Pamphobeteus problems

[Bob]

Hi Folks,
I bought a Pamphobeteus species Ecuadorian Giant Birdeater two weeks ago from Arachnocenter of $15.00. Great deal at the time. It arrived a little dehydrated and has been standing over the small water filled cap most of these two weeks. I placed a small cricket in the small critter keeper it is in and it starts to flick big time. I have since been misting the cage every day but it still has not ate. It's abdomin is small and I thought it just shead before it was shipped but it should eat after two weeks!
Anyone else buy one of these. Great spider otherwise!
Bob

 

[MrDeranged]

How small is the T? When they're really small, they molt quite often and it may be in premolt again already. I've had small slings that also acted as yours is, flicking hairs at prey. It does not necessarily mean that anything is wrong. It's also possible that it is intimidated by the prey that you are introducing. You may want to try feeding pre killed crickets for a time and see if it takes them. Contrary to popular belief, T's don't necessarily take only live prey. They're quite content to eat prekilled prey as long as it is fresh.

Hope that helps some,

Scott

 

[Bob]

Thanks Scott,
It is about the size of a quarter. It's abdomin is small, kinda looks like a mature male but does have a very small bold patch either from flicking or pre-molt. I did not think it was ready to molt do to it's small abdomin size. It's hanging around the water cap had me wondering though. I will put in a crushed cricket tonight and just leave it alone and watch what happens. I thought it dehydrated state was the problem. Shoot maybe it has a drinking problem! I might have to send it to rehab hehe....

Bob

 

[Wade]

Hanging around near, on, or sometimes, in the water bowl is often an indication that the T would like a little more humidity. The misting may be evaporating too fast to help much. I would try moistening the substrate, at least on one end of the enclosure to see where the T likes to spend it's time. This is usualy more effective and less labor-intensive than misting.

Wade

 

[MrDeranged]

To extrapolate (wow, I always wanted to use that word in a sentence ) on Wade's post:

Misting is generally a waste of time unless ventilation in the enclosure is restricted to dangerous levels anyway. By the time you put the mister away, any added humidity has likely evaporated and escaped the enclosure. As Wade said, it is much better to soak the substrate. Other ways to increase humidity are to take a nice breathable material, such as cheese cloth, and to soak it and drape it over the enclosure. This way any ventilation will bring with it moisture from the covering. Another way is to fill a small dish with some vermiculite and keep it wet. The easiest way is to put in a second water dish with a wide surface area as the bigger the surface area, the quicker the water will evaporate and thereby increase humidity in the enclosure.

Scott