hello all i just got a brazillian black tarantula from urban tarantulas. she is a female juvenile. i unpacked her from the cup she came in and unwrapped her to see that she isnt moving at all. im brand new to the hobby and i dont see any signs of molting except tiny ammounts of fluid coming from her joints please help
New brazillian black isnt moving after being shipped but looks healthy with no death curl
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SpookySpooder
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It's too late now but next time please prepare everything BEFORE you get the animal. It will reduce the stress of transitioning into a new home and be a lot better for your pet. Also if you prepare an enclosure in advance, you can have it evaluated and refine the design before you introduce the animal.
Just advice for the future.
On topic--how much fluid is leaking from her joints? Sounds like she may have sustained injuries from being handled poorly in transit.
Take a Q-tip or a small brush and gently dab corn starch or flour onto the joints where you see fluid leaking. This will help seal any wounds that she sustained and prevent further loss of haemolymph.
Other than that, it is normal for T's to be lethargic and unresponsive for a bit after shipping. They should perk up and get back to normal within a few hours.
Just advice for the future.
On topic--how much fluid is leaking from her joints? Sounds like she may have sustained injuries from being handled poorly in transit.
Take a Q-tip or a small brush and gently dab corn starch or flour onto the joints where you see fluid leaking. This will help seal any wounds that she sustained and prevent further loss of haemolymph.
Other than that, it is normal for T's to be lethargic and unresponsive for a bit after shipping. They should perk up and get back to normal within a few hours.
SpookySpooder
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I can't judge health on one photo. It looks like it needs to recover from shipping, but it doesn't look like its gonna drop and die. Just give it some water and leave it alone for a while, it should recover very quickly.
The stains in the napkin are not blood. Tarantula haemolymph is a milky clear liquid. I don't know what it is but it could be poop, as that tends to come in brown, gray, black, white.
BTW that box is way too big to use as an enclosure right now.
For a terrestrial T you want probably 3-4x the legspan in horizontal distance to give the T room to walk around and 1.5-2x the vertical distance from substrate to enclosure ceiling in order to prevent fall damage.
For a smaller sling, larger containers make it so prey items don't wander into the spider's path as often. If you are an attentive keeper and make sure that your spider knows where the water dish and food items are, then you can use a larger enclosure, but my advice is to start small and go bigger as needed.
The stains in the napkin are not blood. Tarantula haemolymph is a milky clear liquid. I don't know what it is but it could be poop, as that tends to come in brown, gray, black, white.
BTW that box is way too big to use as an enclosure right now.
For a terrestrial T you want probably 3-4x the legspan in horizontal distance to give the T room to walk around and 1.5-2x the vertical distance from substrate to enclosure ceiling in order to prevent fall damage.
For a smaller sling, larger containers make it so prey items don't wander into the spider's path as often. If you are an attentive keeper and make sure that your spider knows where the water dish and food items are, then you can use a larger enclosure, but my advice is to start small and go bigger as needed.
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SpookySpooder
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It's really way too big but it looks good. Great job on decorating it. Just make sure that your spider is eating and drinking because you will easily lose track of it in there.
Some issues you might run into are the mesh lid, T's have been known to get their legs caught in woven mesh screens and that can result in a pretty bad injury or death.
I would look into replacing the screen if it is woven mesh with an acrylic lid or some other polycarbonate.
Some issues you might run into are the mesh lid, T's have been known to get their legs caught in woven mesh screens and that can result in a pretty bad injury or death.
I would look into replacing the screen if it is woven mesh with an acrylic lid or some other polycarbonate.
As far as I know she still hasn’t moved since I put her in her enclosure. I’m at work at the moment but my girlfriend is watching it making sure it’s all good. Is there anything you might recommend to put her in for now until she grows into the enclosure?
Tbone192
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All my juvies are currently in medium deli cups with plenty of cross ventilation and they are thriving. Tarantulas are weird, especially if you are used to vertebrates. I'd keep an eye on them but only check occasionally and make sure their enclosure has a small water dish and is in a darker quieter spot of your home.
Tbone192
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Maybe give her a starter burrow or small hide and some fake plants for cover. That should make her feel at home if she is stressed. If there is an issue it will become apparent after she has settled. First pic doesn't look like it has any apparent issues just looks like it's hiding behind its legs.
SpookySpooder
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Since she is already in there, I would allow her the time and space to adjust and recover from transit. Shipping is really hard on animals and they are often stressed and dehydrated afterwards.
Hydration would be my primary concern, but judging from how plump the abdomen is, it should be fine. When she is ready, she will begin to explore the enclosure. Until then absolutely do not poke her or nudge her or coax her into doing anything.
After she has recovered, probably tomorrow or the next day, I would rehouse her into a smaller enclosure until she grows into this one, and you can fix the lid. Something like a Tupperware or Sterilite container is great.
You mentioned she's 2 inches. So following the general advice I posted earlier, a Tupperware that is around 6x6x6 inches would be fine. 4x4x4 inches would be fine too if not a little cramped.
I recieved a Xenesthis the other week that was 1.5" and the breeder kept it in a deli cup that was 2". It worked, but I do not reccomend that kind of treatment.
For example, the enclosure I put the Xenesthis into was about 8x6x6 inches (a bit smaller than this actually)
Hydration would be my primary concern, but judging from how plump the abdomen is, it should be fine. When she is ready, she will begin to explore the enclosure. Until then absolutely do not poke her or nudge her or coax her into doing anything.
After she has recovered, probably tomorrow or the next day, I would rehouse her into a smaller enclosure until she grows into this one, and you can fix the lid. Something like a Tupperware or Sterilite container is great.
You mentioned she's 2 inches. So following the general advice I posted earlier, a Tupperware that is around 6x6x6 inches would be fine. 4x4x4 inches would be fine too if not a little cramped.
I recieved a Xenesthis the other week that was 1.5" and the breeder kept it in a deli cup that was 2". It worked, but I do not reccomend that kind of treatment.
For example, the enclosure I put the Xenesthis into was about 8x6x6 inches (a bit smaller than this actually)
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