I have some questions about T blondi

[Regan]

I have read some different things about keeping this spider, I need to know how humid to keep the enclosure and how much a how often to feed it. I was told that 4 crickets a week was enough but I feed her yesterday and she ate five crickets and a horned worm. She is about two and a half inches long in body any help would be great.

 

[Ghost]

Hi Regan,
Firstly welcome to the forum,
Now when it comes to your T.blondi the first question I have are you 100% sure it's a blondi and not a T.stirmi,it's just that most people get confused and can't tell the difference between the two and the T.stirmi is more common and alot cheaper in the hobby,also their a bit easier to care for than T.blondi so if you could post a pic of your T that would be good.

Now as far as the humidity goes dont get hung up on a specific number if your using one of those thermo/hygrometer things then throw it out there highly inaccurate and you'll drive yourself crazy trying to keep the humidity up using it ,I'll give you a quick run down on how I keep my T.blondi/stirmi and have done for years without having to many problems,firstly enclosure holes in the upper sides and back this is for cross ventilation I don't bother with holes in the top as this lets out the humidity and ruins the micro-climate substrate moist not wet or soggy despite what some of the care sheets say the dont live in swamps and only need moist substrate,I also add some moss and always keep a full water dish at all times I also randomly sprinkle water over the substrate once a week all this Keeps the humidity at the correct level,as for temperature I keep mine between 75-80 Fahrenheit and for feeding at the size of your one I would still be feeding twice a week.
Anyway I hope this helps to answer some of your questions.....,

 

[Regan]

Thank you for you advice I will get some pics later today I was told it was T. Blondi by the store I bought it at. Right now I just have it in a 10 gallon criter keeper with 2 or3 inches of coco bark and a water dish. Is this suitable?

 

[Ghost]

Well if you bought him from an LPS then it's 99% certain that he's a T.stirmi which is a good thing as their not as delicate as the T.blondi and are the hardiest of the Theraphosa.
As for substrate I don't use coco bark for my T's as It doesn't hold moisture and drys out too quick for T's that are moisture dependant,what I use is top soil without any ferilizer mixed with a bit of vermiculite to help retain moisture,as for depth I give mine at least 6" of substrate,a hide and some plants for cover I use real plants for this speices but fake plants works as well.
I'm not sure if this is your first T but if it is then you've started at the high end as far as husbandry goes but try not to worry as I'm sure we can give you enough advice so you shouldn't have any problems....

 

[Regan]

Ok thanks I will get a pic today.

 

[Regan]

 

[Denny Dee]

Always more than one way to skin a cat . I do use cocoa fiber mixed with a 20-30% vermiculite to allow for some drainage and discourage mold in the substrate. I have a cave enclosure on one end of the tank with a substrate depth of about 7" with the soild sloping down to about 4". Remove the cork bark as that will definitely encourage mold.

For humidity, I do like to have a hygrometer present. Although they are not spot accurate, they are still a good guide to approximate humidity levels. 1% is certainly not going to make or break the set up. I use a reptile like set up and have a screen mesh bottom with clay balls to always allow for water to always be present. The humidity builds up from the bottom and avoids complete over saturation of the soil. I use a heavy gauge metal screen on the top versus glass to allow for air circulation (also have the top bolted down with four heavy duty screen clamps and locked). I have tried glass in the past and it always brings mold to the tank at some point. Because of the high humidity requirements, combined with my busy lifestyle, I use an auto mister that runs three times per day (fill with distilled water or you will get unsightly water marks on the tank). If you are not going to use an auto mister, I would go with the glass top. Fairly expensive set up but over the life of the T, very reasonable considering the health of the T and the expensive replacement costs for the species.

Without the auto mister, I think I would have failed but my blondi is going on three+ years now and has molted approximately five times. Close to full grown. She is the "wow" factor in my spider room and probably one of my top five species. Eating machines that I find you proabably cannot overfeed however, watch out for molting times. They generally won't eat during this time and with high humidity, you need to remove uneaten food fast. Tropical isopods are a nice addition to these tanks as well to assist with maintenance.

 

[Regan]

Ok thanks I think I'm going to try soil and vermiculite. I still am wondering if this is T Blondi or not, that what I was told.

 

[Ghost]

Ok thanks I think I'm going to try soil and vermiculite. I still am wondering if this is T Blondi or not, that what I was told.

Hi Regan,
It's hard to tell at the size of your T as there's only subtle differences between T.blondi and stirmi,I'm afraid you'll have to wait on a few more moults untill it gets a bit of size before you will get a positive ID,although I'm leaning towards T.stirmi from your picture but I'm not 100% and I've been wrong before with photo IDs....

 

[Regan]

O.k. thanks

 

[Denny Dee]

Just be careful with "soil". I have struggled finding anything that was commercial that did not give me fears over what chemicals may be in it. Let us know what you go with. Thanks.

 

[SpiderDad]

What are some identifying features to look for in telling the differences. The pet store just called mine by the common name. She jolted a month after I got her.

 

[Feriat]

It could be the bad picture, but I'm not entirely certain that's a Theraphosa at all. If you could get a better, closer picture it would help a lot.

 

[tcrave]

ima say that to me it don't look like any Theraphosa sp to me, for one looks like the knees have white on them i could be wrong and its the lighting, two, not a stirmi because slings will have pink feet at as a sling, very viable, i could be wrong but im no expert just giving my two cents in what i think