I am worried about Titan (my curly hair)

[Theuns]

Good day.

So i have been keeping an eye on Titan for a few weeks now.
I bought him a few months ago. He was beautiful and i had to have him on the spot but now he looks thinner like almost skinny in a way as well he has a bold patch on his abdomen. I have been lightly spraying his cage every 3 days feeding him 1 or 2 crickets twice a week (he eats them all) but I am worried about him. He is my gaming companion and I don't want to loose him because i am a sucky father. please if anyone can help me!!

I will upload some photos, the one with the leaves is when i got him, I changed his substrate and then removed the log and leaves because I thought he was going into molting (the bold patch on abdomen) but he has not shown any signs of attempting it so now i am not sure. the other 3 photos was taken now.

 

[Enn49]

Hi, welcome to the form.
Can you see if he has any hooks on his front legs? I'm wondering if he is a mature male in which case there is nothing you can do. There's no need to spray, Brachypelmas hate wet substrate, as long as he has a full water bowl at all times.

 

[Theuns]

It does seem that he has little hooks on his front legs (is this a bad thing or good thing ?) also attached two files. Maybe they can help u

 

[Theuns]

I understood the message about the hooks wrong, He is definitely a male, there are a pair of hooks on the 3rd segment of the front legs. So i am trying to read between the lines of your message, does this mean he is close to passing ?

 

[Enn49]

It does seem that he has little hooks on his front legs (is this a bad thing or good thing ?) also attached two files. Maybe they can help u

If he has hooks then he is a mature male and I'm sorry but his days are numbered. He will start making sperm webs. Just make sure he always has a full bowl of water and enjoy him while you can, he may live another couple of years after his last moult.
Sadly many pet shops sell mature males to the unsuspecting but at least you can give him a happy, peaceful end unless you want to offer him out for breeding.
For your next T buy a youngster from a good breeder, there are plenty that advertise in our Classifieds.

 

[Theuns]

Thank you. How long do you believe he has left ? if you can give a plus minus estimate.

 

[Enn49]

Thank you. How long do you believe he has left ? if you can give a plus minus estimate.

It's difficult to say, it varies. I've had 2 Curlies that turned out to be males and 1 lived 18 months after last moult, the other 10 monthsi Both were the same age when I got them and kept in exactly the same conditions.
If I were you I'd get another T soon, as I said a juvenile or young female, and it will ease the pain of losing Titan.

 

[Logan D]

in the for sale section Dustin Amack has some good sized females for good prices I would check them out

 

[Nunua]

Enn told you most of the important stuff already, so I'm not going to repeat. But it's good to keep in mind that Titan's not suffering - Not from you being a bad spider dad or anything else I'm sure he is having relaxing senior time with you.

 

[Whitelightning777]

See if there is a breeder who is interested. I sent out a mature male of a different species and got 2 immature P vittata slings suspect male and female just before the ban in return.

I'm not sure if the details, but even if you can't handle a lot of slings, some sellers may accept egg sacs through the mail but I'm not sure how that works.

If you can get a female, why not?

 

[Stan Schultz]

... I have been lightly spraying his cage every 3 days ...

First, go to this website and start reading: http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/spiders.html. Don't try to read it all at once, it's been known to cause brain damage. Read one or two pages a day until you've gone through the entire website.

Especially, read this page: http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/Misting.html.

...but I am worried about him. He is my gaming companion and I don't want to loose him because i am a sucky father. please if anyone can help me!!

You need to read a good book on tarantulas. I dare not recommend any for fear of being criticized for blowing my own horn, but there are several good ones available. Perhaps others can recommend a few.

I will upload some photos, the one with the leaves is when i got him, I changed his substrate and then removed the log and leaves because I thought he was going into molting (the bold patch on abdomen) but he has not shown any signs of attempting it so now i am not sure. the other 3 photos was taken now.

Yes indeed, it is a mature male and is highly unlikely to ever molt again. Typically, the Brachypelma and Aphonopelma live for 12 to 18 months after their maturing molt, but your mileage may vary. BTW, the curly hair is officially known as Brachypelma albopilosum.

If you can find a dealer who will cooperate, next time specify that you want a female as a pet. Female B. albopilosum will live 20 years or more from the time of leaving the eggsac.

If you decide to buy a wee baby of undetermined sex, get at least three instead. If you do so you will have 7 chances out of 8 of getting at least one female. What do you do with all the extras you decide you don't want? Advertise them on this forum. The spare females are in great demand as pets, the males are in demand by breeders.

Hope this helps.

Stan Schultz

 

[Enn49]

You need to read a good book on tarantulas. I dare not recommend any for fear of being criticized for blowing my own horn, but there are several good ones available. Perhaps others can recommend a few.

Stan Schultz

The book considered the tarantulas keeper bible is "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" by none other than @Stan Schultz

 

[Theuns]

good day, I have found a breeder over the weekend who is interested. also my friend who had his contact number for me is gona give me one of his females this weekend, its sad to watch Titan go but I know its best for him. I will post pictures of the new one once I have chosen one and got her home safely.

Thank you all for the support.