L. parahybana. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

[sakurabirdeater]

I recently took over the care of a very poorly looked after "l parahybana" she was dehydrated and underfed the previous owner said he cant remember when last he fed her she is 3 years old and still the size of a slightly larger juvenile wich is very concerning to me.i put her in my bedroom and she seems stressed all the time there is a large bald spot on her abdomen indicating she's been flicking hairs alot when im not around.Could her behaviour be caused by the new enviroment or something alse?she has also been consistantley accepting prey items for the last 4 days,her abdomen has enlarged and she has had a drink of water she also recently started climbing her enclosure that she has been in for the last 3 years prior to my care and based on my knowledge that is stressed behaviour.i dont know what it could be that is bothering her.any advice will be gratefully apreciated

 

[magouilles]

Hii could you post a picture of the enclosure?

 

[NMTs]

I recently took over the care of a very poorly looked after "l parahybana" she was dehydrated and underfed the previous owner said he cant remember when last he fed her she is 3 years old and still the size of a slightly larger juvenile wich is very concerning to me.i put her in my bedroom and she seems stressed all the time there is a large bald spot on her abdomen indicating she's been flicking hairs alot when im not around.Could her behaviour be caused by the new enviroment or something alse?she has also been consistantley accepting prey items for the last 4 days,her abdomen has enlarged and she has had a drink of water she also recently started climbing her enclosure that she has been in for the last 3 years prior to my care and based on my knowledge that is stressed behaviour.i dont know what it could be that is bothering her.any advice will be gratefully apreciated

Pics of the spider and enclosure are needed, but honestly it doesn't sound like anything too concerning is happening. It's eating and drinking, the rest of it is likely just getting settled in after moving - even being in the same enclosure, different conditions in the surrounding environment can take some time for it to get used to.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Sounds normal To me they have a big appetite. And a few of mine have climbed and sat on the glass before. Pics would help

 

[Hardus nameous]

This thread tends to contain the answers to most questions:

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

 

[Woody72]

If it's eating and drinking normally, I think you've solved the bulk of the issue. Consider yourself a spooder saint for a cool rescue .

 

[sakurabirdeater]

Hii could you post a picture of the enclosure?

i apologise for the bad photo dont stress about the heat mat i never use it

If it's eating and drinking normally, I think you've solved the bulk of the issue. Consider yourself a spooder saint for a cool rescue .

This thread tends to contain the answers to most questions:

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

thank you very much

here are a few pics that are a bit better

 

[moricollins]

The tarantula looks to be in fine shape.

That enclosure, however, is dangerous. The height from the substrate to the lid is with that the tarantula could climb up, fall and die. The wood piece with the spiky pieces sticking out is especially dangerous.

 

[Denn]

The tarantula looks to be in fine shape.

That enclosure, however, is dangerous. The height from the substrate to the lid is with that the tarantula could climb up, fall and die. The wood piece with the spiky pieces sticking out is especially dangerous.

Completely agree with moricollins.

Just add a lot more substrate and replicate the same set up. Good work on rescuing the spider.

 

[sakurabirdeater]

The tarantula looks to be in fine shape.

That enclosure, however, is dangerous. The height from the substrate to the lid is with that the tarantula could climb up, fall and die. The wood piece with the spiky pieces sticking out is especially dangerous.

i will look into that thank you

Completely agree with moricollins.

Just add a lot more substrate and replicate the same set up. Good work on rescuing the spider.

thank you can i replace her current substrate with over the counter spider peat?

 

[Denn]

thank you can i replace her current substrate with over the counter spider peat?

Yes! even top soil from local garden center would suffice, if you use this option just make sure its "organic" and doesn't have any added pesticides.

Spider peat would be perfect though! It might seem excessive, but you probably want the substrate at least half way up that tank.

It will still look great though, and the tank you have is perfect for viewing your spider!

 

[sakurabirdeater]

Yes! even top soil from local garden center would suffice, if you use this option just make sure its "organic" and doesn't have any added pesticides.

Spider peat would be perfect though! It might seem excessive, but you probably want the substrate at least half way up that tank.

It will still look great though, and the tank you have is perfect for viewing your spider!

thank you for the help i'll send some more photos once the enclosure is set up properly

 

[Denn]

thank you for the help i

No problem, good luck with your tarantula. L parahybana is such a magnificent spider, you will have fun watching it grow into a hulking beast of a spider!

 

[sakurabirdeater]

No problem, good luck with your tarantula. L parahybana is such a magnificent spider, you will have fun watching it grow into a hulking beast of a spider!

I really look forward to it

10 miutes ago back at it again she has since gotten down and took a small fall roughly 1x her legspan but she seems perfectly fine.Her doing it so frequently is causing me some major anxiety

might it be she's not satisfied with something in the enclosure and these are escape attempts?i noticed the substrate is a bit wet and i know some species are funny about it being wet

 

[NMTs]

might it be she's not satisfied with something in the enclosure and these are escape attempts?i noticed the substrate is a bit wet and i know some species are funny about it being wet

It could be due to the substrate being too moist, but it's also hard to tell from your pics what kind of top you have on the enclosure - is there adequate ventilation? If the sub stays moist and the T is constantly near the top of the enclosure, it could be an issue of not having enough fresh air. I would fill that enclosure up half way with more substrate and not add any water to the new substrate right away. Let the new sub absorb some of the moisture from the existing substrate and see how your T responds to it not being so wet. My guess is that it will prefer it on the drier side, so moving forward you will probably just need to wet a small area of the sub around the water dish but leave the rest dry. Make sure the lid allows for good air exchange since it's not possible to add cross ventilation.

 

[Denn]

might it be she's not satisfied with something in the enclosure and these are escape attempts?i noticed the substrate is a bit wet and i know some species are funny about it being wet

They can exhibit this behavior if they are not settled into their enclosure, this can be for a number of reasons.... substrate too soft/loose, substrate too damp/dry, not enough hiding spaces, not enough ventilation, or as simple as its just not acclimatized to the enclosure and its surroundings as its still foreign to it, and getting to know the place . Once it settles down, they will show this type of behavior far less often, but there will always be periods where it decides to randomly scale the walls, so getting that substrate nice and high to reduce the fall will do a world of good in the long run, and it is the first step you should take and will certainly help calm your anxiety.

You said it was readily accepting food, so I wouldn't be too worried about it for now, as generally when over stressed the tarantula will refuse to eat until it is settled.

EDIT: Sorry for kind of repeating what NMTs has said, his reply only appeared for me after I had hit the post button.

 

[TheDarkFinder]

A lot of tarantulas will embed hairs into their webs for security.

 

[cold blood]

she is 3 years old and still the size of a slightly larger juvenile

thats pretty normal

e there is a large bald spot on her abdomen i

again, normal ad of no concern at all.

she has also been consistantley accepting prey items for the last 4 days,

Ts are opportunistic feeders, meaning they will feed whenever they can....there is absolutely no reason to ever feed a t that often....a t doesnt have to be fat to be healthy.

based on my knowledge that is stressed behaviour.

nope

.i dont know what it could be that is bothering her.any advice

My advice is to not anthropomorphize your tarantula.

thank you can i replace her current substrate with over the counter spider peat?

you can use any number of substrates, there are many that are fine, none are better or sorse...some are just much more expensive...but sub is really the keepers choice.

if you use this option just make sure its "organic" and doesn't have any added pesticides.

My advice is to NEVER buy things labeled as organic, especially topsoil. Literally all subs are organic, when you see that label, its in reference to additives (which are never needed for a t), and generally means compost or manure.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

10 miutes ago back at it again she has since gotten down and took a small fall roughly 1x her legspan but she seems perfectly fine.Her doing it so frequently is causing me some major anxiety

You have substrate levels too low like for a tree spider. Add more depth.

 

[Denn]

My advice is to NEVER buy things labeled as organic, especially topsoil. Literally all subs are organic, when you see that label, its in reference to additives (which are never needed for a t), and generally means compost or manure.

The reason why I say labeled as "organic" is because anything that isn't, where I am at least, is much more likely to contain pesticides. You obviously still need to check the label of any packaging if it wasn't deliberately intended for use with inverts/reptiles etc, as even some products labeled as "organic" topsoil can contain pyrethrins which are naturally occurring pesticides, as well as worm castings/manure, and you are quite right that these are not beneficial for your T's at all.

It is very much possible where I live to get organic top soil which is additive and pesticide free, and have been personally using myself mixed with builders sand to aid drainage and add minerals, for well over a decade at this point. It is more or less just dug up top soil from the ground and bagged for sale. I think what has happened here, and my biggest mistake is generalizing, which I now see is a problem and I apologize for. Here in the UK getting such products is not such a problem, I would understand that in other places in the world this is not the case. Contaminates and all sorts of nasties.

Thanks for the heads up Cold Blood. I wouldn't want to steer anyone onto a path that leads to their spiders becoming unwell. I will refrain from giving this advice again.