different behaviour

[Kent]

hi everybody im new on here and new to the t club, my usuall hobby and buissness is marine aquariums so this all new to me bought a mexican red knee sub adult and a couple of spydlings a chillie red and a white knee all doing well keep them in a shallow plastic terrarium with vermickulite a shallow water bowl and a log hide temp is 26c and humidity is 65 have had them for around a month now but have noticed he has moved all the substrate from the back to the front and stays at the back on the plastic base this is the first time he has arranged anything, saying he we dont know the sex as the shop had no idea will post a pic soon if anyone can tell.:?

thanks Darren

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

hi everybody im new on here and new to the t club, my usuall hobby and buissness is marine aquariums so this all new to me bought a mexican red knee sub adult and a couple of spydlings a chillie red and a white knee all doing well keep them in a shallow plastic terrarium with vermickulite a shallow water bowl and a log hide temp is 26c and humidity is 65 have had them for around a month now but have noticed he has moved all the substrate from the back to the front and stays at the back on the plastic base this is the first time he has arranged anything, saying he we dont know the sex as the shop had no idea will post a pic soon if anyone can tell.:?

thanks Darren

Okay to help you out,
Brachypelma smithi = Mexican Red Knee
Grammostola rosea = Chilean Rose Hair
Acanthoscurria geniculata = Giant White Knee



You don't have them in the same enclosure do you?

Post some pics of the enclosure.

You may want to try to mix peat or coco fiber with the vermiculite or a mix of coco/peat or 100% coco or peat.

Sounds pretty normal to be moving dirt around though.
It sounds like it is trying to burrow so you should probably provide it with more sub if there isn't much. I'd say around 6-7" of sub.

Welcome to the boards.

 

[Kent]

hi the babys are in seperate containers inside the terrarium just vented to keep temp and humidity constant do they require deep substrate cos have been told as long as they had a hide it would be ok.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

hi the babys are in seperate containers inside the terrarium just vented to keep temp and humidity constant do they require deep substrate cos have been told as long as they had a hide it would be ok.

So the terrarium is filled with substrate and the B. smithi is living in it and then the two spiderlings are in smaller containers inside the terrarium?

If so, you need to take out the spiderlings from the terrarium, if something were to happen and they got out, they'll end up dead.

So remove the spiderlings and make sure you have the terrarium filled up 60-75% of substrate so if it wants to burrow it can, and for it's safety. There needs to be enough substrate so if the spiders front legs are touching the top, then the back legs are on the ground so it can't fall. And provide it with a hide in case it doesn't want to burrow.

As for the slings I would still provide it with enough substrate so they can't fall and in case they want to burrow.

 

[2oCHEVYo0]

Yea, take the slings out of that enclosure to avoid any accidents. What are the dimensions of the enclosure you have the B. Smithi (Red Knee) in. I wouldn't necessarily say to put that much in to the enclosure just because if it can reach the lid from the ground and you forget to shut it all the way, it shouldn't have a terribly hard time moving the lid and getting out. I would say put enough substrate in so that with legs fully extended, it would still have one or two inches between it and the lid. If it were to climb and fall, it would still be just fine. But yes, you definatly want at the minimum 5-6" of substrate so it can burrow if it wants to.

 

[Kent]

have taken slings out and have put more bedding in its about 3" now, will have to get a bigger tank when bigger, will try get some pics on also they called it a chillie red not rose they said they are slightly brighter than the rose is that right? also the tiny white knee has stopped eating the micro crickets are nearly as big as it is that why?

thanks for your advice much appreciated:worship:

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

have taken slings out and have put more bedding in its about 3" now, will have to get a bigger tank when bigger, will try get some pics on also they called it a chillie red not rose they said they are slightly brighter than the rose is that right? also the tiny white knee has stopped eating the micro crickets are nearly as big as it is that why?

thanks for your advice much appreciated:worship:

Chilean red, okay then I would say you have a RCF (Red color form) G. rosea. They do stay a pretty bright red color, and not the normal brown or grey of the Normal G. rosea.

Could you please tell what size tank you have and what size your B. smithi (Red knee) is?

Your A. geniculata (white knee) has probably stopped eating because it is in premolt and getting ready to molt. If you offer it food, make sure you take it out if it refuses to eat. If it molts and the cricket is in there, it can nibble on your spiders soft skin and kill it. What I do when I think my slings are near premolt I just drop a prekilled cricket in. That way if they molt they won't be harmed, and if I was wrong about them being in premolt, then they can still eat.

 

[Kent]

some pics.

 

[Kent]

the slings are in shallow pots about 3" across and 1.5" deep and the red knee is about 12"x8"x5".

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

Is there anything in the water dish aside from water? I couldn't really tell.

That setup looks great. I would mix some coco or peat with the vermiculite just to give it some actual "dirt". Other than that it looks great, good job.

 

[Kent]

ive been told to put sponge in the water bowl so it cant drown,thanks for your advice and thoughts once again.

 

[Shell]

No sponge, it's not good for them. If the water bowl is deep, just put some pebbles in the bottom to decrease the depth of the water, and it will be fine.

 

[Kent]

I did wonder if needed as is shallow anyway will remove it also is it just normal garden peat i can mix in the substrate.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

I did wonder if needed as is shallow anyway will remove it also is it just normal garden peat i can mix in the substrate.

It's sphagnum peat moss, and yes just regular peat but it must have NO additives. I haven't used peat yet because I can't find anything besides Miracle Gro and I have read to not use the Miracle Gro brand. I was recommended Premier organic peat, it has no additives, so if you can find it get that. Peat is cheaper than coco, but comes in big bags so you will have left over. If you can't find the right peat then just go ahead and pick up some coco fiber from the pet store. You'll only need one bag since you'll be mixing it with the vermiculite.

If you are using vermiculite with the slings then make sure you make them a mixture as well or just use 100% coco if you want.

 

[Kent]

Ok will go get some and mix in, the slings have already got peat also will my ts make webs?

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

Ok will go get some and mix in, the slings have already got peat also will my ts make webs?

These species of tarantulas will just lay basic webbing on the ground. They don't do anything too big, but cover the floor. When they molt, they will either web up their burrow or hide and close them off with the web to molt or will lay a molt mat (thick bed of web) and molt on that. That's pretty much the only webbing they will do.

 

[Kent]

Ok thanks again for your help.