Questions on how to care for a Brachypelma hamorii

Fillo92

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 23, 2022
Messages
9
Hey everyone! For years I've been looking forward to join the world of tarantula keepers, and I finally did it a few days ago, I got my first ever "baby", a female Brachypelma hamorii, around 2/2,5inch of diagonal legspan. Despite doing tons of research by myself before starting (I wanted to do things in the best way possible), I still have many doubts I'd like to clear in order to care for her to the point of perfection, sort of..

So, the first question is: for its size, is it considered as a juvenile or still a spiderling? It's already showing the typical colors of the species, but I read that it's normal for hamoriis to show them very soon, I though ther to be a juvenile in the very first stage, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong of course. I also noticed that she's regrowing a leg, because it looks shrivelled compared to the others, but it's fully functional, so in a few moults she should be fine

FEEDING: I took her home on the 19th of June, and I also got some crickets small enough to feed her. I always red that in the first days, maybe even weeks of getting a new enclosure, Tarantulas may not eat at all because they need to get comfortable with their new space since it's very stressful to change it. I decided to try anyway because in the box she was when i picked her up, there was also her moult, so it meant that it was pretty recent, being a process that takes so much energy I thought to at least try and see if she wanted to have a "snack" and she did eat two very small crickets (around the size of her abdomen, wich is plump but very balanced to her size) in the span of the very first two days, but I stopped giving her anything else after that because I red that at this stage, despite having a great appetite, one or two crickets of that size per week are good enough for this species since it grows slowly and of course, overfeeding doesn't speed up the process magically. I want her to grow in the best way!

ENCLOSURE & BEHAVIOUR: For the enclosure, I bought a FaunaBox that is probably very big for her at this stage (I originally planned to get a bigger tarantula), it's 17.5x11x6 inches more or less. The substrate is cocofiber, filling the box almost to half its height and 1/3 of it in some points, I put a hide (again, very big for her actual size), a water dish and some decorations. I also set up a thermometer that calculates humidity as well and it's on the 50% to 70% range, when it falls too much around the 50% I try to raise it a bit by misting the walls of the enclosure a little bit. I noticed that during the day, she spends all of her time in the same angle behind a fake plant (maybe she feels safer there) and climbing on the walls of the enclosure almost if she's an arboreal, wich is unusual for this species. However, I red about tarantulas refusing to get away from the point they choose to be in for days before getting accustomed. I also noticed that in the morning, she's always away from that spot, and that she actually dirtied her water dish with substrate and moved some of it here and ther, I guess it's normal since Tarantulas are nocturne animals. At least it means that she's exploring her new home, I try not to disturb her as much as I can during the day, I don't want to stress her out too much

Well I guess that this is pretty much everything! Sorry about the wall of text and a big, big thank you to all the people who are going to take the time to read it to help me, it means a lot! I'll put some pictures here to help you on your judgment. Please do feel free to tell me if I'm doing something in the wrong way so that I can correct it and provide my little girl with the best care possible. Thank you all again!
 

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kingshockey

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quit misting swap out the clay pot for a cork flat(so it can dig out a burrow under it if it wants) also give it a bigger water dish you can always flood over the dish now and then. my hamorii hates damp sub (loves it dry)and will climb the walls to avoid it
 

arthurliuyz

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Sorry about the wall of text and a big, big thank you to all the people who are going to take the time to read it to help me, it means a lot!
Hey Fillo, welcome to the hobby! No need to apologize. You're going to have a lot of questions starting off, and feel free to ask. We are all happy to help. ;) From your passage I can tell you've done some proper research and that's great.
for its size, is it considered as a juvenile or still a spiderling?
Juvenile.
For the enclosure, I bought a FaunaBox that is probably very big for her at this stage
It would be best if you could rehouse it into a smaller enclosure. Or, at least, I would add more decor to let him/her feel more secure and settle in more quickly.
I also set up a thermometer that calculates humidity as well and it's on the 50% to 70% range, when it falls too much around the 50% I try to raise it a bit by misting the walls of the enclosure a little bit.
No need for this. You can throw out the gauge. Ts are more easily killed when you stick to a humidity level.
I noticed that during the day, she spends all of her time in the same angle behind a fake plant (maybe she feels safer there) and climbing on the walls of the enclosure almost if she's an arboreal, wich is unusual for this species.
That's because the setup is too bare. That's the spot where she feels the most security. Adding decor and more places for her to hide will help.

Above are my suggestions, others might add to this. Hope it can help. :)
 
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NMTs

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I agree with all the stuff the other guys have said, and will reiterate - don't mist regularly as a means of increasing humidity. Every once in a while to give your T the option to drink from drops on the walls or decor is fine, but you should only be adding moisture to the substrate by overflowing the water dish or pouring water directly into the substrate every week or 2. These guys like mostly dry substrate, but will appreciate a slightly damp corner now and then. You don't need to worry about trying to achieve any specific humidity percentages or temperatures, so the gauge is useless.

For a T this size, you really only need to feed it one large cricket or meal worm once every 10 days or so. If you regularly feed it more frequently than that, you'll likely experience a period of fasting where the T won't eat because it isn't hungry. Remember, a hungry T is an active T.

Also, from the one pic that I can see of it's underside, it looks like your little girl might actually be a little boy. It's not the best angle, so if you want confirmation you can post a picture of the ventral side in the epiandrous fusillae sexing forum and we'll take a closer look.
 

viper69

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I see only one question- your sling juvi are subjective and meaningless terms really.
 

Fillo92

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Jun 23, 2022
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9
Thank you all! I'll try to follow your suggestions as much as I can. I came back from the night shift right now and again, she was active during the night, even kicking substrate out of the enclosure, at least this shows that she's doing well. I'll give her more places to feel safe and a way to burrow if she wants to. For the sex, the seller told me she's a confirmed female, I'll try to ask on the appropriate section of this forum if that's really the case
 

arthurliuyz

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For the sex, the seller told me she's a confirmed female, I'll try to ask on the appropriate section of this forum if that's really the case
You can post sexing requests here:
or
depending on the method of sexing you're going with.
 

Fillo92

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 23, 2022
Messages
9
I already did it a few minutes ago, waiting for someone to check on it. I really hope it is a girl, since of course they live longer and yeah, the price changes too. Thank you!
 

darkness975

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Hey everyone! For years I've been looking forward to join the world of tarantula keepers, and I finally did it a few days ago, I got my first ever "baby", a female Brachypelma hamorii, around 2/2,5inch of diagonal legspan. Despite doing tons of research by myself before starting (I wanted to do things in the best way possible), I still have many doubts I'd like to clear in order to care for her to the point of perfection, sort of..

So, the first question is: for its size, is it considered as a juvenile or still a spiderling? It's already showing the typical colors of the species, but I read that it's normal for hamoriis to show them very soon, I though ther to be a juvenile in the very first stage, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong of course. I also noticed that she's regrowing a leg, because it looks shrivelled compared to the others, but it's fully functional, so in a few moults she should be fine

FEEDING: I took her home on the 19th of June, and I also got some crickets small enough to feed her. I always red that in the first days, maybe even weeks of getting a new enclosure, Tarantulas may not eat at all because they need to get comfortable with their new space since it's very stressful to change it. I decided to try anyway because in the box she was when i picked her up, there was also her moult, so it meant that it was pretty recent, being a process that takes so much energy I thought to at least try and see if she wanted to have a "snack" and she did eat two very small crickets (around the size of her abdomen, wich is plump but very balanced to her size) in the span of the very first two days, but I stopped giving her anything else after that because I red that at this stage, despite having a great appetite, one or two crickets of that size per week are good enough for this species since it grows slowly and of course, overfeeding doesn't speed up the process magically. I want her to grow in the best way!

ENCLOSURE & BEHAVIOUR: For the enclosure, I bought a FaunaBox that is probably very big for her at this stage (I originally planned to get a bigger tarantula), it's 17.5x11x6 inches more or less. The substrate is cocofiber, filling the box almost to half its height and 1/3 of it in some points, I put a hide (again, very big for her actual size), a water dish and some decorations. I also set up a thermometer that calculates humidity as well and it's on the 50% to 70% range, when it falls too much around the 50% I try to raise it a bit by misting the walls of the enclosure a little bit. I noticed that during the day, she spends all of her time in the same angle behind a fake plant (maybe she feels safer there) and climbing on the walls of the enclosure almost if she's an arboreal, wich is unusual for this species. However, I red about tarantulas refusing to get away from the point they choose to be in for days before getting accustomed. I also noticed that in the morning, she's always away from that spot, and that she actually dirtied her water dish with substrate and moved some of it here and ther, I guess it's normal since Tarantulas are nocturne animals. At least it means that she's exploring her new home, I try not to disturb her as much as I can during the day, I don't want to stress her out too much

Well I guess that this is pretty much everything! Sorry about the wall of text and a big, big thank you to all the people who are going to take the time to read it to help me, it means a lot! I'll put some pictures here to help you on your judgment. Please do feel free to tell me if I'm doing something in the wrong way so that I can correct it and provide my little girl with the best care possible. Thank you all again!
Bigger water dish and swap out the pot for a cork bark. Other than that as long as it eats it should be fine. Might want a couple more decorations though, it's pretty barren in there.
 

cold blood

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13,223
I also set up a thermometer that calculates humidity as well and it's on the 50% to 70% range, when it falls too much around the 50% I try to raise it a bit by misting the walls of the enclosure a little bit.
Good info already given, but I want to reiterate...throw away that gauge or at least return it if possible. It would literally be better used on your desk as a paper weight.

Reasons...well this species, as a juvie, can tolerate temps down to 60F, and as high as the mid 90'sF....so temp is almost completely irrelevant unless you live in a tent (in which case you shouldnt have a t). Secondly, despite what you read in care sheets, humidity is completely irrelevant. Keeping humidity up and regularly misting is a great way to over-do the moisture, and there is no question that an enclosure too damp is FAR more dangerous than one a little too dry (even for a moisture dependent species) Regular misting and following a hygrometer to maintain a certain level is a great way to slowly kill this t.

Ignore both humidity and temps and you will be better off, and so will your t. The biggest mistake new keepers make is to over-complicate the simple task or keeping a tarantula. Keep things as simple as possible.
 

Fillo92

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 23, 2022
Messages
9
I can't thank you all enough for all the advices you're giving me. I already ordered a slightly bigger water dish, (never misted again, just made sure the current dish is always full with clean water) and I also got some new decorations (cork bark, smaller hides, new plants) and I'm currently waiting for the coco fiber to arrive tomorrow. I'll rearrange the enclosure in order to give her more places to hide, the possibility to burrow if she wants to and a bit more of substrate in order to avoid falling damage. I guess the T's in good health: yesterday she happily ate a meal worm, first meal in 5 days after a small cricket, next time will be around Friday because I'll be away from home for 3 days. Also she wanders around the enclosure a lot during the night. The only thing that I'm worried about now is the sex, since the seller told me she was a confirmed female, but for that I guess that I'll have to wait the next molt
 

darkness975

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I can't thank you all enough for all the advices you're giving me. I already ordered a slightly bigger water dish, (never misted again, just made sure the current dish is always full with clean water) and I also got some new decorations (cork bark, smaller hides, new plants) and I'm currently waiting for the coco fiber to arrive tomorrow. I'll rearrange the enclosure in order to give her more places to hide, the possibility to burrow if she wants to and a bit more of substrate in order to avoid falling damage. I guess the T's in good health: yesterday she happily ate a meal worm, first meal in 5 days after a small cricket, next time will be around Friday because I'll be away from home for 3 days. Also she wanders around the enclosure a lot during the night. The only thing that I'm worried about now is the sex, since the seller told me she was a confirmed female, but for that I guess that I'll have to wait the next molt
You don't have to feed that often. I feed my juvies , sub adults, and adults roughly once a month or bi monthly. Once they're out of the sling stage I don't want them dragging bloated abdomens around.
20220327_101424.jpg 20220327_095436.jpg 20220611_163937.jpg 20220327_095517.jpg
 

goonius

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Aug 6, 2020
Messages
195
I agree with everything that has already been said -- no misting, replace with a cork hide, disregard humidity/temps. I would only add that if the T keeps climbing the walls a lot (spends most of her time there versus the substrate) after a month or so it might be that the substrate is not packed down well enough.

I find some of mine are really bothered by excessively loose substrate. It's an easy fix; just catch the T in a cup and set her aside while you (with thick rubber gloves to protect from urticating hairs) slightly dampen the substrate (not much since these guys like dry) and re-pack the substrate. Adding a little peat to coco fiber, I feel, makes it pack better too.
 
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Fillo92

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 23, 2022
Messages
9
Update

Today I changed a bit of the substrate in order to clean a little, added some fresh one and now it covers in height half of the enclosure. I packed it the best way I could manage, and finally changed the setup. Right now the T seems to like the big cork hide, I put the small one as well in order to give her the option to burrow if she wants to. The water dish is big enough to not worry about humidity anymore (I'll just overlow it once every one or two weeks) and I guess that's the best I could do right now, I hope she's going to like this more than the previous setup, time will tell. If you have any other suggestion for me, I'm happy to hear about it!
 

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