Brachypelma Boehmei and Brachypelma Smithi not eating.

[Fresher]

Hey guys just wondering if anyone could shed some light on why my two T's are not eating.

Its been atleast 5 months since they have taken a cricket, i seriously can not remember the last time they did :?

They have bald spots and neither of them have gone dark, so neither in pre molt...
They are constantly kept between 18 to 24 degres celcius

And yet they show no interest in food, they just both run away

Does any one have any similar experiances with the same species?

 

[BrynWilliams]

How large are both the Brachy's of yours?

If juvenile/large then a couple things come into play. Firstly brachypelmas are really quite slow growing, so a long fast could be quite possible without any problems.

Potentially: I have to go through a bit of a process with a couple of my juveniles, whereby if i whack open the lid (click-top locks) and then try feed them they just run away. Whereas if I open the lid and leave them to settle down for a couple of minutes before trying to introduce food, they usually go for it. It seems they get startled by the vibrations of me opening the lid to their enclosure and then won't pursue food items.

The above just might be something to try?

 

[Xian]

I wouldn't worry too much if they have a healthy sized abdomen on them. Just keep their waterbowl full. I have a Brachypelma emilia that hasn't eaten since October, her abdomen is the same as you described yours to be.

 

[Fresher]

the smithi is about 1 1/2 inches and the other about 2 1/2

 

[Mack&Cass]

They could be in premolt. We had a G. rosea in premolt for 6 months and her bald spot didn't turn dark until the day before she molted.

Edit: Everyone beat me to it haha

Cass

 

[Singapore_Blue1]

Raise the humidity

I currently own a B. boehmei and I've owned a B. smithi. Try to raise the humidity granted they are a dry species however that I found will cause them to quit eating. What type of prey are you feeding them?? Also how do they look? Do they still look healthy?? Sometimes T's will go long periods of time.

 

[Fresher]

there abdomens are still quite full and they look healthy its just before this period they both use to eat often and molted like once every 2 months for a year

 

[Fresher]

How large are both the Brachy's of yours?

If juvenile/large then a couple things come into play. Firstly brachypelmas are really quite slow growing, so a long fast could be quite possible without any problems.

Potentially: I have to go through a bit of a process with a couple of my juveniles, whereby if i whack open the lid (click-top locks) and then try feed them they just run away. Whereas if I open the lid and leave them to settle down for a couple of minutes before trying to introduce food, they usually go for it. It seems they get startled by the vibrations of me opening the lid to their enclosure and then won't pursue food items.

The above just might be something to try?

Ok ill try it now and ill let you know what happens

 

[Xian]

I wouldn't fret too much about it then. They'll either molt or eat when they are ready.

 

[BrynWilliams]

Agreed.

It still took my rosea juvenile 9 months to want to eat. I still definitely get better results with letting them chill out for a second though before live food gets thrown in. My N chromatus are the worst, my juveniles are so skittish, they just about do a lap each time i move the enclosure the slightest bit

I wouldn't fret too much about then. They'll either molt or eat when they are ready.

 

[Xian]

Agreed.

It still took my rosea juvenile 9 months to want to eat. I still definitely get better results with letting them chill out for a second though before live food gets thrown in. My N chromatus are the worst, my juveniles are so skittish, they just about do a lap each time i move the enclosure the slightest bit

I agree as well, sometimes they do get a little freaked out from the vibrations.

 

[Fresher]

Thanks for your advice guys, its pretty much what i thought anyway (just ganna have to wait for the T's to either molt or eat when there ready) but better to be safe then sorry . Also what do you guys think about spraying these species tanks? atm i just have quite large water dishes in each tank, but i never see them drinking from them.

 

[Fresher]

Heres my Brachypelma Boehmei btw, after he decided to destroy his whole tank LOL

 

[BrynWilliams]

Nice looking 'dozer you've got there

 

[Mack&Cass]

I want a boehmei
Also, re: your misting question, we just use a water dish and overflow it a bit if we notice they're in premolt.

Cass

 

[BrynWilliams]

Catching Ts at the watering hole is an art

Check out THIS THREAD for some quality snaps

 

[winwin]

Why not try increasing the temperature?

 

[sjn01]

btw your bohemi is really beautiful, cant wait for miine to grow up, although i still think b.arautum is the best looking bracky.

18 degrees sounds like an unnecessarily low temperature to drop to although its dont think its a particularly wrong temp, T's like the high temperatures to increase metabolism and to help them digest food properly.
And maybe you could try increasing the humidity, you substrate from the pic looks quite dry, ive got my b.emilia in a mix of coconut coir and vermiculite that is quite damp, and she is more than happy - never climbs the walls or anything although still at times likes to hug the heater.

And it could also be like some others said that maybe you disturb them to much, my emilia never eats when i put something in the cage next to her, but usually in the night or after shes been alone for a couple of hours.
What i do is, put some cricket feed in a stategic position ( which is on a piece of a cork arc that spans the lenght of the cage and which she never climbs upon) and the cricks find it and remember where it, that way i can leave a few in the cage wiith no worries.

And increasing the humidity is always a good thing for young T's, maybe that will make em' more comfortable

 

[BrynWilliams]

And increasing the humidity is always a good thing for young T's, maybe that will make em' more comfortable

I'd say this is totally dependant on the species...
Brachy's and Grammy's are the species requiring dryer conditions, making a juvenile rosea's substrate damp will just make her climb the walls and actually have the opposite effect to 'making them more comfortable'

I'd say just make sure there is a water dish available at all times, if she's thirsty, she'll make great use of it

 

[YearsOfDecay]

My emilia is the same, she backed off away from a dubia the other day, and when I put a couple of crix in instead and left them in there for a couple of days.....nothing also. However, it's only been a couple of weeks since her last feed and I've only had her just over a week. She has a good supply of water, looks healthy enough, she too has a bald patch but not yet dark. She's a really mellow spider so far, will quite happily let you touch her and sit on your hand.

Here's a pic of her.