Hello From Isle of Wight

[Saphira3]

Hi guys, i am Saphira

I have just got an 8yr old Female Golden Chaco Knee, she was originally my sons however his girlfriend is petrified of any kind of spider. So i have taken "Charlie" into my home and am finding her a pleasure to have. I have some questions as i am really new to this, all i have done the past week is read and read about GCK's but found no real answers to what i need to know.
1) She has not eaten in 5 months (i no this can be normal as have read it)
2) Bald abdomen for approx 2 months (again this can be normal in premolt)
3) Very sluggish (premolt possibly?)

Now i have the humidity and temp about right, i do not use a heat mat as scared of her getting burnt, my house is average for temps (about 21c during day and about 15c at night (sometimes lower in winter months). She is drinking well and is hydrated, but am just worried that the above might not be premolt and some other issue. Help would be greatly appreciated please.
Thankyou

 

[Josh]

Hi Saphira! Welcome to the TF community! Thanks for joining! Kudos to you for taking in your son's T. Charlie is a beaut!
Sounds like she may be pre-molt. The only concerning thing is it sounds like she's had plenty of time to molt and do her thing. I'd just keep monitoring her temps and humidity and offer food every so often. She'll do her thing and hopefully she'll settle into more normal behavior

 

[Saphira3]

From what my son told me his flat was very hard to keep warm and sometimes it would go as low at 5c in the flat which is not ideal conditions(not sure if this would affect her molting process). Anyway update from me, today i decided to rehouse her as i was not happy with the enclosure she was in, new picture below, and tbh a big difference in how "Charlie" now is , more active, exploring and already webbing, when i emptied the old soil from her old cage it had many old carcass in it (surely these are supposed to be took out once not eaten in 24hrs) sorry but still learning..Now she is in my room which has a sustained temp between 18c and 22c..I used coco fibre as you can see for her bedding and she really does seem a lot happier already, i shall now leave her alone for about 2 weeks and let her get used to the new surroundings, and will feed her with a cricket, if not eaten i shall remove it.

 

[Sabeth]

Her bald patch is still a light color...in premolt it turns dark. If she is refusing food she can be in premolt and just may not have darkened yet. That sounds like a long premolt period but it might just be her as an individual.

Glad to have you, btw.

 

[Saphira3]

Well charlie still doing well and has done some webbing during the night, she is currently sat on the stone in the house and appears to just be chilling and now and again she moves the one leg and looks like she is tapping the plant that is in there lol. Just so fascinating to watch. I will keep you posted on how she is, apparently the bald patch could be the rubbing then flicking of hairs, my son informed he got her out loads, maybe she just wasn't happy with this and attempted to flick hairs. I shall rarely get her out, maybe once a week for about 2-3 minutes. Thanks for the advice and help guys