New to the Hobby with beautiful; AF b smithi and lots of questions

[Taylorblab]

Hi all

I have recently joined the hobby, two weeks tomorrow and have an adult female b.smithi [imported from Mexico with CITES cert]. She is so pretty and seems so very calm but I have a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with.

I have her in an exo terra 45x30x30 enclousre with a hide, stone slab, wood, some flowers and a water dish [picture is deceptive, there is actually not as much space between the floor and ceiling plus I dried out the substarte and added more after this was taken]. The first few days she just clung to the back wall of the enclousre and didn't move - she gradually came around and started to explore.

She seems to have three favourite spots although she will wander the whole enclosure - she spends some of ther time sitting on the rock, some of ther time chilled in the bottom right of the enclosure and some time in the back right hand corner - but she does not use the hide at all - she had a little wander inside around day 4 or 5 and I heard her scratching but she came back out and hasn't used used it since, when resting, she seems to favour the top right hand corner of the encousure and just cwtches in, is there a problem with the hide?

She ate her first roach a week after i had her but her booty is a little plump so was not planning on another feed until 10 days after the first, is that ok?

She had 2 small bald spots when she arrived on her abdomin but the one is starting to get a little bigger - I haven't seen her kick hairs and she has never show a threat pose so I'm not sure why this patch is geetting bigger, any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions but I don't want to be doing anything that may cause her harm. thanks in advance for taking the time to help

 

[viper69]

All your observations are normal

All your questions may be answered by researching on the forum

Tank looks too tall- your T can die

Setae- they may release them at their own choosing as yours has done- non issue

Feeding- sounds fine, can’t see how large abdomen is

Time for sleep

 

[Thekla]

Could you please post a current picture of the enclosure? I'm a bit wary regarding the horizontal vertical (edit, sorry, I always confuse this LOL) space in there. Usually, Exo Terras aren't suitable for heavy-bodied Ts like Brachypelmas as there will be almost always too much space between the substrate and the top.
Also, you should replace the mesh with an acrylic sheet with drilled holes in it. They can get their tarsal claws caught in there and lose a leg or even worse.

Everything else sounds normal and fine to me. Be careful not to overfeed her. She won't be moulting that often (maybe every 1-2 years or less), so, an obese T can get in a lot of trouble. I feed my adult B. hamorii about once or twice a month.

And I always recommend reading this thread, it contains tons of useful information:

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

 

[Taylorblab]

All your observations are normal

All your questions may be answered by researching on the forum

Tank looks too tall- your T can die

Setae- they may release them at their own choosing as yours has done- non issue

Feeding- sounds fine, can’t see how large abdomen is

Time for sleep

Thank you

 

[Jess S]

Congratulations on your new friend! Lovely species and I'm sure she'll bring you lots of joy.

I agree that the enclosure height may be over the recommended (to limit fall injury) rule of thumb, which is no more than 1.5 times the diagonal leg measurement of the tarantula, from substrate surface to lid.

Also agree that the mesh could cause your smithi to get a tarsal claw stuck. Although a lot of people keep tarantulas in Exoterras, they were originally designed for reptiles, not heavy bodied terrestrials.

In the meantime, I'd remove that stone, and move the water dish away from the wall, so should your smithi climb and fall, it won't land on those hard surfaces.

As far as not using the hide, some Brachys don't or only use them sporadically, and seem happy to hang out in the open.

Also completely normal to see an increase of bald patches. She will be kicking hairs around the enclosure (even though you haven't noticed) to defend against predators.

 

[Taylorblab]

Could you please post a current picture of the enclosure? I'm a bit wary regarding the horizontal space in there. Usually, Exo Terras aren't suitable for heavy-bodied Ts like Brachypelmas as there will be almost always too much space between the substrate and the top.
Also, you should replace the mesh with an acrylic sheet with drilled holes in it. They can get their tarsal claws caught in there and lose a leg or even worse.

Everything else sounds normal and fine to me. Be careful not to overfeed her. She won't be moulting that often (maybe every 1-2 years or less), so, an obese T can get in a lot of trouble. I feed my adult B. hamorii about once or twice a month.

And I always recommend reading this thread, it contains tons of useful information:

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

Thanks Thekla

Attached a current picture and reading both response, I realise it is too high for her. She doesn't do any climbing but that doesn't mean she won't - I'll add more subsrate and just use the top of the enclosure for access - should I do this straight away as I've only had her for 2 weeks and she had a lot of upheaval before that [trip from mexico and then from the seller] I don't want to stress her too much - or would you recommend a totally different enclosure?

Mesh has been replaced with Acrylic, hopefully you will see from the picture

Thanks for the info re feeding, makes me feel a lot better - every time i pass her enclosure, she look hungry and I fee bad......lol

Thanks for the link to the thread for beginners, will ahve a good read through it

Thanks again

Congratulations on your new friend! Lovely species and I'm sure she'll bring you lots of joy.

I agree that the enclosure height may be over the recommended (to limit fall injury) rule of thumb, which is no more than 1.5 times the diagonal leg measurement of the tarantula, from substrate surface to lid.

Also agree that the mesh could cause your smithi to get a tarsal claw stuck. Although a lot of people keep tarantulas in Exoterras, they were originally designed for reptiles, not heavy bodied terrestrials.

In the meantime, I'd remove that stone, and move the water dish away from the wall, so should your smithi climb and fall, it won't land on those hard surfaces.

As far as not using the hide, some Brachys don't or only use them sporadically, and seem happy to hang out in the open.

Also completely normal to see an increase of bald patches. She will be kicking hairs around the enclosure (even though you haven't noticed) to defend against predators.

Thanks Jess

Kind of realised I need more substrate now and good idea for moving the rock and water dish in the meantime - she'll hate me for it as she loves her rock and spends lots of her time just sitting on it but safer in the long run. The mesh lid has been adapted with a piece of acrylic and holes drilled so hopefully that won't cause any problems. Really put my mind at rest with everything else though so thanks for taking time to reply, appreciate it

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Hi
is your enclosure 30x30x45Hcm or 45x45x30Hcm.Only asking as before you said it was 45x30x30
Regards Konstantin

 

[Taylorblab]

Hi
is your enclosure 30x30x45Hcm or 45x45x30Hcm.Only asking as before you said it was 45x30x30
Regards Konstantin

Sorry, 45x45x30

 

[cold blood]

While the enclosure looks nice, im sorry to say the enclosure isnt appropriate for a terrestrial...its an arboreal enclosure.

 

[Taylorblab]

Hi
is your enclosure 30x30x45Hcm or 45x45x30Hcm.Only asking as before you said it was 45x30x30
Regards Konstantin

While the enclosure looks nice, im sorry to say the enclosure isnt appropriate for a terrestrial...its an arboreal enclosure.

Any suggestions on a suitable alternative?

 

[mack1855]

Any suggestions on a suitable alternative?

Take a trip to Asda,your version of our Walmart.Look in housewares/storage aisle.Your lookin for something with the same width and length,just half the height.Somrthing you can
easly put ventilation holes in,so no glass.And a secure lid,

 

[Taylorblab]

Take a trip to Asda,your version of our Walmart.Look in housewares/storage aisle.Your lookin for something with the same width and length,just half the height.Somrthing you can
easly put ventilation holes in,so no glass.And a secure lid,

Thank you, thats perfect, I'll pop over tomorrow

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Hi
if the spider is 6+inch this enclosure will work if you add more substrate.
Pic below is my 7 .5 inch Lasiodora Parahybana in 45x45x30Hcm Exo terra. The highest bit is on the front near doors and is 20cm(7.8inch) wich is just over 1x DLS of my tarantula everywhere else she can touch the substrate and the top if needs be(less than 1x DLS).Those make great large terrestrial tarantula homes if setup correctly. Just fill it more with dirt.



I will not put anything smaller than 6 inch in them tho.
What size is your B smithi?
Regards Konstantin

 

[cold blood]

Any suggestions on a suitable alternative?

Anything top opening can be made into a good home.....front doors are the thing preventing your enclosure from being safe....as they are your limiting factor as to how much substrate you can add.

Aquariums can be used...as can sterilite tubs (which are cheap and great because you can ventilate them in any manner you like)...although ventilation isn't a high priority for your species.

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Any suggestions on a suitable alternative?

If your spider is on the small side below 6 inch
you can have a look at Tropical factory uk
they sell euro stile enclosures with dimensions 30x30x20h cm and lately do hinged doors too.
Regards Konstantin

 

[mack1855]

Ya,a word of advise?.You started the hobby,(T keeping) two weeks ago.I would say,dont buy expensive enclosures,until you decide this is something you would like
to stay with.Keep your costs down,until you are sure this is something you like.

 

[Taylorblab]

Hi
if the spider is 6+inch this enclosure will work if you add more substrate.
Pic below is my 7 .5 inch Lasiodora Parahybana in 45x45x30Hcm Exo terra. The highest bit is on the front near doors and is 20cm(7.8inch) wich is just over 1x DLS of my tarantula everywhere else she can touch the substrate and the top if needs be(less than 1x DLS).Those make great large terrestrial tarantula homes if setup correctly. Just fill it more with dirt.
View attachment 373502
View attachment 373503

I will not put anything smaller than 6 inch in them tho.
What size is your B smithi?
Regards Konstantin

Konstantin, thanks you soo much, this is really helpful, particularly seeing the pictures of your set up, your Lasiodora Parahybana is a beauty!

My b smithi is just 6 inch at the moment [DSL] but is a young female and I'm led to believe she has a little more growing to do?, she can almost touch the back ceiling now so with more substrate i think it would be perfect - the front floor to wall is 8 inch now and i can easily add another inch of substarte to make it 7 so that will be just over her DLS is that safe enough?.

Thank you again, I've been stressing over it all night but you've made me feel like i can definitely fix it, I have more substarte on order so will just remove anything sharp until it gets here

Anything top opening can be made into a good home.....front doors are the thing preventing your enclosure from being safe....as they are your limiting factor as to how much substrate you can add.

Aquariums can be used...as can sterilite tubs (which are cheap and great because you can ventilate them in any manner you like)...although ventilation isn't a high priority for your species.

Thank you

If your spider is on the small side below 6 inch
you can have a look at Tropical factory uk
they sell euro stile enclosures with dimensions 30x30x20h cm and lately do hinged doors too.
Regards Konstantin

Thank you, just had a look and its definately an options if the increased substrate doesn't work - fingers crossed

Ya,a word of advise?.You started the hobby,(T keeping) two weeks ago.I would say,dont buy expensive enclosures,until you decide this is something you would like
to stay with.Keep your costs down,until you are sure this is something you like.

Thanks you, I think I went all out to make this special as it was going to be my 1 and only but I hear the hobby can be addictive so no more spending [except substrate] until I'm sure

Ya,a word of advise?.You started the hobby,(T keeping) two weeks ago.I would say,dont buy expensive enclosures,until you decide this is something you would like
to stay with.Keep your costs down,until you are sure this is something you like.