Acclimating wild T stirmi.

[arachnoherp]

Hello i realised every repticon i go to there are wc burgundy bird eaters and i dont tend to impulse buy so as tempting as they are i went home and did research on them and found many to be w/c and heavilly parasitized. I know with reptiles you would treat them with things like flagyl or some other antiparasitic medecine but id imagine you cant use that on ts, so my question is what is the usual coarse of action with acclimating a species like this because ive seen some that looked fairly healthy and others that were practically in death curl at the vendors table and i want to know how to possible get one as healthy as possible next repticon i go to, thankyou.

 

[Jones0911]

DO NOT buy ANY species of w/c tarantulas, there's many reputable breeders online that can mail you a 100% healthy Stirmi.

Its not worth the money to worry about the health of your T as soon as you buy it in terms of wild caught issues

 

[Venom1080]

I'm assuming this would be your first spider? If so, don't. A wc Theraphosa is a very poor starter.

 

[arachnoherp]

I'm assuming this would be your first spider? If so, don't. A wc Theraphosa is a very poor starter.

Oh ive got a b smithi, white knee, avicularia, versicolor , green bottle blue, and a texas brown. So it wouldnt be my first. And is there anyone in particular recommended who sells stirmi often as cbb?

 

[jaycied]

Try the classifieds on here, there are usually some.

 

[Rittdk01]

I bought a juvenile wc stirmi last year from a reptile show. Had to put him in the freezer less than a month later with nematodes.

But, my favorite t is an adult stirmi that was def wc and had no health problems. I just bought a 2 inch stirmi from Jamie's tarantulas because I wanted a smaller one and didn't want to get wc again. Your choice. I'm sure most r healthy and I just had crap luck.

 

[arachnoherp]

Would you mind elaborating? Symptoms of nematodes, report of from day you picked it up to day it died? Sorry im just curious about all that happened and things to look out for if i do go wc route. Im definitely considering cb over wc but for future reference its good to know what to look for.

 

[RemyZee]

Oh ive got a b smithi, white knee, avicularia, versicolor , green bottle blue, and a texas brown. So it wouldnt be my first. And is there anyone in particular recommended who sells stirmi often as cbb?

Fear Not Tarantulas and Jamie’s Tarantulas both have cb slings right now.

 

[Rittdk01]

Would you mind elaborating? Symptoms of nematodes, report of from day you picked it up to day it died? Sorry im just curious about all that happened and things to look out for if i do go wc route. Im definitely considering cb over wc but for future reference its good to know what to look for.

If u buy wild caught put it in a seperate room for a month away from your other spiders. Symptoms of nematodes usually show up by then.

Symptoms in my guy were the worms pouring out of the mouth. They also can't feed, hang by their water dish and keep their arms up like they are feeding even when they walk.
He looked healthy and fed very well for a couple of weeks. He stayed in his hide the entire time I had him, and only came out for food.

 

[EulersK]

DO NOT buy ANY species of w/c tarantulas, there's many reputable breeders online that can mail you a 100% healthy Stirmi.

Give me a WC specimen over a CB specimen any day of the week. If a spider is CB, that almost certainly means it is part of the limited gene pool that is currently available in the hobby. A WC specimen means new bloodlines being introduced. The fear of WC specimens is wildly overblown, largely in part to people perpetuating the fears you introduced.

I go out of my way to get WC specimens and I've never once had an issue. Plus, in the case of T. stirmi, they are quite difficult to breed in captivity. Just about any adult/subadult you come across is almost guaranteed to be WC. Similarly, the likes of G. porteri/rosea are almost universally wild caught. If you have an adult that you didn't raise, 95% chance that it is WC. They take years (if not up to a decade) to mature. People usually don't hold on to a $20 for that long.

To be clear. I'm not saying that issues don't happen. Only that they're rare enough that I simply don't worry about them. I'm more interested in getting new blood for breeding.

 

[arachnoherp]

Give me a WC specimen over a CB specimen any day of the week. If a spider is CB, that almost certainly means it is part of the limited gene pool that is currently available in the hobby. A WC specimen means new bloodlines being introduced. The fear of WC specimens is wildly overblown, largely in part to people perpetuating the fears you introduced.

I go out of my way to get WC specimens and I've never once had an issue. Plus, in the case of T. stirmi, they are quite difficult to breed in captivity. Just about any adult/subadult you come across is almost guaranteed to be WC. Similarly, the likes of G. porteri/rosea are almost universally wild caught. If you have an adult that you didn't raise, 95% chance that it is WC. They take years (if not up to a decade) to mature. People usually don't hold on to a $20 for that long.

To be clear. I'm not saying that issues don't happen. Only that they're rare enough that I simply don't worry about them. I'm more interested in getting new blood for breeding.

What is that makes this species so hard to breed? Pairing aggression, sac eating, egg or sling sensitivity

 

[arachnoherp]

If u buy wild caught put it in a seperate room for a month away from your other spiders. Symptoms of nematodes usually show up by then.

Symptoms in my guy were the worms pouring out of the mouth. They also can't feed, hang by their water dish and keep their arms up like they are feeding even when they walk.
He looked healthy and fed very well for a couple of weeks. He stayed in his hide the entire time I had him, and only came out for food.

Is there any way of treating them or lessening the ammount of parasites that can allow the tarantula to live with it?

 

[Rittdk01]

Is there any way of treating them or lessening the ammount of parasites that can allow the tarantula to live with it?

If you have a tarantula with nematodes you need to get rid of it or risk infecting your collection. I read stuff on treating nematodes with saline water and super high temperatures. I didn't find any treatment that was any more than experimentation. That's the problem with the worms--anything that will kill them will also kill the host.

I don't like the way they treat wild caught stirmi, so that would sway me to not buy again, regardless of the parasite risk. And I had no clue they were wild caught when I bought them, which is prob the case with most. And there are enough dealers with T stirmi slings that there has to be some breeding going on or they are finding a lot of gravid T stirmi in the wild.

Since it costs the same or a little more for a captive bred T stirmi sling as it would for a wc adult, I'm sure most would choose the big one.

 

[Ran]

I have bred stirmi and success is mainly dependent on the female. I understand the different points of WC versus CB. WC can potentially carry parasites where CB sacks are usually pulled and some slings which would die in the sack and being consumed by sack mates are now being sold...what I perceive as seeing such a high rate of mortality in CB slings being purchased due to people breeding wanting to make as much money as they can (ethics in the hobby). I experimented by leaving one stirmi sack with the mother and 49 slings made it out and only one died...the slings are now 8”. I would ask sellers if the sack was “pulled” before purchasing...or take a chance on a WC which you should quarantine for a couple months....saving it from confinement and bad conditions (wouldn’t you want to be saved?). Great species...highly underrated.

 

[arachnoherp]

Would this be pretty accurate?

Cb sling
PROS
Parasite free
Longer lifespan(being younger than a wc adult)
More adapted to captivity
Overall healthier alternative
CONS
Slow growth rate
Unsexable
Slightly more expensive
Harder to find
Have to wait before animal is at good display size
WC adult
PROS
Readily available
Usually at or near breeding size
Sexable if you know what to look for
Better display animal
Cheaper( not by much)
CONS
Stressed from collection
May carry contagious parasites
Has to acclimate to captivity
Unknown age so may already be at end of life span.

If i missed anything or you want to add to it please do so.

 

[Rittdk01]

^^^they grow very fast, so def not a slow growth rate. Everything else seems accurate.

 

[arachnoherp]

^^^they grow very fast, so def not a slow growth rate. Everything else seems accurate.

Oh ok ive heard they grow slow. Have you found any behavior difference in cb vs wild caught like one being hardier or easier to breed etc

 

[arachnoherp]

I have bred stirmi and success is mainly dependent on the female.

How is it dependent on the female if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Rittdk01]

Oh ok ive heard they grow slow. Have you found any behavior difference in cb vs wild caught like one being hardier or easier to breed etc

I just got a cb sling two weeks ago, so it's too early to say if they are different than my wc adult. I don't intend to breed, but my adult T stirmi is very easy to care for, and took to captivity well.

 

[Ran]

I have several adult female Theraphosa, stirmi and apophysis and certain females will accept a males advances while others do not and act aggressively toward any male introduced.