my poor T

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
Howdy, first time on here and just learning about T´s. i do have a delema, i think my T might be dying, its legs are starting to curl under him. now, i´ll jump back and give some details. it wasn´t long agao when i was petrified with spiders and i almost came unglued when i found my first T in the shower, to me he was as big as a house but later realized he was only about 2 1/2" long, ok, a small house. since that time i have come across 3 total and have them dried and mounted beside my computor. i found another one, fairly large body and maybe the size of 3" long or a small baseball, i know they only come in one size. i didn´t have the heart to kill as now they have become a fastination to me and i built a glass cage, threw some sawdust in the bottom and a little water dish. remember, i now nothing about these creatures so time to ask. when i caught him i dropped him into a 5 gallon bucket, just to hold him until i made better arrangements, first mistake, later on i read that they can not be dropped, very fragile. ok, i will wait to see what happens. i gave him a young cockroach and he ate the whole thing, wow, i thought they injected venom into there lunch, waited for a bit and sucked the juice out of them leaving an empty shell. a coupla days later a caught a moth and threw that in there. next morning just a little bit of the top of its wings were biten off and stilll alive. now, here in Iquitos there is an outbreak of dangue and everyones house has been sprayed 4 times within 10 days. so, i don´t know if it was the fall or the spray that´s getting to him. during the spray i would cover up the holes on top of his humble aboad but maybe some got through, he is drinking and i think that is a good sign. i am going to try and load some fotos and i would also like to know what kind he is and any other helpful information will be greatly apprciated., here goes. sorry for the long read but thought it was important to get all the info. hope it worked. i threw in a yellow spider, the size of a silver dollar. what is it? thanks
 

shanebp

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
353
Yeah get rid of that sawdust! I would recommend using peat moss as it tends to be more mold resistant than coco fibre.

Another suggestion for you since your new, would be to read through the stickies at the top of the page. They contain loads of information and might be able to answer a lot of your questions for you.
 

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
thats for your help. i was able to pick him/her up,,, with my fingers and put,,, her ( as i didn´t see any hooks on her front legs) and set her in a small tub. when the legs start to uncurl i´m hoping for a complete recovery, i imagine that will be a day or two. also, i don´t know how much success i will have finding peat moss down here but the sawdust is GONE. my best guess is that less than 1% of people here don´t speak english and my spanish is very limited so i´ll do my best to find a suitable base for "bestsy´s" cage. thanks again. i´ll keep you informed on the progress.
 

Chris_Skeleton

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
1,309
thats for your help. i was able to pick him/her up,,, with my fingers and put,,, her ( as i didn´t see any hooks on her front legs) and set her in a small tub. when the legs start to uncurl i´m hoping for a complete recovery, i imagine that will be a day or two. also, i don´t know how much success i will have finding peat moss down here but the sawdust is GONE. my best guess is that less than 1% of people here don´t speak english and my spanish is very limited so i´ll do my best to find a suitable base for "bestsy´s" cage. thanks again. i´ll keep you informed on the progress.
Also, lack of hooks does not indicate female, it indicates your T is either a female OR an immature male. And some species of tarantulas don't get hooks upon maturation so the sure fire way to tell is if the pedipalps have emboli and look swoll up like boxing gloves. Post some pics so we can ID it.
 

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
can´t quite figure out how to post pics. i tried with the thread but during the day downloading is very slow. i´ll keep at it. as far as maturity, as i said earlier i have 3 pinned are the same size as Betsy but Betsy´s bottom is about 4or5 times larger than the first three. so from what i have seen so far this as big as they get,,, maybe more,, i don´t know yet if they ever stop growing. anyways, i´ll keep trying the download.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
419
can´t quite figure out how to post pics. i tried with the thread but during the day downloading is very slow. i´ll keep at it. as far as maturity, as i said earlier i have 3 pinned are the same size as Betsy but Betsy´s bottom is about 4or5 times larger than the first three. so from what i have seen so far this as big as they get,,, maybe more,, i don´t know yet if they ever stop growing. anyways, i´ll keep trying the download.
Try using photobucket.com and uploading them there and posting the links here.
 

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
can´t quite figure out how to post pics. i tried with the thread but during the day downloading is very slow. i´ll keep at it. as far as maturity, as i said earlier i have 3 pinned are the same size as Betsy but Betsy´s bottom is about 4or5 times larger than the first three. so from what i have seen so far this as big as they get,,, maybe more,, i don´t know yet if they ever stop growing. anyways, i´ll keep trying the download.
ok, i think i have some pic here,,, not the best quality fotos but the best i can do with what i have. what are the 2 little prongs on his bottom? what is the sex? what kind is it? any idea of age? any more info would be appreciated? and as you already guessed, he didn´t make the ICU, i´m going to blame the insecticide they used down here. thank you.
 

Attachments

tarantulagirl10

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Messages
537
I'm no good at ventral sexing, although your pictures are good enough that I am sure someone will be able guess pretty accurately. The 2 "prongs" you mentioned are spinnerets. They are where the web comes from. Very interesting to watch them move up and down while laying down web. Sorry that she/he didn't make it.
 

Mez

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Messages
214
Better luck next time. You know where you went wrong, but i hope you try again. You could probably find all sorts of species.
 

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
i forgot to mention that the nail is a 5" spike, important clue that i missed. i will eventually come across another one but maybe after all the nuking for Dengue down here they might be few and farther between. they got my big yellow spider in the backyard, there was four, now only one little gaffer, but pretty. thanks for the help.
 

Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Staff member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
2,208
Judging the vent, I think you had a female.
Better luck next time:)
 

Mez

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Messages
214
Im pretty sure there will be a few other species knocking around not just one, you might have to venture to a different habitat type, or look for burrows etc.
 

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
Im pretty sure there will be a few other species knocking around not just one, you might have to venture to a different habitat type, or look for burrows etc.
look for burrows!!! then what,,, candle light and a nice warm bug. i know they are like bears, more afriad of us than we are of them,, you´ve seen the fangs, bee sting, ya right, it´ll bit me and take a chunk of meat or a finger. seriously, when you find a burrow, tickle the web to bring out the beast and grab it with gloves on? if i dig him out i would probably do some damage to him, can you pour water into the burrow and chase him out that way? or i can wait for another one to walk through the house. another question, what kind is it and in the cage can i use sand as a base? i´m thinking if i have a glass bottom i could make a little pond for him. his own private swimming pool sort a thing. or i can look for coconut bark and do it right. i do have a cat, will the cat freak out my T? or will T get used to the cat. all the cat does is circle the cage then sit and stare at it. thats all for now. i´ll get some more reading done and see if i can answer some of my own questions. thanks to all.
 

Mez

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Messages
214
look for burrows!!! then what,,, candle light and a nice warm bug. i know they are like bears, more afriad of us than we are of them,, you´ve seen the fangs, bee sting, ya right, it´ll bit me and take a chunk of meat or a finger. seriously, when you find a burrow, tickle the web to bring out the beast and grab it with gloves on? if i dig him out i would probably do some damage to him, can you pour water into the burrow and chase him out that way? or i can wait for another one to walk through the house. another question, what kind is it and in the cage can i use sand as a base? i´m thinking if i have a glass bottom i could make a little pond for him. his own private swimming pool sort a thing. or i can look for coconut bark and do it right. i do have a cat, will the cat freak out my T? or will T get used to the cat. all the cat does is circle the cage then sit and stare at it. thats all for now. i´ll get some more reading done and see if i can answer some of my own questions. thanks to all.
No deep water. Most Tarantulas wont swim, or use water like that. There is one in Africa that will, however.
Burrows. Yes, burrows. Look for burrows under fallen trees etc, personally i wouldnt be comfortable catching a large T with my hands (especially if you end up bagging a big Pamphobeteus or something), i would use a container of the suitable size (take a few with you, use different ones pending on size of the T).
Others here who have been in the field will be able to offer much better advice, but most Ts will come out to investigate whats scuttling around their entrance - a pair of long tweezers would work well for this, or a stick. Make sure you know where the burrow goes, and look for other exists.
The T and the Cat needs to be kept seperatly, they cant be allowed to 'interact', if not you'll end up with a dead T and an injured cat. Or just a dead T.
Do you see sand a lot where the Tarantulas you are hoping to catch live? Id never suggest sand on its own anyway, but no, most probably youre going to be wanting to keep them on something that matches whatever it is you take them from. Nothing beats nature...so just replicate that with some peat moss or coir. You could take the earth from where the T is, but then you'll have other issues about whats in it, mites, worms, eggs of larvea etc, so probably best not to unless you bake it in an oven first, then re-moisten it if required.
I thought this was funny:
i know they are like bears
- Theyre not really all that much like bears, in my experience.:D
 
Last edited:

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
so far i have only found them on cement and i wasn´t sure about sand an thats why i asked. i am sure there is a lot of sand in the bush as that seems to be the subsoil anywhere i´ve looked. i thought about the taking what ever lies on top but we don´t have a microwaqve nor an oven so i thought if i had to i would use a frying pan and a lid to cook off any undesirables that are living in the soil i put in there. the humidity is always about 70% so anything i throw in the pan will be moist and steam is hotter than boiling water, then once it has cooled off and dry i cab put it in my cage. i think thats the way i have to go. the cat and T will never be together, they will always be seperated by glass, i just wanted to know if the cats presence would stress out the T. so all this info i am getting from everybody is a big help and thank you. i appreciate the time you take.
 

Mez

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 17, 2010
Messages
214
Take some pictures of your surrounding area, different habbitat types or whatever, it would be nice to see.
Do you have access to pet stores? Or online/shipping? That would be the best thing re: substrate, and any other tarantula related goodies.
 

str8tshtr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
8
i don´t have a credit card so online is out, i´ll have a look in a pet store but i would´nt hold my breath. i bought a 5" angle grinder, you can buy them most places but only one store in town sells 5" discs so the pet store will be a new experience. there´s 400,000 people here so it´s not a small hick town but shopping is different, i´ve seen welding masks in the ladies department. back to the topic, i will try and get out of town for a walk in the bush and see what comes up and i will take some fotos.
 
Top