Am I doing anything wrong?

WeavyStevie

Arachnopeon
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Hi guys. Firstly I'm quite new to this T keeping... I've just purchased my firdt 4 spiders: G.Pulchra, T.Albipolosus, N.Chromatus and L.Parabyhana all purchased from a reputable spider seller online all with enclosures and suitable** food etc.

My G.Pulchra is juve and seems to like just sitting on the underside of its hide... Hadn't burrowed or anything (I've only had them for 2-3 days and have just housed them and nothing more)

The other 3 are all 1-2cm slings again with enclosures and I have added a small piece of bark for a hide and a little spot of sphagnum moss. I'm just, wanting to check they will be OK or whether I'm just fussing over nothing.

The curly haired (albopilosus excuse the spelling if it's wrong) just periodically roams around its enclosure and sits atop his bark... Never goes underneath that I'm aware of and is always on show. The parahybana and chromatus have hidden since I've had them and I haven't seen them all. The pulchra also I haven't seen him out and he just sits upside down under his hide... I've added some pics (I hope) so just looking to see if I mdoing anything wrong?
 

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emartinm28

Arachnoknight
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Mar 29, 2020
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Only thing i can see right now is too much moisture with many of the ventilation holes covered. As for the wandering, sometimes T’s will wander for days or weeks before settling down. You can lead a T to dirt but you can’t make it dig
 

WeavyStevie

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Only thing i can see right now is too much moisture with many of the ventilation holes covered. As for the wandering, sometimes T’s will wander for days or weeks before settling down. You can lead a T to dirt but you can’t make it dig
Thanks. I did think they were all uncovered and I had judt given then a very small spray as was told to keep moisture up... I'll make sure the holes are all uncovered and maybe jsut leave them completely for a week? Reckon next Saturday would be a good time for their firdt feed? Also with their food... What I've been given seems extremely small... I have these micro crickets... If I put them in the enclosure to feed... I won't be able to see them to remove them if uneaten...
 

viper69

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Thanks. I did think they were all uncovered and I had judt given then a very small spray as was told to keep moisture up... I'll make sure the holes are all uncovered and maybe jsut leave them completely for a week? Reckon next Saturday would be a good time for their firdt feed? Also with their food... What I've been given seems extremely small... I have these micro crickets... If I put them in the enclosure to feed... I won't be able to see them to remove them if uneaten...
Appropriately sized prey should never be an issue for a T, unless they are molting.

If the T doesn’t want that cricket they will kill it or ignore it.
 

WeavyStevie

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Appropriately sized prey should never be an issue for a T, unless they are molting.

If the T doesn’t want that cricket they will kill it or ignore it.
Yes I mean... If the cricket isn't eaten... They blend into the substrate as they are black and the substrate is dark... I woudk have to risk losing the cricket in the enclosure if it remains uneaten which I've read can be an issue for the T?
 

viper69

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Yes I mean... If the cricket isn't eaten... They blend into the substrate as they are black and the substrate is dark... I woudk have to risk losing the cricket in the enclosure if it remains uneaten which I've read can be an issue for the T?
What have you read?
 

Chris LXXIX

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Yes I mean... If the cricket isn't eaten... They blend into the substrate as they are black and the substrate is dark... I woudk have to risk losing the cricket in the enclosure if it remains uneaten which I've read can be an issue for the T?
Don't worry about this: When you spot the unwanted-by-the-spider cricket (and you will spot the cricket, rest assured) simply remove that singing bugger with tongs. Eventually, like @viper69 said, the T will kill the cricket.

Had a B. dubia living for months, once, into the substrate of one of my T's. Guess what happened? :)
 

WeavyStevie

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Don't worry about this: When you spot the unwanted-by-the-spider cricket (and you will spot the cricket, rest assured) simply remove that singing bugger with tongs. Eventually, like @viper69 said, the T will kill the cricket.

Had a B. dubia living for months, once, into the substrate of one of my T's. Guess what happened? :)
Really? I had read that especially for slings and unwanted cricket could cause issues bacteria wise and can even cause the spider to die? Maybe not in those words but was to that effect...
 

RevS

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I think crickets pose the most risk for the Ts because they can eat other insects. Can't speak from experience since I didn't use them as tarantula feeders (only reptile feeders years ago).

While roaches also won't shy away from proteins and I've seen some evidence of cannibalism even in my own colonies I think the consensus is that they're much safer to leave with your T (so far this happened in my care 2 or 3 times with no ill effects - not that i don't try to take out uneaten roaches if I can).

Things I'd never allow to stay with the T:
Superworms, mealworms.
 

8 legged

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Really? I had read that especially for slings and unwanted cricket could cause issues bacteria wise and can even cause the spider to die? Maybe not in those words but was to that effect...
Only when they copulate...
I never had or heard anything like this!
 

Envoirment

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<edit> I have those same enclosures for some of my slings. I would advise you to put some holes in the lids to help with ventilliation. I created 8 small holes - 2 above the flap (|) and 3 either side, like below:

. . .
. . .
. | .

It prevents moisture building up in the lids/increases general air flow.
 
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Chris LXXIX

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Really? I had read that especially for slings and unwanted cricket could cause issues bacteria wise and can even cause the spider to die? Maybe not in those words but was to that effect...
Sorry but if we are going to fall into a 'bacteria' (?) issue then it's even futile to keep T's, would be a living in terror "keeping" and not a joy.

The only "risk" a wandering in the enclosure cricket may pose to T's are:

1) Sorta stress in the medium/long run (but as said above, eventually the spider will kill the bugger - Viewed this quite often).

2) Or, in a very but very unlucky case, munching/disturbing the Theraphosidae when said Theraphosidae is without defences for a force majeure cause, so when molting.

Nothing else my man. As you can see, nothing that tongs (Remove that damn cricket, ah ah) can't fix. Don't worry.
 

rock

Arachnoknight
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I've had slings squeeze through the side ventilation on critter keepers, if that's what i see in the first pic
 

WeavyStevie

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I've had slings squeeze through the side ventilation on critter keepers, if that's what i see in the first pic
The firdt 2 pictures are the enclosure for my juve which is approx 5-6cm so no way he will fit through the gaps 😉 had me panicking there for a second ha

Sorry but if we are going to fall into a 'bacteria' (?) issue then it's even futile to keep T's, would be a living in terror "keeping" and not a joy.

The only "risk" a wandering in the enclosure cricket may pose to T's are:

1) Sorta stress in the medium/long run (but as said above, eventually the spider will kill the bugger - Viewed this quite often).

2) Or, in a very but very unlucky case, munching/disturbing the Theraphosidae when said Theraphosidae is without defences for a force majeure cause, so when molting.

Nothing else my man. As you can see, nothing that tongs (Remove that damn cricket, ah ah) can't fix. Don't worry.
It's OK I actually remember it was going in the basis of if you decide to put in a dead cricket then it must be removed after a few hours so it doesn't rot etc so that's my bad I was trying to remember the specifics without actually going back to the article I read. So basically it's OK to leave a cricket in the enclosure for a few days/weeks?

Could I ask what everyone does with their cricket/livefood stock? Mainly the crickets as I provided mine with fresh water and they had plenty of ventilation yet they seem to be slowly dying off in their container I even put in some fruit for them to feed 🤷‍♂️...... Thanks
 

8 legged

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You are doing it quite right. Fresh vegetables or fruit in, old ones out (molds quickly). You can also offer oats and / or cat and dog food. There is nothing more to be done. I have springtails in almost every enclosure that take care of "leftover food" and thus keep the floor clean. Isopods are also often recommended, but from my point of view they are pure stress for your spider - so I advise against them.
 

Storm76

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Really? I had read that especially for slings and unwanted cricket could cause issues bacteria wise and can even cause the spider to die? Maybe not in those words but was to that effect...
No. Simply no. You have 4 Ts. Watching them catch their prey is one of the most exciting things in my experience. The amount of funny things that'll happen occasionally with that is quite high.

If the T, a sling at that, doesn't eat the cricket on multiple occasions when it passes the T - remove it. Why? Because I am tired having to worry about soon reading the next "cricket ate my sling" thread. Crickets, can and will, nibble on a molting T. Just to be on the safe side, unless it's a roach (or you're a breeder with hundreds of Ts), don't leave feeders in the enclosure and make sure the T either eats, or remove the feeder.

Just my 2 cents...
 

WeavyStevie

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You are doing it quite right. Fresh vegetables or fruit in, old ones out (molds quickly). You can also offer oats and / or cat and dog food. There is nothing more to be done. I have springtails in almost every enclosure that take care of "leftover food" and thus keep the floor clean. Isopods are also often recommended, but from my point of view they are pure stress for your spider - so I advise against them.
Thanks. Maybe I was just unlucky as I had 2 tubs of crickets arrive on Thursday and haven't feed the Ts yet... I put apples in the cricket containers and all of the larger size are dead... I guess I wasn't planning on feeding for the first week anyway so it's no major issue as I can order more...
 

LucN

Arachnobaron
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With mine at first, I had fed the crickets previously before tossing them to their doom, but not anymore. When I go the LPS, I always ask for the biggest crickets they can catch. Most of the time, they're all very fat females. Never had an issue.

During one incident a couple of years ago, I had mistakenly tossed a superworm in my G. porteri's enclosure, not realizing she was in heavy premolt. The worm burrowed out of sight, thankfully never surfaced to take a bite from my molting T the next day. A couple months later, I took a peak in her enclosure. She was dining on a freshly pupated beetle. I have been very lucky that time, so it's not a risk I'll take again. If the superworm/cricket isn't taken by the T, I pull it out immediately and pass it to another T.
 

Chris LXXIX

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It's OK I actually remember it was going in the basis of if you decide to put in a dead cricket then it must be removed after a few hours so it doesn't rot etc so that's my bad I was trying to remember the specifics without actually going back to the article I read. So basically it's OK to leave a cricket in the enclosure for a few days/weeks?
My man, listen :)

It's ok to remove what remains of the cricket (or for that matter, what remains of other preys) sooner, because... Well, IMO sucks, in general. Obviously, said remains, into a bone dry set up/parameters (the classical 'OBT', 'GBB', various 'Grammos' etc enclosures) isn't exactly a risk, by a long shot. Remove that stuff even after three, five days, or else. It's not important, don't worry.

On the other hand, when the parameters require a more "humid" environment (which for "humidity" I mean substrate's moistness, not a 'paludarium') is better to remove those as soon as you can. But then again, nothing to have nightmares about.

Could I ask what everyone does with their cricket/livefood stock? Mainly the crickets as I provided mine with fresh water and they had plenty of ventilation yet they seem to be slowly dying off in their container I even put in some fruit for them to feed 🤷‍♂️...... Thanks
Crickets are in general more "fragile" than the likes of various roaches, say B. dubia. Aren't even so easy to breed - That's why the big majority of keepers purchase crickets on a regular basis, quantity depends case by case.

It's always better to purchase "the right quantity" of those needed (here depends the amount of arachnids/buggers you have to feed) instead of purchasing a bit more - Crickets aren't resilient like roaches, even if your parameters/keeping are fine.
 
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