Bald spot

[nyteovvl]

Penelope, my brachypelma albopolisum, I’ve had for two weeks now. She has a good appetite and so far I’ve been keeping to a 2 or 3 cricket feeding twice last week. I got her(?) from a live specimen supply company. I didn’t feed her the first week I had her as I wanted her to settle in to a new home and I fed a little extra this past week when I started because I didn’t know how often the company fed their stock. Anyway, she seem to acclimate to her tank well and is moving around the substrate around her hides hole. She’s left alone completely. Hasn’t been disturbed or threatened in anyway but I’ve noticed an almost perfect round bald spot nearly dead center on her back. It’s kind of creamish in color. Is she setting up for a molt? I don’t want to throw in any crickets or anything if she’s about to start. I’m prevailing upon the experience of the forum members to offer up some insight. I was going to change her substrate to a coco fiber type but I don’t want to throw her into a tizzy if she’s getting ready to begin a molt.

Any help is appreciated,

 

[MassExodus]

She could be about to molt. Ive always felt shipping stresses them into it. Is the skin on her butt going dark? Or, she could be kicking off hairs in her new digs, as a defensive measure against intruders. They often do this when settling in. A pic would be good. Great sp., and genus

 

[nyteovvl]

Thanks for the info. Shes in a 5 gal. tank with Zoomed forest floor substrate. A water dish in the corner. No heating or lighting. The only humidity is just whats in the air naturally or what the water dish provides. I put in a little reptile log "house" in there(looks like an upside down "U"). She took all the bedding under it and bunched it up at one end to block it off then stuffed more inside to make it feel like a burrow. Then a few days later, shes showing a bald patch. Ive had her for 2 weeks now. This bald spot only showed up in the last few days.

 

[Phil]

View attachment 38265 Thanks for the info. Shes in a 5 gal. tank with Zoomed forest floor substrate. A water dish in the corner. No heating or lighting. The only humidity is just whats in the air naturally or what the water dish provides. I put in a little reptile log "house" in there(looks like an upside down "U"). She took all the bedding under it and bunched it up at one end to block it off then stuffed more inside to make it feel like a burrow. Then a few days later, shes showing a bald patch. Ive had her for 2 weeks now. This bald spot only showed up in the last few days.

probably just something that has stressed her if there was no bald spot before. I have not seen that substrate before but it does look like wood shavings which I normally try to avoid. I use coco fibre for all my Ts.
I don't think she is in premoult either. The o ly good thing about having a bald patch is that you can actually see it darken to grey/black as the new hairs form underneath. Yours is beige with no signs of premoult.
I am saying "she", can you see any hooks on the unskderside of the front pair of legs or what look like boxing gloves on the end of the palps? Mature Males will often shed hairs as part if building the sperm web. I couldn't tell from the position of the spider if any of the hooks or palps were showing any indicators of what I have just described.
Hope this helps.

 

[Arachnoclown]

 

[Phil]

View attachment 38288

That's praise indeed. Now if you can get Morgan Freeman to say it that would be awesome. He has one of the best voices out there 2nd behind Sir David Attenborough IMHO, but an awesome voice LOL

 

[Rs50matt]

That's praise indeed. Now if you can get Morgan Freeman to say it that would be awesome. He has one of the best voices out there 2nd behind Sir David Attenborough IMHO, but an awesome voice LOL

Couldn’t agree more. Sir David Attenborough could be narrating my death and I’d find it soothing