beginner with questions

ahkiu

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 15, 2003
Messages
108
hello people.

i've been lurking on these forums and elsewhere for a while and decided that i wanted to keep a tarantula.

Last week i bought a brachypelma boehmei (about 2-3cm long) and he lives under a piece of cork bark on a bed of vermiculite at the moment in a medium sized petpal :)

I haven't seen him since he moved in and was just wondering if this is ok? it's been about 5 days now and all i have noticed is that there is a large pile of vermiculite he has shifted into a corner of the tank after making his burrow bigger. But this was days ago and i haven't seen any signs of life since. should i be worried?

Also a feeding question, how often should i drop a cricket in for him? some people say they feed their t's once a week or 2-3 times a week and some people daily. should spiderlings eat more often?

thx for reading
 

Exodus

Arachnoknight
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Joined
Jul 20, 2002
Messages
219
Welcome to the forums!

He's fine, Tarantulas are the Lazy-bums of the Animal Kingdom, and if it's hard to find crickets the right size buy mealworms, 2-3 days a week is just right. If they don't eat it in 24 hours pull it out. e warned though! Mealworms burrow!

Ben
 

ahkiu

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 15, 2003
Messages
108
hi

thx for the advice, it's actually quite easy to get live insect food in the uk online via mail order :) i'll feed them every few days then. hopefully i'll see the little guy sometime soon :D
 

Exodus

Arachnoknight
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219
><

Anytime, I'm glad to help people. Next time you need advice you know to come to Arachnopets, Almost instant response guaranteed.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Jul 22, 2002
Messages
3,783
And then there's me who only feeds spiderlings about once a week.

Think of tarantulas like you would a cactus - it doesn't do much and it doesn't need much care.

The only reason to feed any sized T frequently is if you're trying to encourage rapid growth, otherwise the rule of thumb says that if its abdomen is reasonably plump and not shrinking, it's being fed enough.

For spiderlings, offering food about once a week is more than enough, and for adults, every few weeks is more than enough. Anyone who says a T *needs* to be fed more often is full of it.
 

krystal

Arachnodite
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Jul 18, 2002
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381
first, congrats on your new b. boehmei--they're very beautiful!

second, your tarantula should be just fine. mine lives under a huge piece of dead tree originally intended for lizards. she stays underneath her retreat almost constantly. if you can rearrange the cork bark a little without ticking off your tarantula (mine's quite a hair-flicker) i advise doing so if you want to see her more often.

also, if you want to catch her out strolling along in her pet pal, i'd look at night. most tarantulas are most active at this time anyway, mostly to hunt. i've also noticed that my b. boehmei likes to stay close to a heat source--i purchased a heating pad which i applied to the side of her tank. she's out and about more and basks in the warmth. keep in mind that you might not need a heating pad if you keep her in a sufficiently warm area already.

and lastly, don't feel like there's something wrong with your tarantula just because she's not eating. my boehmei will gobble up five crickets on one day, and will refuse food for several weeks afterward. they aren't big eaters like a. geniculata or l. parahybana, but trust me--she will eat. my rule of thumb is to purchase crickets weekly and offer them. if she's hungry, she'll eat. if not, feed the crickets to keep them alive.

on a side note, my b. boehmei is quite the picky eater. she used to eat pinkies without hesitation, but now she runs away from them. i have sucessfully fed her goldfish twice--however, haven't tried again recently because she's fasting now.

(a picture of one of the rare times she's accepted a pinky)
 

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ahkiu

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 15, 2003
Messages
108
thanks to everyone for such quick and informative replies, i feel better about him already :D i'm not too bothered about not seeing him often if i know he's probably ok.


krystal:that's a beautiful boehmei you have there ! I considered a smithi and a emelia as well for my first Tarantula but felt the boehmei really does look the best :D
 

krystal

Arachnodite
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Jul 18, 2002
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381
thanks. unfortunately, my camera doesn't do her justice. it must have been on "psycho-flash."
 

Code Monkey

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The secret to being able to see a tarantula is to get lots of them :D
I'm up to 40 so there's always something to look at.

A B. boehmi is a good choice because as it gets larger it will be content to be out in the open more. That's one of the reasons I like Brachypelma, they are among some of the most beautifully marked Ts out there, and you actually get to see them. I've got an H. maculata that I get to see for about 2 minutes total out of the week as I see it climb back into its tube as soon as I turn on the light - and I have yet to get a good look at its back to see how the markings are developing. If you consider something like a H. lividum, no matter how beautiful it is, you might only get to see it every couple of months, the rest of the time you're just caring for a cage full of dirt.
 

blackacidevil

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 3, 2003
Messages
315
Nice thinkin'

My first T was a while back but in my second wave of arachnid obsession I decided a B_Boehmei would be the best starter for us. She is so beautiful and it was a pleasure watching her grow. It is really supposed to be my son's Tarantula but I love her like she's my own. Code Monkey is right, now that she is older she's always out of her hide with one leg on the water dish. I use a warm light to warm up the spider closet and she practically basks in the light like a freakin' lizard:p .
 

Dafne

Arachnobaron
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Mar 11, 2003
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408
Welcome ahkiu... :) Nice to have you here :D

Krystal, your B. boehmei is really beautiful :)
 

Lostkat

Arachnobaron
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Feb 18, 2003
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341
Originally posted by krystal
......keep in mind that you might not need a heating pad if you keep her in a sufficiently warm area already.
Heatmats in the UK where myself and ahkiu live are essential :) Poor little T's would freeze to death without em.

I've found that the key to happy T keeping is not to stress. I worried like mad when I got my emilia, about everything. Food, humidity, substrate, the works!

Things were a whole lot different when I got Rio, my A. geniculata. I knew I'd prepared the tank right, so I just put her in and left her to it. They're generally stress free little creatures, and it's so nice when you look up to see one of them stomping around. Feeding time is always fun too. :)
 

vulpina

Arachnoprince
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Jan 26, 2003
Messages
1,943
WELCOME!!! My boehmi does not hide too much, it is one of my more visible tarantulas. Almost always out in the open, mine also has a piece of cork bark but does not use it too often. I feed a couple of times a week.

Andy
 
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