I'm new to this, I need help please...

Connor Burgin

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
12
Hi,

Ive had a tarantula for a few months now and I'm still trying to figure out the ends and outs of owning her/him, I found him in my neighbors back yard as a released pet and kept him, and I've had some trouble identifying him, but I think his a grammastola of some sort. The main reason I joined this is because I can't tell if something is wrong with him or if he is going to molt soon, all signs lead to molting but he still has all his hair on his abdomen and when he is walking strange, or not at all for most of the time, his colors are darker, and he stopped eating but I'm getting worried it's something else, please help!
 

Crone Returns

Arachnoangel
Joined
Mar 22, 2016
Messages
990
Hi,

Ive had a tarantula for a few months now and I'm still trying to figure out the ends and outs of owning her/him, I found him in my neighbors back yard as a released pet and kept him, and I've had some trouble identifying him, but I think his a grammastola of some sort. The main reason I joined this is because I can't tell if something is wrong with him or if he is going to molt soon, all signs lead to molting but he still has all his hair on his abdomen and when he is walking strange, or not at all for most of the time, his colors are darker, and he stopped eating but I'm getting worried it's something else, please help!
Pictures please. Of T and his cage.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
it's hard for us to know how to help you if we can't see him. Are you able to upload a picture for us? Also, Tarantulas don't necessarily have bald buts when they molt. They only will have a bald spot if they flicked the hairs between molts so no panic there. How do you mean he's walking strange? If he's not moving around much that is most likely just a tarantula being a tarantula unless he's dehydrated. Make sure he has a good size water dish with fresh clean water in it at all times. No sponges, no water gels. Depending on what size it is you can use a soda bottle lid or, for my bigger spiders, I use peanut butter jar or mayonaise jar lids.

a pic of him and what you have him set up in will be helpful for us to be able to help you get his enclosure and stuff good for him. :)

Welcome to the boards, welcome to the hobby. :)
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
A few things first... a balding abdomen has nothing to do with an impending molt. That is a myth. Further, if it is indeed a Grammostola, then it not eating is also not necessarily indicative of a molt. They are infamous for long fasts. So, no, not all signs lead to molting. Without a picture, we can't even begin to guess if it is in premolt or not. That being said, please post a picture :D Of both the spider and the enclosure you have it in. People tend to go way overboard with their care of a Grammostola. If it is indeed of that genus, it needs nothing more than a hide and a water dish (no sponge!). No climbing room, no decorations, no heat mat, no misting, no temperature gauge... nothing.

If there is a molt in the future, there is nothing you can do other than ensure it has a full and clean water dish at all times. If there isn't a molt in the future, then there's also nothing you can do other than ensure it has a full and clean water dish at all times. So your pleas for help are for naught. This is the type of pet that you never really need to worry about. An adult Grammostola needs less care than a houseplant. I'm not exaggerating even a little bit.

Watch this video on molting and come back with any questions. It'll go over what to watch for and what is expected of you as a keeper.

So, a few questions for you. These will help myself and others aid you. But again, a picture is invaluable.
How large is your spider? Measure it from the bottom left leg to the top right leg. That is called the diagonal legspan (often abbreviated DLS).
What have you been feeding it, and how often?
What type of substrate is it on? (again, a picture will answer this question for you)
 

Toxoderidae

Arachnoprince
Joined
Nov 16, 2015
Messages
1,008
So....

I think he just died, he's sitting straight up but his legs are underneath him and I don't know whether or not to touch him, I'm gonna post a pic real quick!
touch his leg with a brush, see if you get a reaction. How plump is the abdomen?
 

Connor Burgin

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
12
He didn't react... I think he's gone... his abdomen is the same size it was when I found him, which wasn't very large
 

Connor Burgin

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
12
A few things first... a balding abdomen has nothing to do with an impending molt. That is a myth. Further, if it is indeed a Grammostola, then it not eating is also not necessarily indicative of a molt. They are infamous for long fasts. So, no, not all signs lead to molting. Without a picture, we can't even begin to guess if it is in premolt or not. That being said, please post a picture :D Of both the spider and the enclosure you have it in. People tend to go way overboard with their care of a Grammostola. If it is indeed of that genus, it needs nothing more than a hide and a water dish (no sponge!). No climbing room, no decorations, no heat mat, no misting, no temperature gauge... nothing.

If there is a molt in the future, there is nothing you can do other than ensure it has a full and clean water dish at all times. If there isn't a molt in the future, then there's also nothing you can do other than ensure it has a full and clean water dish at all times. So your pleas for help are for naught. This is the type of pet that you never really need to worry about. An adult Grammostola needs less care than a houseplant. I'm not exaggerating even a little bit.

Watch this video on molting and come back with any questions. It'll go over what to watch for and what is expected of you as a keeper.

So, a few questions for you. These will help myself and others aid you. But again, a picture is invaluable.
How large is your spider? Measure it from the bottom left leg to the top right leg. That is called the diagonal legspan (often abbreviated DLS).
What have you been feeding it, and how often?
What type of substrate is it on? (again, a picture will answer this question for you)
Sorry, I wanted to reply, but for got to reply to you too
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
The abdomen looks pretty small, and your water dish looks empty. There are two "legs" right by the fangs - can you get a good picture of those?

That spider went downhill very fast. When that happens, I usually point to exposure to something; pesticides, heavy fumes, you get the idea. To your knowledge, is that a possibility?
 

Veribug

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 14, 2016
Messages
86
EulersK said:
That spider went downhill very fast. When that happens, I usually point to exposure to something; pesticides, heavy fumes, you get the idea. To your knowledge, is that a possibility?
Well being as they said it was found in the back yard, definitely a possibility. Who releases a tarantula into the wild? Is this in America? Unless I'm mistaken in what I'm reading, I find this a very bizarre concept for many reasons o_O nice that you took it in to care for it though... :angelic:

It does look like it's in a pretty advanced death curl though, if it has passed, I'm very sorry to hear it. In this situation it doesn't seem like it's your fault really

Edit: missed where you said you've had it for a few months since then. Still, it's possible it could have picked something up when it was outside or it may have been really old, or dehydrated... that tank is too large/tall for it IMO, is it possible it could have taken a fall?
 

Tenevanica

Arachnodemon
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
726
That spider is in what we here call a death curl. If you can't get a reaction from it it's probably gone. Also, that enclosure is waaaaay too large for that tarantula. There isn't enough substrate in it either. If it were to climb to the lid and fall, the fall would kill it.
 

Hellblazer

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 13, 2016
Messages
134
It was nice of you to take it in and try to give it a home. Most people that saw a giant non native spider in their yard would've freaked out and killed it.
 

Connor Burgin

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
12
Thank's for all your comments, he is dead and I think I'm gonna try to get a new tarantula, but this time I'm going to get a smaller in closure and different substrate because this one would somehow sick the water up from the water dish every time I put it in, that's why it was empty. I really want to be a tarantula owner, do you guys have any other tips that I should know before getting anther one?
 

Veribug

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 14, 2016
Messages
86
Thank's for all your comments, he is dead and I think I'm gonna try to get a new tarantula, but this time I'm going to get a smaller in closure and different substrate because this one would somehow sick the water up from the water dish every time I put it in, that's why it was empty. I really want to be a tarantula owner, do you guys have any other tips that I should know before getting anther one?
Sorry to hear about your pet :( but it's good to see you're not discouraged from the hobby.

Look into good starter species. Brachypelma often make good starters, adult Euathlus sp red or yellow are also good, amongst other new world terrestrials.
Window shop online first to see what's available in your price range, then you can start reading the forums on specific species. The forum is an endless sea of information and can be a bit overwhelming but use the search tools and you'll find some stuff. Check up on new posts regularly too, you'll see newbies make posts about common mistakes and this will help you to avoid them.
You're welcome to private message me if you find a tarantula you'd like and I can either tell you if it's suitable or point you in the right direction for information, let you know about substrate, tank sizes, etc. and many other forum users have great knowledge (far more than me) and are happy to help.

I'd lean towards a juvenile or adult tarantula as your first :)

And avoid care sheets online. I repeat. Avoid care sheets online that come up on Google or YouTube or anything like that. They're too risky to trust and often have a lot of bad husbandry. If you need help setting up, post here in the forums.

Good luck on your hunt! <3
 

Connor Burgin

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
12
Sorry to hear about your pet :( but it's good to see you're not discouraged from the hobby.

Look into good starter species. Brachypelma often make good starters, adult Euathlus sp red or yellow are also good, amongst other new world terrestrials.
Window shop online first to see what's available in your price range, then you can start reading the forums on specific species. The forum is an endless sea of information and can be a bit overwhelming but use the search tools and you'll find some stuff. Check up on new posts regularly too, you'll see newbies make posts about common mistakes and this will help you to avoid them.
You're welcome to private message me if you find a tarantula you'd like and I can either tell you if it's suitable or point you in the right direction for information, let you know about substrate, tank sizes, etc. and many other forum users have great knowledge (far more than me) and are happy to help.

I'd lean towards a juvenile or adult tarantula as your first :)

And avoid care sheets online. I repeat. Avoid care sheets online that come up on Google or YouTube or anything like that. They're too risky to trust and often have a lot of bad husbandry. If you need help setting up, post here in the forums.

Good luck on your hunt! <3
Thank you so much! I'm really gona need the help, so I'll message you when I find a species I'm interested in!
 
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