Permanent bald spot

dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 8, 2014
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My chromatopelma cyaneopubescens has had a permanent bald spot on her abdomen that seems to be getting larger and discolored. She is my first T got her as a sling and she is 3 years old. Any idea or any help with this? I am quite worried as it doesn't look natural.
 

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
Post a picture. Most New Worlds have a mirror patch. Their urticating hairs are a different color than the rest of their hairs.
 
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Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
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675
Could be kicking hairs off. How long has she had the bald spot? Is it always there even after each molt?
 

dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
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May 8, 2014
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This was a couple months ago I've been dealing with a housing situation and have been moving a lot lately, I didn't want to stress her out so I left her at my parents meantime im picking her up tonight but I visited yesterday and noticed the abdomen, it is much larger and almost looks scabby. Her water dish was completely dry and although my parents promise they gave her water frequently i don't know how much I trust them. Do you think it can be a hydration issue? I will post a recent photo as soon as I pick her up tonight.
 

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dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
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May 8, 2014
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Could be kicking hairs off. How long has she had the bald spot? Is it always there even after each molt?
I've noticed her last 2 molts the bald spot stayed but it never looks bad, the above message explains what I saw today. I will post a photo in a few hours.
 

sasker

Arachnoprince
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Oct 9, 2016
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1,091
That is just the urticating hairs that have come off, which is a natural defence mechanism. I don't see anything unusual in the picture.
 

sasker

Arachnoprince
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Oct 9, 2016
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1,091
By the way, could you post a picture of your entire tank setup? Maybe the members of this board can have a closer look, just in case :)
 

dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
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May 8, 2014
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0
I've heard mixed reviews on heat mats this is the first night I plan on using it. My room has been hovering around 60 degrees at night and can't figure out a safer way. Any suggestions would help tremendously.
 

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Screamingreenmachine

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
Messages
65
What's your substrate? Also it looks extremely humid in that enclosure. Cyans need dry enclosures as they are from a very arid part of Venezuela. Dry substrate with a water bowl for humidity. If it's really humid in there that causes issues with this species and it needs to be dried out asap

And ditch the heat pad. Get a little space heater in your room to bring up the entire room temperature. I tend to keep my room from around a low of 68 in the winter to a low around 70 in the summer and highs around 75. They can survive lower, but since it sounds like you want to warm it up (and that's the right thing to do as 60 is really getting on the low end), it'll be better just to increase the room temperature than possibly cooking the tarantula with the pad.

Edit: I'm on my PC now so I could see the images better and that really is too humid looking inside the enclosure.
 
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dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 8, 2014
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0
What's your substrate? Also it looks extremely humid in that enclosure. Cyans need dry enclosures as they are from a very arid part of Venezuela. Dry substrate with a water bowl for humidity. If it's really humid in there that causes issues with this species and it needs to be dried out asap
And ditch the heat pad. Get a little space heater in your room to bring up the entire room temperature. I tend to keep my room from around a low of 68 in the winter to a low around 70 in the summer and highs around 75. They can survive lower, but since it sounds like you want to warm it up, it'll be better just to increase the room temperature than possibly cooking the tarantula with the heatpad
Its usually dry the photo was taken directly after a mist. I'll dicth the heat pad as well! Does the bald spot look ok? Anything worth a concern?
 

dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 8, 2014
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0
What's your substrate? Also it looks extremely humid in that enclosure. Cyans need dry enclosures as they are from a very arid part of Venezuela. Dry substrate with a water bowl for humidity. If it's really humid in there that causes issues with this species and it needs to be dried out asap

And ditch the heat pad. Get a little space heater in your room to bring up the entire room temperature. I tend to keep my room from around a low of 68 in the winter to a low around 70 in the summer and highs around 75. They can survive lower, but since it sounds like you want to warm it up (and that's the right thing to do as 60 is really getting on the low end), it'll be better just to increase the room temperature than possibly cooking the tarantula with the pad.

Edit: I'm on my PC now so I could see the images better and that really is too humid looking inside the enclosure.
My substrate is coconut coir.
 

dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
0
What's your substrate? Also it looks extremely humid in that enclosure. Cyans need dry enclosures as they are from a very arid part of Venezuela. Dry substrate with a water bowl for humidity. If it's really humid in there that causes issues with this species and it needs to be dried out asap

And ditch the heat pad. Get a little space heater in your room to bring up the entire room temperature. I tend to keep my room from around a low of 68 in the winter to a low around 70 in the summer and highs around 75. They can survive lower, but since it sounds like you want to warm it up (and that's the right thing to do as 60 is really getting on the low end), it'll be better just to increase the room temperature than possibly cooking the tarantula with the pad.

Edit: I'm on my PC now so I could see the images better and that really is too humid looking inside the enclosure.
I was planning on cleaning her house tomorrow so now knowing about the humidity level i will definitely clean it up.
 

Haemus

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
128
C. cyaneopubescens are semi arboreal, so I'd add some sticks for them to web around. I wouldn't worry about misting either, they don't require it. Just a full water dish. The stress could be the reason for the bald spot, but I can't be certain.

Here's my setup for my juvenile:
 

Screamingreenmachine

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
Messages
65
Ahh, gotcha. This species doesn't actually need any misting. Just keep that water dish full and she will be a happy camper! Coco Fiber is a perfect sub

As for the bald spot, to me it really just looks like she kicks a bunch which is normal. One of my brachypelma's is a heavy kicker and its butt is bald a lot of the time. I have found with my Cyan that when I added more anchor points for webbing in her enclosure, she made an awesome maze of tunnel webs and stopped kicking all together, choosing to retreat into her web rather than kicking.

Below is a link to couple images of my enclosure to give you some ideas :)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSEK9aZjyRI/?taken-by=bdtcritters
 

dvillafana08

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
0
Ahh, gotcha. This species doesn't actually need any misting. Just keep that water dish full and she will be a happy camper! Coco Fiber is a perfect sub

As for the bald spot, to me it really just looks like she kicks a bunch which is normal. One of my brachypelma's is a heavy kicker and its butt is bald a lot of the time. I have found with my Cyan that when I added more anchor points for webbing in her enclosure, she made an awesome maze of tunnel webs and stopped kicking all together, choosing to retreat into her web rather than kicking.

Below is a link to couple images of my enclosure to give you some ideas :)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSEK9aZjyRI/?taken-by=bdtcritters
Thank you so much! Definitely something I will do tomorrow when I clean her out!!
 
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