So, I was given a b. smithi (warning for a spider in pretty poor condition)...

[Subdolus]

Unsexed juvenile, about 3" legspan, came in a 10 gallon tank.

Highlights include:

- Abdomen so skinny it's almost a line.

- Old molts in the tank.

- Dead, dried out crickets everywhere (I counted about two dozen), and the only reason they weren't moldy is because...

- ...the entire enclosure was BONE DRY, including an empty water dish.

- Less than a half inch of dry substrate.

- No hides.

If you want to see pictures, I put them in an imgur gallery: https://imgur.com/a/pD5o7wm

I plan to add much deeper substrate as the spider grows, and need to head off to the place I usually get isopods, leaf litter, cork bark, and occasional plants to spruce the tank up a bit and give more options for hiding and exploring but, well, the one store here that does carry tarantula supplies closes at 5:30 on weekends so I had to do the best I could with the spare supplies I had on hand this evening.

The spider itself is surprisingly active (and flicked hairs at me when I both ushered it into and out of a holding container so I could fix up the tank a bit), and even just tried to casually exit through the open top of the tank when I turned away for two whole seconds to set the eyeshadow brush down, but pretty understandably stressed and doesn't want to eat right now. I left a couple squirmy mealworm pupae in there just in case the mood to eat strikes after dark.

I managed not to look horrified or angry when I picked it up from the person who had it previously but, seriously, this is one of the easier species to keep, how do you mess it up THAT badly?

I'll probably be anxious about this one until I see it start to eat regularly.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I managed not to look horrified or angry when I picked it up from the person who had it previously but, seriously, this is one of the easier species to keep, how do you mess it up THAT badly?

It's simple. You know that said specie is one of the easiest to keep (quite frankly, IMO every Theraphosidae is, but this is a thing of mine and another issue), others like the one/s of your example, no.

And you know why he/they/whatever don't know that? Because those people just buy, without having a clue, without giving a damn about nothing.

The result is what you saw.

 

[Subdolus]

It's simple. You know that said specie is one of the easiest to keep (quite frankly, IMO every Theraphosidae is, but this is a thing of mine and another issue), others like the one/s of your example, no.

And you know why he/they/whatever don't know that? Because those people just buy, without having a clue, without giving a damn about nothing.

The result is what you saw.

It still baffles me though.

Like, even if you don't know what you're doing and bought an animal without looking up the specifics of that animal's general care, you should still at least know things like, "don't let the water dish dry up" and "remove dead food/waste from the enclosure" that's just basic standard care for pretty much any animal.

I can understand and usually forgive ignorance, everyone does dumb things now and again or accidentally gets in over their head (or gets bad advice from, say, a pet store), but failing to at least keep the enclosure clean and with water in the dish? That just goes beyond ignorance of care required and goes straight into 'I'm actually a little concerned for the 5 year old I saw in your house at this point...' territory.

 

[MetalMan2004]

I could be wrong, but that looks more like a B auratum to me. And yes thats pretty darn skinny. Good luck!

 

[Subdolus]

It may very well be, she said b. smithi but that's hardly proof as she apparently thought she was taking good care of it too.

 

[cold blood]

Abdomen so skinny it's almost a line.

That really just means it molted recently, or is a MM, which at that size would be unexpected.

Old molts in the tank.

Not really a problem, molts do not cause issues....also, evidence of a recent molt

Less than a half inch of dry substrate.

Not how most would do it, but fact is, they will almost never burrow in captivity as they gain size.

...the entire enclosure was BONE DRY, including an empty water dish.

Now this species can indeed be kept bone dry, and a water dish being dry, well, ts don't drink every day.

Now don't get me wrong, am not defending the previous keeper, just saying it may not have been in as bad of shape as you may think....but yeah.....

- Dead, dried out crickets everywhere (I counted about two dozen), and the only reason they weren't moldy is because

This is not only gross, but frankly, just plain bad keeping.

- No hides.

And this.... I mean, large tank, why the heck would you not just put something in as a hide.

I plan to add much deeper substrate as the spider grows, and need to head off to the place I usually get isopods,

Keep in mind isopods require moisture, so they aren't really compatible with enclosures kept dry.

The spider itself is surprisingly active (and flicked hairs at me when I both ushered it into and out of a holding container so I could fix up the tank a bit), and even just tried to casually exit through the open top of the tank when I turned away for two whole seconds to set the eyeshadow brush down, but pretty understandably stressed and doesn't want to eat right now. I left a couple squirmy mealworm pupae in there just in case the mood to eat strikes after dark.

Good indicator its not in all that bad of shape....bottom line, nice save!!

I could be wrong, but that looks more like a B auratum to me.

Most certainly. That was my first response to the picture.

 

[Ungoliant]

That really just means it molted recently, or is a MM, which at that size would be unexpected.

The last picture almost looks like mature male palps, but it could just be the angle.

 

[Andrea82]

Looks like a roughed up mature male...can you post pictures of the palps?

 

[Subdolus]

Not how most would do it, but fact is, they will almost never burrow in captivity as they gain size.

True, but I always like to give mine the option to do so if they want to. If the option isn't there, you'll never know if that particular individual prefers to burrow or not.
In the past, I've found that, aside from the one OBT I had that I'm pretty sure just legitimately was a ball of orange anger that wanted to murder anything that even passed his tank (that one used to charge at me with food in its fangs, it was kind of amusing), the more cover options (plants, hides, deep substrate for burrowing, leaves, etc...) I had in any given tarantula enclosure the less skittish the tarantula tended to be, especially when I had to go in to clean or change water, as they had a good variety of safe places for them to hide while I was doing that.

The last picture almost looks like mature male palps, but it could just be the angle.

It's possible that it's a male (the several molts that were in the tank were pretty mangled so it wasn't possible to do any sexing with them), but at the size it's at mature would be a reach; from the best I could get without stressing the little guy it's barely 3" in size. That angle was pretty close up and just to get a quick shot of the little guy trying to make a run for it.

On the plus side, I went to check this morning and it was eating the mealworm I put in last night, so definitely a good sign and makes me a lot less worried.

I know they're always a little skinny after a molt but, man, I've never had one look THAT skinny after a molt. A little thin, sure, but not like that.


Honestly to me b. auratum and b. smithi look really similar to me and I haven't had either species before so I'm probably not the best judge as to which one it is. If you all think it's a b. auratum it probably is, and given the questionable husbandry of the last keeper, I'm not inclined to take their word for it being a b. smithi.

ANYWAY!

Some pics from this morning.

 

[Greasylake]

Definitely a B. auratum. If he's mature you've got quite the desirable male on your hands.

 

[Subdolus]

Definitely a B. auratum. If he's mature you've got quite the desirable male on your hands.

Not mature yet, he's way too small.

If he is male, I should at least have a few good years of growing before he hits that mature molt at least.

I don't breed and usually hope for or just get sexed females, but, hey, free is free!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I know they're always a little skinny after a molt but, man, I've never had one look THAT skinny after a molt. A little thin, sure, but not like that.

I've had plenty that've looked worse than that straight after moulting, especially arboreals.

 

[Subdolus]

I've had plenty that've looked worse than that straight after moulting, especially arboreals.

That's good to know, though I'm not sure how recently this one molted just due to the four similarly sized molts that were still in the tank.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Definitely a B. auratum. If he's mature you've got quite the desirable male on your hands.

Cage doesn’t look horrible maybe needs some fixing, I’ve seen lot worse and had a lot worse. Just feed the spider problem solved, you saved it in time. Over feeding kills them sometimes do not flip correctly for molt . Had a n cromatis sling fat n happy die for no reason 10 years ago. Still saddens me tho I have more.
This was my worst cage before I fixed it, water overflow saturated soil with , water residue calcium etc..what in the world is in the water!!
I gotta Change substrate more I just low on money can’t a job done 100+ apps. Got top soil left And eco earth.