T. stirmi rescue question

[Veitchiiman13]

Hello!

I was at a pet store the other day and came across a rather sad looking Theraposa, I'm assuming it's a stirmi, and decided to take it home. It's abdomen is small, maybe 3/4 the size of the carapace and looks to be somewhat wrinkled, but it's still very active, exploring it's new terrarium and gave me a very impressive threat posture when I tried to nudge it out of the deli cup it came in. So far, it's eaten two superworms and looked to be drinking from its water bowl this morning when I turned on the lights, which has me feeling optimistic but did have a question. How much/often should I feed it? I know healthy adult T's should only be fed 1-2 times a week depending on prey size, but seeing as it's severely underweight, should I up the feeding until it's back up to a healthy weight? Any help would be great! This is my first Theraposa and first attempt at a "rescue".

Thanks guys!
-Mike

 

[chanda]

I was at a pet store the other day and came across a rather sad looking Theraposa, I'm assuming it's a stirmi, and decided to take it home. It's abdomen is small, maybe 3/4 the size of the carapace and looks to be somewhat wrinkled, but it's still very active, exploring it's new terrarium and gave me a very impressive threat posture when I tried to nudge it out of the deli cup it came in. So far, it's eaten two superworms and looked to be drinking from its water bowl this morning when I turned on the lights, which has me feeling optimistic but did have a question. How much/often should I feed it? I know healthy adult T's should only be fed 1-2 times a week depending on prey size, but seeing as it's severely underweight, should I up the feeding until it's back up to a healthy weight? Any help would be great! This is my first Theraposa and first attempt at a "rescue".

Pictures? How big is it? Is it a juvenile or an adult? Do you know if it's male or female? Also, what kind of enclosure do you have it set up in?

 

[Ran]

Feed it daily till it fattens up some, then once to twice weekly depending on prey size, appetite of T. It was dehydrated and underfed, you surely saved it from death, good on you!

 

[darkness975]

Hello!

I was at a pet store the other day and came across a rather sad looking Theraposa, I'm assuming it's a stirmi, and decided to take it home. It's abdomen is small, maybe 3/4 the size of the carapace and looks to be somewhat wrinkled, but it's still very active, exploring it's new terrarium and gave me a very impressive threat posture when I tried to nudge it out of the deli cup it came in. So far, it's eaten two superworms and looked to be drinking from its water bowl this morning when I turned on the lights, which has me feeling optimistic but did have a question. How much/often should I feed it? I know healthy adult T's should only be fed 1-2 times a week depending on prey size, but seeing as it's severely underweight, should I up the feeding until it's back up to a healthy weight? Any help would be great! This is my first Theraposa and first attempt at a "rescue".

Thanks guys!
-Mike

Are you positive it isn't a mature male?

 

[Veitchiiman13]

Thanks guys! I'll offer food daily until she starts fattening up.

It's an adult. Just eyeballing it, I'd say about 6.5" LS and judging by what I can see, I believe it's a female, but until "she" molts I can't be sure. The guys at the shop didn't know anything other than "it's a birdeating spider". It's in a fully planted 40 gallon terrarium, with a large corkbark hide/cave, ecoearth/vermiculite/peat substrate, and a water dish.

Yeah, I figured she'd be dead within a month if I didn't pick her up. I've always wanted a big spider, I mainly keep Brachypelma's, so this whole situation worked out great.

Definitely not a MM, no bulbous pedipalps. Possibly an immature male, as I said above, I can't be sure.

 

[sasker]

It's in a fully planted 40 gallon terrarium

Cool! Could you share some pictures?

 

[Veitchiiman13]

Cool! Could you share some pictures?

I'll try and get some pics of the T and it's tank tomorrow!

 

[Veitchiiman13]

Here's some pics! Sorry for the delay, works been pretty hectic over the past few days! The enclosure, I should correct myself, it is a 40 gal tank, but it's the same dimensions as a 20, just taller. Still, should be plenty of room.

And the spider, it's a great eater! First pic was taken the day I got it.

 

[cold blood]

A small abdomen doesn't mean it needs to eat constantly...it either means a recent molt, or a MM...and I am guessing the latter as I am fairly certain I see emboli in that last pic...in which case, no amount of food will get that rump plump.

Glad to see it doing better...the shriveled ab is the bad sign, generally an indicator of dehydration....something Theraposa are prone to...and MM even more so.


The enclosure does look too dry....the sub needs to be kept damp.

The enclosure also looks too tall...that background wood shouldn't be there, there shouldn't even be enough room for it. Terrestrials need to be discouraged from climbing.

 

[Veitchiiman13]

Well, unfortunately this is the only tank I have that's big enough, and if it is a MM, I don't really want to spend a bunch of money on a new tank for spider that might only live a few months. I knew the background wasnt ideal for a terrestrial but I purchased the tank used, and it's securely siliconed in place and I really can't feasibly remove it without tearing the whole setup apart. I can wet the soil more if you think or would help, but humidity in there is over 80% and I don't want to encourage mold.

 

[cold blood]

Well, unfortunately this is the only tank I have that's big enough

Oh the tank is going to be fine, it simply needs to be filled a lot more with substrate...more sub directly leads to less distance to the top. Just fill it 2/3 of the way with sub, simple. You can still use the tank.

. I can wet the soil more if you think or would help, but humidity in there is over 80% and I don't want to encourage mold

Oh geez....do not measure humidity, I can't stress this enough...throw the hygrometer away or return it if you still can. You just need to keep the sub damp, its really that simple.

Mold growth is combatted by good ventilation, something that's critical with species that are moisture dependent.

 

[Liquifin]

Well, unfortunately this is the only tank I have that's big enough, and if it is a MM, I don't really want to spend a bunch of money on a new tank for spider that might only live a few months.

If it is mature, MM T. stirmi are more longer lived than most MM male T.'s if kept right. There was a guy on youtube named Mingu1987 who bred T. stirimi using a MM that was alive for about 2 years after becoming mature, which was surprising.

 

[Veitchiiman13]

Guess I need to pick up more substrate! The hygrometer will be removed, I read over a few care sheets that talked about humidity being super important, which is why I added it. I'll make sure to wet the substrate down more as well.

This is my first rainforest species. All my other T's are desert/semi-arid species. Guess I have some more research to do!

I hope it does live a while! 2 years is pretty impressive for a MM

 

[MetalMan2004]

Guess I need to pick up more substrate! The hygrometer will be removed, I read over a few care sheets that talked about humidity being super important, which is why I added it. I'll make sure to wet the substrate down more as well.

This is my first rainforest species. All my other T's are desert/semi-arid species. Guess I have some more research to do!

I hope it does live a while! 2 years is pretty impressive for a MM

You came to the right place for that research! They aren’t near as hard to keep as a lot of people think. Just beware the hairs! Keep moist sub and good ventilation and you’ll be good to go!

 

[Veitchiiman13]

You came to the right place for that research! They aren’t near as hard to keep as a lot of people think. Just beware the hairs! Keep moist sub and good ventilation and you’ll be good to go!

I appreciate the help! I've heard the hairs on this species are pretty bad, so I'll be sure to be cautious!

 

[Greasylake]

I read over a few care sheets that talked about humidity being super important

The majority of care sheets you will find online will be riddled with outdated or just plain wrong info, and many of them are just copy pasted from each other. Don't go to care sheets for info, come here.

 

[Ran]

if You want it sexed, put it in a clear deli get a straight on ventral shot, very easy to sex ventrally at that age/size. At 6-7” I wouldn’t think it to be a mature male or female. I breed these and females are not adults until 8” or more. I have never seen a mature male under 8”. I have 3 females from a sack 4 years ago that are pushing 8” and are not ready to breed. This is the mother of the 3, 10”, carapace 1.5” long by 1.5” wide with quarter inside for reference, big difference in physical characteristics from a 7” specimen. She is over 10 years old.

 

[Veitchiiman13]

View attachment 274988 View attachment 274989 if You want it sexed, put it in a clear deli get a straight on ventral shot, very easy to sex ventrally at that age/size. At 6-7” I wouldn’t think it to be a mature male or female. I breed these and females are not adults until 8” or more. I have never seen a mature male under 8”. I have 3 females from a sack 4 years ago that are pushing 8” and are not ready to breed. This is the mother of the 3, 10”, carapace 1.5” long but 1.5” wide with quarter inside for reference, big difference in physical characteristics from a 7” specimen.

Wow, that's a beast!

Whenever I take it out to add more substrate, I'll try and get a ventral pic.

 

[sasker]

Your setup looks great, but as others said it could use some adjustments. The only thing I would like to add is that I would not use these bromelias with their sharp edges in a tarantula's enclosure. Imagine your spider to fall on one of those things. That would do some serious damage, I would imagine.

 

[Veitchiiman13]

Your setup looks great, but as others said it could use some adjustments. The only thing I would like to add is that I would not use these bromelias with their sharp edges in a tarantula's enclosure. Imagine your spider to fall on one of those things. That would do some serious damage, I would imagine.

These dwarf neoregelia hybrids are actually spineless, which is why I left them in. I removed the few larger, spiny bromeliads when I re-did the setup for the spider