• Are you a Tarantula hobbyist? If so, we invite you to join our community! Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your pets and enclosures and chat with other Tarantula enthusiasts. Sign up today!

Obese? Pre-molt? Both?

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
Title pretty much says it all, I really can't tell myself :( Hoping someone can help me out here.
It looks unhealthy, i'm not gonna feed it for a while now, unless anyone can tell me that i'm wrong x)

EqCWbgN.jpg


vCRZuQt.jpg
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
I am 99% certain the pale spots on the abdomen is caused by hair kicking, there has been a lot of hair kicking..
 

Fleas

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
278
Is it not eating? Have it been digging/webbing? What have it been kicking hairs at?what's species is it does it look darker then before? Have you noticed it drinking water?
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
Is it not eating? Have it been digging/webbing? What have it been kicking hairs at?what's species is it does it look darker then before? Have you noticed it drinking water?
(I don't know the sex so i'm just gonna call it a him for now)
This is a Brachypelma Vagans, juvenile. I got him about a month'ish ago and I haven't noticed him drinking not even once.
He eats well, no problem there (unless the problem is that im overfeeding). I havent noticed much change in color other than earlier today, when I noticed he has gotten darker color on his abdoben closer to his head or "body", I dont know what thats called. You can see from the photo that the top part(closest to his head) is darker than the opposite side of the abdomen.
When I housed him, he was kicking like mad, and he has also been kicking hairs at crickets, I have then removed the cricket and tried again a couple days later. But he always eats it in the end. Not sure if this is worth mentioning, but I never see him moving around any more, the first week he was climbing all over, now he's just standing still.
In his water dish I use some sort of cotton material soaked in water, someone suggested this to me.
He doesn't really 'dig', well he picks up and moves around the substrace, he has always done that. He webs whenever he's moving around the substrace to keep it in place where he puts it, other than that he only webs the ground when he has a cricket in his mouth.
 

Fleas

Active Member
3 Year Member
Messages
278
I vagan not digging??? Are you using wood chips for the substrate and get the cotten ball out of the water dish!! Other then that looks and hears like a molt.
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
I vagan not digging??? Are you using wood chips for the substrate and get the cotten ball out of the water dish!! Other then that looks and hears like a molt.
What do you mean digging though? Like how deep are we talking, like a burrow? It might be digging and i'm just not realizing :p I am using coco fiber, which doesn't have the sand-like consistency, as you can see in the pictures.
What do you mean get the cotton ball out of the water dish? This is what it looks like at the minute:
It's the same thing you use for hamster beds I believe. Do you think I should remove it and try to find some pebbles and just have clear water in it?
cUntShq.jpg
 

Ghost

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
302
What do you mean get the cotton ball out of the water dish? This is what it looks like at the minute:
It's the same thing you use for hamster beds I believe. Do you think I should remove it and try to find some pebbles and just have clear water in it?
cUntShq.jpg

Yes remove the hamster bedding from the water dish it's a breeding ground for bacteria,The only thing that should be in the dish is clean water.....
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
Yes remove the hamster bedding from the water dish it's a breeding ground for bacteria,The only thing that should be in the dish is clean water.....
Thanks, I removed it, washed it and replaced with only clean water now :) I dont understand why people told me to have something to suck the water from instead of only water, I was told it could easily drown :s
 

Fuzzball79

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
1,092
Thanks, I removed it, washed it and replaced with only clean water now :) I dont understand why people told me to have something to suck the water from instead of only water, I was told it could easily drown :s
I'm with you on that one. Why do some sellers, even caresheets still advise to use sponges (one pet shop even used a jelly like substance) for spiders?
Why is the misconception that spiders will drown in their own dishes still spread (in a really good program about spiders they actually showed what happens to a spider when it gets flushed down a sink with clear water, i.e. the spider came out unharmed)?
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
I'm with you on that one. Why do some sellers, even caresheets still advise to use sponges (one pet shop even used a jelly like substance) for spiders?
Why is the misconception that spiders will drown in their own dishes still spread (in a really good program about spiders they actually showed what happens to a spider when it gets flushed down a sink with clear water, i.e. the spider came out unharmed)?
Do you think I can find this on youtube/online? Sounds interesting :)
 

Ghost

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
302
Thanks, I removed it, washed it and replaced with only clean water now :) I dont understand why people told me to have something to suck the water from instead of only water, I was told it could easily drown :s

The whole tarantula drowning in the water dish is one of a few myths in the hobby that some people still believe,I give all my T's even my slings a water dish and none have drowned yet.
I've even had a couple of my T's moult in their water dish without drowning....
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
The whole tarantula drowning in the water dish is one of a few myths in the hobby that some people still believe,I give all my T's even my slings a water dish and none have drowned yet.
I've even had a couple of my T's moult in their water dish without drowning....
That's good to hear! If my T decided to moult in the water dish I would facepalm. Followed by panic..
 

Fuzzball79

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
1,092
My P. Metallica sling does that. It webs a nice thick mat across the dish and moults.
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
As I mentioned before, I got it fresh water without the hamster bedding, I also moved the enclosure for convinience (happened to be a colder spot, not sure if this did anything to it). The last couple of hours he has moved around more than he has the past entire week
 

Fuzzball79

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
1,092
Some of mine get quite active just before a moult, as if they're checking their surrounding is safe for them to flip over undisturbed if that makes sense?
 

Petter

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
39
Some of mine get quite active just before a moult, as if they're checking their surrounding is safe for them to flip over undisturbed if that makes sense?
That makes perfect sense, it might be what hes doing right now, I will check on him regurarely and keep this topic posted if anything were to happen :)
 
Top