can you stop hair flicking?

[nathanel]

I work at a very upstanding pet store, and recently we received an adult and baby B. Smithi that were not taken care of well. the adult is very shy and is bald do to her flicking so much. I really like her and she is fine with walking over and on my hands, but if I try to cup her she freaks and flicks. I dont mind being flicked but I just dont want her to be stressed and to look bald. The 1" baby does the same thing. I have been feeding them well and have been giving them adequate housing, yet they are traveling in the cage alot and seem to want to escape, I am concerned about this too. I need to be comfortable to work with this girls (meaning holding them and cage cleanings) and still have them being comfortable with not feeling that they need to flick. will this go away with time? please help!!!

p.s. The large female is almost full grown, and at a good price, I WANT HER!

:8o

 

[Windchaser]

There isn't much you can do to stop them from flicking except to leave them alone. Flicking is a defense mechanism and your large hand moving toward them is viewed as dangerous. They may get acustomed over to your presence, but will probably never stop flicking. If you would like to keep them from getting bald spots (which is a perfectly normal thing) then stop bothering them. If you need to do some cage maintenance, find what actions least stresses them and only use that method. Not that I am against handling, but there really is no need to ever handle them. Or at least very rarely. If the goal is to keep them from developing the bald spot, then your only answer really is to leave them alone.

 

[mimic58]

Providing a proper hiding place will cut down the kicking significantly, The bald patch will go after the next molt, two other things that often cause bald butts are crickets being left in the enclosure when the T is not hungry or in pre molt and lack of humidity...

Handling T's a suject often debaited...
Personaly i feel this causes alot of stress to the animals and i mean ALOT

 

[Code Monkey]

Lack of humidity is NOT a cause of hair kicking. A need for high humidity in and of itself is the biggest internet myth there is regarding tarantula husbandry, attributing secondary effects to it (e.g. bad moults, hair kicking, etc.) is simply more myth on top of myth.

Hair kicking is based upon disturbing a new world tarantula, full stop.

What disturbs an individual tarantula will be dependent upon that particular individual's sensory threshhold for what is a purely reactive behavior. Some Ts will kick every time you bump their tank, others will only kick after a barrage of disturbing stimuli. There is nothing you can do beyond not disturbing a T prone to kicking and making sure they have a decent hide/burrow so they won't interpret their situation as being particularly vulnerable.

 

[harrymaculata]

you can't stop it its a natural defence best way to stop it is to stop handling.

to try and stop it would be the same as stopping a spitting cobra spitting its there defence from attackers, which from the hair kicking is what they see you as no t enjoys being handled well apart from some really docile ones avic

 

[mimic58]

Lack of humidity is NOT a cause of hair kicking. A need for high humidity in and of itself is the biggest internet myth there is regarding tarantula husbandry, attributing secondary effects to it (e.g. bad moults, hair kicking, etc.) is simply more myth on top of myth.

Ok hair kicking was perhaps not the right term for what i ment , You will often see t's like scratching at there butt's if its to dry its not exactly kicking but it does cause some loss of hair in the area.

Bad molts caused by lack of humidity is a myth :?

 

[Mike H.]

I think what code was saying that spiders need high humidity is a myth, I have around 40 spiders and they are all kept on the dry side with a water dish..this includes my blondies as well...

Regards, Mike

 

[Code Monkey]

Ok hair kicking was perhaps not the right term for what i ment , You will often see t's like scratching at there butt's if its to dry its not exactly kicking but it does cause some loss of hair in the area.

No, no, no :wall:. You do see NW Ts periodically scratching their rumps to incorporate urticating hairs into the webbing, rainforest or desert conditions, same behavior if you pay attention and observe objectively.

Bad molts caused by lack of humidity is a myth :?

Welcome to the internet where bad information will be repeated 20X as much as good information because it's simplistic and easy to remember. Such garbage appeals to weak minded individuals who think they can replace real experience with some one sentence blurb that originated in a THF book that was junk from page 1 to the final sentence.

 

[Bigboy]

So putting a blondi that is stuck in it's molt into a steamy bathroom does nothing more than what just leaving it in your 40%humidity room would do? I'm skeptical but this does seem to make a good deal of sense.

 

[mimic58]

No, no, no :wall:. You do see NW Ts periodically scratching their rumps to incorporate urticating hairs into the webbing, rainforest or desert conditions, same behavior if you pay attention and observe objectively.

My observation was just that my T's seem to deposite/loose more hair more often if I let their enclosures get to dry.

when it comes to molts there is a physical thing to remember and that is you have two surfaces against each other that must slide past or pull appart , now physics dictates that two surfaces like this cause friction and it is a well established fact that lubrication will reduce this , asuming the humidity is actualy able to soak through the outer exoskeliton then logical it has to reduce the friction inside and also soften the outer skin :?

 

[Code Monkey]

So putting a blondi that is stuck in it's molt into a steamy bathroom does nothing more than what just leaving it in your 40%humidity room would do? I'm skeptical but this does seem to make a good deal of sense.

My question to people who think success/non-success of moults is related to humidity is "What exactly do you propose the humidity is doing?". Tarantula exocuticle is NOT like vertebrate skin in any way shape or form. It does not "dry out" or become flaky because the air is dry, and whatever non-permanent hardening & softening of it that occurs is because oils/lipids secreted by the tarantula itself.

I sometimes suspect that the myth got started by some lazy hack of a writer that decided that he could do a global search and replace for the word "snake" with the word "tarantula" in an earlier crappy book. Regardless, much like the equally baseless idea of gutloading, it's something borrowed from the herp hobby.

 

[mimic58]

Ah i think i see what code is saying , Spider skin is water proof & not absorbant to moisture :?

 

[Code Monkey]

when it comes to molts there is a physical thing to remember and that is you have two surfaces against each other that must slide past or pull appart , now physics dictates that two surfaces like this cause friction and it is a well established fact that lubrication will reduce this , asuming the humidity is actualy able to soak through the outer exoskeliton then logical it has to reduce the friction inside and also soften the outer skin :?

Please, I have had to write two-page answers, front and back, from memory on the exact physiological process that goes into invertebrate moults. Your "common sense" is, like too many common sense answers, utter bollocks. Go to your local library and get a book on invert physiology and read the 20+ pages on everything related to moulting.

The gap between the new exoskeleton and the old one is completely fluid filled at the time of the moult, there is no humidity level that will make an iota's bit of difference in terms of increasing the lubrication. Now, I suppose that if you are in Death Valley, the complete lack of humidity might be able to actually dry up a large tarantula in the process of moulting, but in any humidity that *you* are comfortable, your T will also be comfortable for moulting purposes.

 

[mimic58]

Please, I have had to write two-page answers, front and back, from memory on the exact physiological process that goes into invertebrate moults. Your "common sense" is, like too many common sense answers, utter bollocks. Go to your local library and get a book on invert physiology and read the 20+ pages on everything related to moulting.

The gap between the new exoskeleton and the old one is completely fluid filled at the time of the moult, there is no humidity level that will make an iota's bit of difference in terms of increasing the lubrication. Now, I suppose that if you are in Death Valley, the complete lack of humidity might be able to actually dry up a large tarantula in the process of moulting, but in any humidity that *you* are comfortable, your T will also be comfortable for moulting purposes.

I see thanks for explaining that!! but now that i know this fact it leads me to one final question would a lack of fresh water/humidity prior to a molt affect the spiders ability to produce this internal fluid an posibly in tern lead to a failed molt :?

 

[Windchaser]

I see thanks for explaining that!! but now that i know this fact it leads me to one final question would a lack of fresh water/humidity prior to a molt affect the spiders ability to produce this internal fluid an posibly in tern lead to a failed molt :?

Lack of water to drink would certainly cause a problem. You would have a dehydrated tarantula attempting to molt and it would not have sufficient fluid levels internally to support the molting process. As Code Monket stated, the layer between the old and new exoskeletons is filled with fluid prior to the molt. A dehydrated tarantula would not be able to produce enough fluid.

Ambient fluid levels as stated multiple times by Code Monkey have no bearing on the success or failure of a molt.

 

[mimic58]

that makes perfect sence, its down to the spiders internal hydration level not the external humidity,well i just learned something new!... so would it be fare to say then that alot of bad molts mustbe caused by lack of fresh drinking water?