Hello good people im a noobie!!

[jon ross]

Hi people. My names jon and im new to the site and spider ownership. Ive had a massive facination with spiders and recently thought is was about time i owned a proper one.
I have a mexi red knee typicly called smithi, she/he is a young spider and just awesome,

Ive joined this site mainly because im a little worried about smithis health. Nothing appears to be wrong but ive seeked advise to make sure im not doing anything wrong but ive found that there are so many different opinions.

One thong is i was told by the shop i bought smithi from that you hardly ever need to change the substrate but found that i should do it around every 3 months,

Also to never handle them but also told that if you handle them once every one or two weeks they will learn that my hand is not a threat and will be ok. Ive handled smithi a hand full of times and has been fine every time. Ive also been told that they can feel your pulse in your hand and think its food and bite

Ive found that the humidity levels will be right if i have a water dish and mist the substrate with water once a week

With feeding i was told one cricket per week and ive heard that you should feed young ones a couple or few times a week

Please can someone tell me whats true or not and if you have any other advise that would be great, also id like to find out wether smithi is male or female.

Heres a lil pic. Ill post more later

 

[Josh]

Hello Jon and welcome to the forum!

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Hello jon welcome aboard! Nice young smithi there. You don't actually need to replace your whole substrate or every 3 months for that matter. Just do a routine spot cleaning with a tweezer after you have fed your T. I've been keeping Ts for a long time now and some of my T's substrates have remained untouched for years.

 

[jon ross]

Thanks for the advise mate. What exactly am i looking for to pick up out of the substrate? I changed it last night and put the heat mat on the back side of the glass were his shelter is as it was underneath and told to move it and wen i put him back in he went on top of his shelter and stayed by the heat mat and didnt go in his hole. I left him as i know they move mainly at night and in the morning was still there. After work, still there, so i figured he was just being abit dumb so i moved him off the shelter and moved him to were the shelter covers and put it down on top of him and now sorted lol

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Feeder 'ash', this is what the ball-like food remnants are called usually found at the corners of the enclosure. They're usually smaller than a pea and are hard so it is easy to pick up with tweezers.

Well brachys like staying out in the open for long periods of time. Your smithi isn't exactly a baby anymore so it's more confident in staying outside

 

[Scoolman]

One thong is i was told by the shop i bought smithi from that you hardly ever need to change the substrate but found that i should do it around every 3 months,
Not needed, and quite stressful for the tarantula. Just spot clean the bolus when left, and waste from the tarantula.
Also to never handle them but also told that if you handle them once every one or two weeks they will learn that my hand is not a threat and will be ok. Ive handled smithi a hand full of times and has been fine every time. Ive also been told that they can feel your pulse in your hand and think its food and bite
Handling is controversial. They do need nor do they want to be held, but if done correctly and carefully you can do so with minimal risk to the tarantula. Always be close to the floor. A fall of as little as one foot could the abdomen to rupture resulting in death. It is best sit on the floor when trying to handle. Also, remember when reaching into the enclosure that you are invading their home. This can cause them to become defensive.
Ive found that the humidity levels will be right if i have a water dish and mist the substrate with water once a week
You need nothing more than a water dish. Misting is futile and can be stressful fr the tarantula. When you want increased humidity you can simply wet a small area of the substrate, then let it dry out before wetting again. The water evaporating from the substrate will raise the humidity. B smithi is a desert species and needs no special humidity requirements. Yours is large enough to be out of that delicate spiderling phase, so no worry there.
With feeding i was told one cricket per week and ive heard that you should feed young ones a couple or few times a week
At that size I feed one to two times per week, depending on prey size. Tarantulas have incredibly slow metabolisms and do not require much food to sustain heir system.

The substrate in that last pic looks a bit shallow. You should have a good 3" at least for that size B smithi. While they do not burrow much, they should be given the opportunity if they choose.

Welcome to the addiction.

 

[jon ross]

Thank you for the advise mate. The thing with shallow substrate is i was told to put it about 1 inch deep and over night on the first night he kicked it all out of his shelter so wen i done it the other night, i made it deeper anx put the heatmate onthe back of his tank were the shelter is and over night again hes kicked it all out to the opening and theres only a small gap now like hes trying to hide

 

[Sabeth]

Beautiful smithi!

 

[novakdesigns]

Welcome to the site. Id put more substrate in as if its kicking it about it may want to burrow. I personally wouldnt mist the substrate as it could start the grow mould. As long as youve got a water dish it should be fine. Welcome to the hobby, you will soon be addicted and buying many more. I dont handle my red knee coz shes a bit stroppy, but have handled my other ts and ive never once been bitten when theyve gone by my wrist and could feel pulse. Just dont try to handle it if it tries to retreat, flicks hairs and threat poses.

 

[superpetguy1]

Welcome human dude and that critter of yours as well! Nice rednee I like rosia! but rednee are on the list too.

 

[Charmyknux]

Welcome aboard!
Try reading a bit on the subject too. Shop owners often don't have as much experience as they should
Your smithi is very pretty, you eill learn over time what makes the individual spider happy as far as substrate depth and feeding regime. My smithi doesn't like to burroe at all, but many of my other spiders do. They are all individuals

 

[Scoolman]

Tarantula Keepers Guide by Stan Schultz

http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/g0.html

 

[jon ross]

Hi peeps. Thank tou for the help. Yea ive been doing a lot of reserch and reading up ( ill take a look at that link later)
The addiction as started already. I went in the shop to get some crickets and walked out with a chille rose!
Heres sly lol

 

[superpetguy1]

LOL same

 

[jon ross]

Shes a stroppy one tho ive found recently lol