New to this

[coldblooded]

Hi all, I am new to tarantulas and wanted a little help. I’ve had Ron Webbsly for about two months now. He is a Mexican Grey Rose Tarantula (Tliltocatl verdezi). So far he’s been a really awesome tarantula and he’s always been a good eater but the past two weeks he has not been eating. He is not moving today, I lifted his hide and it does seem like maybe he recently dug himself deeper than when I checked yesterday. I’m concerned about this bald-looking patch on his abdomen and the fact he isn’t moving/eating. Not sure if he is getting ready to molt or something more serious is going on. Any advice is appreciated! (I cannot figure out how to attach his photo here)

 

[coldblooded]

Here is a pic from today

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

This being a new world Tarantula the bald spot is where the T is kicking urticating hairs and is normal. Her abdomen is showing some darkening on one side from the pic and she could be about to go into pre molt and they will not eat anymore till the molt. When in pre molt they can become a bit lathergic and I see this more, in my experience, with my new world T's. Keep an eye on your T's abdomen and if the darkening continues he is going to molt soon. The abdomen will be practically black by time the molt comes. Keep us posted and hope this helps. Happy Spoodering!!

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

... it does seem like maybe he recently dug himself deeper than when I checked yesterday.

Totally agree with everything Trooper says.

Just wanted to add that T. verdezi normally doesn't dig deep burrows. In the wild they tend to prefer a silk-free dugout under a rock or log. They're more of an "artist's studio" than a "Palace of Versailles" type of spider.

If your T is digging deep it may be in pre-molt, but it might also be that your substrate is too damp. These guys live in semi-arid thorn forests where the ground is typically dry. Not bone-dry like a true desert but dry enough that there isn't free moisture readily available. They don't do too well with too much humidity. They'll dig during the rainy season to try and find dry layers of soil.

If you've been misting the enclosure you may want to cut back on that and just provide a water dish to see if that helps.

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

Funny you brought up the humidity thing. My Verdezi female always stays by her water dish. It's like she likes the humidity and I thought it strange that a more dry environment species was actually liking the humidity. She has the whole other side of her enclosure that is bone dry but she is always on the damp side. T's will be T's I suppose.

 

[Eighth Eye Blind]

I have an A. chalcodes that does the same thing. She even eats on top of her water dish. She'll grab a cricket and carry it over there like a raccoon. Who knows?

 

[coldblooded]

This being a new world Tarantula the bald spot is where the T is kicking urticating hairs and is normal. Her abdomen is showing some darkening on one side from the pic and she could be about to go into pre molt and they will not eat anymore till the molt. When in pre molt they can become a bit lathergic and I see this more, in my experience, with my new world T's. Keep an eye on your T's abdomen and if the darkening continues he is going to molt soon. The abdomen will be practically black by time the molt comes. Keep us posted and hope this helps. Happy Spoodering!!

Thank you so much for this info! I will definitely keep checking on him and update here with any other changes

 

[coldblooded]

Totally agree with everything Trooper says.

Just wanted to add that T. verdezi normally doesn't dig deep burrows. In the wild they tend to prefer a silk-free dugout under a rock or log. They're more of an "artist's studio" than a "Palace of Versailles" type of spider.

If your T is digging deep it may be in pre-molt, but it might also be that your substrate is too damp. These guys live in semi-arid thorn forests where the ground is typically dry. Not bone-dry like a true desert but dry enough that there isn't free moisture readily available. They don't do too well with too much humidity. They'll dig during the rainy season to try and find dry layers of soil.

If you've been misting the enclosure you may want to cut back on that and just provide a water dish to see if that helps.

Okay I will definitely keep an eye on the humidity as well! Normally he doesn’t dig deep under the log like that so I did find it odd as well. I was worried about it being too dry in there so now I know to keep it to just the water dish.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

I have an A. chalcodes that does the same thing. She even eats on top of her water dish. She'll grab a cricket and carry it over there like a raccoon. Who knows?

My small female Chilobrachys Fimbriatus will do the same thing. She pounces on a couple crickets and it's off to water bowl to enjoy her meal! Lol.