Abdomen bald patch

[micko77]

Hi all ,

It's my first time on this page and have a question to ask. I live in Queensland Australia and own reptiles and some inverts.I have 5 australian T's and would say im fairly new to caring for them .

I would like to think I'm doing good so far as they all eat and molt no problem . They are active at night and hide during the day as normal .

One of my girls is a selenocosmia crassipes or some would know it as the phlogius.

She is a juvenile approx 90/100mm and is very active and hungry all the time , she is in a 30cm x 30cm x 30cm terrarium. With room temps at 82°f-84°f and internal hummidity at 70-80% cause we have had alot of rain .She has eaten nearly every day for the past 2 weeks and now I've noticed a small patch on her abdomen never seen this before.

Is this the start of a pre molt .

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Really not sure what the cause could be, what are you feeding it?

 

[viper69]

Not always

 

[micko77]

Just crickets atm .

 

[micko77]

Really not sure what the cause could be, what are you feeding it?

Hi Andrew, I've only fed crickets so far .

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Hi Andrew, I've only fed crickets so far .

Only reason I was asking is I thought something could have had a nibble at it. I don't think it's anything to worry about, but keep an eye on it getting larger. With premoult the abdomen will get darker which is easier to see on a new world species as they would kick hairs off, and you can see basically the flesh of the abdomen like what you can see in you're photo. Although yours is an old world with no urticating hairs. I have a juvie LP that is basically bald on the abdomen just now loves to kick hairs, and I know it's not in premoult pretty easily just by how light coloured the flesh on the abdomen is. With you're species I'm not to familiar but sure there fossorial so it should be sealing itself off in a tunnel when it's in premoult. Hope this helps but I honestly have no idea what the bald patch could be.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Hi Andrew, I've only fed crickets so far .

I'd also have a look at you're setup bro, Needs a lot more substrate in there and I'm sure it needs to be quite dry for this species but don't just take my word for it do some research. Absolutely beautiful T though, hope everything works out good I will be keeping an eye on the post. You can also search the species on here I'm sure there will be plenty of people on here more experienced that me that have kept these successfully.

 

[micko77]

Only reason I was asking is I thought something could have had a nibble at it. I don't think it's anything to worry about, but keep an eye on it getting larger. With premoult the abdomen will get darker which is easier to see on a new world species as they would kick hairs off, and you can see basically the flesh of the abdomen like what you can see in you're photo. Although yours is an old world with no urticating hairs. I have a juvie LP that is basically bald on the abdomen just now loves to kick hairs, and I know it's not in premoult pretty easily just by how light coloured the flesh on the abdomen is. With you're species I'm not to familiar but sure there fossorial so it should be sealing itself off in a tunnel when it's in premoult. Hope this helps but I honestly have no idea what the bald patch could be.

Thanks Andrew ,

She does seem to close her tunnel with web alot more at the moment , her abdomen is alot more plump than when I got her . If it does get bigger and not any darker what would be the best way to determine the culprit, would I need to clean out her enclosure and start again like a quarantine type solution.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Thanks Andrew ,

She does seem to close her tunnel with web alot more at the moment , her abdomen is alot more plump than when I got her . If it does get bigger and not any darker what would be the best way to determine the culprit, would I need to clean out her enclosure and start again like a quarantine type solution.

If she closes her tunnel at all just leave her alone that is definitely a sign to leave them be, whether it be premoult or anything else. Is it definitely eating the crickets, could any have got loose? They can cause damage to a T. It could also be something sharp in there what is the whole surrounding like? There is a load of things it could be, have you also checked for any sort of mites in there?

 

[micko77]

She is definitely eating her crickets , she stands in her cave with them in her mouth and then puts them in the corner in a ball like finish . When I say closing her hide , it's not like the others when they put substrate covering the entrance it's webbed . I know we have soil mites and was told by several ppl that they are harmless to the T , if they appear I completely dry out the enclosure . She is very active at 3am when I go to work so I don't think she is ill .

I will keep an eye on her over the Xmas break , send pics if it gets any bigger .

Is there anything I could do atm to prevent anything getting worse , like dryer substrate the humidity here atm is very high around 83% .

 

[Andrew Clayton]

She is definitely eating her crickets , she stands in her cave with them in her mouth and then puts them in the corner in a ball like finish . When I say closing her hide , it's not like the others when they put substrate covering the entrance it's webbed . I know we have soil mites and was told by several ppl that they are harmless to the T , if they appear I completely dry out the enclosure . She is very active at 3am when I go to work so I don't think she is ill .

I will keep an eye on her over the Xmas break , send pics if it gets any bigger .

Is there anything I could do atm to prevent anything getting worse , like dryer substrate the humidity here atm is very high around 83% .

Post a pick of the entire setup and I will see where I can steer you right bud. If it's still eating it's not in premoult and will be fine to rehouse. You can still use that enclosure but have around 150 to 200 mm at least (6 to 8 inches) of substrate in there for it to burrow.

 

[micko77]

I will when I get home , the substrate is banked from approx 50mm - 150mm . Curved bark approx 150mm long in the corner with a burrow to the base she has webbed the entire den . I'm using coir peat for substrate , a shallow water dish and a small fake plant .

There are some i follow over here that have T's and use minimal substrate with a surface hide.

 

[micko77]

Sorry I took so long , please see the photo she is out atm throwing web around her enclosure . I have been checking on her daily as I do all there water's and spot clean , nothing has changed with the patch on her abdomen.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Sorry I took so long , please see the photo she is out atm throwing web around her enclosure . I have been checking on her daily as I do all there water's and spot clean , nothing has changed with the patch on her abdomen.

Doing everything fine although I would definitely be adding a lot more substrate in there.

 

[micko77]

Would you say i should start again or just add it around the front , it ramps up from the front . Her burrow is 150mm long and lined thick all around from front to back . I've followed a couple of Aussie collectors that have less substrate with much success.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Would you say i should start again or just add it around the front , it ramps up from the front . Her burrow is 150mm long and lined thick all around from front to back . I've followed a couple of Aussie collectors that have less substrate with much success.

Well if it works a don't see an issue, I can also understand why given that most T's you can actually get are fossorial so setup like that it should be out in the open more, but generally a fossorial species should have more substrate in there than air and there all pretty boring just enclosures full of dirt lol

 

[micko77]

That's why I'm on this forem to get the best advice, from people who respect these beautiful critters . I've loved spiders and reptiles my whole life , and want to give them the best care .

 

[Andrew Clayton]

That's why I'm on this forem to get the best advice, from people who respect these beautiful critters . I've loved spiders and reptiles my whole life , and want to give them the best care .

This is the best place for it, sometimes you will get some dry and to the point answers. Don't take it to heart, they mean good and were all here to help eachother

 

[micko77]

Thanks Andrew , I appreciate it . I dont have social media of any kind , so this forum would be the closest I've got . And I respect everyone's opinion.

Like I said i want whats best for all my animals , that's why I joined.