Sericopelma Rubronitens problems??

dieselmama

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
13
Hi, we (my son and I) are new here, he is a new tarantula owner, having researched them for 2 years and kept house spiders as pets during that time... (mom says shudder, but I am trying to be a good mom!).

Anyway... he finally got his first friend a couple of weeks ago and chose the Panama Red Rump (female) as his Tarantula of choice. The store showed us how they were hand feeding her roaches (with tweezers), though locally (we live in Idaho, store was in Arizona) we are not able to get roaches, just crickets and such.

We got her aquarium all set up nicely once we got her home (drove home in 2 days so she wasn't packed in her carrying case for too long), but we have a couple of problems we are hoping you might help us with.

First of all, she is not eating still, though we have seen her drinking a few times from her water dish, and see signs of webbing in various places throughout the aquarium. She seems to prefer (during the day anyway) to be on the glass rather than on the ground or in her hide... fine by us as her coloring is really pretty, for a Tarantula anyway. :)

2nd question is a little more tricky though... we noticed this evening that she has a bare spot on one side on her abdomen near her pedicel (hope I am using the right terminology!). Sean of course is quite worried.. he has read just about every spider/tarantula book he can find, has found himself confused because some of them suggest opposing things regarding Tarantula care, (vermiculite vs peat vs coconut husks, heat vs not, how deep to make the base, etc...). anyway... whatever help you can give would be appreciated. I wondered if just maybe we are seeing a book lung? though we don't see it on the other side, she seems to walk and stand such that that one side is a little more open than the other side anywa....

No idea how to post pics here, but I am going to try to do so.

Thanks for any help you can give my budding arachnologist... :) He has a dream of someday owning a spider zoo. As he is special needs, it is wonderful that he has found something that so stimulates him like this!

Heidi
 

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Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
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Aug 2, 2010
Messages
255
The reason she is not eating is because she is stressed from the change I got mine a few months ago and it has eaten 2 times. She is also climbing because she is stressed. As for the bald spot I don't know if there are urcticating hairs there or not. If there are then it probably just rubbed them off. Sericopelma rubronitens are one of my favorite tarantulas. It was almost my first also but I got a Goliath instead. I have one now. It was my seventh then I got a male as my 8 th tarantula. The female is docile and the male has put venom on the tongs but when I get it out it is like my eupalestrus campestratus. You guys have nothing to worry about unless the bald spot starts to drip a white clear liquid. That is blood and bleeding can be a big deal. The bald spot will go away when it molts. How big is she?
 

AudreyElizabeth

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
741
Are you talking about this area right here?

Forgive me for copying your picture by the way-

Your new tarantula looks very well fed. I wouldn't worry about her not eating for a few weeks. That big healthy abdomen may be causing that spot that I circled (from supporting the excess weight), though I can't tell from looking at pictures. (This is my opinion anyway).

Make sure that you give her enough substrate to minimize risk of injury from a fall. One and a half times the leg span of the spider from the substrate to the lid is a good rule of thumb, and you will be amused if she undertakes a major earth moving project.

You sound like an awesome mom! And this is truly an amazing hobby. You might just find yourself sucked in as well.

Welcome to Arachnoboards!
 

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Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
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Aug 2, 2010
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255
I wish my panama red rump was that well fed. She hasn't been eating enough to put on weight.
 

dieselmama

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
13
When measuring size, do you measure from side to side leg span (3.5 -4 inches we think) or front legs to back (a good 5+ a bit inches)? We currently have 8-8.5 inches between the substrate and the lid, depending on which part of the tank you measure...

Sean had a grand time planning it all out, and thankfully the store we got Shelob at was really good with him. Not only did several members of the staff work with him/us to find the right Tarantula, but one of their breeders happened to be in and spent time with us as well. I would guess over the 2 days we were there (my older son was looking over a college in the area, Tempe AZ) they must have spent a good 4-5 hours with us, discussing pros and cons of different T's, what he was looking for in his new pet, etc.

No white fluid coming out of the bald area that I can tell. She has moved back into her hide tonight... I wish I could find a store locally that sold roaches (eww!) as the idea of mail ordering them really does not thrill me. Since that is the food she was used to, I wonder if she just needs time to get used to the crickets. They said she would eat a TON... you could never put just one in, she would typically eat 3 multiple times a week. This was one of the reasons Sean chose her, he loved the idea of a Tarantula that was active so he could take pics, video, etc. Not a shy girl at all... :)

Thanks for your help!

Heidi
 

AudreyElizabeth

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
741
Depends on who you ask when you want a definition of leg span. Everyone varies a little bit on it. Personally I measure from the right rear leg tip, to the front left leg tip.

What are you using for substrate?

I would slow down on the food for a while, she is very plump and an overly plump tarantula isn't necessarily a good thing. Once a week will maintain her nicely.
 

dieselmama

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
13
Peat moss.. sterilized of course. :) He thought that vermiculite might be good, but the breeder explained to him that in his opinion it held too much moisture and could cause problems. No such thing as perfection... some of this will have to be trial and error I think as we go about the learning process. No one could be more prepared at least in reading everything he could get his hands on than Sean did... (he even wanted to find a book on the medical care of tarantulas that has gone out of print). :)

Heidi
 

AudreyElizabeth

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
741
Peat moss.. sterilized of course. :) He thought that vermiculite might be good, but the breeder explained to him that in his opinion it held too much moisture and could cause problems. No such thing as perfection... some of this will have to be trial and error I think as we go about the learning process. No one could be more prepared at least in reading everything he could get his hands on than Sean did... (he even wanted to find a book on the medical care of tarantulas that has gone out of print). :)

Heidi
Pick him up a copy of The Tarantula Keeper's Guide. You can order it online, and it is very comprehensive.
 

dieselmama

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
13
Oh he has that one... very well read and he almost needs a new copy as the pages are about ready to fall out. He could probably recite much of it word for word. LOL!

Heidi
 

Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Messages
255
If you dont want to buy online then just buy some dubias at a a pet show like I did.(mom didn't love that). Also it'll be alright if ya can't get any roaches. A hungry tarantula eats anything that moves. The other day I had a dehydrated cobalt blue eat a wet paper towel. I'm glad your son is so interested in this awesome hobby.
 
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