Fat butts vs Skinny butts

[Toddydog]

So I've seen other people post pictures of their B. Hamorii's and most of them have big fatty butts. Mine however has a little skinny butt. I thought at first, well maybe it's because he's juvenile but other juvenile hamorii's I've seen have fat booties too. Then I thought maybe it' because he's a male but I found nothing really on the subject. I mean he's not starving, but then again I've only had him for 3 weeks so he could have been.
Anyways any insite on the different booty sizes would be appreciated. I'm really curious.

 

[Nightstalker47]

So I've seen other people post pictures of their B. Hamorii's and most of them have big fatty butts. Mine however has a little skinny butt. I thought at first, well maybe it's because he's juvenile but other juvenile hamorii's I've seen have fat booties too. Then I thought maybe it' because he's a male but I found nothing really on the subject. I mean he's not starving, but then again I've only had him for 3 weeks so he could have been.
Anyways any insite on the different booty sizes would be appreciated. I'm really curious.
View attachment 263021

Abdomen size and gender aren't related. It has everything to do with feeding, and how recently your spider molted. It will plump up once you start feeding more.

 

[Toddydog]

Abdomen size and gender aren't related. It has everything to do with feeding, and how recently your spider molted. It will plump up once you start feeding more.

Makes sense. Knowing his personality and the fact that he molted a bit before I got him. He's not a big eater and has refused many meals from me so far but I've gotten him to eat a couple times including tonight so hopefully he'll have a big, full, hairy butt in the future.

 

[Nightstalker47]

so hopefully he'll have a big, full, hairy butt in the future.

No doubt man. Start feeding heavily and you'll get there soon enough, you should add a small water dish into that enclosure as well.

 

[Toddydog]

No doubt man. Start feeding heavily and you'll get there soon enough, you should add a small water dish into that enclosure as well.

Oh, yeah that's not his enclosure, just what he came in. He's got a small bottle cap which he drinks from quite often. And a tiny half log he uses to hide.

 

[sasker]

He's not a big eater and has refused many meals from me

Also remember that some individual tarantulas are picky eaters. Perhaps your tarantula does not like the prey items you provide. You could try different kinds of prey of different size. I have a Lasiodora parahybana that dislikes anything without legs (meal worms, morio worms) or anything that moves too much, so I need to crush a dubia's head and she circles slowly around it for a few hours before digging in. This does not mean she is not hungry, she is just easily spooked. "Take a LP", they said. "They eat everything," they said. Yeah rights...

 

[WoofSpider]

Also remember that some individual tarantulas are picky eaters. Perhaps your tarantula does not like the prey items you provide. You could try different kinds of prey of different size. I have a Lasiodora parahybana that dislikes anything without legs (meal worms, morio worms) or anything that moves too much, so I need to crush a dubia's head and she circles slowly around it for a few hours before digging in. This does not mean she is not hungry, she is just easily spooked. "Take a LP", they said. "They eat everything," they said. Yeah rights...

I really hope my Pseudhapalopus sp. "blue" grows out of this habit (you know, in a few decades with how slow they grow). All of my other tiny Ts will take cut up mealworm pieces, but not this one! The only thing I've gotten her to eat is cricket legs.

 

[Toddydog]

Also remember that some individual tarantulas are picky eaters. Perhaps your tarantula does not like the prey items you provide. You could try different kinds of prey of different size. I have a Lasiodora parahybana that dislikes anything without legs (meal worms, morio worms) or anything that moves too much, so I need to crush a dubia's head and she circles slowly around it for a few hours before digging in. This does not mean she is not hungry, she is just easily spooked. "Take a LP", they said. "They eat everything," they said. Yeah rights...

Yeah I figured I might try that. I ordered some small roaches online so hopefully that does the trick.

 

[sasker]

Yeah I figured I might try that. I ordered some small roaches online so hopefully that does the trick.

Red runners seem to do the trick. They are soft, small and not so intimidating. Not even for a 6 inch LP!

 

[Storm1028]

Red runners seem to do the trick. They are soft, small and not so intimidating. Not even for a 6 inch LP!

Really? My M. balfouri hates B. lateralis (Red Runners), she threat postures and beats every roach to death

 

[cold blood]

Yeah I figured I might try that. I ordered some small roaches online so hopefully that does the trick.

Keep in mind that there is no more commonly refused prey item than a roach....red runners being the exception....ts treat them like crickets IME.

The best prey for picky eaters is a cricket.

 

[cold blood]

I find the specimen to be particularly interesting. It has the outward appearance of a hamorii....yet the carapace shows the distinctive dark V of an emelia...

 

[The Grym Reaper]

that dislikes anything without legs (meal worms, morio worms)

Ummmm, they do have legs

I find the specimen to be particularly interesting. It has the outward appearance of a hamorii....yet the carapace shows the distinctive dark V of an emelia...

I thought it could actually be a misidentified B. smithi (ex annitha).

 

[sasker]

Ummmm, they do have legs

Compared to the barbed, violently kicking legs of a dubia with a crushed head, they hardly do. My LP does not waste enough time on morio worms to find out if they have legs. As soon as she recognise it, she backs away.

 

[Toddydog]

I find the specimen to be particularly interesting. It has the outward appearance of a hamorii....yet the carapace shows the distinctive dark V of an emelia...

Well when I bought him I bought him as a Smithi although people made a point of telling me the Smithi (which i find is a nicer name) is just a misidentified Hamorii. So yes he is a Smithi but name changes and all so I'm not really sure what to even call him anymore.

 

[ccTroi]

"Take a LP", they said. "They eat everything," they said. Yeah rights...

Get an A. genic, P. cam, or P. cancerides next

Red runners seem to do the trick. They are soft, small and not so intimidating. Not even for a 6 inch LP!

They provoke awesome feeding response! The thing I constantly worry is a possible infestation (but i still own a colony - a small colony ).

Really? My M. balfouri hates B. lateralis (Red Runners), she threat postures and beats every roach to death

My balfouris are the pickiest eaters

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Well when I bought him I bought him as a Smithi although people made a point of telling me the Smithi (which i find is a nicer name) is just a misidentified Hamorii. So yes he is a Smithi but name changes and all so I'm not really sure what to even call him anymore.

If purchased recently from a reliable source as a B. smithi (ex annitha) then it's probably a genuine B. smithi.

B. smithi (ex annitha) is only just starting to become more available since it was discovered that the tarantula sold in the hobby for several decades as "B. smithi" was actually B. hamorii and that the tarantula sold as "B. annitha" was in fact the true B. smithi.

The thing is that not all new hobbyists know about the name change (and not all dealers bother to update the names) so they often either:

- get sold a B. smithi that is actually B. hamorii;
- have had a B. hamorii since before the name change and still call it a B. smithi (either out of ignorance or stubbornness);
- get a B. hamorii and just refer to it as a B. smithi anyway.

I'm betting someone just assumed you fell into one of those categories and just told you that you had a B. hamorii without checking, it happens.

 

[Toddydog]

If purchased recently from a reliable source as a B. smithi (ex annitha) then it's probably a genuine B. smithi.

B. smithi (ex annitha) is only just starting to become more available since it was discovered that the tarantula sold in the hobby for several decades as "B. smithi" was actually B. hamorii and that the tarantula sold as "B. annitha" was in fact the true B. smithi.

The thing is that not all new hobbyists know about the name change (and not all dealers bother to update the names) so they often either:

- get sold a B. smithi that is actually B. hamorii;
- have had a B. hamorii since before the name change and still call it a B. smithi (either out of ignorance or stubbornness);
- get a B. hamorii and just refer to it as a B. smithi anyway.

I'm betting someone just assumed you fell into one of those categories and just told you that you had a B. hamorii without checking, it happens.

Probably. Yeah if what you said is true than he most likely is a true smithi. I got him from Backwater reptiles as a smithi, around Christmas time.
Thank you for clarifyng, now i can go back to calling him a smithi.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I got him from Backwater reptiles as a smithi

From what I've heard about Backwater Reptiles (I live in the UK so never ordered from them but they have an awful reputation) you're lucky that you even got a tarantula from the same genus let alone the species you actually ordered lol.

That being said, it does actually appear to be a B. smithi, you'll know for sure as it gets larger, B. hamorii has more black on the carapace and a small black stripe in the knee markings (as seen in the image I posted earlier on).

 

[sasker]

Get an A. genic, P. cam, or P. cancerides next

My Pamphobeteus sp. Mascara makes up for my wimpy LP, but these three are definitely on my wish list. Thanks!