New Green bottle blue

[andyfrance50]

So I've got my new green bottle blue arrived today. At 2cm in size could anyone advise me at what growth is like. What size will it be in say 12mths? And I will put very small crickets in at one at a time, how many would I put in?..every day or once per week? Most of my tarantulas that I buy are always sub-adult so first time ive had a spiderling.
thanks

[Peter Roach]

At 2cm in size could anyone advise me at what growth is like. What size will it be in say 12mths?

Reasonably fast but will depend on temps and food. I would expect it to be at least 3-4 inches in a year if fed weekly

And I will put very small crickets in at one at a time, how many would I put in?

Very small crickets are a waste of time, effort and money. Size #2 brown crickets are a reasonable size to start with

..every day or once per week?

One or two crickets every 5-7 days is ample but most people feed every 7 days because its easier to remember.
I feed my GBB's slings and juvies every 7-14 days and adults once every 4 weeks

[Stanley A. Schultz]

So I've got my new green bottle blue arrived today. At 2cm in size could anyone advise me at what growth is like. What size will it be in say 12mths? And I will put very small crickets in at one at a time, how many would I put in?..every day or once per week? Most of my tarantulas that I buy are always sub-adult so first time ive had a spiderling.
thanks

Is 2 cm body length or DLS?
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DLS = Diagonal Leg Span = The linear distance between the tip of one front leg to the tip of the rear leg on the opposite side when the tarantula is in a normal, resting position. Yes, it's very inaccurate. Yes, it's very unfair. But, we're not competing for gold medals or a new car. We're just trying to figure out how big your spider is.

"Mine's bigger than yours is! Neener, neener, neeee-ner!"
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On average, DLS is about twice the body length.

Growth rate is extremely variable and depends on (among other things) how much you feed the tarantula, how old it is, what temperature you're keeping it at, the kind of tarantula, the tarantula's sex, etc., etc., etc.

Growing Your Own may hold some useful information for you.

Enthusiasts generally believe that feeding their tarantulas is an arcane art. It is not. Veterans in the hobby have learned to power feed babies (by the definitions in Growing Your Own, above) as a means of getting out of the really fragile life stage ASAP. This may entail feeding your babies a half dozen baby crickets (or the equivalent in something else) a week. But, the basic rule is that the prey items should not be larger than the tarantula's abdomen (the formal name is "opisthosoma," but if you try to use that term in mixed company you may get your face slapped! )

In power feeding, the tarantula's ambient temperature is elevated slightly to speed up its metabolism. And, a concerted effort is made to keep a few prey items with it at all times. It can eat whenever it wants to.

Power feeding is a practice used by some enthusiasts to grow their tarantulas to adulthood faster. I recommend against it beyond the baby stage because the actual outcome is not entirely predictable. For instance, in some African species the males mature very fast without a parallel growth in size. You may end up with a runty, little, half pint that's only 1/3 the size of his sisters. Such a small male is usually worthless as a breeder.

As the tarantula goes through the spiderling stage (a.k.a., 'sling) you increase the size of its prey, but you gradually reduce the amount you feed it. By the time it's half grown you should only be feeding it two or three adult crickets a week. (For some tarantulas - like Grammostola rosea, the Chilean rose - only half that.)

Also, how often you feed a tarantula is largely irrelevant as long as you do so perhaps once a month or more often. Because of their lifestyle (ambush predators who work in a very limited range from a fixed home base), tarantulas have evolved an almost overpowering appetite coupled with an almost unbelievable ability to fast for long periods. (The record for fasting seems to be a Chilean rose (Grammostola rosea) that went without eating for a few weeks over THREE (3) YEARS before it finally molted and began to feed again!) They are neither canaries nor humans who start whining if they don't get fed thrice daily!

Some enthusiasts are almost pathologically paranoid about leaving crickets (for instance) in the cage with their tarantulas too long. I think this is a carry-over from the few instances when crickets have chewed on tarantulas who were molting. But, that was ONLY WHILE THE TARANTULA WAS LAYING ON ITS BACK! It doesn't matter any time else. The tarantula is more than capable of place-kicking an obnoxious cricket across the cage if it gets too cheeky!

It's probably a better idea to feed your tarantulas just before lights-out in the evening. Tarantulas in the wild generally prefer to eat after dark. It's safer that way. And yes, it's okay to leave the crickets in the cage with your tarantula for a few days. At the peak of our tarantula keeping days, Marguerite and I had more than 1,300 tarantulas. With that many, we didn't have time to fuss and fret over each and every one of the little darlings every day. When they got their allotment of crickets, we didn't have time to revisit them every few hours to make sure they were eating, or not engaged in a war with a small army of bugs. We had no (0) problems with them. Remember, in their world they're the tiger!

I hope this helps. Best of luck.


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Relax. If you keep stressing over your tarantula it's gonna outlive YOU!

1) Go into the kitchen and grab your favorite cup, glass, mug, stein or flagon.

2) Fill it with your favorite beverage.

3) Slip a favorite CD in the player or crank up your iThingie.

4) Grab a small rug and go into the tarantula's room.

5) Put the rug in a convenient place on the floor and sit on it.

6) Do some Yoga.

WHAT!?!?!? YOU DON'T DO YOGA! Well, now's a good time to start. You need to learn to meditate with your tarantula. Tarantulas do a lot of meditating. Their Lotus Position is nothing short of unbelievable!

"...everything gonna be all right...." Your tarantula is trying to teach you something. Learn from your tarantula. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
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[edwardlim]

I hope this helps, Chromatopelma Cyaneopubescens (Greenbottle Blue) care sheet

[Peter Roach]

I hope this helps, Chromatopelma Cyaneopubescens (Greenbottle Blue) care sheet

This is taken from the care sheet

A quick test to know if your terrarium is at either one of the extremes (too dry or wet), is to gently blow on the substrate if it is so dry to the extent where dust particles start forming I highly suggest misting your terrarium.

Surely this depends entirely on what substrate is used. My substrate of choice is topsoil and will not 'dust up' when dry.
Also misting does absolutely NOTHING but wet the top 1mm or 2mm of the substrate and raise the humidity for a brief period, so basically a waste of time

If on the other hand, it feels swampy and wet I would suggest drying the substrate since humidity higher than 80% kills most adults

NO substrate for any species should be wet and swampy except if breeding is attempted. Cant quite work out why this is mentioned.


AHA If seems that whoever wrote the so called caresheet is pushing a certain substrate on the website and that particular substrate is sold loose in bags (totally not worth the money as you can buy the more of the same thing in dried blocks for less money) and after quickly reading through the website it seems that a large amount of products are being 'pushed' onto the unwary beginner hobbyist.

The author seems to set great store by something called the 'Organic Materials Review Institute [OMRI]'
I did a little search for this and it is an international nonprofit organization that determines which input products are allowed for use in organic production and processing. :P

Exactly what this has got to do with substrates for tarantulas has me baffled but maybe the very visible picture of a certain substrate in a bag suggests that this is the only thing to use ?!



I have looked at the website and the only thing that i would recommend is to avoid it like a kick in the head as there is a large amount of misleading and sometimes very wrong information written. (ie: The advice given for A versicolor is a very quick and sure way to kill it in a very short amount of time.)

[Stanley A. Schultz]

... I have looked at the website and the only thing that i would recommend is to avoid it like a kick in the head as there is a large amount of misleading and sometimes very wrong information written. (ie: The advice given for A versicolor is a very quick and sure way to kill it in a very short amount of time.)

I was going to reply in a similar fashion, but I'm already embroiled in a discussion on another forum and didn't want to fight two wars at the same time. I'm glad you did, however.

But for the record, this is what I think of almost all care sheets.



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Now, let me introduce you to the concept of "seagull" as applied to humans. These are people who fly in, raise all sorts of noise, make an incredible mess, then fly away leaving everybody else to clean up behind them.

I am a seagull. And, my job is done here.
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(Sorry. I couldn't help myself. I'm a BAAAD boy! )