Green Bottle Blue feeding

[bigdog999]

Hey all, quick question. I just bought a 1/2" Green Bottle Blue spiderling for a somewhat local pet store. They seem very knowledgeable, but I need to confirm some info. They suggest feeding it a 1/2" to 3/4" cricket every three to four days. Is this correct? I remember only feeding pinheads to my OBT at that size. Also I have a UPS that stays at 84 degrees, using temp gun. Can I use this to keep the spider warm.

Thanks

 

[Artaeshia]

Basically just don't feed the T anything that's bigger than itself. I feed all my slings (1-2cm) small crickets twice maybe three times a week, they can handle them pretty well, they're not picky. If they can't just squash the cricket a bit so it can't escape as easily (but not so all the guts are spewing out that could attract unwanted bacterial nasties). Sorry if this is a bit of a newbie answer

As for temp I don't go all technical, room temperature is fine (between 20-25C). If my room ever gets cold I use a thermostat heater to warm the room. Hope this helped a bit?

As for pet stores, I take their advice with a pinch of salt and stick to word of experince

 

[bigdog999]

Thank you, Artaeshia. It's in a pill bottle, so the cricket can't really go far. Every care sheet is recommending higher temps for the GBB than the 20-25c range, more in the 26-30c range.My room is normally about 20c, but it does get cold here.

 

[Wlapkiewicz]

Also remember to keep enclosure of your GBB dry. Just a water dish is fine.

 

[hamhock 74]

At 1/2 in just mist a side of the substrate and it'll drink from it. Also read this and it'll debunk the myths about caresheets, temperature, and humidity. Room temp is fine http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/myths00.html#mess

 

[Artaeshia]

Thank you, Artaeshia. It's in a pill bottle, so the cricket can't really go far. Every care sheet is recommending higher temps for the GBB than the 20-25c range, more in the 26-30c range.My room is normally about 20c, but it does get cold here.

Ah I see, I would have thought 30C as a max temp would be a tad too high. I tend to think; 'if I'm too hot/cold, then my T's are too hot/cold', is my general rule. But I suppose it's whatever works best for you and your T! I'm actually thinking about getting a GBB sling myself, I already have a juvie, but it would be nice to see those bronze colours and cute little tiger stripes!

Good luck!

 

[Anonymity82]

It's not an exact science. Read the link hammock supplied. They say you shouldn't give slings or adults anything bigger than their abdomens. This is probably true, however I have given my slings crickets larger than their abdomens and they tackled them without issue. If you're nervous about it and don't have small enough crickets you can use cricket pieces or if you're afraid the cricket my be able to hurt you sling because of the size difference just crush the cricket's head and toss it in.

 

[Stan Schultz]

... Every care sheet is recommending higher temps for the GBB than the 20-25c range, more in the 26-30c range. ...

OMG! You're not reading those stupid care sheets again, are you?

... My room is normally about 20c, but it does get cold here.

Please read Temperature....

It's June 20th! And, I can't believe that it's that cold in Massachusetts the end of June. In the mountain passes of western Canada, maybe.


(Paulson Summit, British Columbia. June 5, 2012. Over that evening they got about 6" (15 cm) of snow! Click the thumbnail to see a larger image. Click the second image to see it full size.)

But, Massachusetts is pretty close to sea level and a bunch of degrees farther south.

Still, if it is too cool there, you have several alternatives:

1. Move it to a warmer part of your home. The top of a refrigerator is sometimes a good place. Some enthusiasts have objected that the vibration of the frig will stress out the tarantula. Modern friges don't shake, rattle, and roll that much, and as long as it's eating it's okay. You shouldn't get stressed, thinking about your tarantula's stress!

2. Supply some sort of auxiliary warmth. All sorts of schemes have been invented by enthusiasts and people who were trying to separate enthusiasts from their hard earned cash. Most work, sort of. A few are either stupid, worthless, or outright dangerous to you and your spider. Here are some important things you need to worry about if you are seriously considering heating a tarantula's cage.

a. Auxiliary heat tends to dry out a cage. If you use some sort of heater you need to be aware of this fact, and take precautions to raise the humidity slightly. But, this raises the subject of humidity, and that's a complex issue. Read Humidity... before you mess with this one.

b. If you don't use some sort of thermostat to limit the upper range of the heater, and if you experience an unexpected warm day, you could come home from work or school some afternoon to the smell of well cooked tarantula.

c. Here is a description of how to subvert a common aquarium heater as a thermostat for your tarantula's cage.

d. If you try to jury rig your own arrangement for incorporating a thermostat into some sort of heating arrangement you'd better know how to do electrical wiring, or at least how to figure current loads, and how to make electrical connections. It's far too easy to fry yourself or burn the house down! If you've never been shown how to do it, get help. It takes more than 2 years of schooling and practice under supervision to become an electrician. And, there's a very good reason for that!

e. If you choose to use some sort of commercial, cage heating pad, most enthusiasts attach it to the rear wall of the cage at about substrate level. While we've had some people object to it, we strongly advise you NOT place it under a cage. The party line is that's because tarantulas tend to burrow to get away from uncomfortable situations, and would be inclined to burrow towards the heat source rather than away from it if the cage got too warm.

f. Specifically in your case: It is going to be completely impractical to try to heat one little pill vial. But, if you decide to try, you should set up a larger case, like a 10 gallon aquarium, a small cabinet, or a wooden box about the same size, as a "constant environment chamber." Basically, this is just a separate little room in which you're controlling the temperature. If you're under 18 or living at home, maybe you'd better talk it over with the "old folks" before turning the house into a barbeque! It will also allow you to keep several other tarantulas in the same conditions.

[size=+2]WHAT? YOU SAY YOU HAVE NO OTHER TARANTULAS?[/size]

WELL! We're just going to have to see what we can do about that! :biggrin:

Re: Keeping a baby GBB (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens) is exactly the same as keeping every other baby tarantula. There is no rocket science here, and nothing special in the way of pampering until they reach a size of about 1.5" (38 mm) DLS*.

Between about 1.5" (38 mm) and about 2" (5 cm) DLS you should gradually increase ventilation and allow the container to dry out. Always supply a water dish of some sort.

After about 2 molts or after they reach 2" (5 cm) DLS (or whichever comes first), for the rest of its life, you keep your GBB as a strict arid species: Dry substrate. No misting or spraying. As adults, these normally don't do a lot of burrowing. They like to produce large, elaborate webs, however, so give them larger cages with more head room over the substrate than you would other tarantulas.

We normally keep baby tarantulas warmer and feed them more than expected (a practice called "power feeding") in an effort to get them out of the delicate "baby phase" as soon as possible. As they grow and age we gradually cool them down to "normal" temperatures, and feed them less heavily. However, strictly speaking, this practice is not required. If you do keep your baby a little cooler it'll just eat less, grow more slowly, and probably live longer. It's not a crisis. It's just a slightly different operating plan.

"With tarantulas, temperature is almost irrelevant, and a slightly cooler environment is almost always preferable to artificial heat."

Here are a bunch of links about GBBs that may interest you.

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/R9Yg6xEwo8I&hl=en_US&fs=1& - Rick C. West (heavyset guy with the dark glasses) is a world renowned arachnologist and field biologist. Sorry, this video is in German, but you can still see some very interesting habitat shots.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/93543732@N00/600472615 - Photo of a GBB in a web in a boat. I have no idea of the background story behind this photo, or why the tarantula is in a boat!

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...uan%E1-xeric-scrubland-%28home-of-the-GBB%29& - Arachnoboards discussion of keeping GBB.


ARE YOU A NEWBIE? If so, maybe you should also read the following webpages. Maybe you should read them even if you're not a newbie!

Stan's Rant - A little initial boost in the right direction. READ AND HEED THE WARNINGS! READ THE BOOKS!

Myths, Misconceptions, and Mistakes Perpetuated by Tarantula Enthusiasts - A growing list of bad information in the hobby. Be sure to explore all the links.


Enjoy your little 8-legged rocket scientist!


* DLS = Diagonal Leg Span. The distance from the tip of one front leg to the tip of the rear leg on the opposite side when the tarantula is in a normal, resting posture. As in the lines of the red "X" here:

 

[Storm76]

Got mine as a 1" and feeding it once a week, one pinhead cricket. It would probably eat till it explodes so if I see the abdomen gets too large, I'll just don't feed them until a week later. Like Stan said, a waterdish is enough. NO misting as these can actually die from too much moisture in their tanks / jars even. Freaking easy to care for - great species. Can be fast and somewhat defensive (hairkicking and sometimes slightly bitey).

 

[MrWindupBird]

My GBB is one of my favorite Ts to feed. If I am lucky enough to open the container without spooking it, I can drop the cricket in, and its almost like it knows what is about to happen. The speed, ferociousness, and pinpoint accuracy with which my GBB tackles the cricket is absolutely amazing to watch. There is usually no hunt involved, no strategy, no thinking twice about whether or not to eat, my GBB usually has the cricket in its mouth before the cricket has even hit the ground... fascinating to say the least...

 

[bowyorang]

Congrats on the GBB! I just ordered mine late last week from one of the online retailers. They are holding it for me until my other T choice can molt and it can be sexed. I can't wait! But until then, I will continue to read these threads with educating myself on them in mind.