Brazilian Black Health Question

[Sammi2]

Hello Everyone,

I am aware that I posted about my Brazilian Black (Grammostola pulchra) not to long ago and to begin with I believed it to be thinning hairs, however today upon looking into his enclosure I found this fluffy almost like dust lump and on closer inspection of him I found the fluffy dust on him and it a sore underneath. He had something like this before he moulted in my care so I put it down to poor ventilation in his previous enclosure. He has moulted in my care and seemed to be doing okay but now it's back. Has anyone seen this before? I could really do with some advice as this is a new species for me I have owned Grammostola rosea for years and have had no issues.

 

[jennywallace]

Just looks like dislodged urticating setae, nothing to worry about. The orangey coloured bit underneath the dislodged setae is just the bare exoskeleton showing where the hairs have been removed.

 

[Sammi2]

Just looks like dislodged urticating setae, nothing to worry about. The orangey coloured bit underneath the dislodged setae is just the bare exoskeleton showing where the hairs have been removed.

Truly??? I've never seen anything like it before we joked a little that it looked like dandruff before seeing the orange section. Do you know if this is common to Grammostola pulchra as I have a younger one and he hasn't had this issue.

 

[Brewser]

Hair Kicker

 

[jennywallace]

Truly??? I've never seen anything like it before we joked a little that it looked like dandruff before seeing the orange section. Do you know if this is common to Grammostola pulchra as I have a younger one and he hasn't had this issue.

Yeah it can happen with any species with urticating setae. Some individuals are prone to hair kicking more than others, so possible that your other pulchra just isn't much of a kicker.

 

[viper69]

Truly??? I've never seen anything like it before we joked a little that it looked like dandruff before seeing the orange section. Do you know if this is common to Grammostola pulchra as I have a younger one and he hasn't had this issue.

Yes, common to species with UrS

 

[Gevo]

Yes, this is common in this species and others with urticating setae. It could be that it's on the skittish side and kicks hair when disturbed (especially if it's young, as they tend to frighten more easily than larger ones), or it might just be rubbing hairs off. My B. hamorii rubs her back legs over her abdomen and dislodges UrS sometimes. She's not kicking in fright, just casually doing it, especially as she gets closer to her next molt. On the plus side, you'll have a really nice view of your tarantula's rear so you can see when it starts to darken when a molt is close!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Hello Everyone,

I am aware that I posted about my Brazilian Black (Grammostola pulchra) not to long ago and to begin with I believed it to be thinning hairs, however today upon looking into his enclosure I found this fluffy almost like dust lump and on closer inspection of him I found the fluffy dust on him and it a sore underneath. He had something like this before he moulted in my care so I put it down to poor ventilation in his previous enclosure. He has moulted in my care and seemed to be doing okay but now it's back. Has anyone seen this before? I could really do with some advice as this is a new species for me I have owned Grammostola rosea for years and have had no issues.



View attachment 494455 View attachment 494456

urticating setae they often kick around there home to protect against rodents. And intruders.

 

[Sammi2]

Yes, this is common in this species and others with urticating setae. It could be that it's on the skittish side and kicks hair when disturbed (especially if it's young, as they tend to frighten more easily than larger ones), or it might just be rubbing hairs off. My B. hamorii rubs her back legs over her abdomen and dislodges UrS sometimes. She's not kicking in fright, just casually doing it, especially as she gets closer to her next molt. On the plus side, you'll have a really nice view of your tarantula's rear so you can see when it starts to darken when a molt is close!

This one is the older of my G.Pulchra he tends to either hug the glass or he stays in his burrow, the younger one is pretty chill and likes to be out roaming his enclosure more. I guess this one is just a little more kicky then the other species with urticating setae I've owned as this is the first time I have ever seen this.

 

[Gevo]

This one is the older of my G.Pulchra he tends to either hug the glass or he stays in his burrow, the younger one is pretty chill and likes to be out roaming his enclosure more. I guess this one is just a little more kicky then the other species with urticating setae I've owned as this is the first time I have ever seen this.

I have a G. pulchra who's somewhere between 2 and 2.5 inches in DLS now, and he got a little more skittish after his last molt, though I find that he's not always consistent. For example, I just tried to offer him a cricket the other day, and he refused it, so I had to fish it out the next day. He always skitters towards his hide when I open the enclosure, but once I was in there with the tongs trying to grab the cricket, he was loping on out, wanting to see what was up. I've never seen him kick hairs, and the species is known to be a lot less kicky than others, but it's still not uncommon, and individuals vary and can go through phases.

Your G. pulchra's abdomen looks like my B. hamorii's does right now, and that's because she's coming up on a molt probably within the next few months, so she's been fasting, re-excavating her burrow to add another chamber for herself, and spreading UrS around the enclosure. The UrS are sometimes used as a pre-emptive defence, not a reaction to a threat, to help protect them against intruders while they molt, kind of like a booby trap around their lair.

 

[Sammi2]

I have a G. pulchra who's somewhere between 2 and 2.5 inches in DLS now, and he got a little more skittish after his last molt, though I find that he's not always consistent. For example, I just tried to offer him a cricket the other day, and he refused it, so I had to fish it out the next day. He always skitters towards his hide when I open the enclosure, but once I was in there with the tongs trying to grab the cricket, he was loping on out, wanting to see what was up. I've never seen him kick hairs, and the species is known to be a lot less kicky than others, but it's still not uncommon, and individuals vary and can go through phases.

Your G. pulchra's abdomen looks like my B. hamorii's does right now, and that's because she's coming up on a molt probably within the next few months, so she's been fasting, re-excavating her burrow to add another chamber for herself, and spreading UrS around the enclosure. The UrS are sometimes used as a pre-emptive defence, not a reaction to a threat, to help protect them against intruders while they molt, kind of like a booby trap around their lair.

I hope it's a phase I'll have to keep an eye on him to see if he's coming up to a moult i believe it has been a good couple of months since his last one. Your G.pulchra's behaviour is a lot like his some days really skittish to his den area whenever the doors open and then the next he's checking out everything that's going on.

I don't believe my other UrS species ever made dens for their moults sometimes they would web up an area but the last time my G.rosea had a moult she did it in the middle of her enclosure maybe that's why I've never seen this before. Guess I'm just massively overreacting

 

[TheraMygale]

The angle and shading on the first photo really makes that abdomen look like it has butt cheeks. I focused on that and didnt understand why you were focusing on something else

atleast its just hairs and dead cells.