Feeding Greenbottle Blue? Where is Usumbara?

[NYCspiderGuy]

My Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens (greenbottle) is about 2.5-3" and is well ensconced in strange funnel/circular web which basically fills floor space of tank. Very dry, with water available in the one place she left open.

I have been reading about feeding my Grammostolas (giving a few at a time every two weeks or so, and this is good for them so far) but wonder IF ANYONE HAS A SYSTEM THAT HAS WORKED WELL FOR YOU with Greenbottle. I am new-ish at this, and I feel that this spider needs less food, but what do I know?!?
Incredible spider, though! So elegant and the colors are unreal - when I can see them! Not aggressive with me, but very fast and vicious with prey... a favorite of mine.

One other thing - WHERE DID USUMBARA GO?
About an inch the last time I saw it, Has not eaten or been seen in over two weeks. I have been carefully maintaining a lovely tank of dirt and fresh water though.... makes me feel a bit crazy like watering dead roses. But I have faith in the little guy. Anyone have this experience with the little devils?
(Oh, man - are these guys fast! Relative to size, mine made a mile dash in less than a second when I was originally tanking him/her. Poor little bugger got tired, and then I got it! Thank God for tiny spider-lungs.)

 

[BlkCat]

I am trying to figure that out myself. I am trying to feed my 1.5 GBB as much as possible. I have only had it a few days, and it hasnt taken food yet.
I had a 1 inch GBB, She would eat so sparatically, that i never knew when she was hungry, She molted to 1 and 3/4 inch. Stopped eating and died. So i am trying again.
If u get a scheduale, let me know please.

 

[usumbaraboy]

i would just leave ur usumbara because iv had this problem with most of my tarantulas where they will hide until they molt and then are ready to eat and that sometimes takes a week to a month maybe more. or ur t could just be on a hunger strike lol

 

[galeogirl]

The Usambaras do love their burrows, I haven't seen mine in about three weeks, but the food keeps disappearing, so I know it's there. If you can, encourage them to dig close to the side of the cage by starting a burrow for them, then you can use a penlight to peek in and check on them.

 

[NYCspiderGuy]

fresh dirt = sign of life? Update

This morning there was a fresh pile of soil outside the Usumbara-Tent, so I am assuming it was the spider and not gnomes. (although I do have some suspicions based on missing keys and other household mysteries)

As for GBB, she will eat and eat and eat... I had to stop because I was afraid she'd pop. Just wondering if there was some sense of what is normal pattern for them. Great spider, though.

 

[NYCspiderGuy]

First, thanks for replying to some of my past questions... benefit of experience, and all that - much appreciated.
I was going to update the post because tonight - for the first time since I got her - my GBB is refusing food. The cricket is actually caught in the webbing and suspended 1" above substrate, wiggling. This spider is usually on prey at the first twitch of her web, so I am looking forward to a molt, I believe. Others have fasted/ can be fussy, but never this one before. I had to cut her off at one point.
What is your experience?

I'll post on thread, so you can reply here or there when you get a second.
Thanks again.

I am trying to figure that out myself. I am trying to feed my 1.5 GBB as much as possible. I have only had it a few days, and it hasnt taken food yet.
I had a 1 inch GBB, She would eat so sparatically, that i never knew when she was hungry, She molted to 1 and 3/4 inch. Stopped eating and died. So i am trying again.
If u get a scheduale, let me know please.

 

[BlkCat]

I put a mealworm in the jar with my new 1 inch GBB the day I got her. She didnt eat it. I took it out the next day. I put a live 1/2 inch cricket in her cage yesterday. She didnt take it. I left it in there overnite. I dont see it anymore. So maybe she is finally eating. I am paranoid about GBB. I will feed her til she refuses food, if that is what she wants. She loves the heat. She is always plastered to the side of the jar closest to the moon lamp. Hopefully I will get to borrow a digital camera and get a pic of her soon.

 

[KJE]

I put a mealworm in the jar with my new 1 inch GBB the day I got her. She didnt eat it. I took it out the next day. I put a live 1/2 inch cricket in her cage yesterday. She didnt take it. I left it in there overnite. I dont see it anymore. So maybe she is finally eating. I am paranoid about GBB. I will feed her til she refuses food, if that is what she wants. She loves the heat. She is always plastered to the side of the jar closest to the moon lamp. Hopefully I will get to borrow a digital camera and get a pic of her soon.

I just wanted to let you know that if this is the GBB you got from GoTerps, it might be pre-molt. I got 2 from him on Jan. 13th and they both stopped eating over a week ago. The bald spot on their abdomen also went from a tannish color to black. I have stopped offering food because I don't want to have to disturb their elaborate webs just to remove uneaten food. I had to do that with one of them and it took him a few days to web everything up again. Of course, if too much time passes and they still haven't molted then I will throw in a small cricket.

 

[mimic58]

Gbb is best kept a little hungry as for the usambra ,they do come out sometimes but mostly only when its totaly dark

 

[BlkCat]

I just wanted to let you know that if this is the GBB you got from GoTerps, it might be pre-molt. I got 2 from him on Jan. 13th and they both stopped eating over a week ago. The bald spot on their abdomen also went from a tannish color to black. I have stopped offering food because I don't want to have to disturb their elaborate webs just to remove uneaten food. I had to do that with one of them and it took him a few days to web everything up again. Of course, if too much time passes and they still haven't molted then I will throw in a small cricket.

Yeah, I got this one from GoTerps. Maybe it is in premolt. I saw the lil cricket in there earlier. She still hasnt eaten it. Do u think it will stress her too much if I catch the cricket to get it out? I dont want to leave it in there, but I dont want her to molt while there. :?

 

[KJE]

The problem I had with removing one of the crickets from my GBB's enclosure is that it had webbed everything up and when I tried to get the cricket the web stuck to the tweezers and came out with the cricket. I'm sure that was stressful for my GBB, but at least the cricket was no longer there to hurt the GBB when it molts. Has yours webbed everything up yet? They are great little t's!

 

[NYCspiderGuy]

I had that problem with A. versicolor... did not want to disturb, but wanted crickets out since I suspect a molt (tank is large enough that they were hard to reach w/out moving stuff around). So I took a piece of strong metal wire and fashioned a sort of fish hook and put a bit of cricket-food (potato) on end and let them come to it... then caught w/tweezers or small pill-jar once they were in open area or near top (climbing on food by now) and easier to catch.
Hope it helps.

 

[BlkCat]

The problem I had with removing one of the crickets from my GBB's enclosure is that it had webbed everything up and when I tried to get the cricket the web stuck to the tweezers and came out with the cricket. I'm sure that was stressful for my GBB, but at least the cricket was no longer there to hurt the GBB when it molts. Has yours webbed everything up yet? They are great little t's!

Well I got the cricket out. I had to use hemostats. The webbing stuck to them, but I did get it. Mine has webbed up the bottom, but it isnt as dense as u would think. The GBB didnt freak as I thought it would. She just sat there and let me chase the cricket until I could catch it. What good girl!!
My other GBB sling webbed the bottom of the jar so that u couldnt see the substrate underneath. This one has webbed the bottom, but its thin. Are the GBB just individuals when it comes to that?

 

[KJE]

In one of my GBB's enclosure I have a tiny piece of clay pot and a tiny piece of driftwood. It has webbed all over and in between those two things. They seem to like to sit on top of their webbing, off the substrate. In my other GBB's enclosure I have a small silk leaf and a tiny piece of driftwood. That one has also webbed over them and sits on the web. It's like they are partially arboreal.

BTW, the one that I messed up its web a week ago molted tonight at about 2am. I got to watch the whole thing. That's the first molt I've seen. It was amazing! I used a magnifying glass to see it up close. The t is still just laying there resting, but its totally out of its old "skin". I figure my other GBB should molt in the next week. I hope I get to see that one too. Good luck with your GBB!

 

[NYCspiderGuy]

Gbb webbing - very fussy

Yeah... my GBB has done much the same thing with the substrate. A veil which covers and separates all, making a circular tunnel (round glass tank) which surrounds a "teepee" of wood. Only one little space (a small "slice" of the round pie) unwebbed where the water bowl sits.
In a Martha Stewart/ Feng Shui moment, I decided to put some small colored glass pieces near water bowl for some color... well - GBB had her own ideas.
most were near bowl and no problem, but the one piece that came too close to entrance for comfort was carried inside ( no small feat - a tiny piece of glass, but dense for lifting!) and laid down on mat of silk and silked right onto the wall - against glass - so she made a stained glass "f**k you and stop looking into my home" screen. The cool thing is, that it is clear that everthing is separated by the webbing, and I agree they prefer it to substrate.
Nice comment - "almost arboreal" is the phrase that hits it for me.
Before webbing was so complete, she spent lots more time on the wood than she does now.

 

[earthgirl]

good housekeeping

My GBB also webs quite a bit. When I throw in crickets I can't see her eat them; however, I have noticed that she pushes the dead cricket carcasses out into the open if she doesn't eat them, so then I can get them out with my long tweezers.
I appreciate her good housekeeping!
:clap: