Feeding when premolt?

[Zarshenyu]

Hello

Maybe it's a dumb question but i still concern to ask..

Should i feed my B. Albo when he's in premolt? Here's how he looks like now.

Lately, he likes to move around near the dish. Sometimes he put his leg inside the dish. The humidity is around 80%-90% inside the enclosure.

So the questions are:
1. Should i feed my T for now? Last time i feed him was 2 weeks ago.
2. Does his abdomen looks good? I'm afraid he'll get dehydration.
3. When he put his leg in the water dish, does that mean he need more water to absorb?

Thank you for your attention

 

[Enn49]

1/ You can try feeding him and if he eats then all good, if he doesn't remove the food item.
2/ Abdomen looks fine
3/ As long as he has water available he'll do fine.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Great questions,
80-90%....are you trying to kill it??? It's not a Theraphosa blondie. Actually your gauge is inaccurate...its junk. I can tell you looking at the substrate it's not even close to 90%...more like 40%. Humidity gauges in Captive breed spiders enclosures are unnecessary.

When they are fat...I dont feed them. Especially if in premolt.
Always leave a full water dish.

They dont drink through their feet...they have a mouth like you and me.
The older they get the longer they are in premolt and dont eat...you should start getting use to it.

 

[Zarshenyu]

1/ You can try feeding him and if he eats then all good, if he doesn't remove the food item.
2/ Abdomen looks fine
3/ As long as he has water available he'll do fine.

Okay noted. Thank you for the answer

 

[Zarshenyu]

Great questions,
80-90%....are you trying to kill it??? It's not a Theraphosa blondie. Actually your gauge is inaccurate...its junk. I can tell you looking at the substrate it's not even close to 90%...more like 40%. Humidity gauges in Captive breed spiders enclosures are unnecessary.

When they are fat...I dont feed them. Especially if in premolt.
Always leave a full water dish.

They dont drink through their feet...they have a mouth like you and me.
The older they get the longer they are in premolt and dont eat...you should start getting use to it.

Of course i wont kill him I love him so much

Yeah it seems weird. When i put the humidity gauge inside the enclosure, it always show 80%-90%. But when i put in on top of enclosure, it shows 40%-50%.
So should i spray water to the substrate to make it more humid?

I already leave him a full water dish. Just change the water last night.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Of course i wont kill him I love him so much

Yeah it seems weird. When i put the humidity gauge inside the enclosure, it always show 80%-90%. But when i put in on top of enclosure, it shows 40%-50%.
So should i spray water to the substrate to make it more humid?

I already leave him a full water dish. Just change the water last night.

I just over flow the water dish once a week...just enough it dries out in a weeks time.

 

[Zarshenyu]

I just over flow the water dish once a week...just enough it dries out in a weeks time.

Okay noted.

I sprayed a bit water to the substrate and now it looks like this:

Is there actual humidity level for B. Albo? Like in number? Or just by looking at the substrate, i can tell it is enough?

Thank you.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Theres no need to worry about a humidity number. Your spider can adapt to live in your house. You live in Indonesia...its probably humid enough already???

 

[Zarshenyu]

Theres no need to worry about a humidity number. Your spider can adapt to live in your house. You live in Indonesia...its probably humid enough already???

Yes i live in Indonesia. The weather here uncertain because now is transition between summer and rainy season. But usually, humidity in Indonesia (Especially Jakarta city, where i live) is 61% in open area.

 

[Nunua]

Yes i live in Indonesia. The weather here uncertain because now is transition between summer and rainy season. But usually, humidity in Indonesia (Especially Jakarta city, where i live) is 61% in open area.

Well, I can tell that I have RH (relative humidity) 23% at the moment in my apartment (I live in Finland) and not a single one of my slings is suffering and they're more delicate than a big T like yours I just overflow the water dish every now and then and keep the dish full - This keeps humidity level all fine in my enclosures.

 

[Zarshenyu]

Well, I can tell that I have RH (relative humidity) 23% at the moment in my apartment (I live in Finland) and not a single one of my slings is suffering and they're more delicate than a big T like yours I just overflow the water dish every now and then and keep the dish full - This keeps humidity level all fine in my enclosures.

So, only water dish just enough to keep the humidity inside the enclosure?

Sorry if im being too nervous. This is my first time keeping a T

 

[Nunua]

So, only water dish just enough to keep the humidity inside the enclosure?

Sorry if im being too nervous. This is my first time keeping a T

Some species require a bit moister substrate, but arid species like your Brachypelma albopilosum need nothing but a water dish that you overflow every now and then.

Also, I want to highlight that your T is already a decent size and well developed, so there is nothing to worry with it. It can go long times without food, and as long as you have a full water dish in the enclosure it'll thrive and be a happy spider!

And don't worry about being too nervous - We all have been there. TBH even the more experienced keepers get a tad nervous about certain things. I got my first T a bit over a year ago. I was worrying about everything, but tarantulas teach us patience, patience and more patience. I now have 12 tarantulas (2 juveniles and 10 slings) and they have taught me a bunch of different behavior of Ts

 

[Zarshenyu]

Some species require a bit moister substrate, but arid species like your Brachypelma albopilosum need nothing but a water dish that you overflow every now and then.

Also, I want to highlight that your T is already a decent size and well developed, so there is nothing to worry with it. It can go long times without food, and as long as you have a full water dish in the enclosure it'll thrive and be a happy spider!

And don't worry about being too nervous - We all have been there. TBH even the more experienced keepers get a tad nervous about certain things. I got my first T a bit over a year ago. I was worrying about everything, but tarantulas teach us patience, patience and more patience. I now have 12 tarantulas (2 juveniles and 10 slings) and they have taught me a bunch of different behavior of Ts

So all i need is to overflow the dish weekly. Okay, noted

Glad to hear all the information you told me
Thank you! I really appreciate it

 

[Nunua]

So all i need is to overflow the dish weekly. Okay, noted

Glad to hear all the information you told me
Thank you! I really appreciate it

You're welcome and you don't need to overflow the dish weekly. Overflow it, let it dry out and then overflow it again - No exact schedule needed.

 

[Avic]

Hello

Maybe it's a dumb question but i still concern to ask..

There is no such thing as a dumb question mate.
What may look dumb to one person, may be a perfectly good question to another person.
At the end of the day we all have to learn, and you being on here (The forum) is one of the best starts you can make.
Good luck.

 

[RonC]

Relax. Your T likes the substrate dry. A water dish and it will do fine.

 

[Zarshenyu]

You're welcome and you don't need to overflow the dish weekly. Overflow it, let it dry out and then overflow it again - No exact schedule needed.

Aah i see. Thank you for the advice

Btw, i read articles in Indonesian (i live in Indonesia) that says it is dangerous to handle a premolt tarantula. The article said that if we disturb a premolt tarantula, tarantula might get injured and failed to molt, then die. But they don't explain what kind of disturbance that could kill a T.

Before i read the article, yesterday i touched my T with soft brush because i just wanna know if he's still alive or not, because he's not moving for 12 hours. And he responded with moving his pedipalp. He didn't looks stress about it and continue chilling.

After reading the article, now I'm scared that my T might feel annoyed about it and got stressed. I don't really believe what those article said because it doesn't looks valid enough to be trusted. But my anxiety drive my brain crazy

So, is that dangerous to touch tarantula in premolt?

 

[Zarshenyu]

There is no such thing as a dumb question mate.
What may look dumb to one person, may be a perfectly good question to another person.
At the end of the day we all have to learn, and you being on here (The forum) is one of the best starts you can make.
Good luck.

Thank you. I really glad that i found this forum
As you can see, I'm a paranoid keeper

Learning by reading articles or blog from internet only lead me to confusion. And in Indonesia, this hobby is still new. I used to ask for advice to the seller and didn't get clear information. When i ask something, their answer is basically same as what i read on internet.

Joining this forum is really helpful for me. The response here is pretty fast too.

 

[Zarshenyu]

Relax. Your T likes the substrate dry. A water dish and it will do fine.

Okay, noted
My T seems like to put substrate in dish. I tried to clean the dish but there's still little amount of substrate remain in dish (it seems stuck in the corner. I used a bottle lid as the dish).
If there's a tiny amount of substrate in a dish, could it be considered as fresh water? Or the dish should be 100% clean without substrate?

Thank you

 

[Nunua]

Okay, noted
My T seems like to put substrate in dish. I tried to clean the dish but there's still little amount of substrate remain in dish (it seems stuck in the corner. I used a bottle lid as the dish).
If there's a tiny amount of substrate in a dish, could it be considered as fresh water? Or the dish should be 100% clean without substrate?

Thank you

Think of a wild tarantula. Will it die if there is dirt in the source of water it uses? No. Therefore substrate in a water dish does no harm for the T.

And for your 'what kind of disturbance during premolt could kill the T' - Stop worrying. Tarantulas get clumsy and even more blind when in premolt, so that's why handling or poking may cause more stress to them. Think of a situation where you have several layers of clothes on you - all one size too small. At the same time there is a gauze on your eyes. You don't see well and moving is weird and slow. That's the closest you can get to feel how it is to be in premolt

The most delicate moment is when the tarantula is laying on its back. Then you should NOT disturb it. The same applies after molting when the T is almost transparent and very soft - The T like you will require over a week to harden its exo. So no feeding during that time.