Vaseline safe for T's???

[azztigma]

Power feeding will almost surely shorten the life span of your blondi.

Prove it. It's never been proven, just speculated...

 

[becca81]

Prove it. It's never been proven, just speculated...

I thought this had been proven with males due to the increased metabolism. They molt more frequently, therefore reaching maturity quicker, therefore dying younger.

I'm not an expert, I just listen to others talk a lot...

 

[Lyle Beach]

I agree with raising the substrate level.

Here is how I have my 1.75" Brachypelma auratum:

 

[becca81]

, i have tried starting off a burrow for it but it never seemed interested, so i was hoping that if it does start diging one that it would do it under the sponge, which isn't about to crush it if it does. He's just used it as a vantage point.

In nature, doesn't T. blondi rarely dig its own burrow? I was under the impression that they have a commensalistic relationship with small mammals (taking over their abandoned burrows). A lot of people who raise [T. blondi] in captivity provide a hide for it (flower pot, etc.) with much success.

So well fed T's aren't as delicate to injuring themselves as I thought.

I don't believe you can make this generalization based on the words of one person (no offense to the person making the comment). What I'm saying is that you should speak with many experienced people, ask their advice/opinions, read articles, etc. and then make an educated choice based on the "average" of their opinions.

I believe Laura recently had a T. blondi that died from a ruptured abdomen, so it is possible for a young T. blondi to have these problems.

Good luck with your T. I hope we can see some pictures.

 

[danread]

I believe the recent example of a T. blondi with a split abdomen was from a fall to the ground, not on to a soft peat surface. Considering the number of tarantulas owned by people on these boards with giant abdomens, and the relative lack of examples of split abdomens from falls within the tank, i think you can conclude the risk is minimal. I did a quick search for 'ruptured abdomen', and most of the cases were from extreme falls onto hard floors, or other unusual situations.

 

[andy83]

As far as saving your T's from suicide jumps/falls there is a company that sells a chemical that is for this specific reason.

http://www.bioquip.com/ is the main webpage which has some really cool stuff.

Page iii in the catalog lists a product called Insect-a-Slip which is fluoropolymer resin. I'm assuming its fine to use in T cages because it says its main use is for arthropods.

 

[Steve Nunn]

vaseline, bad juju

so is it safe?

Hi,
Suffice to say your problem has probably already been solved, but NEVER use vasoline on a spider, of any sort. It slowly but steadily breaks down the waxy layer of the exoskeleton and will continue to eat the chitin away. Terrible stuff for spiders, ACK!!

About ten years ago I used vaseline on several very special spiders from my collection and lost the lot before they could moult, all suffered in the same way.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Deschain]

Well i'm going to move my T.blondi sling (2") into the smallest kritter keeper, now i've been power feeding my T so his abdomen is very round/fat i don't want him climbing to the top and falling.

So is it safe to cover the walls with Vaseline to prevent him for climbing?
their ground based so its not going to screw up his natural habbits, besides he spends all of his time on his sponge playing king of the castle.

so is it safe? would also end the problem of how to stop him climbing when hes bigger

With a 2" blondi sling, 3" of substrate in a small kritter keeper ( at a rounded up 6 1/2" x 4" x 5" ...the 5" being the height), with a hide and a Gatorade cap as a water dish would be more than adequate to keep it from hurting itself..

But I would think about your sling's next molt...at 3" a small k.k. is tight quarters for a blondi. I have a T.apophysis sling and just recently had to make the change from the small k.k. because it was tight.

Let us know what you do. And I.M.H.O. save the vaseline for something else.

;P

 

[ghost_tomb]

Thanks for all the info, just finished the new tank

its 8"x5"x6.5" (6.5" high)

made a deep hole for it to use, though i doubt it will, also going to make a small corkbark hide for it.

will post pics as son as the little guy has settled, i'm hoping that the tank will be ibg enough for him when he's 3" i've already got another tank waiting for him when he molts past 3" (they start showing their colours at 3"?)

OT: is it normal for a T to appear to "leap" at food items?

 

[Deschain]

Thanks for all the info, just finished the new tank

its 8"x5"x6.5" (6.5" high)

made a deep hole for it to use, though i doubt it will, also going to make a small corkbark hide for it.

will post pics as son as the little guy has settled, i'm hoping that the tank will be ibg enough for him when he's 3" i've already got another tank waiting for him when he molts past 3" (they start showing their colours at 3"?)

OT: is it normal for a T to appear to "leap" at food items?

About the colors, I'm not sure...I havn't had a blondi sling, and my apophysis is three inches (all legs and fang), but hasn't started showing any color changes yet. So I can't help there...but...

I had to move her though because she was just too big and way to ready to zapp anything that moves in what I like to call "teleport" attack (then double spear, get over here!),
so yes that "leap" is quite normal..and not to mention the hairs these buggers will kick if pestered...in a tight space, just not a good equation for me. But on the other hand too big is even worse when they're so small. A happy medium for now.

Your tank does seem to be a bit bigger than my small KK, so a bit more substrate couldn't hurt. Just remember that the more you put in the less room you have to operate in the tank.

We want pics! We want pics!

 

[BLS Blondi]

No vaseline

Whatever you do, do not use vaseline. If it gets in the book lungs, you will have a dead pet. The best thing to do is give it deep substrate--enough so that the spider's legspan can touch the top of the lid and the ground surface (2-3" of space). The sponge is a bad drinking option. Use a shallow water dish. For my young T. blondi, I use the caps from 32-oz. Gatorade bottles. Those work perfectly. As for power-feeding, the "shortened life-expectancy" is somewhat theoretical...I power-feed all of my T. blondi, and my oldest T. blondi females are around 10 years old, and still going strong. Power-feeding will shorten the life of males though, because it forces them to molt more fequently. I have never forced a female to molt out-of-cycle by powerfeeding. But that has been my experience. I have never has a T blondi. die early from power-feeding. My mature male (no longer fertile) I DID power-feed, and he went from 1" to 10" in 2 years. Now, most adult T. blondi males die within a year of maturation, mine is 14 months past his maturation date, and just ate a feeder mouse the other day...go figure.

 

[Immortal_sin]

considering this thread is over 8 months old, I would guess it's a bit late for any advice

 

[CedrikG]

why you feed her soo much ? you seem's to have the objective to power feed her