New to forum

[laurdd37]

I've had my tarantula for about 3 yrs now. Not sure if she's b. Smithi or b. Hamorii. Never even thought about it until I found this forum. And the more I read on here the more I'm worried I'm doing something wrong even though she seems fine to me and I've had her for this long. Also, not even positive she's a she. The girl that helped me out when I first got her said she's a female but I've never figured out how to see for myself.
Anyway, how do I know if my enclosure is too big for her? If I'm feeding too often or too much at a time? She tends to stay in her log/burrow lately, only coming out for water. She used to come out more often. Idk. Any random advice/info?
Also, I'll attach a picture, which I'm also worried about bc no one seems to have pics holding their tarantulas and now I'm like, oh crap does she hate me for this.

 

[ExMember]

I'm not good at sexing tarantulas but my guess would be female. It is quite large and probably hooked out by now if it was a male. How big was it when you first got it? Molt sexing is best. You can do ventral sexing too. I will see if I can find a vid or two on this.

A t that size I would feed once every three weeks to once a month. I have a 4-5" G pulchripes and feed it once a month with 2 large mealworms.

 

[Konstantin]

Hi and welcome.
Beautiful spider U have there.She seems in very good health.
Im sure some of our more experienced members will help with the id and sex.The rule of tumb about enclosure size is 2-3dls (diagonal leg span) for floor space you can go bigger but it may be difficult for your T to find its pray as they are ambush predators .About height 1,5dls is considered safe for terestrial species as higher than that and in case she/he falls it may lead to injury and even death.Your T do not require a lot of moisture so your substrate should be dry and waterdish with fresh water provided at all times.Do not stress about humidity as is not relavant to tarantulas, moisture is..
Food wise I offer pray to my adults every 2 -3weeks now if uneaten I take it out in 24h.I used to feed weekly but seem to get better feeding response when I spaced it out.Ts are not the most active animals and most dont require much food.I usually offer 2 large brown crickets or 1 adult dubia roach with its head crushed( as they play dead or burrow if i dont).
Behaviour vary not only between different individuals but between molts of the same individual too.Its not unusual that she is more secretive atm it is how ts are.
Handling is generally discouraged as is not beneficial for your T.They dont get used to it ,they just tolerate it at best.Its only putting you and your pet in a dangerous situation when you handle.Its a personal choice and I rather not risk the well being of my Ts.As I said their behaviour varies you may handle 100s of times but it may be that 101 that will go wrong.
Regards Konstantin

 

[ExMember]

Hi and welcome.
Beautiful spider U have there.She seems in very good health.
Im sure some of our more experienced members will help with the id and sex.The rule of tumb about enclosure size is 2-3dls (diagonal leg span) for floor space you can go bigger but it may be difficult for your T to find its pray as they are ambush predators .About height 1,5dls is considered safe for terestrial species as higher than that and in case she/he falls it may lead to injury and even death.Your T do not require a lot of moisture so your substrate should be dry and waterdish with fresh water provided at all times.Do not stress about humidity as is not relavant to tarantulas, moisture is..
Food wise I offer pray to my adults every 2 -3weeks now if uneaten I take it out in 24h.I used to feed weekly but seem to get better feeding response when I spaced it out.Ts are not the most active animals and most dont require much food.I usually offer 2 large brown crickets or 1 adult dubia roach with its head crushed( as they play dead or burrow if i dont).
Behaviour vary not only between different individuals but between molts of the same individual too.Its not unusual that she is more secretive atm it is how ts are.
Handling is generally discouraged as is not beneficial for your T.They dont get used to it ,they just tolerate it at best.Its only putting you and your pet in a dangerous situation when you handle.Its a personal choice and I rather not risk the well being of my Ts.As I said their behaviour varies you may handle 100s of times but it may be that 101 that will go wrong.
Regards Konstantin

Greatt information in that post.

 

[Enn49]

@laurdd37 Welcome to TF

 

[Zanfe]

Welcome and feel free to ask questions many wise people here

 

[m0lsx]

Hello & welcome to the forum.

 

[laurdd37]

I'm not good at sexing tarantulas but my guess would be female. It is quite large and probably hooked out by now if it was a male. How big was it when you first got it? Molt sexing is best. You can do ventral sexing too. I will see if I can find a vid or two on this.

A t that size I would feed once every three weeks to once a month. I have a 4-5" G pulchripes and feed it once a month with 2 large mealworms.

Ive been taking pictures a couple weeks after she molts every time. So I have a picture of her the day I got her and within two weeks she had molted already.

 

[laurdd37]

Hi and welcome.
Beautiful spider U have there.She seems in very good health.
Im sure some of our more experienced members will help with the id and sex.The rule of tumb about enclosure size is 2-3dls (diagonal leg span) for floor space you can go bigger but it may be difficult for your T to find its pray as they are ambush predators .About height 1,5dls is considered safe for terestrial species as higher than that and in case she/he falls it may lead to injury and even death.Your T do not require a lot of moisture so your substrate should be dry and waterdish with fresh water provided at all times.Do not stress about humidity as is not relavant to tarantulas, moisture is..
Food wise I offer pray to my adults every 2 -3weeks now if uneaten I take it out in 24h.I used to feed weekly but seem to get better feeding response when I spaced it out.Ts are not the most active animals and most dont require much food.I usually offer 2 large brown crickets or 1 adult dubia roach with its head crushed( as they play dead or burrow if i dont).
Behaviour vary not only between different individuals but between molts of the same individual too.Its not unusual that she is more secretive atm it is how ts are.
Handling is generally discouraged as is not beneficial for your T.They dont get used to it ,they just tolerate it at best.Its only putting you and your pet in a dangerous situation when you handle.Its a personal choice and I rather not risk the well being of my Ts.As I said their behaviour varies you may handle 100s of times but it may be that 101 that will go wrong.
Regards Konstantin

Thank you for the info, I appreciate it!

 

[Arachnoclown]

Welcome to the group. That's a beautiful Brachypelma hamorii you have there.

 

[menavodi]

Welcome to this great place

 

[Jess S]

Absolutely stunning hamorri. In terms of sex, males of this species can take more than 3 years to mature, so if you can either take a photo of it's last moult or of its ventral side,we can try to sex it. If you're not sure, run a search of moult and ventral sexing photos to get an idea of how.