Costa Rican zebra

Frosk

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Can anyone help me please? I am worried about my young aphonopelmans seemanni. It is not eating and I have had it for 6 weeks. I keep it at around 22 degrees and 72 humidity. It has proper substrate for burrowing and I just mist the terrarium on one side near the water dish. It sits in the corner near the heat pad.
 

EulersK

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Here we go!

Firstly, you have an Aphonopelma seemanni. That's the proper spelling.

Kill the heat mat, no tarantula need supplemental heat. If you're comfortable, then so is the spider.

Kill the humidity gauge. Not only is it inaccurate, but you don't need specific numbers. This species likes a humid enclosure, but misting is a terrible way to keep it humid. That dries out within hours. Either heavily overfill the water dish every other week or so or invest in a sprayer.

Six weeks is nothing to worry about after a certain size. It's likely nothing to worry about.

Can you take a picture of the spider and another picture of the whole enclosure?
 

nicodimus22

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1) Show a photo please.

2) What size is it?

3) Heat pad? :banghead: NEVER use a heat pad. When tarantulas get hot in the wild, they burrow to cool off...here, it takes them even closer to the heat pad. Turn it off, and take it off. Ambient heat only. Generally speaking, if you're comfortable, they're comfortable.
 

Chris LXXIX

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Pay no attention to "humidity numbers", forget those. Careful with heat math/pads. I know that a lot of UK keepers use those but, especially at night, remember that a bit of drop is normal. Like others said, post a couple of pics if you can.
 

Frosk

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Feb 9, 2017
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Here we go!

Firstly, you have an Aphonopelma seemanni. That's the proper spelling.
Can anyone help me please? I am worried about my young aphonopelmans seemanni. It is not eating and I have had it for 6 weeks. I keep it at around 22 degrees and 72 humidity. It has proper substrate for burrowing and I just mist the terrarium on one side near the water dish. It sits in the corner near the heat pad.
I forgot to mention that I live in Scotland so it is quite cold just now.

Kill the heat mat, no tarantula need supplemental heat. If you're comfortable, then so is the spider.

Kill the humidity gauge. Not only is it inaccurate, but you don't need specific numbers. This species likes a humid enclosure, but misting is a terrible way to keep it humid. That dries out within hours. Either heavily overfill the water dish every other week or so or invest in a sprayer.

Six weeks is nothing to worry about after a certain size. It's likely nothing to worry about.

Can you take a picture of the spider and another picture of the whole enclosure?
 

Frosk

Arachnopeon
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Feb 9, 2017
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Pay no attention to "humidity numbers", forget those. Careful with heat math/pads. I know that a lot of UK keepers use those but, especially at night, remember that a bit of drop is normal. Like others said, post a couple of pics if you can.
Is it ok to take the heat pad off?
The temp drops quite a bit at night. I am a first time tarantula owner and it seems worrying me as I want to take care of it as best I can
 

EulersK

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I forgot to mention that I live in Scotland so it is quite cold just now.
In the future, hit "Insert quotes" and then just start typing ;)

You can ask @KezyGLA, he lives in your neck of the woods. But as has been said, you need ambient heating.
 

Chris LXXIX

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Is it ok to take the heat pad off?
The temp drops quite a bit at night. I am a first time tarantula owner and it seems worrying me as I want to take care of it as best I can
I live in Lombardy, Northern Italy, and while colder than the rest of Italy, isn't comparable to Scotland. I keep (and always kept) mine, a nice different range of T's (and other inverts) in Winter at 23° C Day, Night 20° C. I reach those temperature with the heating system alone, no heat mat/pads, no space heaters of all sort. Never had an issue.

I understand that not for everyone things works that way and that a lot of people can't afford to pay a lot for the electric bill due to a space heater only for one Theraphosidae. If night time you can reach 20 max 19° C there's no use for additional heating. Offer a bit of boost on daytime.

Tell me about the temperatures you have in the room where you keep your spider.
 

Frosk

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Thank you Chris. The heat pad is small and at the side of the enclosure. I am just worried about the eating situation.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
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Some tarantulas go months and even years without eating. What size is yours?
 

Jeff Fernandez

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She can just be fasting my Avic Avic hasnt eaten since thanksgiving day. Just make sure your misting down the enclosure (amout changes depending on the species or if its big enough a water dish with fresh water in it.
 

Chris LXXIX

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Thank you Chris. The heat pad is small and at the side of the enclosure. I am just worried about the eating situation.
Don't, Lady.

Had T's that performed hunger strikes that not even Bobby Sands :-s
 

KezyGLA

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Apr 8, 2016
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22C is fine. In fact, room temps 17-23C are fine for this species. They love to bask in heat so a heat pad/mat is not a good idea. Your T will bask and may do so until past the point of no return. Dehydration is a killer. Loose the heat pad and keep a full water dish nearby at all times. They are a hardy species so their care is relatively easy. If you need further help with this then drop me a private message and I can help you further if needs be.
 
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