Arkansas Chocolate Tarantula Questions

[dreamyri]

Hey everyone! I'm new to the board, I never imagined I would like tarantulas, let alone, own one, but here I am, haha.

I work at a pest control office and someone in the next town caught a native tarantula in their garage and gave it to us to relocate. No one at the office would touch it so I took it home, planning on relocating her when I had the time. They don't live in my immediate area so I needed to do some research!

She's so quiet and not fussed about anything at all, so it's turned into a prolonged stay and I've named her Cocoa, she gives me less trouble than my cat does! I can't seem to find any information on them in regards to how they are in captivity.

I don't handle her at all, but she's never kicked hair or raised her legs, even when I'm transporting her between enclosures for cleaning. She's slow and gentle and very docile, so I was surprised to not find much information on them!

She's not that interesting to look at, just dark brown, so may they aren't that desirable compared to other spiders, but her calm nature is just perfect.

Anyways, I just thought I'd share! I'm looking forward to learning more about tarantulas, I'm worried it's going to turn into a new hobby, hahaha

 

[KezyGLA]

Welcome !

Do you have a photo of her? Sounds like a nice T

 

[nicodimus22]

We demand photos. And cake.

 

[JoshDM020]

Hello, fellow arkansan! Welcome to the boards! Pictures of the spider amd enclosure would be useful in advising you on everything you and the spider needs!
Being in Arkansas, its almost guaranteed it is an Aphonopelma hentzi, unless somebody just discovered a new species.
If you could get the pedipalps in the pictures we're asking for, that would also be useful. Most of the time, when these guys are roaming around, theyre mature males. Pedipalp pics will answer this quickly.

 

[dreamyri]

Hello, fellow arkansan! Welcome to the boards! Pictures of the spider amd enclosure would be useful in advising you on everything you and the spider needs!
Being in Arkansas, its almost guaranteed it is an Aphonopelma hentzi, unless somebody just discovered a new species.
If you could get the pedipalps in the pictures we're asking for, that would also be useful. Most of the time, when these guys are roaming around, theyre mature males. Pedipalp pics will answer this quickly.

Hey! I'll try to get a good pic of her, her enclosure is in a dim part of my room, but she's definitely female. She made an egg sac a few weeks after I got her, which she promptly buried and didn't try to defend. From what I've googled, that means it was a dud? I'm not sure how stressed she was before I got her or if that would affect anything, she was in a jar for several days before she was brought to the office.

 

[cold blood]

even when I'm transporting her between enclosures for cleaning

Spot cleanings should be done with a long tweezers...the t doesn't need to be moved....substrate doesn't need to be changed, these are pretty darn clean animals aside from the occasional bolus or poo squirt....both easily picked out (or wiped off).

Welcome to the hobby.

 

[JoshDM020]

Hey! I'll try to get a good pic of her, her enclosure is in a dim part of my room, but she's definitely female. She made an egg sac a few weeks after I got her, which she promptly buried and didn't try to defend. From what I've googled, that means it was a dud? I'm not sure how stressed she was before I got her or if that would affect anything, she was in a jar for several days before she was brought to the office.

Well that about settles it! If she buried it, i think its pretty safe to say it was just a phantom sac. If it wasnt, thats very strange behavior.
But what cold blood says is true. There are people that have had the same t on the same substrate for a decade or more with no issues. Moving them back and forth constantly can actually stress them out, which can lead to less activity than you may experience if you allowed them to settle and make a home.
These actually tend to burrow a bit if given the chance, if Ive studied right, so giving it deep substrate (probably about an inch or two deeper than she is long, measuring DLS) probably wouldnt hurt. Might actually help!
Anyways, cleaning that thoroughly is generally not necessary unless you have some sort of infestation. Picking out food leftovers and wiping any poop off the walls is absolutely sufficient

 

[Ellenantula]

Welcome to T keeping. It can be addicting.

 

[spotropaicsav]

Congrats on your T! Or was this a post about food... (Arkansas chocolate)

 

[boina]

I read the thread title and was fully expecting to see a tarantula made of chocolate... now I'm hungry

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I read the thread title and was fully expecting to see a tarantula made of chocolate... now I'm hungry

Ah ah... "Switzerland? No, Arkansas!"

 

[Leila]

I love that you took the little lady T in. That is awesome!

Definitely post photos soon. We will help you tweak her home so that she is cozy

 

[dreamyri]

Thanks for the feedback and advice, everyone! She's been pretty active the past few days, it might be time for some crickets, haha.

This is her current tank. I've only moved her twice, once from a little plastic critter keeper into this, and then again when I realized there wasn't enough substrate so I added more. I got her a little slanted log to hide in because I read that they like to burrow and I thought she could dig inside it. I left the jar in there in case she didn't like the log. She seems to like the jar best, lol. Maybe I should just take it out?

I've realized since getting her that a wire mesh top isn't great, but I'm not sure where to get a different top. Fish tank tops usually have gaps for filtration. Any advice? It's a five gallon tank.

 

[cold blood]

1. The jar...take that out.

2. The cork round...it should be mostly buried...big open places are great for mammals, but not for ts. I would bury that so that there's just enough room for the t to get into and excavate. Doing this will also greatly reduce the dangers it poses...if a t falls onto that, bad things can happen.

Aside from those 2 minor issues, it looks good.

 

[Leila]

Such a relief to see someone new who has done some research! And from a person who had not even planned on owning a T in the first place!

Remove the jar. Especially with it resting atop the substrate, it could potentially roll over on the tarantula and smoosh it a bit. Nobody wants that. But no worries: just take it out, as you have already provided another, more desirable hide. Just bury the bark hide a bit more. (Now that I have typed this, I see that @cold blood has already instructed such thing. Ah, well, I tried. )

 

[dreamyri]

Such a relief to see someone new who has done some research! And from a person who had not even planned on owning a T in the first place!

Remove the jar. Especially with it resting atop the substrate, it could potentially roll over on the tarantula and smoosh it a bit. Nobody wants that. But no worries: just take it out, as you have already provided another, more desirable hide. Just bury the bark hide a bit more. (Now that I have typed this, I see that @cold blood has already instructed such thing. Ah, well, I tried. )

Thank you! I worked at a veterinary office for a while and would take sick reptiles home to nurse better before rehoming them, so I'm used to pets with particular needs, although a spider is very different from a lizard! You guys have been so helpful, I'm definitely taking that jar out. <33

 

[dreamyri]

1. The jar...take that out.

2. The cork round...it should be mostly buried...big open places are great for mammals, but not for ts. I would bury that so that there's just enough room for the t to get into and excavate. Doing this will also greatly reduce the dangers it poses...if a t falls onto that, bad things can happen.

Aside from those 2 minor issues, it looks good.

Thank you very much! I'm glad it isn't too bad, I'll kick that jar out asap and reposition her log.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I'm glad it isn't too bad, I'll kick that jar out asap and reposition her log.

No, wait... do this since we are talking about 'chocolate' after all: remove that jar, ok, but, instead, add a new one, one jar full of apricot marmelade.

Doing this we could eat a kinda Sachertorte made in Arkansas... unique & delicious

jok

 

[spotropaicsav]

But... I can't see your chocolate T in the pics!

 

[dreamyri]

I got a few pics, though I may have blinded the poor thing with the flash! It's just so dim in that corner.