Tarantula Losing Hair on Her Legs

[Philly]

So yesterday I go and look at my one and only tarantula and I notice she began to lose some hair on her back two legs. She is a new world tarantula so she does flick hairs (she currently has a bald spot on her abdomen because of it) I only see her once or twice a week because she lives at my father's house (I'll be taking her with me to college.) I'm assured that she is sprayed with water at least twice a day.
Anyway, I couldn't find anything about tarantulas losing hair on their legs online so I came here. Any answers are appreciated!

 

[James Steel]

What species? Size? Enclosure? Spraying twice a day is excessive. Even the swamp dwellers like Theraphosa sp can be kept adequately humid with weekly spraying.

 

[MarkmD]

What species is it and size? and i've never misted any NW T except slings and thats poured on the substrate, let me guess is it a G,Rosea?

 

[cold blood]

Stressed out by misting and excessive moisture would be my guess without all the info.

I am amazed at the people that ask questions but fail to give all the info. How big is it? What species is it? cage conditions? pics almost ALWAYS help.


Having any pet, even a t, and seeing it once a week it not enough, I don't care what kind of critter it is. Something goes even slightly wrong and by the time you realize it can be too late. Also hard to notice the "little" issues right away, often causing them to develop into big or irreversible issues.

T's hate being directly misted...all of them! misting is bad, or at the very least not a requirement for most species of t's.


As far as I can tell it is your dads t, and you merely check them weekly. Please don't be offended and really take a minute to think about this.

 

[LordWaffle]

The misting is definitely a problem, especially at that frequency. As to why the legs are losing setae, I can't say. As was said before, more information would really help.

 

[Philly]

I didn't include what species she is because I'm questioning it myself, when I bought her I was looking for a Mexican Red Knee and they gave me what they call a Mexican Blood Leg. But then I see people calling it Mexican Fire Legs so I'm not sure, I suppose it would have helped if they had told me her scientific name. She's about as big as the average human's hand I can't describe her in measurement terms because I'm really bad at estimating measurements. She lives in one of these enclosures: http://www.exo-terra.com/download/high_res/products/images/PT2600_Natural_Terrarium_Filled.jpg (Just the tank not the desert setting) she lives in a substrate sold in Canada called "Exo Terra Plantation Soil" which I assume is a lot like the substrate eco earth. She eats two crickets a week and always has a small bowl of water available. She has an undertank heating pad because I'm concerned the Canadian winters won't agree with her, is that too much heat?
When I bought her I was living at my father's house but due to some conflict I can't really live there anymore and my mother won't let me take her with me so my hands are tied right now. I expect to be going to college this fall and I want to take her with me and I absolutely would never leave her behind.
As for misting I know that she doesn't like to be sprayed directly, whenever I spray I always spray the wall of her enclosure. So now that I know I shouldn't spray her nearly as often I'll only spray her when I come to my father's house.
Also, very recently she had an accident, I'm not sure what happened because no one handles her (I don't either) I found her leg and her foot seemed to be broken because it was bent in a funny way, I'm honestly not sure what happened. Also recently no one was able to feed her for a week and a half so her abdomen shrunk, I've been trying to get it back to normal size by feeding her more in each serving (three crickets from two)
If I'm doing something wrong I really want to know, I love her a lot even if I don't get to see her every day and I want to make sure that she's healthy and content. I will also make an attempt to see her more often because the weather's getting nicer so I can walk over and check on her.

 

[cold blood]

I didn't include what species she is because I'm questioning it myself, when I bought her I was looking for a Mexican Red Knee and they gave me what they call a Mexican Blood Leg. But then I see people calling it Mexican Fire Legs so I'm not sure, I suppose it would have helped if they had told me her scientific name. She's about as big as the average human's hand I can't describe her in measurement terms because I'm really bad at estimating measurements. She lives in one of these enclosures: http://www.exo-terra.com/download/high_res/products/images/PT2600_Natural_Terrarium_Filled.jpg (Just the tank not the desert setting) she lives in a substrate sold in Canada called "Exo Terra Plantation Soil" which I assume is a lot like the substrate eco earth. She eats two crickets a week and always has a small bowl of water available. She has an undertank heating pad because I'm concerned the Canadian winters won't agree with her, is that too much heat?
When I bought her I was living at my father's house but due to some conflict I can't really live there anymore and my mother won't let me take her with me so my hands are tied right now. I expect to be going to college this fall and I want to take her with me and I absolutely would never leave her behind.
As for misting I know that she doesn't like to be sprayed directly, whenever I spray I always spray the wall of her enclosure. So now that I know I shouldn't spray her nearly as often I'll only spray her when I come to my father's house.
Also, very recently she had an accident, I'm not sure what happened because no one handles her (I don't either) I found her leg and her foot seemed to be broken because it was bent in a funny way, I'm honestly not sure what happened. Also recently no one was able to feed her for a week and a half so her abdomen shrunk, I've been trying to get it back to normal size by feeding her more in each serving (three crickets from two)
If I'm doing something wrong I really want to know, I love her a lot even if I don't get to see her every day and I want to make sure that she's healthy and content. I will also make an attempt to see her more often because the weather's getting nicer so I can walk over and check on her.

Bloodleg (A. bicoloratum) and firelegs (B. boehmei) are different species. A. bicoloratum is much more rare and expensive. At that size your feeding seems fine (even a bit generous), but missing just a week+ of feeding should have absolutely zero effect on the spider. 6 months should have little to no effect if healthy. The species (even if it is a boehmei) can go long periods without food if they are a healthy weight. Its a concern that you can notice its abdomen shrinking in that short of time, especially with that feeding schedule.

The sub sounds fine, but how much are you using? Keep it deep, so that the distance from any fall will be less likely to injury the t. The enclosure is less than ideal with the big front doors. Seems nice, but it prevents you from adding enough substrate to really make it a safe enclosure. A fall from the top or high on the glass could be catastrophic.

Unless your house is kept extremely cold, the heater is not required at all. It will be fine dropping to 60 at night. Unless you are keeping tropical t's, heating is almost certainly not needed. Also, those type of heaters can be dangerous for t's. If you use them you need to be very careful, if not avoiding them altogether. Better to get a space heater for the room if you REALLY decide you need it.

Don't reduce the sprayings, cut them out altogether. The spider, whichever species it turns out to be, certainly does not require it or enjoy it. Humidity can be handled without issue simply keeping the water dish full.

Sorry to hear about the t's accident, hopefully it isn't critically damaged and makes a full recovery. Both the suspected species are gorgeous animals!.

Also sorry to hear about the parental conflict, that sucks no matter how old you are....stay positive, it will all get better with time

 

[Philly]

Bloodleg (A. bicoloratum) and firelegs (B. boehmei) are different species. A. bicoloratum is much more rare and expensive. At that size your feeding seems fine (even a bit generous), but missing just a week+ of feeding should have absolutely zero effect on the spider. 6 months should have little to no effect if healthy. The species (even if it is a boehmei) can go long periods without food if they are a healthy weight. Its a concern that you can notice its abdomen shrinking in that short of time, especially with that feeding schedule.

The sub sounds fine, but how much are you using? Keep it deep, so that the distance from any fall will be less likely to injury the t. The enclosure is less than ideal with the big front doors. Seems nice, but it prevents you from adding enough substrate to really make it a safe enclosure. A fall from the top or high on the glass could be catastrophic.

Unless your house is kept extremely cold, the heater is not required at all. It will be fine dropping to 60 at night. Unless you are keeping tropical t's, heating is almost certainly not needed. Also, those type of heaters can be dangerous for t's. If you use them you need to be very careful, if not avoiding them altogether. Better to get a space heater for the room if you REALLY decide you need it.

Don't reduce the sprayings, cut them out altogether. The spider, whichever species it turns out to be, certainly does not require it or enjoy it. Humidity can be handled without issue simply keeping the water dish full.

Sorry to hear about the t's accident, hopefully it isn't critically damaged and makes a full recovery. Both the suspected species are gorgeous animals!.

Also sorry to hear about the parental conflict, that sucks no matter how old you are....stay positive, it will all get better with time

Here is a (really terrible quality) picture of her
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee471/Radioactivemantaray/IMG_00511_zps9d41a43b.jpg She was pretty expensive compared to the other tarantulas they had at the store.
She's getting her home cleaned very soon so I'll be sure to use more substrate when I add it in. But I was wondering, if she's stressed already should I even bother with the cleaning until she's back to normal? I shoosh her into a margarine container and do a full clean out of her enclosure, could that be too stressful for her at this time?
I'll be sure to unplug her under tank heater and keep it unplugged and I'll just keep her bowl filled from now on. Thank you!

 

[viper69]

Bloodleg (A. bicoloratum) and firelegs (B. boehmei) are different species.

You and your elitist taxonomy talk!

 

[cold blood]

You and your elitist taxonomy talk!

I learned it from reading your posts viper Leave me alone! teehee

From the pic it looks to me like B boehmei...but its not that great of a pic as you mentioned. So what are the house temps its kept at (day/night)?

 

[Philly]

I learned it from reading your posts viper Leave me alone! teehee

From the pic it looks to me like B boehmei...but its not that great of a pic as you mentioned. So what are the house temps its kept at (day/night)?

The house is typically kept 69-70 °F (I think, remember I'm no good with measurements) and the temperature is usually the same day and night. That's for right now in the Canadian winter, I don't know what it is in the summer.
If you want I can go take a better camera and take a pic of her

 

[cold blood]

The house is typically kept 69-70 °F (I think, remember I'm no good with measurements) and the temperature is usually the same day and night. That's for right now in the Canadian winter, I don't know what it is in the summer.
If you want I can go take a better camera and take a pic of her

yup, no need for supplemental heat, the spider will be just fine at those temps

I'm in WI, with similar winter, and I keep my home cooler than that without additional heat. 68-70 day/62-64 night

 

[viper69]

The house is typically kept 69-70 °F (I think, remember I'm no good with measurements) and the temperature is usually the same day and night. That's for right now in the Canadian winter, I don't know what it is in the summer.
If you want I can go take a better camera and take a pic of her

I have those same temps, NW and OW species (both tropical and desert species). They are all doing fine at ambient temps, no extra heating.

 

[Madantula]

Here is a (really terrible quality) picture of her
http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee471/Radioactivemantaray/IMG_00511_zps9d41a43b.jpg She was pretty expensive compared to the other tarantulas they had at the store.
She's getting her home cleaned very soon so I'll be sure to use more substrate when I add it in. But I was wondering, if she's stressed already should I even bother with the cleaning until she's back to normal? I shoosh her into a margarine container and do a full clean out of her enclosure, could that be too stressful for her at this time?
I'll be sure to unplug her under tank heater and keep it unplugged and I'll just keep her bowl filled from now on. Thank you!

I’m 95% sure she is a Brachypelma Boehmei, I have one too. Here is a picture so you can compare with yours.