New tarantulas and worried

[Houndofdartmoor]

I recently purchased a mexican red knee tarantula and it's been almost a week with her not eating or touching the substrate. She was raised on sand sub. For two years at the shop I bought her from in a 5 gallon tank and I have her in a 10 gallon tank with coconut fiber. I'm keeping the humidity around 60-70 and temp 70-75. I'm really concerned because her abdomen has shrunk quite a bit, she's gone after the crickets I out in but again won't go near the new substrate. Any ideas?

 

[Chubbs]

Whenever I see someone mention humidity percentage, it automatically raises red flags in my head. Humidity percentage is not something to be concerned with when keeping tarantulas. Even for species that require more humidity/moisture, simply using a larger water dish, and wetting the substrate every so often will do the trick. Brachypelma smithi needs dry substrate and does not make any special demands for humidity and moisture. So no misting or moistening of the substrate for them. The same goes for most Brachypelma species. As for not eating, well for all we know, it could be in premolt or just not hungry. A picture of the tarantula may help.

 

[Houndofdartmoor]

Sorry for late reply I'm at work, I tried for a picture earlier but I'm on my phone so I can't. I'll try when I get home.

 

[Houndofdartmoor]

http://twitter.com/Yggdrasil_94/status/667125637455310848/photo/1

 

[Madzoohouse]

I agree completely.. I am new at this as well. From what I understand tarantulas are prone to fungal infection from too much moisture. Also in my opinion the tank may be too large. I actually downsized from a larger tank to a critter keeper... I use coconut husk for her right now.. I think she loves it. She burrows and can actually find her food now. Also the state your tarantula is in may cause it not to eat. Example when going into molt she would not go near anything and actually would flee from the prey. She molted and is as hungry as ever. Hopefully this was useful to you

 

[Rockpython]

She's fine. She looks healthy. I'd give her more time to settle in to the 10 gal. She can go MONTHS without feeding with a rump that full. No worries

I would add more substrate though. ... enough to keep the distance from bottom to top about 1.5 times the DLS (diagonal leg span)

 

[Meludox]

She looks fine. Just give her more time to acclimate.

 

[Houndofdartmoor]

That picture is from the same day I got her I'll put up a more recent one later. But I do appreciate the encouragement that she looks fine, her well being has been plaguing my mind for days

 

[TabithasMom]

She looks good to me. I know some are fussy about the substrate. My rosie gets all perturbed if it's too wet, and will clutch to the glass with all her might. It took me a minute to figure out to only use bone-dry substrate from the moment I need it for a major tank maintenance. Like any hobby, it takes some trial and error to figure out how to perfect the craft, and it's easy to freak out over the little things. It's smart that you're doing the research to answer your questions. I've had Ts for over 10 years, and I still get anxious over some things. It's all part of being a spider parent, lol.

 

[rénee]

when i first got my Rosea a few weeks back, i was told from the shop that she needed high humidity and wet substrate, then the minute i put her in her new home she immediately started heading for the wall and would not come down. So i put my girl in a temp container, got out some baking pans and laid out the substrate and dried it all out(took me 3 hours!), she now will not leave the ground! in fact she barely climbs now.

My girl also hasn't eaten in 2 weeks, and kind of just hides and is slow moving, pretty sure she's in pre-molt. As many people have told me on here, and as TabithasMom mentioned above, if the substrate is a bit too wet for their liking they will try avoiding the ground like mine did.

 

[Houndofdartmoor]

These are current images of her and her terrarium. Unfortunately my parents added water to the substrate while I was gone we're going to try and dry it out. If that doesn't work I'll remove it and add more.

 

[Meludox]

Even if that T needed wet substrate, why did they just dump the water in? If anything, spray it.

 

[Houndofdartmoor]

I don't know why they did that but I'm kissed they did.

 

[Meludox]

Well it'll dry in the oven in no time, since it's not all saturated. Or you could probably just scoop the wet substrate out and pour more dry in.

 

[Fuzzball79]

Personally, and this is just my opinion, I would add a little more (dry) substrate as the tank seems awfully tall for a ground dweller. It's just so if she fell from the side of the glass there's less of a chance of injury. She's a very nice looking spider btw

 

[Houndofdartmoor]

But going by this you'd say her abdomen is still a good size?

 

[Rockpython]

She looks great. Most T's in captivity are obese, yours looks like it should (imho)

 

[Madzoohouse]

Ok. I am worried now myself.i just received my new t's and they are freezing.. They are so lethargic i thought every one was dead.. As well as the water monitor. How can i save or help yhem?

 

[Madzoohouse]

Sorry about my typos i am in a rush

 

[Madzoohouse]

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