Help with B. Smithi

[manganr]

Hello all,
First of all i'm new here and new to the fascinating world of the tarantula so you'll have to excuse my ignorance.
Firstly I didn't just go out and buy a T without lots of research and without being prepared. I have two spiders an A.Seemaani and a B.Smithi which I have owned for about 4 weeks. Both are relatively young about 60-80mm legspan and i'm told, females. My A.Seemaani seems fine and has been eating crickets though it doesn't pounce on them as I had expected and often even ignores them as they crawl through it's pedipalps. It also doesn't move much. Is this normal?
My B.Smithi is a totally different story. She hasn't eaten at all as long as i've owned her and rarely even moves at all. She certainly looks healthy enough with a large abdomen and no obvious signs of illness. She does have a balding abdomen but no darkness to it so molting is doubtful as a reason. She has absolutely no interest in food whatsoever and even moves out of a crickets path if it ambles too close. I really would appreciate any help anyone can offer as it's getting to the stage where i'm worried about how long she will last if she carries on like this.

[Neil Richardson]

As long as the Smithi maintains a nice healthy plump abdomen i wouldn't worry about it. Offer it food once a week, if not eaten within 24 hours then remove the food so she doesn't stress.

Also make sure they both have access to fresh water from a shallow, wide dish.

[manganr]

I always give them fresh water regularly. Another thing I have noticed is that my A. Seemaani spun silk on the fllor of her tank. Not lots but in the right light you can see it over much of the floor area and if you touch the substrate, much of the surface layer is webbed together. My B smithi has not spun anything.
I have also read that balding abdomens are also signs of old males. Could it be so as I assume that males would be smaller than females that I have inadvertadly purchased an old male and not a young female?
Thanks for your help anyway Neil.

[Mark Pennell]

Hi
Have a look at the BTS Theraphosidae galley and under Brachypelma smithi you will see a few images one of a male and one of the female.

Males have hooks on the front pair of legs, and are generally thinner and leggier than the females. The will also have boxing glove like appendeges on the tips of the pedipalps.

Hope this helps
Regards
Mark

[Ian]

Neil
A smithi refusing to eat is nothing unusual. So long as it still looks healthy you should be ok. Have you tried a different type of food . My wife keeps a few brachys and some of them can be realy fussy about what they eat . Ignoring brown crickets but going for locust in an instant.

[manganr]

Thankyou for the advice Ian. I will try a change of food and see if that makes any difference.

[Neil Richardson]

I had a chile rose that did the same. Refused to eat any crickets at all. Gave her a locust which she ate instantly. After that she was fine on crickets again.

[manganr]

Well she still hasn't eaten and i've offered black crickets now as an alternative. She hasn't been very active either or spun any silk. In fact the black cricket is starting to look interesting .
I'm quietly confident now that with her plump abdomen she must be fine. The only problem I have with feeding alternatives is that I only have two spiders that only feed very rarely ( if at all ) and I can only get locusts pre-packed in 20's. At the current rate of consumption that would take about a year to be used. Is there anywher that I can buy say 2 or 3 in case they don't get eaten either and I have even more livestock on my hands?
Thanks anyway for everyones help.
Regards,
Ray

[sarah Smith]

It sounds like she might well be either full and just not hungry or and this is most likely, pre moult. If she is pre moult she wont be intrested in any foods you offer and will be fine once she has moulted and is ready to start eatting again. For now just offer her food once a week give her 24 hours to do something bout it and if she has not eatten it within that time take it out and try her again the next week or if your worried a few days later.

[manganr]

Thankyou for the advice Sarah. One more question, I have read conflicting advice on maintaining humidity in the tank. Some say mist with a light spray and some say just pour water into one corner of the tank. So, which is it?
Thanks
Ray

[Neil Richardson]

Personally with my brachys i take the clumsy waterdish approach. I just make sure i overfill the waterdish daily so that some of the substrate gets moist. Never had any moulting problems, or any signs of mould on the tanks.

[sarah Smith]

The water issue is really one of preferance with both of your ladies. Though I do occasionally ( bout once a month or so ) give the sides of the tank a spray as well, I normally just do the clumsy water dish. Hope that helps you out Manganr.