GBB loss

TarantuLover81

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 21, 2016
Messages
50
Sad news. My GBB sling...the one that was in premolt for the entire time I had it (a few months) passed away today. It was about 1". The previous owner did not take care of it properly and never did the typical GBB things you would usually see like heavy webbing, etc. I got a G. Rosea from her last March. She had 3 other tarantulas besides this GBB sling. Somehow ALL of her T's died supposedly from "bad molts". However, she told me she didn't see the need for worrying about heat/humidity...hmmm..yet they are all dead except the one I bought from you and actually take the time to care for it properly. The enclosure she was keeping it in was 64 oz. sterilite container with nothing in it but topsoil. It was WAY to big for such a tiny baby (sigh) I'm pretty sure she knew the GBB was past the point of saving and that's the only reason she sold it to me. When I first met her she refused all of my offers to buy it. Either way, despite my best efforts it has passed. I used an ICU for several days and it was looking better but today I found it completely curled up and unresponsive.

With all that said, do you guys know of anyone who has a GBB for sale? Preferably an adolescent female (hopefully around 2.5-3"). I have 9 other T's of all different species but I was SO looking forward to seeing this one grow into its adult colors but sadly it wasn't meant to be. Please let me know of any sellers that may have one or two available and that you guys have worked with and trust.

Thanks a lot guys.

Jen
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
So sorry for your loss :(
Unfortunately can't help you with a new one, hopefully there is one for sale over there.
 

KezyGLA

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 8, 2016
Messages
3,013
That sucks bigtime. I am sorry to hear this.

However, maintaining certain amount of humidity isnt necessary for both G. rosea or C. cyaneopubescens. There is no need to add moisture but a water dish.


Both of these sp. are from the driest regions of South America. Keeping humidity is a good way to have them deteriorate.

High humidity can kill GBBs. They are quite sensitive to it. If you are ever having a problem with this species in future please avoid using ICU as it does more harm than good.
 
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Paiige

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Messages
335
I'm sorry to hear that. I know a lot of websites have them for sale, do some shopping around online. I'd recommend waiting to order until the end of the Christmas shipping season though because shipping is pure chaos.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
I used an ICU for several days and it was looking better but today I found it completely curled up and unresponsive.
thats not how i would of tried it. GBBs and other arid terrestrials do worse in ICUs, because of all the humidity. something to keep in mind...
im sorry for your loss regardless, some people just shouldnt own animals.
 

TarantuLover81

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 21, 2016
Messages
50
I only slightly overflowed my water dish for both of these species...I know they detest moisture so it was kept in a very low humidity enclosure before it started doing poorly. It really never did do ANY of the things that GBBs are known for like webbing and it was in premolt the whole time I owned it. It was a .75-1" sling....the previous owner neglected ALL of her T's...the G. rosea I have came from her last March. She had three others and never had a heat source or a water bowl....it didn't surprise me that within a months time after I got my G. rosea from her ALL of her other 5 T's were dead from "bad molts" yet somehow the one I bought from her molted just fine and is still eating anything I will give it..(she even ate up until the day before she molted!) yet somehow ALL of her T's were dead. However, I did everything different than she did...I immediately put it on eco-earth and gave it a half log at an angle into the substrate for a burrow, a water bowl and put it in my T room which stays around 80 degrees. She has since started burrowing like crazy and has built quite a sofisticated system of connected burrows. I did the same with my GBB...I know GBBs really despise moisture so I didn't provide any extra moisture (aside from a water dish) until it was in a death curl and that's when I tried the ICU. It actually did a total 180 and was frantically trying to get out of the ICU. I thought it was ready to go back in it's enclosure....but when I released it into its own enclosure it took a few steps and stopped and immediately curled back up into a tight ball...it stayed that way after that. The thing is, she refused to sell the GBB to me until after all of her other T's died. I think she knew it was going downhill and wanted to make something off of it before it died. When I texted her about it and made another offer ($30) to buy it she immediately accepted it. Including the rediculously large enclosure for a 1" sling!

At least I can say I tried. I wish I had known all of her other T's had perished in rapid succession..I would have never bought it. I will probably wait until Spring to order one from the internet...I hate the idea of shipping one in extreme cold or hot weather. That's just adding unnecessary stress to the new arrival.

Thank you guys for caring so much about these wonderful creatures!!! They are so much fun to raise and study...I learn something new pretty much EVERY DAY from these guys. Keeping T's has also helped me with my own self confidence/self worth...watching my 2nd instar B. vagans and B. albopilosum grow into 1.5" slings that are really showing great coloration in the B. vagans and my albopilosum starting to show signs of it's cool "Farah Fawcett-like" hair-do that is more pronounced with every molt and especially my B. emilia starting to show what's its adult colors will be like is so satisfying and really makes me feel like I've made a real achomplishment...like I've been successful at something and that alone has helped my self esteem and cut my depression in half!!!(which I have suffered from extreme depression and self-harm since I was a mid-teen) I've not harmed myself in 10 months now!! And I attribute most of it to my wonderful T's. How can I take care of my "children" if I hurt myself, ya know?

So thanks for being so caring and giving amazing advice....I feel so lucky to be included in this awesome community!!!!
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
I only slightly overflowed my water dish for both of these species...I know they detest moisture so it was kept in a very low humidity enclosure before it started doing poorly. It really never did do ANY of the things that GBBs are known for like webbing and it was in premolt the whole time I owned it. It was a .75-1" sling....the previous owner neglected ALL of her T's...the G. rosea I have came from her last March. She had three others and never had a heat source or a water bowl....it didn't surprise me that within a months time after I got my G. rosea from her ALL of her other 5 T's were dead from "bad molts" yet somehow the one I bought from her molted just fine and is still eating anything I will give it..(she even ate up until the day before she molted!) yet somehow ALL of her T's were dead. However, I did everything different than she did...I immediately put it on eco-earth and gave it a half log at an angle into the substrate for a burrow, a water bowl and put it in my T room which stays around 80 degrees. She has since started burrowing like crazy and has built quite a sofisticated system of connected burrows. I did the same with my GBB...I know GBBs really despise moisture so I didn't provide any extra moisture (aside from a water dish) until it was in a death curl and that's when I tried the ICU. It actually did a total 180 and was frantically trying to get out of the ICU. I thought it was ready to go back in it's enclosure....but when I released it into its own enclosure it took a few steps and stopped and immediately curled back up into a tight ball...it stayed that way after that. The thing is, she refused to sell the GBB to me until after all of her other T's died. I think she knew it was going downhill and wanted to make something off of it before it died. When I texted her about it and made another offer ($30) to buy it she immediately accepted it. Including the rediculously large enclosure for a 1" sling!

At least I can say I tried. I wish I had known all of her other T's had perished in rapid succession..I would have never bought it. I will probably wait until Spring to order one from the internet...I hate the idea of shipping one in extreme cold or hot weather. That's just adding unnecessary stress to the new arrival.

Thank you guys for caring so much about these wonderful creatures!!! They are so much fun to raise and study...I learn something new pretty much EVERY DAY from these guys. Keeping T's has also helped me with my own self confidence/self worth...watching my 2nd instar B. vagans and B. albopilosum grow into 1.5" slings that are really showing great coloration in the B. vagans and my albopilosum starting to show signs of it's cool "Farah Fawcett-like" hair-do that is more pronounced with every molt and especially my B. emilia starting to show what's its adult colors will be like is so satisfying and really makes me feel like I've made a real achomplishment...like I've been successful at something and that alone has helped my self esteem and cut my depression in half!!!(which I have suffered from extreme depression and self-harm since I was a mid-teen) I've not harmed myself in 10 months now!! And I attribute most of it to my wonderful T's. How can I take care of my "children" if I hurt myself, ya know?

So thanks for being so caring and giving amazing advice....I feel so lucky to be included in this awesome community!!!!
I've read more posts than i can count about how keeping T's somehow improved a person's mental health. There was a mother here a few months ago who said that keeping tarantula helped her son who was diagnosed with autism feel good en more relaxed. And multiple members have stated that it was calming and restful to work with and keep T's.
Awesome to read it helps you too!
Gbb's fortunately are not rare, so it is only a matter of time before you find one. I have two, both large slings/juvies now, and the transition from sling to adult colours is amazing. They are very hardy species, and easy to raise, so i wouldn't deny yourself the chance to witness that in person by buying a juvie/adult.
Maybe there was something wrong with it from the start, that's hard to tell. Sometimes slings just die, without there being an obvious cause.
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
I am sorry for your pain in losing the T.

I agree on the mental health thing. I have lived by myself for all of my adult life and can't own most pets due to some work travel. These T's are my first pet (if you want to call it that) since early adulthood. And I've had a project from hell at the work place this year. So there is nothing more fulfilling than being able to come home and help these misunderstood beauties of nature be able to thrive and grow. While tarantulas don't show much of any emotions they do provide lots of sunshine.
 

TarantuLover81

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 21, 2016
Messages
50
Oh gosh I'm so glad I am not the only one that has had these awesome creatures change my mental health in such a huge way. I almost didn't say anything about it...I just kind of felt compelled to. Last winter I soaked a stack of paper towels in paint stripper and wrapped it around my hand with Saran Wrap around it and kept it that way all night...it left a huge, deep chemical burn (which was my goal)..but that was just a desperate attempt to feel something different away from the pain I have to deal with on a daily basis. I'm on disability and am in severe, chronic pain most of the time...(which..being a 35 yo, previously athletic female riding Jumping horses..to not being able to ride at all..I get extremely depressed) and when my pain level gets too high to tolerate I would do something similar just to make my body think that the chronic pain wasn't as bad...it was some kind of weird coping mechanism when my pain got out of control.

I have not done anything remotely close to that since I've been keeping my T's. I grew up with quite literally ALL manner of reptiles and exotics including iguanas, many boas and pythons, turtles, geckos, emperor scorpions...my favorite being a 13 ft Bermese python. I also had bearded dragons, 7 ferrets...but I guess the most interesting (and most
dangerous) was a Timber Rattler and a 3-foot Croc fished out of a local river. My father was a police officer and anytime someone had a "nuisance reptile" in their house or yard the station would call my dad and most of the time he brought the interesting ones home. He wanted me to have a healthy respect for these creatures but not fear them so he tried to expose me to as much as he could while doing it safely and gaining me experience with exotics. It is also how I got my first T at a reptile show. I probably would have kept them all these years...I was 14 when I got my first T...I kept it for several years but when I met the man I would eventually call my husband, the exotics had to go. We've been together 15 years...married for 12...and it took 11 of those married years to talk him into letting me get another T. He was an extreme arachnophobe and would not stay in the same room with it at first and now he will sit beside me and watch if I need to handle one for cage mantainance, etc. I hope he will come around and let me teach him how to help me but it is not something I am going to rush him on. At least now he is ok with the fact that I have 10 them now and continue to build my collection.

I have not done ANY kind of crazy self-harm like I was doing since I started keeping them and I am so so glad to hear that I am not the first with a similar mental issue that was improved by these guys.

At this point I guess I should also add that I am a musician also. The only way I could deal with my feelings before (without hurting myself) was through songwriting. I have notebooks full of music I've written. I am a fairly accomplished guitarist. I have weekly jam sessions with the lead guitarist from "Confederate Railroad", Rusty Hendrix. They are a country group that has been around since the late 80's (for those of you who don't know)...He also toured with Sammy Kershaw for around 8 years and Mark Wills for several years. He's on a first name basis with George Strait and Clay Walker...he said I would be blown away if I knew some of the phone numbers that are in his phone lol! I have been learning from him since I was 14...I'm 35 now. I'm SO incredibly blessed to have an influence like him in my life! I also sing (of course ), play the violin, trumpet and drums. I live in a garden home now so I am looking for an electric kit if anyone has one they are willing to sell. Music is in my blood.

OK...I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING SO "off-topic"...I HOPE YOU GUYS FORGIVE ME...

So now that you guys know all this I guess my next step should be for me to write a song about my life with my T's and lessons learned from them for you guys! A lot of what I write is used metaphorically...but I'm sure you guys could follow. What do y'all think?? Should I go for it?

If you guys would be interested I will get to brainstorming and writing!! I promise to record it and put it on YouTube and dedicate it to you all. You guys are so supportive and helpful when I have a question or issue...I would love to write/record a song and dedicate it to you guys. Since I'm such good friends with Rusty, he can get me access to record in the studio when he does his studio work on thursdays and fridays...if you guys would be interested in hearing a song or two dedicated to how the T's have changed my outlook on life, please let me know. I'd love to write one about a community as dedicated to helping each other and the creatures they love as much as I do! Let me know...I'm up for the challenge!!!
-Jen
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
*blink*
Okay, that was a bit overwhelming, and a bit more personal than what i am used to around here. ;) But i'm glad you feel much better.
About the song, that's up to you really, but if that makes you feel good, i'd say go right ahead. :)
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
Oh gosh I'm so glad I am not the only one that has had these awesome creatures change my mental health in such a huge way. I almost didn't say anything about it...I just kind of felt compelled to. Last winter I soaked a stack of paper towels in paint stripper and wrapped it around my hand with Saran Wrap around it and kept it that way all night...it left a huge, deep chemical burn (which was my goal)..but that was just a desperate attempt to feel something different away from the pain I have to deal with on a daily basis. I'm on disability and am in severe, chronic pain most of the time...(which..being a 35 yo, previously athletic female riding Jumping horses..to not being able to ride at all..I get extremely depressed) and when my pain level gets too high to tolerate I would do something similar just to make my body think that the chronic pain wasn't as bad...it was some kind of weird coping mechanism when my pain got out of control.

I have not done anything remotely close to that since I've been keeping my T's. I grew up with quite literally ALL manner of reptiles and exotics including iguanas, many boas and pythons, turtles, geckos, emperor scorpions...my favorite being a 13 ft Bermese python. I also had bearded dragons, 7 ferrets...but I guess the most interesting (and most
dangerous) was a Timber Rattler and a 3-foot Croc fished out of a local river. My father was a police officer and anytime someone had a "nuisance reptile" in their house or yard the station would call my dad and most of the time he brought the interesting ones home. He wanted me to have a healthy respect for these creatures but not fear them so he tried to expose me to as much as he could while doing it safely and gaining me experience with exotics. It is also how I got my first T at a reptile show. I probably would have kept them all these years...I was 14 when I got my first T...I kept it for several years but when I met the man I would eventually call my husband, the exotics had to go. We've been together 15 years...married for 12...and it took 11 of those married years to talk him into letting me get another T. He was an extreme arachnophobe and would not stay in the same room with it at first and now he will sit beside me and watch if I need to handle one for cage mantainance, etc. I hope he will come around and let me teach him how to help me but it is not something I am going to rush him on. At least now he is ok with the fact that I have 10 them now and continue to build my collection.

I have not done ANY kind of crazy self-harm like I was doing since I started keeping them and I am so so glad to hear that I am not the first with a similar mental issue that was improved by these guys.

At this point I guess I should also add that I am a musician also. The only way I could deal with my feelings before (without hurting myself) was through songwriting. I have notebooks full of music I've written. I am a fairly accomplished guitarist. I have weekly jam sessions with the lead guitarist from "Confederate Railroad", Rusty Hendrix. They are a country group that has been around since the late 80's (for those of you who don't know)...He also toured with Sammy Kershaw for around 8 years and Mark Wills for several years. He's on a first name basis with George Strait and Clay Walker...he said I would be blown away if I knew some of the phone numbers that are in his phone lol! I have been learning from him since I was 14...I'm 35 now. I'm SO incredibly blessed to have an influence like him in my life! I also sing (of course ), play the violin, trumpet and drums. I live in a garden home now so I am looking for an electric kit if anyone has one they are willing to sell. Music is in my blood.

OK...I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR GETTING SO "off-topic"...I HOPE YOU GUYS FORGIVE ME...

So now that you guys know all this I guess my next step should be for me to write a song about my life with my T's and lessons learned from them for you guys! A lot of what I write is used metaphorically...but I'm sure you guys could follow. What do y'all think?? Should I go for it?

If you guys would be interested I will get to brainstorming and writing!! I promise to record it and put it on YouTube and dedicate it to you all. You guys are so supportive and helpful when I have a question or issue...I would love to write/record a song and dedicate it to you guys. Since I'm such good friends with Rusty, he can get me access to record in the studio when he does his studio work on thursdays and fridays...if you guys would be interested in hearing a song or two dedicated to how the T's have changed my outlook on life, please let me know. I'd love to write one about a community as dedicated to helping each other and the creatures they love as much as I do! Let me know...I'm up for the challenge!!!
-Jen
Jen,
It is obvious that you have fought with some pain. I am now much older and hopefully a little wiser than some of the stupid things I did as a young man. The things I did were my attempts to scream for help. Use every tool this world provides to you to make your life as full as possible and remember there are lots of others dealing with similar battles.

As far a music goes, I love it. But one thing to remember is that everyone has their nit picks on music. While some may or may not like what you do, I think everyone can appreciate a positive gesture especially when it relates to our spiders.

This forum area is usually reserved for spider science so you may not get many replies here. So I would recommend that things related to music, etc. be presented in a thread at T Chat or the Watering Hole which is the social related area of this site.
 
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