New tarantulas abdomen looks small. Am I just worrying over nothing?

Snailinjail

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 5, 2022
Messages
2
Hello, I am a first time tarantula keeper, though I've raised jumping spiders in the past. I just got my first tarantula on Tuesday, she is an A. Colombia. She was shipped overnight from a reputable shop and is very lively, she is about 2.5". I currently have her in a lage zilla arboreal microhabitat, though I didn't realize how big that would be and ordered more coconut fiber and some extra foliage to fill it up, I would have just ordered a smaller enclosure, but I worry about the stress of rehousing so soon after getting her, so for now, it's kinda empty.
I noticed right away that her abdomen looked really small, but I thought it might just be that she needed water, so I made sure her water dish was full and clean, but I haven't seen her drink yet and her abdomen still looks very small. I offered her a superworm yesterday, but she seemed to still be settling in and she didn't take it.
Am I being paranoid or does her abdomen look very small? Should I offer different food, or more water? I worry about fussing with her, and stressing her, but also don't want to do nothing if it is kinda small.
Please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, I just want to make sure she is healthy!
20220805_163653.jpg 20220805_163630.jpg
 

vounti

Arachnoknight
Joined
Apr 29, 2020
Messages
211
Hello !

I don't think that abdomen looks VERY small. It isn't plump yeah but it's not abnormally small. Looks like it molted recently.

I would let it settle in for a few days and then feed it.

If that's your first T, I'd advise you to add pics of the whole enclosure so we make sure you filfull all the needs of your T
 

Snailinjail

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 5, 2022
Messages
2
Hello!
I'm glad to hear that her abdomen isn't something to be too concerned about.
Here are some photos of the enclosure. The water dish is about half an inch deep and 2" across. The end of the cork bark is buried into the substrate and I made sure it wouldn't move even if the tank got jostled around. As I stated above, I know this enclosure is very big for her size, I underestimated the dimensions and am waiting on more coconut fiber to come in the mail so I can minimize the distance from the top in case of falls.
Also don't worry she is not kept there in front of the window, I moved the enclosure to be able to get a photo of her, her tank sits on a shelf on my desk in a very low traffic area.

I'm open to any advice on how to minimize space while also not stressing her too much, and any critiques you have!
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
I hope you have a great weekend! 20220805_171316.jpg 20220805_171330.jpg
20220805_171341.jpg 20220805_171458.jpg
 

Arachnophobphile

Arachnoangel
Active Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2018
Messages
806
Hello, I am a first time tarantula keeper, though I've raised jumping spiders in the past. I just got my first tarantula on Tuesday, she is an A. Colombia. She was shipped overnight from a reputable shop and is very lively, she is about 2.5". I currently have her in a lage zilla arboreal microhabitat, though I didn't realize how big that would be and ordered more coconut fiber and some extra foliage to fill it up, I would have just ordered a smaller enclosure, but I worry about the stress of rehousing so soon after getting her, so for now, it's kinda empty.
I noticed right away that her abdomen looked really small, but I thought it might just be that she needed water, so I made sure her water dish was full and clean, but I haven't seen her drink yet and her abdomen still looks very small. I offered her a superworm yesterday, but she seemed to still be settling in and she didn't take it.
Am I being paranoid or does her abdomen look very small? Should I offer different food, or more water? I worry about fussing with her, and stressing her, but also don't want to do nothing if it is kinda small.
Please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, I just want to make sure she is healthy!
View attachment 425621 View attachment 425623
That's a very healthy looking T.

Completely normal arboreal abdomen.
 

Arachnolove420

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 8, 2022
Messages
40
Hello!
I'm glad to hear that her abdomen isn't something to be too concerned about.
Here are some photos of the enclosure. The water dish is about half an inch deep and 2" across. The end of the cork bark is buried into the substrate and I made sure it wouldn't move even if the tank got jostled around. As I stated above, I know this enclosure is very big for her size, I underestimated the dimensions and am waiting on more coconut fiber to come in the mail so I can minimize the distance from the top in case of falls.
Also don't worry she is not kept there in front of the window, I moved the enclosure to be able to get a photo of her, her tank sits on a shelf on my desk in a very low traffic area.

I'm open to any advice on how to minimize space while also not stressing her too much, and any critiques you have!
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
I hope you have a great weekend! View attachment 425631 View attachment 425632
View attachment 425634 View attachment 425635
The enclosure looks decent so far.
I'd add more tall things that will reach to the top and have a good amount of leaves rather than add more substrate/coconut fiber.
Arboreals are not as susceptible to fall injury as terrestrial, but rather need lots of stuff to climb on and anchor their webbing to.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Setup looks pretty large to me, hard to say for sure. Cork tube- too wide- T seems OK, I like them more plump
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
5,275
The abdomen is perfectly fine, it isn’t going to starve anytime soon!

The enclosure is a bit big for my taste I would rather put it in a 32oz deli cup size now and save the larger enclosure for later. You can probably make the current one work but may be hard to manage feeding
 

Marlana

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
211
I think you should try different prey as well as more time to settle. Most 2.5 inch tarantulas won’t take a super worm. Only 1-2 of mine will at that size and it’s quite the fight for them even with the head squished. Some Ts are more cautious about prey and won’t take something oversized. Try a cricket or small mealworm. My small avics love crickets.
 

Marcostaco

Arachnobaron
Active Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2020
Messages
409
Looks fine. You should probably leave it alone to acclimate
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
A small abdomen isnt a thing to worry about, in fact its perfectly normal. A small abdomen means one of two things, its either;

1. a mature male (which yours is not.

2. The t has molted recently. Which is obviously normal.

All ts have small abdomens after molting unless they are obese, and arboreals have even smaller abdomens after a molt.
 

Lurtz

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
Messages
20
Just looks a little underfed. Get some roaches to the little guy fast
 
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