Need help with my GBB

[TLSizzle]

Molting is stressful on the T. Just let it be, let it harden and it'll move around when it's good and ready.
Quit meddling so much with it. I know you mean well, but it does nothing for the T.

My GBB looks super relaxed and grooms one day, then the next day it's dormant in a small position for hours on end. They do what suits them best.

 

[GlizzyGladiator]

Molting is stressful on the T. Just let it be, let it harden and it'll move around when it's good and ready.
Quit meddling so much with it. I know you mean well, but it does nothing for the T.

My GBB looks super relaxed and grooms one day, then the next day it's dormant in a small position for hours on end. They do what suits them best.

haha Im done now I promise. The water situation is handled so there is nothing else I have to worry about

 

[Wolfram1]

nice, congrats

that species doesn't like to walk on anything but their own webbing, period.

the looser the soil the more they avoid it

With any type of soil pulled directly from the ground I recommend baking the hell out of it to eliminate anything organic, as in living.

My #1 concern with anything pulled directly from the ground will always be possible nematodes. It's always possible there might not be any. I always go with the odds are always higher that it's possible there might be nematodes.

in my opinion your chances to get "bad" nematodes are way higher with infected feeders than the soil

soil nematodes are usually a healthy part of the ecosystem....

sterilizing soil, ... useless

sorry to cut in like that but:

I bulldozed 25 years worth of shrubs, weeds, and grass then graded the area. Then I sifted the soil for any debris larger than 1/4".

It's very woody and holds moisture forever. I can guarantee no fertilizers or pesticides in decades.

Do you think this a good top soil alternative to reptisoil if I mixed this up?
View attachment 457006
Soil piles on the left are sifted. Right isn't. I've been using it as a potting mix.

..... yes you can safely use that, but you might have to play around with the mix a bit to make sure it doesn't turn into a brick when it dries.

especially the sifted pile

you'll have to add about 30-50% organic soil, the amount depends on your preferences and the topsoil you use

cheap potting soil works as long as it has no ferilizer, faecies, pesticides etc.

i like to use succulent soil as it usually has some sand in it too.

 

[SpookySpooder]

I hate to resurrect this post yet again, but lastly, I just want to make sure there is nothin else I can do for this guy. For some reason ive really started to feel bad for the lil dude haha. Hes in weird positions every time I check on him and never leaves his old molt, hes still alive and skittish as hell. I was able to open the enclosure and sneakily replace his water dish with fresh water. I dont think he has left the corner to get water in ages tho even before the molt, so I also dripped a couple drops of water onto the the top of his web next to him, just in case hes unaware of the water dish. Anything else I should do? Probably gonna try feeding a cricket this weekend.

View attachment 457444

Somebody just resurrected a thread nearly 20 years old today. Don't worry about it.

Your GBB is looking BEAUTIFUL! Good to hear you were able to make the changes to your enclosure.

Hope everything settles out for you.

@ Substrate Posts
I am actually going to try out a few different mixes this weekend. Gonna bring a couple buckets back in and mix it up with coco fiber, sphagnum moss, and sand. Wet it in a bunch of deli cups and see how it sits for a few months. Will give me time to observe for any critters that might pop out in the sealed environment over time as well.

Just planning for large future batches as my slings grow out. Don't want to waste money on overpriced substrates.

Appreciate the information!

 

[Arachnophobphile]

in my opinion your chances to get "bad" nematodes are way higher with infected feeders than the soil

soil nematodes are usually a healthy part of the ecosystem....

sterilizing soil, ... useless

sorry to cut in like that but:

No need to be sorry especially in sharing your experiences. I appreciate your input.

I totally agree with you that nematodes can be introduced with feeders. I wouldn't say that's just an opinion it's actually been proven to some degree by other T keepers.

Nematodes

So I've had this problem child Avicularia aurantiaca that seemed to just always have mites on her. Recently, I've been having to flush her with water as the mites started infesting her mouth parts. I hadn't looked underneath her chelicerae for three days, and looked under them today to find a...

arachnoboards.com

Call me a worry wart. I've seen too many post on AB since I've been on here involving nematodes. Since not much is known about nematodes I prefer to take as much precautions as possible in protecting my T's.

When it comes to substrate even though nematodes are beneficial to the habitat they are deadly to out little 8 legged friends we keep.

Myself personally it's difficult to just mix up even non-organic topsoil with other stuff and use it without baking that topsoil to death.

IMO I will always recommend sterilizing anything pulled directly from the ground. Better to be safe than sorry whether it's overkill or not.

 

[Wolfram1]

No need to be sorry especially in sharing your experiences. I appreciate your input.

I totally agree with you that nematodes can be introduced with feeders. I wouldn't say that's just an opinion it's actually been proven to some degree by other T keepers.

Nematodes

So I've had this problem child Avicularia aurantiaca that seemed to just always have mites on her. Recently, I've been having to flush her with water as the mites started infesting her mouth parts. I hadn't looked underneath her chelicerae for three days, and looked under them today to find a...

arachnoboards.com

Call me a worry wart. I've seen too many post on AB since I've been on here involving nematodes. Since not much is known about nematodes I prefer to take as much precautions as possible in protecting my T's.

When it comes to substrate even though nematodes are beneficial to the habitat they are deadly to out little 8 legged friends we keep.

Myself personally it's difficult to just mix up even non-organic topsoil with other stuff and use it without baking that topsoil to death.

IMO I will always recommend sterilizing anything pulled directly from the ground. Better to be safe than sorry whether it's overkill or not.

i can understand the approach

its not neccesarily bad

it's just like antibiotica has its uses, but even us humans are advised to take supplementary microbiota after a brad spectrum antibiotic to rebuild our gut-fauna.

less is not always more, i see soilorganisms as having a similar role in a microhabitat like our terraria.

but yes if you are very unlucky you might one day get a bad batch, and in that case your method may prevent that

 

[Smotzer]

Anything else I should do?

Nope you just need to wait!

When it comes to substrate even though nematodes are beneficial to the habitat they are deadly to out little 8 legged friends we keep.

Nematodes that are soil related have nothing to do with theraphosids and they are highly specialized to individual species. Soil nematodes do not hard tarantulas

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Nope you just need to wait!

Nematodes that are soil related have nothing to do with theraphosids and they are highly specialized to individual species. Soil nematodes do not hard tarantulas

I'm going to have to disagree with that. I have never read that anywhere. When not a whole lot is known on them then that's a hard leap to make.

The first thorough research done on nematodes was on Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi which was described. Even though identified and studied researchers still do not know how these nematodes infected the tarantulas.

First report of Tarantula-parasitic nematode Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi from Los Angeles, California - PMC

Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi is a recently described nematode parasite of tarantulas, originally isolated from a tarantula breeder in Virginia Beach, VA. We describe a new case of this parasite infecting tarantulas at a breeding facility in Los ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Maybe nematodes only infect via prey, sure it's possible. It's just not verified anywhere by the scientific community. They don't even 100% know how tarantulas are infected by them.

To just rule it out completely with no data to back it up then that claim cannot be made.

 

[Smotzer]

When not a whole lot is known on them then that's a hard leap to make.

soil-plant nematodes are well studied in my field. And those are plant related. I should have been more specific. People honestly cause themselves far more stress and worry mindlessly about things than they ought not to because incomplete info just gets repeated and repeated, and regurgitated ad infinitum to get web traffic/video views.

If you sample soil you will find nematodes very often. tarantula hobby people make the assumptions that automatically means harm, thats bad science.

 

[Wolfram1]

how about that comparison:

not all bacteria, viruses or fungi are pathogens, only a very, very, very low percentage is, but bacteria, fungi etc. that somehow cross the natural barriers into our bodies & end up multiplying cause sepsis, wether they are pathogens or not, now usually that can only happen if 1) an injury is contaminated or 2) your immune system isn't working

the same could be said for most nematodes, soil nematodes are harmless BUT if an animal is severely weakened and has a suppresed immune system, there might be some that could then cause harm
but thats allways the case

 

[Arachnophobphile]

soil-plant nematodes are well studied in my field. And those are plant related. I should have been more specific. People honestly cause themselves far more stress and worry mindlessly about things than they ought not to because incomplete info just gets repeated and repeated, and regurgitated ad infinitum to get web traffic/video views.

If you sample soil you will find nematodes very often. tarantula hobby people make the assumptions that automatically means harm, thats bad science.

That I can understand but there is no scientific data, at least that I can find stating and proving that by separating them.

The only nematode that was scientifically identified and studied is Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi. This one does infect tarantulas.

Believe me, I am not trying to argue here. There is a difference on debating such topics like water dish deep or shallow, enclosure types and sizes, handling tarantulas etc etc.

When talking nematodes that is 100% fatal to tarantulas that is not a topic to speculate or theorize on without scientific study data as proof.

It is a high percentage of wild caught tarantulas just in the U.S. that are infected with nematodes. Could just be from what they are eating, highly plausible. Could also just be Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi is the only one that infects tarantulas for all we know.

Sure maybe there is a difference but is there any scientific data that was done on it for evidence?

It is better to be 100% positive on that than just theorizing and speculating. I'm speculating and going with worse case scenario until it's scientifically proven.

 

[SpookySpooder]

I see all points and they are very good ones.

However I must suggest at this point we turn this conversation into it's own dedicated thread if we should continue the discussion.

To address what was said: I do believe that it's possible that soil samples from difference places will contain different microflora and fauna, so for the average hobbyists, there is no way of knowing if your batch is safe to use or not without extensive testing.

For those without know-how or equipment to test, common sense dictates sterilization for safety. Since you can't identify which organisms are in the soil, you can't tell what is harmful or not. Best to be safe and just bake the entire batch.

As for the science behind things, I have read extensively into the research behind soil health and the organisms that facilitate it, but I have only read that one paper on T nematodes, so I understand that there are gaps in our knowledge due to a lack of research.

To bake or not to bake--that is the question.

In my case I think I'll set up an experiment and test both.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I see all points and they are very good ones.

However I must suggest at this point we turn this conversation into it's own dedicated thread if we should continue the discussion.

To address what was said: I do believe that it's possible that soil samples from difference places will contain different microflora and fauna, so for the average hobbyists, there is no way of knowing if your batch is safe to use or not without extensive testing.

For those without know-how or equipment to test, common sense dictates sterilization for safety. Since you can't identify which organisms are in the soil, you can't tell what is harmful or not. Best to be safe and just bake the entire batch.

As for the science behind things, I have read extensively into the research behind soil health and the organisms that facilitate it, but I have only read that one paper on T nematodes, so I understand that there are gaps in our knowledge due to a lack of research.

To bake or not to bake--that is the question.

In my case I think I'll set up an experiment and test both.

There's really nothing to carry on with. The only thing to continue with afterwards are links to scientific data on research done. So far the only one that exist or that is known is the one I provided.

 

[Smotzer]

To bake or not to bake--that is the question.

Definitely don’t bake! It doesn’t do what folks expect it to do (does not sterilize) and it’s not needed.

The only thing baking is going to be productive for is if you need to dry out a substrate.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Definitely don’t bake! It doesn’t do what folks expect it to do (does not sterilize) and it’s not needed.

The only thing baking is going to be productive for is if you need to dry out a substrate.

Would you say then that prolonged exposure to UV has driven away many of the lifeforms from the surface of said pile?

The top 3-4" is extremely dry and devoid of any sort of activity. When you get about 6" in, it is still dry. It's about the driest dirt I've ever seen. To a point where it is slightly hydrophobic and will not absorb water unless it sits and pools.

Weeds can't even sprout on it.

I mean, the sun is so intense in that spot on some days that even I can't stand in it for more than an hour without burning up... even with a hat and sunblock and I'm quite tanned from outdoor work. (Think burnt caramel)

My planted pots have no critters coming out of the substrate, so I have some confidence about using this as a base for my T mix. I'll make a few samples and take a look under the macros and microscope to see if I can't find anything wiggling around.

I'll make a thread in a month with what I find in my dirt, thanks for all the information and advice.

 

[Wolfram1]

in case anyone is wondering how nematodes may just get into your soil despite bombing it to death first.

Phoresy:
Nematodes are often seen travelling relatively harmlessly on Collembola and other micro-arthropods (including Fungus Gnats) that may come into your home with popular Invert substrates, or even just through open windows, in a process called phoresy.

you thought u were safe? Muahhahahaha

All about soil nematodes - A Chaos of Delight

Soil-dwelling nematodes are transparent, generally microscopic roundworms that are free-living in soils worldwide.

www.chaosofdelight.org

lucky most of them are harmless

 

[SpookySpooder]

in case anyone is wondering how nematodes may just get into your soil despite bombing it to death first.

Phoresy:
Nematodes are often seen travelling relatively harmlessly on Collembola and other micro-arthropods (including Fungus Gnats) that may come into your home with popular Invert substrates, or even just through open windows, in a process called phoresy.

you thought u were safe? Muahhahahaha

All about soil nematodes - A Chaos of Delight

Soil-dwelling nematodes are transparent, generally microscopic roundworms that are free-living in soils worldwide.

www.chaosofdelight.org

lucky most of them are harmless

Interesting. It works the same with algae spores. We tell everybody in the hobby to build good husbandry practices because sooner or later algae will find its way into every body of water.

It'll get in through the air if it must.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

in case anyone is wondering how nematodes may just get into your soil despite bombing it to death first.

Phoresy:
Nematodes are often seen travelling relatively harmlessly on Collembola and other micro-arthropods (including Fungus Gnats) that may come into your home with popular Invert substrates, or even just through open windows, in a process called phoresy.

you thought u were safe? Muahhahahaha

All about soil nematodes - A Chaos of Delight

Soil-dwelling nematodes are transparent, generally microscopic roundworms that are free-living in soils worldwide.

www.chaosofdelight.org

lucky most of them are harmless

OH....MY.....GOD!!!!!!! Now I'm focusing on mites and fungus gnats with hitchhikers. I think I need a drink

I would say, if any major research on this would of been done it would be the Germans.

I didn't read anything in there that soil nematodes are completely harmless but are actually omnivorous. We all know what that means.

Now I got the eebee geebee's my skin is itching thinking about it.

 

[Wolfram1]

OH....MY.....GOD!!!!!!! Now I'm focusing on mites and fungus gnats with hitchhikers. I think I need a drink

I would say, if any major research on this would of been done it would be the Germans.

I didn't read anything in there that soil nematodes are completely harmless but are actually omnivorous. We all know what that means.

Now I got the eebee geebee's my skin is itching thinking about it.

thats what i mean, you can ether accept they are everywere use smart but not excessive prevention methods, focus on the known threats like Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi

OR

go absolutely nuts about every single one


i won't judge anyone ether way, trying to work with "clean" media is one strategy, if it works... it works

and yes there are some terrifying worms out there, no arguments here

 

[Arachnophobphile]

thats what i mean, you can ether accept they are everywere use smart but not excessive prevention methods, fokus on the known threats like Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi

OR

go asolutely nuts about every single one


i won't judge anyone ether way, trying to work with "clean" media is one strategy, if it works... it works

and yes there are some terrifying worms out there, no arguments here

Oh no.....I think I just went crazy. Forget soil.....now I can't unread what I did with mites, springtails and fungus gnats with hitchhikers.

Great article by the way is a very good read.

Overall I'm not worried. I've never had an issue as all my T's I bought were captive bred slings now adults.

I think the biggest threat/mistake is in buying/supporting wild caught T's.

Sometimes slings are purchased captive bred with a nematode infection which just happened to a member here. No possible way to know how it was exposed.

Scary as it is, it was also from a dealer here in the U S. I was looking to buy some slings from. Literally a day away from ordering.

I will admit nematodes worry me alot. Sometimes I can focus on one thing and start overthinking things too much.

Then there is the whole phorid fly larvae and parasitic mite issues. Parasitic mites mainly found on wild caught T's that actually have them. It's not common but nematode infections do seem to be common.

Then the phorid fly larvae is something just recently I'm trying not to focus on.