What happened to my B. Smithi?!?

[MissIce]

Hi! I am brand new here. I hope someone can help me out with a guess. I have a B. Smithi, she is just about 7 years old. She has always been the most laid back of all 4 of my T's but 2 weeks ago she molted. No problems with the molt, it actually went very quickly. Now she is NASTY!!!! She strikes the side of her enclosure when I am near it. When I open the top to feed her she gives huge threat displays. She is eating normally ( by normal I mean like a pig ). I don't understand what happened. Does any one have any ideas?

 

[wsimms]

I had the same thing happen to my B. smithi that I had way back in the 70's. He was a great hand pet, calm, slow, and docile, then after one of his molts he turned into a hair kicking, fang bearing speed demon (accent on the demon). I quickly relegated him to "display only" status, and never got the ba**s up to check him and see if he got out of his funk. I doubt he did, though, given the amount of hairs he kicked after that. I think he had about three or four molts left in him after the Jekyll and Hyde molt, so I guess this marked the beginning of raging hormones for him.

W

 

[Bjorgly]

MissIce,

The first thing you should do is get the tarantula off the sand if that is sand you're using as the substrate. Tarantulas do not like it much at all.

Mark

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Yes, it might make her feel a little more secure if she isn't in stark contrast with her substrate. I'm using straight peat moss now, but you can use a mixture between that and potting soil (organic).

 

[deifiler]

I thought it was a towel? That's a new one!

Welcome to the boards

 

[arachnopunks]

Yeah the sand is bad as substrate. You may have seen it like that at the pet store and just so you know the pet store was wrong. Unfortunately, alot of pet stores are ignorant as to the proper care of tarantulas and many different exotic pets for that matter. Go to www.atshq.org for caresheet information and proper tarantula keeping. In the meantime change the sand to something the tarantula will appreciate such a bed-a-beast, peat moss, vermiculite, and soils (which we have had bad experiences with but others use successfully). You may notice a difference in the tarantulas attitude when you change the substrate. How would you feel if you had sand in your butt all day? If you are apprehensive about moving the tarantula you can trap and move with a clean plastic container.

 

[Henry Kane]

Getting rid of the sponge in the water dish (if that's what it is) would be a good idea too. Your T will absolutely not drown without it and can also drink just fine without it too. Sponges can harbor some nasty bacteria. Just a friendly tip.

You have a beautiful spider indeed!

See ya.

Atrax

 

[MissIce]

Darn I knew I should have added that it was a pretty old pic.

I have her on Vermic. and soil now without a sponge. She has been on this new bedding for over a year now. The Pic was a bad choice sorry.

 

[deifiler]

Ahh apologies if it seemed liek people having a go, there comments were in the interest of the spiders health. You'll soon realise that tarantulas are like kids to the swarm of arachnopettians

 

[arachnopunks]

Originally posted by MissIce


Darn I knew I should have added that it was a pretty old pic.

I have her on Vermic. and soil now without a sponge. She has been on this new bedding for over a year now. The Pic was a bad choice sorry.

Good to hear As to your original question about your T's temper; We are of the school of thought that tarantulas are individuals who will display their individual "personalities" and even if a T is known to be handleable the individual may not be so inclined. We have species that we handle and handleable species that are real Ba****ds. So it could be that the T just doesn't want to be messed with anymore. Is the T near a molt? Because they can get nasty around their periods.

 

[MissIce]

She molted 2 weeks ago and has eaten since then. I don't handle her and I never have. I don't feel the need or desire for that matter. She is just my great big conversation piece.

Strange enough I have a female H. Lividum that is so easy going that it's kind of scary. ( I'm not crazy enough to handle her ) She just hangs out where you can see her. She has more than enough soil to burrow if she wants but she doesn't. She is a great eater so she must be happy. When I got her she only had 6 legs and had 8 after only 1 molt!!! AMAZING

Thank you everyone for being so quick to reply.

 

[chuck]

Originally posted by arachnopunks
Good to hear As to your original question about your T's temper; We are of the school of thought that tarantulas are individuals who will display their individual "personalities" and even if a T is known to be handleable the individual may not be so inclined. We have species that we handle and handleable species that are real Ba****ds. So it could be that the T just doesn't want to be messed with anymore. Is the T near a molt? Because they can get nasty around their periods.

i agree with the Individuality of a T. i have 2 B.smithi's, one so docile i could annoy her all day and she wont show me a defensive posture, or kick hairs. my new B.smithi, only an 1" shorter, is as docile as a lion. shes almost bald from kicking hairs, she already struck at me 2x, all while im trying to put in or remove prey. i hope the nasty attitude isnt due to its "period" b/c im hoping for a male :}

 

[MissIce]

I have 3 B. Smithi's all together. 2 Gals and one that is about 2.5" and was promised was a male. He (?) roams all over his enclosure as my girls sit like rocks. Is this more common in males? Or is it just a matter of choice of the T?
:?

 

[Telson]

Having molted recently I'm thinking there's a decent chance that this temper tantrum could be temporary and she might chill back out in a matter or weeks or possibly even days... Never know.:?

Beautiful T by the way.

And welcome to the boards!

 

[LPacker79]

Wow, another person from Saginaw, welcome! I don't have any B. smithis, but one of my G. roseas got real pissy after her molt in January. She's starting to calm down now, but still goes after tweezers and such when I'm cleaning up cricket pieces. She strikes at water too. Oddly enough, she's very handleable as long as I use my hands to encourage her forward and not a painbrush

 

[blackacidevil]

Temporary aggressiveness?

My Texas Brown and my Curlyhair both recently molted and both are now the opposite of the docile, handlable T's they once were. I actually originally bought the curlyhair so my son could have something to handle. I had given up on handling them but if it may be temporary I'll do the usual paint brush test and see if they rear up for a strike first.