Newbie - little bit of advise or reassurance needed please

[Jon Doyle]

Hi everyone, I have recently obtained my first spider and went for a Grammastola Pulchripes (after reading as much info as I could). I have read the Tarantula’s Keepers Guide (first addition) too.
My Chaco is a female and arrived safe and sound. She measures around 8cm leg span. I am keeping her in a plastic shoebox type enclosure (originally bought a large plastic aquarium but this is too big for now). Her substrate is untreated peat, which I got from a reptile store and I sieved this and packed it quite hard. The substrate is now quite dry, apart from the substrate she has a water dish and a small hide.
My concern are as follows: I did not try to feed her for the first week, and after this I have offered one cricket overnight, but she does not seem interested at all. This is not worrying me too much because she looks very well fed. She does seem lethargic though and I am wondering if she may be close to molting? She does have a bald spot on her abdomen and I think she has turned a little darker in colour, although the bald spot is not blackish. I have noticed she was kicking hair when I first got her if disturbed, but now if I go close she does not flick hair at all. She does seem to have become bigger though, even though she has not molted.
I do not use any heating at all and I am wondering if the colder temperature may have made her slow down? The temperature most of the time is around 65 F. She does look healthy though, but is staying very still for most of the day. She has been at the water dish overnight though as I can see she has deposited small bits of substrate into the water dish. I am guessing you may want to see a picture, please let me know if this would be best. Do you think I have anything to worry about? Thanks so much Jon

[Stanley A. Schultz]

Hi everyone, I have recently obtained my first spider ...

STAN'S NEWBIE INTRODUCTION

DID YOU HEAR THAT? THAT WAS THE NEWBIE ALARM!

WELCOME TO THE HOBBY!



WELCOME TO THIS FORUM!

Okay, so we're all newbies, often for a long time. We've done what everybody else does: Read all the Internet care sheets. Listened attentively to everything the expert down at the local pet shop told us. Wasted a lot of money on things we shouldn't have. Incorporated a lot of things that were useless or even dangerous. Stressed out over meaningless details while ignoring the real issues. Way overkill. That's not a criticism; I'm just delineating the problems. It's just the way humanoids are, I suppose.

We can deal with all that.

There's nothing wrong with being a newbie as long as you do something about it. After 45 years of keeping tarantulas, I still consider myself a newbie. We can trace a tarantula's ancestry back over HALF A BILLION YEARS. They've had that long to develop and fine tune their lives and lifestyles. They're incredibly complex and detailed creatures. We're gonna be playing catch-up (that's the newbie part) for a long, LONG, LONG time!

The first thing you need to understand is the KISS principle, not to infer that you're stupid. Inexperienced, maybe. Stupid, I don't think so. As proof, you can speak, read, and write English (arguably one of the more difficult languages on Planet Earth), and use a computer just fine. But, I digress. As long as you supply the basic necessities of life for your captive tarantula, the less you incorporate into its cage and care regimen, the less there is to go tragically haywire. KISS, indeed!

The second thing you need to understand is that tarantulas are like no other creature you've ever kept or even heard of before. All the ingrained assumptions and prejudices that you've been taught since childhood don't apply, and may even be dangerous to them. They're neither tropical fish, reptiles, canaries, nor gerbils, and you don't take care of them like any of those animals. One of the biggest problems with newbies is trying to get them to abandon all their prejudices and begin to look at the world from the vastly alien perspective of a huge, fuzzy spider.

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT.
MAKE SURE YOUR SEAT BACK AND TRAY TABLE ARE SECURED IN THEIR UPRIGHT POSITIONS.
THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE H*** OF A RIDE!

Because tarantulas are so bizarre and unique, you have a lot of homework to do. To begin, you need to read the following webpages.

1) Stan's Rant. ESPECIALLY, READ THE PART ABOUT NOT TRUSTING ANYTHING A PET SHOP TELLS YOU! AND ESPECIALLY, STUDY THE FOUR RECOMMENDED BOOKS.

2) Myths.... Read the entire webpage tree.

3) Care and Husbandry of the Chilean Rose Tarantula. IF YOU HAVE A WILD CAUGHT CHILEAN ROSE TARANTULA (Grammostola rosea) YOU NEED TO READ THIS WEBPAGE! If you don't have a Chilean rose you can safely ignore this one for now. Just remember that it's here for whenever you do get a rose. Or, you can read it out of curiosity. It contains a lot of hints applicable to other arid species.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The comments and instructions in Care and Husbandry of the Chilean Rose Tarantula are applicable only to wild caught G. rosea. CAGE BRED AND RAISED G. rosea are no different than any other captive tarantula and are best cared for just like any other arid species. See Growing Your Own for further information.

4) Substrate. Because you need to know about this very basic, underlying part of a tarantula's existence.

5) Growing Your Own. This is a global, game plan for caring for your newfound little buddy. You need to figure out where it is in the vast scheme of growth and development, then start taking care of it properly from that point onward.

6) If you can possibly spare the time, at least skim through the entire Spiders, Calgary website.

Lastly, be aware that this system is not the only one available. Neither is it necessarily the best one. You'll see and hear all sorts of other ideas as you go along. But, Marguerite and I have spent decades selling tarantulas to all kinds of people of all ages, and fine tuned this system so as to make it pretty much as bullet proof as it can get. Use our system at first, until you begin to understand these weird animals. Then maybe you can experiment with some of the not-so-conservative approaches recommended by others.

You need to learn to look at the world from the vastly alien perspective of a huge, fuzzy spider. READ THE BOOKS! READ THE WEBPAGES!

_______________________________________________

... and went for a Grammastola Pulchripes (after reading as much info as I could). ...

Good choice! Great tarantulas!

... I have read the Tarantula’s Keepers Guide (first addition) too. ...

Bless you my child.

But, I think you're wrong on the edition number. Visit the Tarantula’s Keepers Guide to sort it all out. Incidentally, should you want a copy of the very first edition, they're still available as used books on the 'Net. For instance, check out AbeBooks.com

... My Chaco is a female and arrived safe and sound. ... My concern are as follows: I did not try to feed her for the first week, and after this I have offered one cricket overnight, but she does not seem interested at all. ...

Probably a combination of things including mild shipping shock, a new cage, and cool room temperatures. Don't worry a lot. If you can move her to a warmer part of your home she'd recover a little sooner. If you can't, she'll do okay anyway, especially since temperatures are rising outdoors, and warmer weather is on the way.

... She does seem lethargic though and I am wondering if she may be close to molting? ...

Not to worry unless she seems to be going into a so-called "death curl." If you suspect this, get her into an ICU.

... She does have a bald spot on her abdomen and I think she has turned a little darker in colour, although the bald spot is not blackish. I have noticed she was kicking hair when I first got her if disturbed, but now if I go close she does not flick hair at all. She does seem to have become bigger though, even though she has not molted. ...

It's an unusual tarantula (of those with the proper urticating bristles) that doesn't occasionally kick a few bristles and sport a bold spot. Everything seems to be going according to plan.

... Do you think I have anything to worry about? ...

Definitely! You need to stop fretting over her like a mother hen! Go into your kitchen and grab your favorite cup, glass, mug, stein, flagon and fill it with your favorite beverage. Then, on your way to the tarantula room, slip your favorite CD into the player or turn on your iThingie. Grab a small rug too. Spread the rug conveniently on the floor in the tarantula room, sit down on it, and practice a little meditation with your tarantula. Tarantulas meditate a lot. You should too. Their Lotus Position is absolutely phenomenal!




Best of luck. Remember, your little 8-legged Yoda is going to be giving you pop quizzes daily!

[Jon Doyle]

Thanks Stan - I thought I had everything covered, but with it being my first T I did worry a little. I will clam down and have that drink (cider for me lol). I purchased the Tarantulas Keepers Guide (revised Edition) published by Barron's.

[John chambers]

Re: Newbie - little bit of advise or reassurance needed please

You can't go wrong with Stan and I got the tarantula's keeper's book way before I got my first T.
In fact I was very arachnophobic for 43 year's and couldn't even look at a tarantula in a book.
I've now got 23 and I've had a tarantula phobia season and on that same day got my red knee.. I still have him and even a G.portie female. I once said one is enough and I'd never own a chilli tarantula.. How wrong I was lol

[Jon Doyle]

Thanks John, I have read the book and keep reading it! I already want another T - any recommendations for my second one? My G.Pulchripes is still settling in, she hasn't fed yet, but I think she has had far too much before I got her, so she may be on some sort of fast.

[Peter Roach]

edited . . By me

I future just delete the complete post rather than the parts you dont like

[John chambers]

Re: Newbie - little bit of advise or reassurance needed please

Thanks John, I have read the book and keep reading it! I already want another T - any recommendations for my second one? My G.Pulchripes is still settling in, she hasn't fed yet, but I think she has had far too much before I got her, so she may be on some sort of fast.

Oh your hooked now lol..
A.geniculata are good, G.porteri, B.smithi, G.pulchra.. The list could go on lol..it's more down to what you like and feel able to deal with.
But as I was told by Mr Colin Wilson at my first bts expo... "You won't stop at one"!!

[Don Meek]

The forum seems to be strewn with them LOL... as a newbie I found it a bit off putting to post anything.. oops I mentioned "newbie" ..... wait for it .... eeek !

[Mark Pennell]

Hi Folks
Just edited a few posts here... please although your post may have been well meaning but I rather such comments be kept of here otherwise its just another tit-for-tat flame thread... No need OK...


Sorry

Admin

[Jon Doyle]

Thanks for your help and advise guys

[Peter Roach]

Hi Folks
Just edited a few posts here... please although your post may have been well meaning but I rather such comments be kept of here otherwise its just another tit-for-tat flame thread... No need OK...


Sorry

Admin

Erre yes there was a need.
Stan needs to be informed that we do not need to be bombarded with the SAME over the top post every time someone new to the hobby asks a question.
All that is needed is a link to his or any other website where the information can be found or if that is too much to ask how about just answering the question.

[John chambers]

Re: Newbie - little bit of advise or reassurance needed please

Erre yes there was a need.
Stan needs to be informed that we do not need to be bombarded with the SAME over the top post every time someone new to the hobby asks a question.
All that is needed is a link to his or any other website where the information can be found or if that is too much to ask how about just answering the question.

Edited..:banghead:

[John chambers]

Re: Newbie - little bit of advise or reassurance needed please

Thanks for your help and advise guys

I didn't realize you posted twice !..
The one with is your chaco in moult and this thread.

[Jon Doyle]

I didn't realize you posted twice !..
The one with is your chaco in moult and this thread.

Sorry I'm new to the hobby and this forum.............I hope I haven't caused any hassle

[John chambers]

Re: Newbie - little bit of advise or reassurance needed please

Sorry I'm new to the hobby and this forum.............I hope I haven't caused any hassle

No mate it's ok.:thumbup: