little world, but you only want the best for them, don't you!
I thought he would of been hungry after molting, so offered him the smallest cricket that I could find - this was after a week. Was I right to do this? He never ate it though. All the subsequent crickets have been removed after 24hours in with him
If anyone can shed some light on this, I would be extremely grateful. Also is there any other food stuffs I can try him on?
In advance - many thanks.
Will

[DJKelly]

Hi Will,

What size is he? I took delivery of 3 P.cancerides in June and they ate voraciously up until 2 weeks ago when one of them had his 4th moult and went right off his food (I'm guessing he as he's already one moult ahead of the other two). From the 3cm slings received he's now about 7cm and is behaving a bit more like an adult - the premoult was longer and he's still not fed a good week post-moult. His opisthosoma's looking a healthy size and he's drinkng water but no real interest in food yet.

All Grammastola spp have a reputation for going off their food for a while, though this is more common with larger specimens.

Humidity OK? If he's less than about 2.5" I suspect he'll need an elevated rh (around the 70 - 80% mark?) even though larger specimens like it dry - the impermeable exoskeleton develops with age.

Maybe leave him well alone for a couple of days and keep trying?

That said, their are far more erudite and experienced people on here than me....

Hope it works out.

Dave

[Peter Roach]

Its a grammy which means that there will be loooooooonnnnnnnggggggg periods between feeds
Offers its normal size prey once a week, personly I take it out if it hasnt been eaten within a few minutes. It may take a few days or it may take a few months before it eats again.
Thats a grammy for you LOL

[DJKelly]

Didn't know it was true of the slings as well - nice one, Peter. Ta!

[Will Gingell]

Thanks for answering. Will just keep an eye on him. DJKelly, Otto is just under an inch leg span, & I do keep the humidity at around the 70% mark. Peter, as my wife just reminded me, Otto was stuffing himself silly with small crickets until he stopped eating (pre-molt). This little Grammostola pulchra, has already had more exercise around its house, than my Chilean Rose had in over a year. (Didn't realise that when you buy a complete set up, the pet shops palm you off with adult males with not a lot of life left in them). That's why I opted for the spiderling this time. Just worry all the time though - whether everything is being done properly. Does anyone know of G. pulchra specific books etc.

[Peter Roach]

Otto is just under an inch leg span, & I do keep the humidity at around the 70% mark.

Errrrr..... Can I ask why ? For any particular reason ?

If the substrate is slightly damp then everything is OK and all is well in the world of Otto

Just worry all the time though - whether everything is being done properly.

Properly, according to who or what ?

If Otto is feeding and has a steady growth rate, what more can you do ?
As far as I'm concerned that is caring for him/her properly.
There are no hard and and fast rules with this hobby. There is just your own observations and growing experiences that can tell you if you are on the right track.

Does anyone know of G. pulchra specific books etc.

Nope, there are very few T books anyway so I single species book is definately a big "No chance"

If you havent already got it i would suggest that you get "The Tarantulas Keepers guide" (2009) as this is probaly the best and most upto date Tarantulas book available. CLICKY LINK

[Lee Furness]

I've got a Grammostola sp "Concepcion" sling that I've had for 5mths, it's never molted since getting it and at one point didn't eat for over a month - I was expecting a molt but it didn't happen, ate a couple of times again and now is back to ignoring food once more. All my other (non-Grammostola) slings feed and molt pretty regular bar this one little swine!

[Will Gingell]

[QUOTE=Peter Roach;56601]Errrrr..... Can I ask why ? For any particular reason ?

If the substrate is slightly damp then everything is OK and all is well in the world of Otto

Properly, according to who or what ?



Peter, I was told by the store where I got it from to keep humidity between 60-70%, so that is what I've been doing. I do have a book already 'Tarantulas by Jerry Walls'. However my wife now has another present to buy me for Christmas - thank you. I also thought that this was a pretty exact science ie that you had to keep things as stated with no deviation. Maybe I should learn to lay back a bit.

[DJKelly]

The Schultz & Schultz "Tarantula Keepers Guide" that Peter mentioned is by far the best book I've read on the subject.

Before I read it I was attempting to get everything just right, depending on the particular care sheet I'd read. Now I'm much more relaxed. The basic idea is if you're comfortable at a temperature then so will your Ts and that (with a few exceptions) most Ts will thrive at a modest ambient rH. (Though I believe the impermeable exoskeleton can take some time to develop and small slings may prefer / need a higher humidity to prevent dehydration)

The animal's behaviour is a solid indicator of its "happiness", so hanging around or over a water bowl might indicate a low humidity and so on.

From the assorted information I've garnered via the forums and other research is that attention to humidity is more important when trying to breed the animals and that a quick search on the annual environmental variations for the creature's habitat(s) is a far better indicator than many an internet care sheet.

Again, I've only been at it for 18 months or so and am happy to take any pounding from the many more experienced keepers than me.....

Dave

[Peter Roach]

Peter, I was told by the store where I got it from to keep humidity between 60-70%, so that is what I've been doing.

99.9% of pet shops have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, it is also a very rare to get a shop employee that has a clue what they are talking about.

I do have a book already 'Tarantulas by Jerry Walls'.

Any book about Tarantulas written by Jerry Walls (and TFH) is at best laughable but usually is worth just putting at the bottom of the cat littler tray.
There is an article somewhere that the chairman of the American Tarantula Society has written where he basically laughs at the efforts of Walls and his efforts at writing a Tarantula care book.

However my wife now has another present to buy me for Christmas

I bet i know what that is !!! LOL
Maybe get it earlier rather than later ?

I also thought that this was a pretty exact science ie that you had to keep things as stated with no deviation.

Definately NOT ! ! ! ! !

There is the problem . . . . . STATED. . . . by who ?
What are their qualifications ?
Have they ever kept the species that they profess their "expertise" on ?
Have they ever even kept Tarantlas ?

Maybe I should learn to lay back a bit.

Oh Yeah, definately LOL


I fed and watered my collection today (300-ish ) for the first time in a few weeks as i've been doing a 7 day week for a while. No big deal if they miss a few weeks or even a few months food.
I dont provide water bowls unless a particular spider hasnt eaten for a few weeks as they get their moisture from the juicy cockroach prey.
Any time that I try to help people, I only EVER reply to posts where I have found the answers through 30 years of personal experience and not through reading various books and forums like many of the self styled "experts" scattered on the internet.
One thing i have found though, is that there is no hard and fast rules about this hobby.
Most problems are solved by a basic knowledge of the species in question and a large dose of common sense.

[Will Gingell]

Peter, thanks for the honest answers to my questions. Isn't it funny how you can get so much more solid info in a few emails etc, than you can by speaking to all of these self professed know-it-alls. My neighbour, who owns animal attraction in southern England, came round when I first got my Chilean Rose. He told me to get him out as much as possible to get him used to being handled. He then told me that whilst handling him, if I wanted him to move around more, to blow on him. Obviously, I never done this to Cyril, and I never will do it to Otto. A lot of people seem mystified when I tell them I don't handle my T. 'What's the point in having it?'. I liken it to having Goldfish in a tank, only a lot better to look at.
Wow 300ish Ts, that's some collection. Point taken about the book, will order it now.
If I get stuck any more then I will post again and await for some more knowledge to come my way. Before I go though, I have one more question. In our house we do not radiators, we have warm air heating, which is pretty poor. It instantly heats up the house, but as soon as it turns of, then the temperature soon drops back down. There is a heat pad on the outer bottom of Ottos tank. This is set to a constant temperature of 25C. Will this heat pad be sufficient, or do you know of a better way that I could keep little Otto happy?
Again, many thanks for your assistance thus far. Was thinking of advertising to try and find other owners in the Lymington area.

[Peter Roach]

Heating . . . If you are comfortable in just a shirt then your T will be OK.
Have you ever been abroad on holiday and stayed out at night. . . it gets bloody cold at night.
As long as it doesnt get much below 20C , Otto should be OK
The heatmat sounds OK but if you decide to get any more, think about making a glass fronted cabinet or vivarium and just heat that with the T's inside as it will be easier to heat and more stable also.

[Will Gingell]

Peter, today I received my copy of 'Tarantula Keepers Guide'. Thank you for the recommendation.