My First T!!!!

socalqueen

Arachnoknight
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I was surprised by my son and boyfriend with this beautiful girl yesterday. Shes a Tucson Blond. I noticed today that she is missing 2 segments off one of her legs, will this effect her negatively in any way?
 

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nicodimus22

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I recently got one of them (Aphonopelma chalcodes) too. Very docile and pretty, but quite skittish. When I open the lid, she zooms around in circles, freaking out.

The legs will be fine after another molt. Congrats on the new T!
 

BishopiMaster

Arachnobaron
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I was surprised by my son and boyfriend with this beautiful girl yesterday. Shes a Tucson Blond. I noticed today that she is missing 2 segments off one of her legs, will this effect her negatively in any way?
Ehm.... what is that setup you've got there? are those rocks? I am not sure if that is foam or giant rocks that you have there...
 

Ungoliant

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I was surprised by my son and boyfriend with this beautiful girl yesterday. Shes a Tucson Blond. I noticed today that she is missing 2 segments off one of her legs, will this effect her negatively in any way?
Congratulations on your first tarantula! As has already been mentioned, a missing leg is not a problem. Tarantulas can regenerate limbs when they molt (or shed their exoskeletons).

Some friendly advice:

Handling is generally discouraged, as it risks injury/death/escape without providing any benefit to the tarantula. (Tarantulas do not enjoy being handled. At best, they tolerate it.) However, if you do choose to handle, I would limit the frequency, and I would always do so no more than a few inches above a soft surface with a catch cup handy in case it falls or bolts.

Speaking of falls: bulky terrestrial species are particularly vulnerable to falls. Falls from more than a few inches, especially onto a hard surface, can rupture their abdomens, which is often lethal. So if those are actual rocks in the enclosure, I would remove them. (The best cage furnishings are light, in case the tarantula undermines it while digging, and don't have hard or jagged surfaces. Cork bark is commonly used for hides, but there are other options.)

Make sure the vertical space (the distance between the top of the substrate and the bottom of the lid) does not exceed 1.5 times the tarantula's diagonal legspan. (Even terrestrial tarantulas will climb from time to time, but they're not very good climbers, so you want to limit the distance they can possibly fall.)
 

mconnachan

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Congratulations on your first tarantula! As has already been mentioned, a missing leg is not a problem. Tarantulas can regenerate limbs when they molt (or shed their exoskeletons).

Some friendly advice:

Handling is generally discouraged, as it risks injury/death/escape without providing any benefit to the tarantula. (Tarantulas do not enjoy being handled. At best, they tolerate it.) However, if you do choose to handle, I would limit the frequency, and I would always do so no more than a few inches above a soft surface with a catch cup handy in case it falls or bolts.

Speaking of falls: bulky terrestrial species are particularly vulnerable to falls. Falls from more than a few inches, especially onto a hard surface, can rupture their abdomens, which is often lethal. So if those are actual rocks in the enclosure, I would remove them. (The best cage furnishings are light, in case the tarantula undermines it while digging, and don't have hard or jagged surfaces. Cork bark is commonly used for hides, but there are other options.)

Make sure the vertical space (the distance between the top of the substrate and the bottom of the lid) does not exceed 1.5 times the tarantula's diagonal legspan. (Even terrestrial tarantulas will climb from time to time, but they're not very good climbers, so you want to limit the distance they can possibly fall.)
I can only agree with what @Ungoliant has said, the most dangerous thing for your T is the rocks in the enclosure, once you've removed them add more substrate as advised.
 

socalqueen

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I recently got one of them (Aphonopelma chalcodes) too. Very docile and pretty, but quite skittish. When I open the lid, she zooms around in circles, freaking out.

The legs will be fine after another molt. Congrats on the new T!
Yes very skittish when I open her enclosure
I can only agree with what @Ungoliant has said, the most dangerous thing for your T is the rocks in the enclosure, once you've removed them add more substrate as advised.
I don't have rocks in the enclosure, I only have cork bark in there. My boyfriend helped me set up the enclosure and he told me rocks aren't good. We used cork bark to put around her burrow and thats it. Initially I had shale in there but we removed it and kept it basic.
 

socalqueen

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Ehm.... what is that setup you've got there? are those rocks? I am not sure if that is foam or giant rocks that you have there...
Initially I had shale in there but it was removed right away and replaced with cork bark.
 

socalqueen

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I appreciate everyone's advice, I'm a rookie and want to do it right so thank you! I'm aware of the danger of falls so she has nothing dangerous to crawl on, her burrow is above the ground by 1.5" and when she crawls on top of it she can crawl down easily.
 

Andrea82

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Gorgeous spider you have there! Very sweet of your bf and kid to surprise mommy!
Looks like you are already on the right track in keeping this T happy :)
Is the distance between top of the substrate and the lid less than 2 times the DLS of the spider?
 

socalqueen

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Gorgeous spider you have there! Very sweet of your bf and kid to surprise mommy!
Looks like you are already on the right track in keeping this T happy :)
Is the distance between top of the substrate and the lid less than 2 times the DLS of the spider?
Thank you :) her enclosure is about 12 inches tall, Sub is about 4 inches high so there is about 8 inches between top of sub and the lid.
 

BishopiMaster

Arachnobaron
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Thank you :) her enclosure is about 12 inches tall, Sub is about 4 inches high so there is about 8 inches between top of sub and the lid.
Yeah that is way too much, i am sure andrea will pull the formula out of a hat 1.5 something something, but ill just say that i can personally attest to losing a t from a 5 inch fall so it should be lowered.
Personally i would limit cork bark to just a hide, or you could hot glue it to the walls if you really want, what substrate is it?
 

socalqueen

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Yeah that is way too much, i am sure andrea will pull the formula out of a hat 1.5 something something, but ill just say that i can personally attest to losing a t from a 5 inch fall so it should be lowered.
Personally i would limit cork bark to just a hide, or you could hot glue it to the walls if you really want, what substrate is it?
I used eco earth for sub, I read its softer in case they fall. The cork bark is used for the hide and there's a small piece on top of the sub that she likes to stand on for some reason. So they need a shorter enclosure even if they have nothing to climb on?
 

BishopiMaster

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I used eco earth for sub, I read its softer in case they fall. The cork bark is used for the hide and there's a small piece on top of the sub that she likes to stand on for some reason. So they need a shorter enclosure even if they have nothing to climb on?
Well yeah, it's more common with a screen lid because they hang off and then fall, that's how mine fell, and they can climb glass, so, unless it's like an arboreal.
 

socalqueen

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Well yeah, it's more common with a screen lid because they hang off and then fall, that's how mine fell, and they can climb glass, so, unless it's like an arboreal.
She's enclosed in an acrylic tank, she tries to climb the sides but can't. The lid is acrylic with air holes.
 

BishopiMaster

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She's enclosed in an acrylic tank, she tries to climb the sides but can't. The lid is acrylic with air holes.
Well if she cant and you're absolutely sure of it should be fine then, just make sure there's no sharp corners she can impale herself on etc
 

socalqueen

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Well if she cant and you're absolutely sure of it should be fine then, just make sure there's no sharp corners she can impale herself on etc
It's like caring for a small child haha! I appreciate your advice I'll probably move her into a shorter enclosure just to be safe.
 

BishopiMaster

Arachnobaron
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It's like caring for a small child haha! I appreciate your advice I'll probably move her into a shorter enclosure just to be safe.
hahaha yeah and sometimes it can be confusing because you're like "well they deal with this in the wild and they're fine" etc
 

BishopiMaster

Arachnobaron
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hahaha yeah and sometimes it can be confusing because you're like "well they deal with this in the wild and they're fine" etc
Oh and while were on the subject, you neednt necessarily move her into a shorter enclosure, just increase the substrate height, and then you csn take like a pvc or abs pipe and put it in the substrate and your t may use it to construct a burrow.
 

socalqueen

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Oh and while were on the subject, you neednt necessarily move her into a shorter enclosure, just increase the substrate height, and then you csn take like a pvc or abs pipe and put it in the substrate and your t may use it to construct a burrow.
Good idea. We used a plastic container and burrowed it for her and she seems to like it. Do they need a smaller burrow, that they kind of squeeze into? What we used is round and about 2.5 inches across.
 

Ungoliant

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She's enclosed in an acrylic tank, she tries to climb the sides but can't.
Personally, I would raise the substrate level even if you're 100% convinced she can't climb the walls. (Saving a little substrate is just not worth the risk of a long fall.)
 
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