MM GBB?

Paiige

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Messages
335
So some of you are aware I've been having issues with my GBB on and off since...well, day one, pretty much. He's about 3" DLS and molted last July. He's lethargic, doesn't eat well and always seems dehydrated and skinny.

The last week or so, he's been living in his water dish. I overflowed the dish and he crawled in it. He looks especially bad the last few days and won't eat. I've been insisting that he's not mature but now I'm starting to think otherwise.

He has no hooks, but his pedipalps do look a little round. Is it possible that the hooks are just super tiny because he's so small? I've only had one other MM and he was large and his hooks were quite noticeable.

I'm attaching some photos - I don't have any from right now with his poor shrivelly self. I'm at work but posting for hubby. He was hubby's first T, and we haven't even had him a year. He is very, very sad. :embarrassed:

He's looking rough. I'm not expecting more than a few weeks, if that.

20161129_075243.jpg IMG_20170403_195026_427.jpg
 
Last edited:

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
I personally don't look for hooks - bulbs are a dead giveaway, and I see no bulbs. The pedipalps on MM's actually look diseased, look at the picture I posted below. Especially against a blue backdrop, you should be able to clearly see the red markings of emboli. Also notice that the last section of the pedipalp becomes extremely shortened when emboli develop, almost like the pedipalps are shorter... because I think they actually are.

I'm the one on FB that suggested you water it down. So it made a B-line to the water dish and just stayed there? I feel like that's supporting my claim (that it's too dry in there) even more.


Here are some pictures of a MM C. cyaneopubescens that I had awhile back. Notice how dull the coloration is - they turn very dark, and the pedipalps have noticeable bulbs on them. Yours just does not look mature to me.

IMG_0848.JPG ----- IMG_0851.JPG
 

Paiige

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Messages
335
I personally don't look for hooks - bulbs are a dead giveaway, and I see no bulbs. The pedipalps on MM's actually look diseased, look at the picture I posted below. Especially against a blue backdrop, you should be able to clearly see the red markings of emboli. Also notice that the last section of the pedipalp becomes extremely shortened when emboli develop, almost like the pedipalps are shorter... because I think they actually are.

I'm the one on FB that suggested you water it down. So it made a B-line to the water dish and just stayed there? I feel like that's supporting my claim (that it's too dry in there) even more.


Here are some pictures of a MM C. cyaneopubescens that I had awhile back. Notice how dull the coloration is - they turn very dark, and the pedipalps have noticeable bulbs on them. Yours just does not look mature to me.

View attachment 237961 ----- View attachment 237962

Well thanks again for the advice! The poor guy is just looking worse and worse though. I'll see if I can get a better shot of the pedipalps tonight.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
I had a MF about a year ago die on me for (at the time) unknown reasons. In retrospect, I'm convinced that it was dehydration. With the exception of hovering by the water dish like you described, she was doing everything that your male is doing. Extremely lethargic, wouldn't eat, all of it. I firmly believe that had I offered a larger water dish and boosted her humidity, I'd still have her today. Her story is the reason I hate the term "bone dry", because in my experience a very, very small number of tarantulas can be kept truly bone dry. Spoiler: C. cyaneopubescens and G. porteri/rosea aren't on that list.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
I had a MF about a year ago die on me for (at the time) unknown reasons. In retrospect, I'm convinced that it was dehydration. With the exception of hovering by the water dish like you described, she was doing everything that your male is doing. Extremely lethargic, wouldn't eat, all of it. I firmly believe that had I offered a larger water dish and boosted her humidity, I'd still have her today. Her story is the reason I hate the term "bone dry", because in my experience a very, very small number of tarantulas can be kept truly bone dry. Spoiler: C. cyaneopubescens and G. porteri/rosea aren't on that list.
In winter when its really dry here, I will moisten a spot of moss for my porteri and she always sits right on it. It is important to note that while I do agree that these (and GBB) do need some moisture at times, in both cases too much can be very detrimental...so in these cases, bone dry is actually erring on the side of caution....but I totally know what you mean eulers.....Baboons can be kept bone dry.

@Paiige , the best way to look for emboli (IMO) is to compare the ends of the palps with the feet....if its not mature, the ends of the palps will look just like the tarsi...if the palps look markedly different than the tarsi, its a MM.
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
In winter when its really dry here, I will moisten a spot of moss for my porteri and she always sits right on it. It is important to note that while I do agree that these (and GBB) do need some moisture at times, in both cases too much can be very detrimental...so in these cases, bone dry is actually erring on the side of caution....but I totally know what you mean eulers.....Baboons can be kept bone dry.
Absolutely. She died in the fall though, so this one wasn't from dry air from a heater. I mean, it's easier to tell a new hobbyist to keep it bone dry as to avoid them going wild with a spray bottle - people seem to either keep spiders bone dry or in a swamp, no gray area. So far, the only species I've found that do well on 100% bone dry substrate are A. chalcodes, Ceratogyrus spp., P. scrofa, and P. murinus... that's all. Many others can survive on bone dry, of course.
 

MetalMan2004

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 14, 2016
Messages
676
Yeah its tough to see in your last picture there but I don't see what @Spidermolt is seeing. Here are a couple of pictures of my MM C cyaneopubescens.

IMG_5606.PNG
You can clearly see the red bulb on the end of the pedipalp. It is red and kind of looks like the end of a scorpion's tale.

IMG_5607.PNG
The hooks are pretty obvious too.
 

Arachnomaniac19

Arachnolord
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
652
I had a MF about a year ago die on me for (at the time) unknown reasons. In retrospect, I'm convinced that it was dehydration. With the exception of hovering by the water dish like you described, she was doing everything that your male is doing. Extremely lethargic, wouldn't eat, all of it. I firmly believe that had I offered a larger water dish and boosted her humidity, I'd still have her today. Her story is the reason I hate the term "bone dry", because in my experience a very, very small number of tarantulas can be kept truly bone dry. Spoiler: C. cyaneopubescens and G. porteri/rosea aren't on that list.
10/10!!! I lost at least 5 spiders that way when I first started out. Granted I live in an abnormally dry area.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,096
I mean, it's easier to tell a new hobbyist to keep it bone dry as to avoid them going wild with a spray bottle - people seem to either keep spiders bone dry or in a swamp, no gray area.
"Bone dry" also varies by climate. What works with high ambient humidity won't necessarily work in an arid climate.
 
Last edited:

boina

Lady of the mites
Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
Absolutely. She died in the fall though, so this one wasn't from dry air from a heater. I mean, it's easier to tell a new hobbyist to keep it bone dry as to avoid them going wild with a spray bottle - people seem to either keep spiders bone dry or in a swamp, no gray area. So far, the only species I've found that do well on 100% bone dry substrate are A. chalcodes, Ceratogyrus spp., P. scrofa, and P. murinus... that's all. Many others can survive on bone dry, of course.
While in generally I agree with you (especially about people creating a swamp when told to keep a little moist), I just want to put a caveat here: I live in an area with high humidity year round, especially in Winter (around 70% ambient humidity at the moment, with the heater running; Marshlands at the edge of a wood). Even my adult Pamphos dry out regularly without issues, because otherwise I'm having problems with mold, springtails etc notwithstanding. Of course all my xerid species get "bone dry" substrate, and I still worry it might get too humid.
What I'm saying is: it very much depends on where you live and how your general climate is.

And @Paiige : looking at the first pics I would have sworn it isn't a MM, but yes, in the last pic you can see the embolus clearly. I totally understand your confusion.
 
Top