I have just bought a Brazilian white knee,female,about 3/4years old(pet shop wasn't sure of exact age),she climbed onto the side glass when I first put her in her new home,next morning she was on glass on opposite side and has now moved to glass on front of plastic tank.she has refused all locusts I keep putting in every other day(and taking back out again)she was eating 1 a day in pet shop.do you think she's just settling in to her new surroundings? I have held her once,she's really docile,and just sits on my hand and doesn't move.I've named her nikita,nikki for short,I just want some advice please.
Brazilian white knee
- Thread starter Elaine9
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rob0t
Arachnoknight
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Do a search through the forums. This questions has been asked and answered many times lately.
Short answer, let it settle in.
Short answer, let it settle in.
Bugmom
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Be glad you can interact with her. If she is in fact an Acanthoscurria geniculata, most are hair-flicking, run-at-you little monsters (which is why my geniculata is one of my favorites - 7"+ of anger!)
Make sure you have a good water source. Once she settles in (can take weeks), she'll likely stick close to it. Sometimes on it. Give her a hide anyway, she might use it. It's easy to overfeed them, as they will eat almost everytime food comes along, so two-three crickets a week is ideal. Fake plants in the tank can be entertaining for you - a lot of geniculatas "enjoy" decorating their homes. Overflow the water dish when filling it to give the humidity this species likes, but don't let the substrate stay soaked all the time. A humidity meter is a good investment.
I have a "feeding and care" video on my YouTube channel for this species.
Make sure you have a good water source. Once she settles in (can take weeks), she'll likely stick close to it. Sometimes on it. Give her a hide anyway, she might use it. It's easy to overfeed them, as they will eat almost everytime food comes along, so two-three crickets a week is ideal. Fake plants in the tank can be entertaining for you - a lot of geniculatas "enjoy" decorating their homes. Overflow the water dish when filling it to give the humidity this species likes, but don't let the substrate stay soaked all the time. A humidity meter is a good investment.
I have a "feeding and care" video on my YouTube channel for this species.
Curious jay
Arachnodemon
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Ignore what the petshops said about age they're likely wrong, measure it in diagonal legspan to a reference to size.
Ignore the petshops feeding regime, they were over feeding it, depending on size feed it once every week or two.
I'd exercise extreme caution when handling this species as they have particularly large fangs that could cause some damage its likely letting you hold it as its confused and has been removed from its home recently, once settled in the new tank its likely its disposition will change if it doesn't consider yourself lucky.
They prefer a slightly higher humidity so as said overflow the waterbowl when you refill it.
In general they will eat until they can no longer feed (has been documented to feed to the point of rupturing its abdomen) so go careful on the over feeding, as it isn't eating I'm willing to bet it maybe in early stages of premolt or just confused about its surroundings.
Ignore the petshops feeding regime, they were over feeding it, depending on size feed it once every week or two.
I'd exercise extreme caution when handling this species as they have particularly large fangs that could cause some damage its likely letting you hold it as its confused and has been removed from its home recently, once settled in the new tank its likely its disposition will change if it doesn't consider yourself lucky.
They prefer a slightly higher humidity so as said overflow the waterbowl when you refill it.
In general they will eat until they can no longer feed (has been documented to feed to the point of rupturing its abdomen) so go careful on the over feeding, as it isn't eating I'm willing to bet it maybe in early stages of premolt or just confused about its surroundings.
Poec54
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Great spider! These are big, beautiful, strong, eating machines; overpowering anything they can. Yours is still getting settled in, give it at least a week before offering food. Acclimation to the cage will go quicker if you don't pick her up. Don't count on being able to handle it for long. They can be fiesty and the hairs are pretty bad. The majority of T's are tropical (nervous, fast, and/or defensive) and 'look but don't touch.'
The best approach is to give them a natural type of set up, and let them redecorate. Consider it 'their' property, not yours. Your part of the deal is basic cleaning (removing bolus', dead crickets, etc) and providing food and water. In return you get to watch a wonderful animal from the jungles of South America live the way it's instinct tells it to. It's a world few people get to see. You should get Stan's book if you don't have it already, 'The Tarantulas Keepers Guide.'
The best approach is to give them a natural type of set up, and let them redecorate. Consider it 'their' property, not yours. Your part of the deal is basic cleaning (removing bolus', dead crickets, etc) and providing food and water. In return you get to watch a wonderful animal from the jungles of South America live the way it's instinct tells it to. It's a world few people get to see. You should get Stan's book if you don't have it already, 'The Tarantulas Keepers Guide.'
Jared781
Arachnobaron
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allow 5 to 7 days to get used to new surroundings
Good choice of spider though 
A geniculata was my first spider. bought her as a sling when I was 10 years old! she sadly died last year though at the ripe old age of 16! She had become like a piece of the furniture! Room felt strange without her in it anymore.
seeing as I have a nicely preserved skin of hers i've just taken a photo of it...AND a photo of why you should not hold this species....those fangs could do some serious physical damage!
edit: grrr why do all my photos turn sideways??
A geniculata was my first spider. bought her as a sling when I was 10 years old! she sadly died last year though at the ripe old age of 16! She had become like a piece of the furniture! Room felt strange without her in it anymore.
seeing as I have a nicely preserved skin of hers i've just taken a photo of it...AND a photo of why you should not hold this species....those fangs could do some serious physical damage!
edit: grrr why do all my photos turn sideways??
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Curious jay
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Allow anywhere from a week to a couple of months for it to settle... Its all depend on the individual spider, I usually find slings settle quicker due to their burrowing nature in most cases, adults tend to look for the home they were removed from for a longer time. In my experience.
hamhock 74
Arachnobaron
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Nice picture, Equinox. It's like a furry moustache with a pointy surprise at the ends.
Curious jay
Arachnodemon
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Haha great description lol furry moustache with fangs....
Thanks all for your help and advice,when I got up this morning nikki had moved to the side of the tank still on the glass but now above her water dish guarding it lol,good news is she didn't bite me when I filled it up with fresh water as I had to move her slightly to get at the dish.
Poec54
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Uusually when they stay on top of their water bowls, it's not about them protecting their 'water rights'; it's a sign they want more humidity in the cage.
Bugmom
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Actually, we've talked a lot about this species on Arachnoboards, and lots of us report genics guarding their water dish no material what the humidity level. They become very attached to it.
When I got Ethel, she had a juice cap for a water dish. When I upgraded her to a larger dish, she carried that empty juice cap around for a week in her fangs. I almost felt bad when I finally removed it from her tank.
Poec54
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Since they don't have water bowls in the wild, there's something triggering the attraction. Maybe they collect sticks, leaves, small rocks, and assorted objects for their retreats, the way birds do? Odds are they're not hovering over puddles after every rain, unless...there's something in them like tadpoles.
Bugmom
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I don't think any of us know why they do it in captivity. Spiders do a lot of things when stuck in a tank that they wouldn't do in the wild. Like get prodded with paintbrushes.
Poec54
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Paintbrushes aren't what 'they' do, it's human pestering, but I know what you mean.
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Medeia guards her waterdish pretty feriously! I am not allowed to take it out, or even dare getting close it when she is in the vicinity. Once she has buggered off, it's ok to refill it. BUT NO MORE!
She's pretty much like yours - as we've talked about before, lol.
I don't know what it is with genis and their waterdishes, but I know some keepers that experience right the same thing. My girls goes to sit on her waterdish if I try to take it out and she gets really mad. It's the point where I usually abandon the plan and wait for her to either move off, or be very stubborn and prod her away (which usually ends in a wrestling match!) as she pulled straw, chopstick and even the tongs out of my hand in the past already - lol. She's that T that showed me just how strong such a little animal can be and I agree fully: You don't want to get tagged by one, my girl has ~1" fangs already and she simply loves stabbing things with them!
my Brazilian white knee
Hi guys,me again.I asked for some help when I first got nikita,well now I nerd more advice please.I have,now had nikki for 3 weeks,she has made her way all around the sides of her new home,on the glass of the plastic tank but not on the floor,I am also persevering putting a locusts in every couple of days and having to take it out again in the evening as,she hasn't ate it,at one point I thought,I had a pet locust too as both nikki and the locusts were sat side by side,legs touching on the side of the tank. Can anyone tell me what's going on please,I rang the pet shop where I bought her from and he said she's just settling in?
Hi guys,me again.I asked for some help when I first got nikita,well now I nerd more advice please.I have,now had nikki for 3 weeks,she has made her way all around the sides of her new home,on the glass of the plastic tank but not on the floor,I am also persevering putting a locusts in every couple of days and having to take it out again in the evening as,she hasn't ate it,at one point I thought,I had a pet locust too as both nikki and the locusts were sat side by side,legs touching on the side of the tank. Can anyone tell me what's going on please,I rang the pet shop where I bought her from and he said she's just settling in?
Poec54
Arachnoemperor
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Send us pics of the spider and cage. For a genic not to eat it's either premolt or something is wrong with the cage conditions.
mattg70
Arachnosquire
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Pictures please ?It sounds like premolt?