lesson learned!!

[kaz]

ok so my smithi is well a pig when it comes to eating! I'll stick in a small mealworm wait a minute then it usually takes another straight off! Noticed yesterday this in its water dish!! (thumbnail at bottom for some reason)
which so happens to be the tip of its pedipalp. Anyways thinkin it may have happened the other day when I fed her slightly larger mealworms stuck one in there she went for it then added another. She didn't seem to have much of a struggle. Then today I noticed it looks like the left side next to her fang is flapping abit. I don't know how really to describe it or if the pictures are decent but here's a couple:

also why I'm at it, if anyone could give any indicaters on sex please, sm thinking female:

 

[RedCapTrio]

Was he trying to be Capt. Hook for Halloween? LOL. Just kidding. I'm thinking female too.

 

[kaz]

hahaha perhaps maybe lol

 

[MassExodus]

Guessing female..can't see the flappy part though, and can't load the thumbnail cause my connection blows, so I can't say on that..

 

[kaz]

probably nothing just juts out abit unlike the other side!! Seems fine.

 

[MassExodus]

probably nothing just juts out abit unlike the other side!! Seems fine.

Yeah, it sounds minor. They'll molt out of something like that in one molt.

 

[kaz]

haha I swear it must of grown a foot back over night. It doesn't seem to have it missing now and it was deffo a foot in the bowl lol was hairy n all haha!! Is that even possible!! I'm guessing not but for the life of me its not missing the end anymore!!

 

[MassExodus]

View attachment 11772 haha I swear it must of grown a foot back over night. It doesn't seem to have it missing now and it was deffo a foot in the bowl lol was hairy n all haha!! Is that even possible!! I'm guessing not but for the life of me its not missing the end anymore!!

lmao, it was a piece of a molt probably. It happens. My obts both have legs and carapace tops webbed into their construction work. I'd have to destroy half their houses to get them out, so I just leave them. Dry enclosures anyway, they'll just desiccate in the web.

 

[Entity]

Just to be safe crush the head of meal worms when u put them in. they will still wiggle around and cant bite anymore. ..also looks like a female to me @kaz

 

[MassExodus]

Just to be safe crush the head of meal worms when u put them in. they will still wiggle around and cant bite anymore. ..also looks like a female to me @kaz

If I do that I usually crush them right behind the pairs of legs behind the head, they'll live and wiggle longer but can't burrow. I've had the little sh*ts bite me though, while not painful, you can feel the power of those little jaws. So I see why people crush the heads. Spiders learn very quickly to keep those jaws away from them though.

 

[Entity]

If I do that I usually crush them right behind the pairs of legs behind the head, they'll live and wiggle longer but can't burrow. I've had the little sh*ts bite me though, while not painful, you can feel the power of those little jaws. So I see why people crush the heads. Spiders learn very quickly to keep those jaws away from them though.

Yeah they do. I fed my adult a. avic a superworm without crushing the head and she had to stand on her left four legs to avoid being bitten. after that i started crushing the little asshole's heads.....lol

 

[kaz]

mass exodus that could be a distinct possibility haha I never even gave that a thought. Never bothered to smash their heads, I hate all that had to cut one in half once ended up getting my partner to do it. Iv got two young boys so they'd probably enjoy doing it for me haha. Spose it would benefit my pulchra as they usually burrow before she gets to em

 

[Entity]

mass exodus that could be a distinct possibility haha I never even gave that a thought. Never bothered to smash their heads, I hate all that had to cut one in half once ended up getting my partner to do it. Iv got two young boys so they'd probably enjoy doing it for me haha. Spose it would benefit my pulchra as they usually burrow before she gets to em

Yeah thats another good reason tom crush their heads. they burrow so fast i used to loose the all the time.

 

[Chubbs]

mass exodus that could be a distinct possibility haha I never even gave that a thought. Never bothered to smash their heads, I hate all that had to cut one in half once ended up getting my partner to do it. Iv got two young boys so they'd probably enjoy doing it for me haha. Spose it would benefit my pulchra as they usually burrow before she gets to em

Definitely a good idea. You don't wanna have ones loose in your enclosure when your tarantula decides to molt.

 

[kaz]

yea I was worried about that!!​

 

[GCSnelling]

Rather than crush heads i just cut them off.