Hand fed T. bondi!

[Pyst]

Job very well done indeed. I don't know how difficult it is to feed with tweezers but you might consider putting the soup into a small syringe minus the needle. That way you could kinda squirt it little by little.

 

[Tarangela]

Well good morning everyone

I am going to try to post pics now. And I would like to post them all. So bare with me

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Wow! Awsome! I can almost hear it purr

 

[Tarangela]

I have 4 more to post I hope yall don't mind

 

[solaceofwinter]

ya know, ive wanted a blondi for a while, but i have an l.parahybana and an a.geniculta that i thought may change my mind, but that blondi looks so awsome. i guess if you have never really seen a larger spider in person you dont really get the effect of how big they actually are. those photos are too cool! that spider is very impressive. i think everything is going to work just great for ya, just keep up what your doing!

 

[Tarangela]

I love posting pics! I am going to post a pic of my other blondi, Raggs. She was a WC, and this is a pic right after one of her molts last year. Now she is wild, and has all 1" of her fangs. At least an 8" leg span. Had to share...

When I received her, she was in very rough shape. Her right rear tarsus was half hanging off It basically was dangling. And she wouldn't let it touch the ground. I waited about a day or so, put her in the fridge for about 5 minutes. Then, I took a pair of tweezers, opened the container, and jerked in an upward motion. The segment came off nicely, and I put some NuSkin on it. The next molt, it came back perfect So, I guess I have established a personal relationship w/ both of these ladies now!

 

[LukeC]

Wow:clap: :clap: , nice pics, Im so happy that you were abley to save your T, and what a T, I can not even think of doing that, you are very brave to do that, good luck and I hope your T pulls through.

 

[roberto]

Great post.

This is an amazing and informative post. Gives people with fangless T's some hope.

 

[Tarangela]

I will admit that last night she was a bit skittish before I picked her up. It took me a couple of times to get a good grip on her. But it seemed like after the 3rd time or so, she was comfortable, and so was I.

It is hard to stop my hand from shaking somewhat, and I know she couldn't like that. I try to relax and breathe as easy as possible, that is why I have on a mask, kinda like the ones dentists use.

As you can see from the pics, her fangs are like 50%. I am confident she can't brake my skin if she tried. But she has not reared at me, or kicked hairs. I think as she gets stronger, w/ more nutrients, she will be a little harder to handle. I may start doing this every other day, to give her a break.
It must be very stressful for her in some ways, especially a spider of her nature

 

[Tarangela]

This is an amazing and informative post. Gives people with fangless T's some hope.

Very true! If anyone wanted to try this, I am sure they could do it! Just a pair of latex gloves, tweezers and a mask. W/ a good dose of patience

It just takes a little time and practice. But I would make sure to try all other ways of trying to let the T eat on its own first.

It really was pitiful watching her trying to pick up a cricket and eat, only for it to fall out of her mouth and her giving up. Her fangs aren't long enough to hold the food.

 

[solaceofwinter]

could we see some more pics of the enclosures themselves? dont want it to get off-topic though... you have two very nice spiders. how long do they take to get 'full grown' from a sling stage? i made a t blondi thread (that hard to keep?) just a minute ago if you would like to add anything to it i would appreciate it!

 

[Crimsonpanther]

Congrats Man !

Wow thanks for sharing those pictures man !
And congrats on the sucsessful feedings , i hope all goes well for you with that bigg blondi....:clap:
I know i would have to work myself up to pick my 7 " blondi up , but you gotta do what ya gotta do , even more so when it comes to saving them !

 

[Mina]

Congrats!!! Not only on helping your baby, but having the guts to do it!!!!!! I don't have a blondi, I'm not allowed, but even if I did, I'm not sure I could do that!!!!:worship: :clap: :worship: :clap: Your T is lucky to have you!!!!!!

 

[smof]

This is an awesome story, I'm so impressed by what you've done. :clap: I can't even bring myself to pick my super-calm Chaco up like that, lol.

One idea I had while reading this. If you were to put crickets/meat or whatever in a blender and blend it, maybe with a little bit of water, so you end up not just with cricket mash but properly liquid cricket 'smoothie', and put it in a dish, do you think she would drink it and be able to get the nutrients that way? Just thinking of how you could keep feeding her if she suddenly decided this method wasn't fun any more.

Congrats again. Now try it with an OBT

 

[Tarangela]

This is an awesome story, I'm so impressed by what you've done. :clap: I can't even bring myself to pick my super-calm Chaco up like that, lol.

One idea I had while reading this. If you were to put crickets/meat or whatever in a blender and blend it, maybe with a little bit of water, so you end up not just with cricket mash but properly liquid cricket 'smoothie', and put it in a dish, do you think she would drink it and be able to get the nutrients that way? Just thinking of how you could keep feeding her if she suddenly decided this method wasn't fun any more.

Congrats again. Now try it with an OBT

Yeah, like I mentioned last night, when I tried to pick her up the first few times, she would try to bolt to the other end of the cage. But she never turned on me. Putting those tweezers to her fangs is enough to make your heart race, that is for sure.

I did make some really gooey cricket mash w/ hamburger meat at one time. She tried to pick it up, but kept dropping it, and finally gave up I did this for about 2 weeks. I would get really excited when she would go for something that wasn't even moving. I also had the mess sitting on a strip of wax paper, so dirt wouldn't get all in it.

She will probably decide she doesn't like this any more as she gets stronger.
She was a little harder to calm down last night.

LOL@OBT :}

 

[Wish_mastera]

Hi. :clap: :clap: You know already my problem with my blondi. I'll never do that. I dont have "the balls" My blondi is an aggressive one. Here in this forum somoebody offered to me the same hand feeding method, but I've tried anything else except this. Its two monts since the bad molt and now she looks so. I feed her with crickets without legs and wings, once with newborn mouse. Our problem is not so rare. Before the bad molt the abdomen of mine was huge. Maybe this is the reason after the molt to look more normal than your. Without your help your blondi probably wouldnt make it. Its hard to see such a beast so helpless. I think both will make it

 

[CedrikG]

Interesting, but I would use that for a desesperate situation, because im sure some ppl will see that and think : Heumm i'll do that with my T ... just for the fun of it

 

[bonesmama]

:clap: :worship: You are the BEST Mommy!:worship: :clap:
THESE are the types of posts that really do it for me! Your experience will be valuable for alot of people--great stuff!

 

[Tarangela]

wish mastera, good luck w/ your blondi! She looks really healthy, and it seems you are doing your best

Thanks for the comments everyone. She just seems to lock up when I cup her. I don't like to humanize them, but it is like she knows she isn't going to be hurt, and that the goodies are coming

I do hope she molts again soon and corrects this fang problem. But I am sure after the next molt, she will have forgotten everything!

 

[David_F]

Hi Angela,

Just curious to know how your blondi fared after the hand-feeding. Did she ever molt and regrow the fangs?

-David