- Messages
- 4
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
OK, folks, I have two problems that have come up. This past weekend, I completely took the enclosures apart for my Brazilian Salmon Pink and my OBT. I gave them a thorough cleaning, laid down fresh substrate (Eco-Earth - Damp, but not what I would call wet - I do this with every full enclosure change, and have never had this issue) and introduced fresh food for both Ts. My problems are as follows:
1) Miss Brazil - Salmon Pink Birdeater - She has always been a voracious eater. I got her literally two weeks after hatching. She was so tiny that she actually got lost in the substrate that she was packed with in the vial. She is now a healthy 7 inch leg span, with a massive sized body. She was moting regularly, and would always eat anything that dropped into her enclosure. Since the enclosure cleaning last weekend, she will not eat. She will actually walk around the crickets I have give her, and if one crawls underneath her, she will simply lift her body or foot and let the cricket pass by. I know that they go off their feed when preparing to molt, but she has shown no signs of molt preparation. She looks healthy, walks healthy, and definitely has plenty of speed (When I mist the enclosure, she is VERY quick to get away from the mist.). I have never, in her three years of life so far, seen her refuse to eat. The pic below was taken just a couple of hours before I posted this.
2) Ginger - OBT - I obtained Ginger from a herp show last summer. I put her in an enclosure with a small skull that she was using as a hide. The problem I had with that was that she would not come out except at night, so I never really saw her. I was afraid that she would get stuck in the small skull, and not be able to get out (She molted at least once inside the skull), so this past weekend during the big enclosure cleaning, I put a new hide in there for her. She went into it for about 30 minutes on the first evening, and has not gone back in since. It is a nice large hide, as you can see below. OBTs are notorious for webbing the hell out of everything. She certainly webbed the inside of that little skull so that you could not see a thing inside - Part of the reason I worried so about that smaller skull. I figured this new hide would give her plenty of room to molt and grow, and I would not have to worry about her getting stuck. The mouth of the hide is perfect size that she can web to her hearts content and close off the opening. Perfect, right? Not so. She climbed up onto the side of the enclosure, and will not come down.
I am hoping someone here can help me with these problems. I have kept tarantulas for the better part of 15 years, so I am not new at this. I am just not used to problems such as these. Thanks!
1) Miss Brazil - Salmon Pink Birdeater - She has always been a voracious eater. I got her literally two weeks after hatching. She was so tiny that she actually got lost in the substrate that she was packed with in the vial. She is now a healthy 7 inch leg span, with a massive sized body. She was moting regularly, and would always eat anything that dropped into her enclosure. Since the enclosure cleaning last weekend, she will not eat. She will actually walk around the crickets I have give her, and if one crawls underneath her, she will simply lift her body or foot and let the cricket pass by. I know that they go off their feed when preparing to molt, but she has shown no signs of molt preparation. She looks healthy, walks healthy, and definitely has plenty of speed (When I mist the enclosure, she is VERY quick to get away from the mist.). I have never, in her three years of life so far, seen her refuse to eat. The pic below was taken just a couple of hours before I posted this.
2) Ginger - OBT - I obtained Ginger from a herp show last summer. I put her in an enclosure with a small skull that she was using as a hide. The problem I had with that was that she would not come out except at night, so I never really saw her. I was afraid that she would get stuck in the small skull, and not be able to get out (She molted at least once inside the skull), so this past weekend during the big enclosure cleaning, I put a new hide in there for her. She went into it for about 30 minutes on the first evening, and has not gone back in since. It is a nice large hide, as you can see below. OBTs are notorious for webbing the hell out of everything. She certainly webbed the inside of that little skull so that you could not see a thing inside - Part of the reason I worried so about that smaller skull. I figured this new hide would give her plenty of room to molt and grow, and I would not have to worry about her getting stuck. The mouth of the hide is perfect size that she can web to her hearts content and close off the opening. Perfect, right? Not so. She climbed up onto the side of the enclosure, and will not come down.
I am hoping someone here can help me with these problems. I have kept tarantulas for the better part of 15 years, so I am not new at this. I am just not used to problems such as these. Thanks!
