GBB has not eatin in months and is shrinking!

[Drex]

My girlfriend bought me a Green Bottle Blue last year for x-mas and she got herself one as well. They were both tiny spiderlings about the size of a quarter. Anyways, they have grown significantly over the year on crickets, with mighty appetites.

But my spider stopped eating about 2 1/2 months ago and has lost a lot of size on it's abdomen. Meanwhile my GF's spider has long surpassed mine in size and continues to eat. We both cleaned our spider's cages about a month ago and cleared out all of the webbing. Her spider has since started to lay web everywhere all over again while mine just sits in the open in the middle of the cage and does nothing. It's always in a position with it's legs sort of shrivelled and tucked under it's body (almost looking dead). It still has quick reactions and takes off like a bullet if I blow on it or spray the cage with water.

Anyone know what the problem might be and what I can do about it?

Thanks!

 

[Cirith Ungol]

No need to spray GGB's. They are some of the most dry env. T's.

Do you know the sex of your T? It might be a mature male! If it is you could check the board for info on breeding since it might well be that your gf has a female (if you're lucky!).

Does your GGB has hooks under it's front pair of legs, does it have "boxing gloves" on it's pedipalps?

 

[DanHalen]

What conditions are you keeping her in? Higher moisture levels can be fatal for GBB's. You shouldnt have to spray the tank at all. They like it warm and dry. I use the plastic top from a coke bottle as a water dish for my smaller one.

It may be in premolt, but with the legs tucked under the way you state, it may indeed be something otherwise.

Can you post any photos?
-Dan.

Edit -

No need to spray GGB's. They are some of the most dry env. T's.

Do you know the sex of your T? It might be a mature male! If it is you could check the board for info on breeding since it might well be that your gf has a female (if you're lucky!).

Does your GGB has hooks under it's front pair of legs, does it have "boxing gloves" on it's pedipalps?

Ahh, beat me to it
Can GBB's mature in less than a year? Thats pretty fast

 

[Pennywise]

How large is your GBB Now?

GBBs like a dry substrate. Do you mist? How Often. Is your GBB big enough for
a bottle cap water dish? I don't like misting except for Blondi's I start mine with
a bottle cap at 1 1/2". Not webbing is not a good sign. How large is your enclosure?
Excuse all the questions, but the more info you can give us the
better we can judge what can be done for your spider.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Can GBB's mature in less than a year? Thats pretty fast

Well, mine arn't that large yet, but I've heard they're extremely fast growers. With the right temps and feeding I'm sure they can mature in that time.

 

[Drex]

I spend most of my time at my GF's house leaving the spider at my place. About once a week I fill the water dish (couple ounces) and spray the cage pretty well, but I have been doing this since it was a little spiderling with no problems. I have it in a 5 gallon tank with dry substrate and a heating pad under it.

I am almost 100% positive that it has hooks on it's front legs because I have seen them but I do not know what these "boxing gloves" are that you are referring to.

I am at my GF's place right now so I cannot take a new picture for you guys. The only pictures I have available right now are pretty old but I will post them anyways because they are nice pics. I took these back in April when it was thriving very well. It was about 5-6 months old in these pictures.

 

[DanHalen]

I spend most of my time at my GF's house leaving the spider at my place. About once a week I fill the water dish (couple ounces) and spray the cage pretty well, but I have been doing this since it was a little spiderling with no problems. I have it in a 5 gallon tank with dry substrate and a heating pad under it.

I am almost 100% positive that it has hooks on it's front legs because I have seen them but I do not know what these "boxing gloves" are that you are referring to.

I am at my GF's place right now so I cannot take a new picture for you guys. The only pictures I have available right now are pretty old but I will post them anyways because they are nice pics. I took these back in April when it was thriving very well. It was about 5-6 months old in these pictures.

Humidity problems do indeed become more aparrent and pronounced as the spider gets older. Trust us, dont spray it at all The water dish will be fine. If it's got tibial apophyses (the hooks) then it's a mature male. And high humidity can, and will kill an adult. When was the last time it molted? Out of curiosity.

Well, mine arn't that large yet, but I've heard they're extremely fast growers. With the right temps and feeding I'm sure they can mature in that time.

Wow, I was not aware of that - Mature in a year! Such a shame.

 

[Drex]

The last time mine molted was probably in July. My GF's spider and mine had been molting around the same time as each other. Since July mine has not molted and hers has molted twice.

 

[ChrisNCT]

If that is the pic of the actual T..then no worry.

It has plenty of rump left. No need to worry about it not eating with a rump that size.

Also...you do not have a mature male. There are no tibial hooks or sperm bulbs on the pedipalps. I am not saying that is not a ale but right at the moment ..it is not a matured male.

 

[Drex]

If that is the pic of the actual T..then no worry.

It has plenty of rump left. No need to worry about it not eating with a rump that size.

Also...you do not have a mature male. There are no tibial hooks or sperm bulbs on the pedipalps. I am not saying that is not a ale but right at the moment ..it is not a matured male.

Like I said above, those are pictures from april. It does not look that big anymore, it's rump has shrunk considerably since that picture.

 

[ChrisNCT]

Ah...ok

At the end of the pedipalps... under them, do you see any signs of a non-haired object about the size of a BB?

When males mature they will eat allot less the older they get until they stop eating.

 

[DanCameron]

If it's got tibial apophyses (the hooks) then it's a mature male.

In this species of tarantula, the males do not have tibial 'hooks.'

Can GBB's mature in less than a year? Thats pretty fast

Well, he got this spider at 2.5" so I'm guessing it was already a year old, thus maturing possibly after 2 years (guesstimation)? I'm unsure as to how long it takes this species to mature, but I do think they mature quickly.

It's always in a position with it's legs sort of shrivelled and tucked under it's body (almost looking dead).

I do believe this is what is commonly referred to as the 'death curl.' I am unsure as to how to revive a tarantula from this state other than trying to force feeding it (use tweezers!).

I sure do hope that it does revive because it sounds as if your girlfriend has a female, and you have a male, which means slings abound! I would definitely research on reviving this guy and hopefully try to get one successful mating session with him and the female. Or just reviving it to live a bit longer to keep as a pet. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[Varden]

If his gf got them from the same place, with them being the same size, wouldn't they then be siblings? I wouldn't breed them. I had two GBB sent to me about two weeks ago. There was a problem in shipping and one GBB arrived in a death curl state. This is what I did to bring him out of it.

1. Put him in a warm room. My spider room is steady at 80 degrees.

2. Mine had its hooks caught on the paper towel used in its shipping. I didn't bother trying to unhook, so I just lowered him on his paper towel into his box. I then dripped water over his fangs onto the paper towel three times a day. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the paper towel was beneficial. It might have held onto the moisture longer and allowed the GBB access to water when he needed it. In contrast, the P. ruf that arrived in the same condition rolled off his paper towel shortly after I put him in his new home, so I removed the paper towel. He still is in ICU and hasn't fully recovered. Although he moves a little, he still is curled. I guess this was the long way of saying, I think you should put a small piece of paper towel into his enclosure with him and wet it periodically. If your's has good movement though, a full and clean water dish might be fine.

3. Prekill a gutloaded cricket or roach and tuck it under his fangs every two to three days.

4. Drape a towel over his enclosure to act as one big hide and reduce his stress level.

5. Leave him alone. Despite your almost overwhelming desire to check on him, he'll do better if you don't.

Like I said, it's been two weeks, but my GBB is out of his death curl. He's not 100% just yet. I'm still prekilling his food, but he's wandering around a little on his own. Living proof that they can be brought back. But, if I were you, I'd check his mouth for some visible reason for why he's suddenly stopped eating?

Good luck.

 

[DanHalen]

In this species of tarantula, the males do not have tibial 'hooks.'

Yes they do : Look

Well, he got this spider at 2.5" so I'm guessing it was already a year old, thus maturing possibly after 2 years (guesstimation)? I'm unsure as to how long it takes this species to mature, but I do think they mature quickly.

It stoped eating 2.5 months ago. He didn't say it was 2.5" big. He said it was the size of a quarter, which I assume to be quite small - I live in the uk, and we obviously dont have those.

 

[Drex]

Thanks for the advice guys! I am going to head over to my place and pick the little guy up in a day or 2 and bring him to my GF's house which is much warmer, so I can keep an eye on him better and try to force feed him. Will let you guys know how it goes!

 

[DanCameron]

Woah, thought the males of this species didn't have the 'hooks' but I'm apparently wrong. Thanks for setting that all straight DanHalen. And sorry for misquoting on the age of the spider. I have a bit of a cold and am confused easily so when I got to posting that '2.5 months ago' somehow mysteriously became 'it's 2.5 years old' in my head somehow. Thanks for setting that straight too. I need that from time to time.

 

[DanHalen]

Woah, thought the males of this species didn't have the 'hooks' but I'm apparently wrong. Thanks for setting that all straight DanHalen. And sorry for misquoting on the age of the spider. I have a bit of a cold and am confused easily so when I got to posting that '2.5 months ago' somehow mysteriously became 'it's 2.5 years old' in my head somehow. Thanks for setting that straight too. I need that from time to time.

Tell me about it I get confused about pretty much everything, pretty much all the time :wall: I suppose it's a "gift", a pretty crappy one, but a gift none the less - At least I dont get bored easily

 

[Staley]

hey

my spider did the same thing just leave a cricket in there an leave him alone he knows what he is doing dont spray or blow him an if your spider is a male and hers is a female femals always get bigger

 

[SpiderZone2]

From the time I had gotten by GGB which was between 3/4 of an inch. I had gotten it in Feb of 05. From the time I had gotten it in Feb until the last molt which was in Oct. of 05. Found out it was a mature male. So for me 8 months from the time I had gotten it. Alas he died a loney spidy. No mate was to be found at that time and he only lived till this late feb. I will get more as I just loved this guy. The only weird thing with these is that when mine was less than 2 inches, it would web like crazy and molt standing on it side in the web. But I guess for some species they do this. It only happened for 2 molts that I had noticed and it did it the way I recognized most of them to do it in. Flip over. But I never had a problem with molts. And they eat like crazy!

 

[Arlius]

How good of a look have you gotten at its 'mouth'? Are you sure its last molt was entirely successful? If it has matured (has tibial hooks, the 'boxing gloves' can be more difficult to dicern on this species) it is possible that even though it molted out OK that because it is mature has refused food. Sometimes males do this and won't eat until they have mated (so people have said, not my personal experience)
Maybe try mating it with your GFs GBB? though may be risky in its current situation? Just make sure the female doesnt want any food?