# Giant White Knee care tips?



## vtecgsr (Dec 26, 2006)

I already read the beginner info in the sticky thread and found some basic know how, such as no sponges in the water dish or no tree bark for substrate etc. But are there any specific guidelines for this species? Temp, environment, caresheets?

Reactions: Sad 1


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## MindUtopia (Dec 26, 2006)

Is this an A. geniculata?

Reactions: Disagree 1


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## Ando55 (Dec 26, 2006)

If it is, take a look at the Petbug caresheet:

http://www.arachnopets.com/tarantulas/tcaresheets/ageniculatac.htm


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## vtecgsr (Dec 26, 2006)

*Yes it is*



MindUtopia said:


> Is this an A. geniculata?


Yeah, should i get a cage with a solid top to keep the urticating hairs in?


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## Mushroom Spore (Dec 26, 2006)

vtecgsr said:


> Yeah, should i get a cage with a solid top to keep the urticating hairs in?


It doesn't work that way. Plus the lack of ventilation will leave you with a nice huge case of tank mold.


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 26, 2006)

You want a well ventalated tank with a secure lid so the T can't climb out. The substrate should be dry and fill up the tank enough so if the T tries to climb, It can almost reach the lid when it's standing on the substrate. That way if it climbs and falls, it wont hurt itself. Give it a hide to get in and a water dish. That and 1 or 2 crickets a week will be fine.


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## MindUtopia (Dec 26, 2006)

You can just keep it at room temp assuming your house doesn't drop below 65F for long periods of time.  I remember someone saying they like a little more moisture than the average T (which I keep on bone dry substrate), which perhaps someone else can confirm.  You will need ventilation - in the form of a screen lid or holes drilled into a plastic or glass lid.  Urticating hairs are a fact of life if you are keeping New World T's.  You just have to kinda get used to it.  Give it a hide, keep the water dish full, make sure there isn't too far of a fall from the top of the tank to the substrate level (preferably not much more than its legspan - I had an adult fall four inches yesterday onto a soft surface and kill itself  ).  Feed it once a week or so.  That's about it.  Just be careful as they are fast and skittish and can be quite defensive when they want to be.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 26, 2006)

Mushroom Spore said:


> It doesn't work that way. Plus the lack of ventilation will leave you with a nice huge case of tank mold.


 So i need vents on the tank? Ive seen some with little holes on the sides...


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 26, 2006)

MindUtopia said:


> I had an adult fall four inches yesterday onto a soft surface and kill itself  ).


Wow, four inches? I'm so sorry.   What T was it?


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 26, 2006)

vtecgsr said:


> So i need vents on the tank? Ive seen some with little holes on the sides...





Have seen those Kritter Keepers at the pet store? One of those would be great to start out with. After your T gets bigger, you can get a bigger one or move on to something more elaberate like a glass 5 or 10 gal tank.


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## MindUtopia (Dec 26, 2006)

cheetah13mo said:


> Wow, four inches? I'm so sorry.   What T was it?


A B. boehmei mature male.  Was to be my female's mate.     Fell and crushed his abdomen (literally put a huge dent in it) and then bled out from a leg.  Unfortunately, because my T's, snakes, and I are taking refuge at my mom's house because of some problems at my apt, I didn't have any of my first aid stuff.  She lives in the middle of nowhere and there was no way I could have gotten to a store that was open to even buy some nu skin to stop the bleeding before it was too late.  It sucked.  Anyway, not to hijack the thread...just complaining.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 26, 2006)

MindUtopia said:


> A B. boehmei mature male.  Was to be my female's mate.     Fell and crushed his abdomen (literally put a huge dent in it) and then bled out from a leg.  Unfortunately, because my T's, snakes, and I are taking refuge at my mom's house because of some problems at my apt, I didn't have any of my first aid stuff.  She lives in the middle of nowhere and there was no way I could have gotten to a store that was open to even buy some nu skin to stop the bleeding before it was too late.  It sucked.  Anyway, not to hijack the thread...just complaining.


LOL, no its ok... Man, i seriously cant believe these things can fall a few inches and kill themselves, wow... Ive heard rumors of some gettin through wire mesh lids with their teeth! I hope the pet store has some good lids... What should i do for a hide? I see a lot of people use plant pots for hides...


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 26, 2006)

A half burried pot, or the pet stores will have a half hollowed out piece of tree or a hollowed out cocanut shell. Anything the they can get in and have a little room with out worrying about the hide collapsing on it will be great.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 26, 2006)

Ok, thanks everyone for the help. Ill have some pictures up when i get him/her


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## rosehaired1979 (Dec 27, 2006)

How big is the A.genic you are getting ? Because if its a tiny sling. It can stay in its container for awhile.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 27, 2006)

rosehaired1979 said:


> How big is the A.genic you are getting ? Because if its a tiny sling. It can stay in its container for awhile.


Its 3 inches big unsexed. I thought that after 2.5 inches sex could be determined though?


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## rosehaired1979 (Dec 27, 2006)

Yeah it can be normally 2.5" or larger it can be sexed.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 27, 2006)

Oh another question i forgot to ask. What is the growth rate of this species? For example from 1 inch big how long would it take for it to reach 2 inches 3 inches all the way to full size?


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## ErikH (Dec 27, 2006)

They grow fairly quickly.  I got a sling that was 3/4" or so from Krazy 8's back in May, and it is around 2 or 2 1/2" now, on 2-3 crickets per week.


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 27, 2006)

It depends on the feeding frequency and the temperature of it's enviernment. Overall, they are heavier eaters and quicker growers than most.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 27, 2006)

ErikH said:


> They grow fairly quickly.  I got a sling that was 3/4" or so from Krazy 8's back in May, and it is around 2 or 2 1/2" now, on 2-3 crickets per week.


So about an inch every 3 months on average. Ok, thats the answer i was lookin for... 

Another question, i was just at the pet store and got some bedding called naturebed. It said on the back %100 coconut fiber. Is that acceptable? I think i read it should be coconut shavings or peat moss but this was the best that lame pet store had... thanx for the replies


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 27, 2006)

It will work but it's not ideal. 100% peat or peat/vermiculite mix is the substrate of choice for it's ability to let the T's dig and hold moisture.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 27, 2006)

cheetah13mo said:


> It will work but it's not ideal. 100% peat or peat/vermiculite mix is the substrate of choice for it's ability to let the T's dig and hold moisture.


Hmmm, i can always get a refund. Where can i get peat moss? Home depot? Walmart garden section?


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 27, 2006)

Either of those places or a plant nursury place. Make sure they are organic and have 0 chemicals or other crap in them. It should say organic on the package.


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## ErikH (Dec 27, 2006)

If you can't get the peat moss, don't sweat it.  I have mine housed currently on the coconut fiber stuff, because I couldn't find any peat moss that I was sure was untreated at the time, and it was able to burrow and is doing nicely.  I will be rehousing after the next molt, and I have since found organic peat moss, but the other stuff is pretty good.  I think the peat is less likely to get mold, and I have no doubt it would be better for the deep burrowers like haplopelma and the like.


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## vtecgsr (Dec 27, 2006)

rosehaired1979 said:


> How big is the A.genic you are getting ? Because if its a tiny sling. It can stay in its container for awhile.


Its 3 inches unsexed because the molt is in the way of determining that


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