B Hamorii isn’t eating!

Weasel808

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
7
image.jpg I've recently been having an issue with my B Hamorii as she no longer seems to eat ,I’ve thought she was moulting originally but now I have no idea as from what I read they are generally more reclusive when they are near a moult and that they also develop bald spots.
My main issue is that she is still relatively active and is no longer webbing her entrance to her burrow which she did regularly ,she also has a bald spot but it’s more whit and has only partially become a brown.
I was hoping that I could get some ideas of what might be happening to her.
Her Setup is up top.
 
Last edited:

Mpmackenna

ArachnoNerd
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
149
Not a good setup for a B. Hamorii but I dont think that has anything to do with diet habits. Got any pics of Waldo? I cant find her in the picture. How old? How long without eating?
 

Arachnophoric

Arachnoangel
Joined
Aug 29, 2016
Messages
947
I added the image up top, I hope it helps ,although it’s is a tad bit dark.
That setup does not seem at all appropriate for your T. Way too much height + spiny objects in combination with heavy bodied terrestrials is a recipe for disaster. I sincerely hope the light on the left side isn't a heat lamp, and if i'm not mistaken that is a heat mat attached directly to the side of the enclosure on the right - supplemental heating elements are entirely unnecessary for Ts as they do just fine at room temperature (65-85F, give or take a few degrees) and heating elements that aren't properly implemented will leave you with a dehydrated and/or cooked T.

There's a large number of things that could be causing your T not to eat, but we'd need a picture of the spider itself to be sure.
 

Killertut

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
92
well, they can fast like a boss. my B. hamorii juvenile female has been fasting since the start of winter in november 2018. hope she starts eating again soon, once the temperatures rise (not worried though as the T is still round).
 

Weasel808

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
7
That setup does not seem at all appropriate for your T. Way too much height + spiny objects in combination with heavy bodied terrestrials is a recipe for disaster. I sincerely hope the light on the left side isn't a heat lamp, and if i'm not mistaken that is a heat mat attached directly to the side of the enclosure on the right - supplemental heating elements are entirely unnecessary for Ts as they do just fine at room temperature (65-85F, give or take a few degrees) and heating elements that aren't properly implemented will leave you with a dehydrated and/or cooked T.

There's a large number of things that could be causing your T not to eat, but we'd need a picture of the spider itself to be sure.
the light on The aide isn’t a heat lamp and the heat mat is for the winter as it can get really cold where I live even with a good insulated house ,and it does have a thermostats so that there is no possibility that she overheat or gets to cold I did have another terrarium for her originally but it was temporary similarly to this one as I’ve had no use for it .i have realised that there are a lot of hard thing that she could fall on which is why I have things coming that aren’t hard although they still haven’t arrived.
 

Weasel808

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
7
Not a good setup for a B. Hamorii but I dont think that has anything to do with diet habits. Got any pics of Waldo? I cant find her in the picture. How old? How long without eating?
I’ve had her for about 5 months and she was three when I bought her. I have two images that I hope are ok they aren’t exactly the close to being the best ,and she hasn’t eaten in about 3weeks

I also have checked the height of the tank which from the substrate is about 21 cm at the front and the back is a it steeper at about 16cm
 

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chanda

Arachnoking
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Three weeks is nothing. It is perfectly normal for a tarantula to go on an extended fast even when they aren't in premolt. My female G. pulchripes molted in December - then promptly buried herself and didn't come up or eat until the end of April. My A. chalcodes has also recently surfaced, after disappearing underground back in August. Despite the extended fasts, both are plump and healthy - and eating well now that they've decided that food is something they are interested in again.

Your spider does not look emaciated. Her abdomen is still nicely plump, not shrivelled or shrunken. Just keep her water dish full - and consider transferring her to a more appropriate cage (smaller, less vertical height, and get rid of the hard/sharp objects she could potentially fall on.)
 

Thekla

Arachnoprince
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Oct 13, 2017
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1,878
and she hasn’t eaten in about 3weeks
3 weeks? :astonished::rofl::p

Sorry, but that's nothing, absolutely nothing. My B. hamorii (roughly the same size) fasted for 5 months until she finally moulted. And even that didn't worry me at all, because she was plump and healthy, much like yours it seems. ;) They can even go way longer without food. Just make sure she has fresh water at all times.

and consider transferring her to a more appropriate cage (smaller, less vertical height, and get rid of the hard/sharp objects she could potentially fall on.)
This!
 

Weasel808

Arachnopeon
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Oct 4, 2018
Messages
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3 weeks? :astonished::rofl::p

Sorry, but that's nothing, absolutely nothing. My B. hamorii (roughly the same size) fasted for 5 months until she finally moulted. And even that didn't worry me at all, because she was plump and healthy, much like yours it seems. ;) They can even go way longer without food. Just make sure she has fresh water at all times.


This!
Ok thanks for the tips and help ,I have taken out some of the objects and at least I know she isn’t in danger thank you so much:embarrassed:
 

Arachnophoric

Arachnoangel
Joined
Aug 29, 2016
Messages
947
Three weeks is nothing.
Somehow completely missed that it's only been a few weeks. :hurting: Yeah 3 weeks without eating for a Brachy isn't anything to be concerned with.

the light on The aide isn’t a heat lamp and the heat mat is for the winter as it can get really cold where I live even with a good insulated house ,and it does have a thermostats so that there is no possibility that she overheat or gets to cold I did have another terrarium for her originally but it was temporary similarly to this one as I’ve had no use for it .i have realised that there are a lot of hard thing that she could fall on which is why I have things coming that aren’t hard although they still haven’t arrived.
Good to hear that's not a heat lamp. I maintain that the heat mat is probably a bad idea. I understand that your house may get cold during the winter, but your T can easily tolerate temps into the mid to low 60s. If it gets lower than that in your household, then perhaps explore some other heating options i.e. a space heater that would warm up the room. An ambient heating element is much safer and more effective - if you were trying to heat that enclosure by applying the mat directly to it, you'd have to have it set several degrees warmer than what you're aiming for as an ambient temp. Otherwise the rest of the enclosure is going to be cold while that one wall is warm.

I do know that there are safe ways to implement heat mats to create ambient heating, but i don't believe slapping one directly up against the wall of the enclosure where your T can come in direct contact with it is one of them.

I'm glad to read you removed the sharp objects from your enclosure. As far as the height goes, the rule of thumb for terrestrial Ts is that you don't want the distance from the substrate to the top of the enclosure to exceed 1.5x your tarantulas leg span.
 

Weasel808

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
7
Somehow completely missed that it's only been a few weeks. :hurting: Yeah 3 weeks without eating for a Brachy isn't anything to be concerned with.



Good to hear that's not a heat lamp. I maintain that the heat mat is probably a bad idea. I understand that your house may get cold during the winter, but your T can easily tolerate temps into the mid to low 60s. If it gets lower than that in your household, then perhaps explore some other heating options i.e. a space heater that would warm up the room. An ambient heating element is much safer and more effective - if you were trying to heat that enclosure by applying the mat directly to it, you'd have to have it set several degrees warmer than what you're aiming for as an ambient temp. Otherwise the rest of the enclosure is going to be cold while that one wall is warm.

I do know that there are safe ways to implement heat mats to create ambient heating, but i don't believe slapping one directly up against the wall of the enclosure where your T can come in direct contact with it is one of them.

I'm glad to read you removed the sharp objects from your enclosure. As far as the height goes, the rule of thumb for terrestrial Ts is that you don't want the distance from the substrate to the top of the enclosure to exceed 1.5x your tarantulas leg span.
Thanks again for the help I’ll try and get a knew terrarium ,thanks so much:embarrassed:
 

Mpmackenna

ArachnoNerd
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
149
The terrarium you have would work pretty well for an adult arboreal T. You should just put that enclosure in storage, pick up an arboreal sling and then when it matures to an adult you will be all set. You might as well pick up another half dozen slings while you are at it because you can never have too many. Pretty sure I saw a pretty good deal on some arboreal slings in the classifieds section. You should go take a look. cough cough *muffled* (cold blood) cough cough... ;);)
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
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Jul 19, 2016
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I read they are generally more reclusive when they are near a moult
Mine hasn't made any attempt to hide since she passed 3", regardless of whether or not she's in pre-moult.

and that they also develop bald spots
Bald spots are from kicking hairs (even if you've never actually seen her do it), they're not actually an indicator of pre-moult although they do make it easier to tell when the tarantula is in heavy pre-moult as the bald patch will darken as it gets closer to moulting.

it does have a thermostats so that there is no possibility that she overheat
The probe of the thermostat should be attached directly to the surface of the mat and the mat should be placed above substrate level away from the hide.

and she hasn’t eaten in about 3weeks
My 5" female fasts for about 2 months when approaching a moult. In any case, a T fasting for 3 weeks is a non issue, this species could easily go up to a year without food.
 

Weasel808

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
7
Mine hasn't made any attempt to hide since she passed 3", regardless of whether or not she's in pre-moult.



Bald spots are from kicking hairs (even if you've never actually seen her do it), they're not actually an indicator of pre-moult although they do make it easier to tell when the tarantula is in heavy pre-moult as the bald patch will darken as it gets closer to moulting.



The probe of the thermostat should be attached directly to the surface of the mat and the mat should be placed above substrate level away from the hide.



My 5" female fasts for about 2 months when approaching a moult. In any case, a T fasting for 3 weeks is a non issue, this species could easily go up to a year without food.
Ok thanks for the tips I’ll be sure to get onto moving things ,thanks so much:):embarrassed:
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
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Jul 19, 2016
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4,835
I also have checked the height of the tank which from the substrate is about 21 cm at the front and the back is a it steeper at about 16cm
If she's over 4" then the height shouldn't be an issue (I'm assuming it's one of the shorter glass exo terras for terrestrial reptiles), ideally the height between the top of the sub and the top of the enclosure should be around 1.5x leg span.

The mesh in the lids is an issue though (you can just order some acrylic cut to size, drill/melt a bunch of holes in it and then fix it into place on the underside of the lid with aquarium silicone, this stops them from getting their tarsal claws stuck).
 
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