Cobalt Blue (Haplopelma Lividum) some questions?

jgod790

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
260
Hello, so I just got a cobalt H. Lividum, and I have some questions for anyone who might be able to answer them. First off, do males have blue legs until final molt? And how long does it take for them to grow? Mine is not a sling, but very small. And more importantly, I understand they do not appreciate light, so how do I appropriately heat the enclosure then? Cause heating pads either dont heat enough, or cook the tarantula alive. Or should I just use a red light bulb 24/7? But I read that its unhealthy for a tarantula to have constant dark, or constant light. So Ive been switching a day time light for 12 hours from 9am to 9pm, then a red bulb from 9pm to 9am. My room is very cold right now, so I DEFINATLY need some form of heat source for a H. lividum. And as far as humidity goes, am I safe if I just keep the substrate fairly moist, to the point where you can "see" the moisture on the bottom of the tank? Or should I put something over the top of the lid to keep more humidity in the enclosure? And another concern, I understand there obligate burrowers. I have the substrate only about 3 inches deep, but in one corner I made a huge "mound" so about 1/4 of the tank is idk 7 maybe 8 inches deep, and I dug a pre made burrow for it. Should I have the WHOLE enclosure deep with substrate, or is it ok to just have 1/4 of the enclosure deep enough to burrow? And how often to H. lividums eat? mine has not eaten since Ive had it for almost a month now. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 

phoenixxavierre

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
1,293
Hello, so I just got a cobalt H. Lividum, and I have some questions for anyone who might be able to answer them. First off, do males have blue legs until final molt? And how long does it take for them to grow? Mine is not a sling, but very small. And more importantly, I understand they do not appreciate light, so how do I appropriately heat the enclosure then? Cause heating pads either dont heat enough, or cook the tarantula alive. Or should I just use a red light bulb 24/7? But I read that its unhealthy for a tarantula to have constant dark, or constant light. So Ive been switching a day time light for 12 hours from 9am to 9pm, then a red bulb from 9pm to 9am. My room is very cold right now, so I DEFINATLY need some form of heat source for a H. lividum. And as far as humidity goes, am I safe if I just keep the substrate fairly moist, to the point where you can "see" the moisture on the bottom of the tank? Or should I put something over the top of the lid to keep more humidity in the enclosure? And another concern, I understand there obligate burrowers. I have the substrate only about 3 inches deep, but in one corner I made a huge "mound" so about 1/4 of the tank is idk 7 maybe 8 inches deep, and I dug a pre made burrow for it. Should I have the WHOLE enclosure deep with substrate, or is it ok to just have 1/4 of the enclosure deep enough to burrow? And how often to H. lividums eat? mine has not eaten since Ive had it for almost a month now. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
congratulations!

No way to heat your room up? No space heater?

Temps should be at least 70F, and humidity can be as low as in the upper 50s percentage. So don't worry so much about the humidity, just make sure it has a water dish that's full.

I usually provide mine with peat/potting soil mix filling it up to about 4 to 5 inches from the top, but you can set up the enclosure however you like. I've seen cobalt blues come out into the sunlight. I think that it may be more about disturbances than light.

Also, keep in mind that in nature these can be found in rice paddies, and their hole extends upward like an anthill and weaves into the rice stalks, making a kind of funnel web. They will adjust to whatever type of enclosure you give them as their home. Just don't over-water or underwater, or under-heat.

If they ignore food or slap at it as if to get it away from them, remove the food. At that point you can try checking ever week or two to see if they're hungry. Chances are, they're coming upon a molt if they're no longer eating.
 

jgod790

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
260
Thank you for the advice! And I have a space heater thats always on in my room, but my room is the attic so it gets REALLY cold even with the heater. But during the summer it gets really humid and hot, so I feel like my room will be PERFECT for a H. lividum during the summer. And I will have no need for artificial heat. So I guess for now I will continue to use the light, switching to the night bulb at night. So I should, or should not mist the enclosure? Cause Ive read that H. lividums need a humidity of 80%? And I kinda hope its in premolt, cause it is missing two of its legs. It actually jumped on one of the pet shop workers face, while he was cleaning the enclosure. And he quickly flung it off, and it somehow lost two legs. So a molt would be wonderful so it could get its legs back. And I am anxious to see how beautiful a H. lividum will look fresh after a molt.
 

Spiderman937

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Messages
34
Spiders with missing legs don't always start to grow their legs back the first molt. The longer the leg has been missing, the more likely it is to be developing and to start to grow at molt. That's unfortunate your lividium was injured like that. I would smack someone for flinging a spider and do worse for intentional harm. I know Haplopelma lividium I have kept had temperature and humidity sensitive appetites, would be much more likely to refuse food if they were too cold, or if they didn't have a burrow, or if they were getting ready to molt of course. It's really important to keep some moisture in the substrate with misting, although misting can sometimes disturb a sensitive spider, I like to sprinkle water gently as if it was raining lightly to moisten the substrate, somtimes I might soak a small area so the rest can absorb the moisture over time, and make sure I have a bottle cap or dish of spring water filled and placed into the substrate not too far from the burrow entrance (they don't come out too often or stay close), making the rim almost level with the substrate. Vitamin-Water and Powerade caps and ones off wide mouth bottles work good if they don't have those little burrs around the edges. Gotta keep it clean, sometimes they like to drop remains in it or poop in it. If the spider is in bad shape I will gently cup without pinchgrabbing the spider, and flip it over in my hand and dab water droplets in its mouth with a finger that is clean and has been dipped in clean water, and watch for the water to be absorbed as it drinks. I repeat several times as they drink. It can take a while as they may drink very slowly. Must be experienced and careful to do this with any Haplopelma, and I use my finger at my own risk. When I am convinced they are able to drink, then I gently set them down facing the water dish so they can drink if they want. If you have a screen lid on a tank, you could keep the substrate misted, and cover the middle with a cloth or small towel, allowing ventilation at one end and the other. I hope this helps any, as you may figure all this already or I may have gone off the subject. Oh yeah, I bought a spider as a Cobalt Blue, was gray and black, and stayed that way and may or may not have actually been a Cobalt. Others were black and brown or gray, and turned more blue with age or with molts. If you have a larger Cobalt Blue that isn't very blue and has a lighter colored abdomen with obvious striped pattern on the abdomen, it probably hasn't molted for a while, or might molt soon depending on male or female. Males aren't very blue. The closer to a molt, the more visible the pattern on abdomen is, and the lighter color it is. Sounds like keeping a cobalt blue is a science like cultivating cannabis.
 

jgod790

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
260
Well now Im kinda scared/curious. Based off of what you said, now I realize it is possible that what I have is not a H. lividum. It is rather small, and looks black from a distance, but under proper lighting and examination, its legs are defiantly blue, while its body is kind of "dark blue" border line "grey"? It definatly looks SIMILAR to pictures of H. lividums, but it defiantly does not look like a twin of the pictures either. But I just thought it looked different cause it was young and small, and assumed that it would look like the others when it got bigger. But the fact that you mention a smaller species that was sold to you as a cobalt, but it possibly wasnt, makes me think maybe I got the same species. After all H. lividums are NOT the only blue tarantula on the planet. If I was able to get a good picture, think you could tell?

---------- Post added at 09:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:40 AM ----------

On another note, regarding the misting, what I do for my emperor scorpion enclosure, as well as my H. lividums enclosure, I have a warm water bottle, and let the water run through the screen lids, thus stimulating rain. This way the substrate isnt disturbed, and the water slowly continues to drip, even hours after I pour the water.
 

phoenixxavierre

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
1,293
Thank you for the advice! And I have a space heater thats always on in my room, but my room is the attic so it gets REALLY cold even with the heater. But during the summer it gets really humid and hot, so I feel like my room will be PERFECT for a H. lividum during the summer. And I will have no need for artificial heat. So I guess for now I will continue to use the light, switching to the night bulb at night. So I should, or should not mist the enclosure? Cause Ive read that H. lividums need a humidity of 80%? And I kinda hope its in premolt, cause it is missing two of its legs. It actually jumped on one of the pet shop workers face, while he was cleaning the enclosure. And he quickly flung it off, and it somehow lost two legs. So a molt would be wonderful so it could get its legs back. And I am anxious to see how beautiful a H. lividum will look fresh after a molt.
You're welcome. Is there a possibility of placing the tarantula somewhere other than the coldest room in the house? You can mist the enclosure but the 80% humidity thing is a rumor. In their native environment, humidity may rise up high at night, but during the day (unless it's the rainy season, which it isn't right now) it goes down to 50% roughly. So there's no need to douse the enclosure in water, just make sure the t has a full water-dish. In captivity, keeping it to 50% or better is sufficient. I personally do my watering about three times monthly, though I tend to feed them daily. Sorry to hear about it's legs. They will grow back slowly, at first looking deformed. It will take a couple or few molts for them to look normal again. Yes, H. lividum's are strikingly metallic blue in the sunlight! Very beautiful!
 

LV-426

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 26, 2010
Messages
497
a pic would help identify whether or not you have a H lividum
 

jgod790

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
260
Thanks guys. I will post a picture tomorow. How often do H. lividums normally eat? Mine hasnt eaten since I got her over 2 weeks ago. And It definatly is not a mettalica. However I am not 100% sure its a H. lividum at this point either.
 
Top