# Other Animals > Other Pets >  curly hair help

## Lija

you know how it goes, your kid is getting something and you're the one who is supposed to know the answers lol

 anyone knows care of curly hair tarantula? i know the basics ( ground dwellers, humidity 70-80, temps 70-80)
 problem is that the upper part of the belly  has a bold spot, quite big, it got bold a few days after we got it in May, then the guy molted in june, the belly was all right for a week and then got bold again. the weird part is that the longer hair is remaining, but smaller darker hair is gone here. any ideas or suggestions?
 as well how to do a terrarium for him/her, other then just go throw a few rocks/cork/etc on top of cocofiber substrate.  how the tank cleaning should look like? how often?

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## Carlos

Hi Lija!  I keep my tarantulas in ExoTerra breeding boxes according to their size or even little clear plastic boxes from Michaels for the smaller ones.  A good guide is that the long side should be no less than 3 times the spider size.  Substrate is an in. or so of EcoEarth/Plantation Soil mixed 50-50 with locally available worm casings (or could use ABG mix).  A piece of cork slanted against side makes an nice retreat and a plastic cap or similar (Petsmart has nice $1 plastic water dishes in hermit crab section).

Many ground new world tarantulas have the ability to defensively shake their irritant hair of.  Maybe you kid is playing with it a bit more than spider likes. Here is a nice care sheet for them:  Curlyhair Tarantula Care Sheet.  This is known as the tarantula bible and IMO, the best book about them: The Tarantula Keeper's Guide - Comprehensive Information on Care, Housing, and Feeding: Stanley A. Schultz, Marguerite J. Schultz .  Good luck  :Smile:  !

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Lija

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## Lija

it escaped 2 days ago, luckily we found it right there, so i figured i better figure out things myself  :Smile:  and be on top of it, some kids want a hamster as a first pet, she wanted tarantula, wanted it badly and for very long..... i tried to convince to get a frog, didn't happen  :Smile: 

 my daughter is saying she is not handling it at all unless I'm around, not sure how much trust what 8y old says.... she admitted though that she is checking on tarantula every day, she is lifting a cork it has burrowed under and spraying the cage and tarantula itself, it should be quite stressful for tarantula i think, can it be a reason?
 what is the best to keep humidity up, fog or mist? how sensitive tarantula is to water drops? and of course the only water we use is treated tap.
 right now after we found it, it is sitting in one of my spare critter keepers, that is too small i think for its size,  and it is difficult to open/close, so i got 12x12x12 exo terra i figured it would be easy for her to open/close the doors and it looks good, do you think that one will be ok? can i stick a plant in there? plastic may be?

 going to check these links right now! thank you!

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## Carlos

OK, never spray the spider, they do not like it.  And do not lift it's home to check on it daily either.  I use a small LED flashlight to take a quick look without disturbing it much.  I do not worry much about temps or humidity.  Lightly spray a corner of their cages once a week for babies and juvies; the adults just have their water dish and no spraying.  Problem with tall enclosure is that if frog climbs and falls on something hard it could hurt itself.  For that reason, keep mine in the breeder boxes or smaller plastic boxes I drill holes into.  A plastic plant is fine  :Smile:  .

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## Lija

hm.... if i spray lightly just the corner humidity will stay very low,  we have very low air humidity, we're lucky when it is 30, to get it to 70-80 i gotta use some heavy guns and cover almost completely top screen.  what should i do, keep humidity low and have a water dish? i can spray i guess the way water is not reaching a spider.

i love this 


> Problem with tall enclosure is that if frog climbs and falls on something hard it could hurt itself


. lol you meant tarantula aren't you? if so... really? how do you know they hurt? do you think 12" tall is too tall? the spider is about 4.5" leg span right now.

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## Glenn

A good rule of thumb is about 1.5X it's DLS (diagonal leg span) to the top of the enclosure from the substrate. Any more than that and a fall from the lid or sides can result in injury. Unfortunately an exoterra cube makes a poor enclosure for nearly all terrestrials (because of those doors) without some mods/tweaks which are too involved to make it worth it, IMO, especially of you have something else handy. You'd best stick with a KK or something similar, where you don't have anything preventing you from piling the dirt on.

Firstly, you'll want to refrain from bothering it too much. They take time to "adjust" to their new surroundings, and frequent removal of the hide or mucking about the enclosure will essentially prolong their period, and result in a stressed, unhappy spider. 

Second, forget the sprayer, and don't worry about the humidity being too low.  This species is very resilient, and will do fine with just a water dish (just make sure it's completely topped off) even if you live in the desert. If you are worried, you may block the top completely with Saran Wrap with no issues. The water dish will provide all the hydration it needs, and she won't suffocate. If you are still worried, chuck the hydrometer. Problem solved!
Same goes with temperature. Forget what those care sheets tell you. Whatever temperatures you are comfortable with will be just fine for your tarantula. In fact, I find subjecting species to natural seasonal temps to be beneficial for predicting molts, which helps immensely for breeding.

As for cleaning, all you really need to do is spot clean. Boluses, clumps of poo you can see, and dead feeders should be removed as you find them. You shouldn't clean out the entire enclosure at all if possible, only doing so in dire situations (overrun with pests, fungi, or whatever else), if it gets really dirty (webs aren't dirty!) or if you are rehousing. I know some hobbiests with tarantulas on 7 year old + dirt!

Hope this helps.

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## Carlos

Yep, thinking about frogs in here  :Big Grin:  .  Terrestrial tarantula adults can break open their abdomens with a large fall (couple feet as in from someones hands) and it's usually fatal.  Not sure what is the limit in height or if there is a factual size/height relationship  :Frown:  . 

I start offering water in bottle caps at around 2 in. legs span.  Can spray more, but again, humidity is not critical like in frogs.  Could try covering some of top screening to increase humidity like we do with frogs.

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## Lija

thank you guys!!!!!! that is different  :Smile:  from frogs i mean.

KK - i have quite a few laying around in close to all sizes, but ultimately it is my daughters pet, so eventually she is gonna be the one taking care of, feeding, etc, KK is not that easy to open and then close completely, that is why i don't really use it for anything other then bath tubs for my frogs. so what exactly is wrong with exo cube? digging dirt out - why that is a problem?- unless it decided to dig close to the doors, but if not to put anything by the doors that a spider would want to dig under it shouldn't be a problem? 
  height - I don't want to disturb  him now, but if it is about 4.5 leg span, it should be about 6" diagonally i think + recommended 1.5" =7.5, the ground is not really hard if it eco earth with soil, and the guy is growing, so height wise i'm thinking is ok.

 humidity- i guess frog care requirements are too much in my head to just take it as you say, too used to keeping at 70-80 for frogs, a bit less  or unstable for longer time and a fogger is coming home and gets stuck to a tank.  lol
 sorry i just need to hear it  from you again  :Smile:  in 20-30 humidity keeping tarantula on a dry substrate ( it will be really fast) but having water dish at all the time is ok. please say yes or not  :Smile:   and if i'm in panic mode i can spray substrate, but it is not necessary.

 another q - care sheets, if they're off - is there's one that works? i know there're tons of bs care sheets on a net for frogs that's for sure, same for tarantulas i guess.

 P.S. an why do i think my qs to you might seem like some of the qs we get in pac section lol sorry.

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## Glenn

Haha it's understandable. Most of the things about caring for Ts is backwards compared to other pets.

On the exo cubes - number one issue is the front loading doors. Because of this, you are limited to the amount of dirt you can put in there, and a safe height may be an issue. I think I missed the fact that yours is 4.5"; I was assuming it was still a little one! IIRC, it's 7" from the top to the bottom of the doors (less if you slope some dirt towards the back), so actually, you are right, I think the cube is doable.

On humidity: that should be fine (with the heat on in the winter my room gets that dry sometimes), but, if you notice it spending a lot of her time around, over, or in the dish, she may be feeling a little dry, and you can simply cover the top with plastic wrap (with how much ventilation there is in those cubes, I'd be doing this anyway) to hold in more humidity.

Generally speaking (unless we are talking about Theraphosa, Ephebopus, Hysterocrates or maybe Megaphobema), if you see temperature numbers or humidity numbers on a care sheet, there's a good chance it's gonna be BS. Here's a link that will work for the majority of tarantulas, your species included: http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html
Read the rest if this site as well, especially the myths section (http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/myths00.html).

He's very wordy, but he knows his stuff.

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Lija

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## Lija

hahaha this is priceless, the guy who wrote the care sheet is awesome! i like it!
 thank you!

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## Lija

guys..... consider me crazy...... i won't get offended..... 
 after last few days spent on the net reading about tarantulas and trying to help ours i figured i just have to get another one, a tiny one and watch it grow into a big one. curly hair is my daughters and the other one is gonna be mine  :Smile:  is it normal? or like with frogs you can't have just one?
 anyhow... i know, i know.... please convince me it is A very bad idea, my hubby would be delighted! lol
 so whom should i get? and how to deal with the tiny one, keep him in a tiny space and upgrade it as it grows right? they are usually sold in plastic containers like meds, keep it here or use the smallest KK or even may be deli cup with vent holes? how fast do they grow?

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## Glenn

It begins.....  :Smile: 

Nearly any of the Grammostola, Brachypelma, and Aphonopelma make good starters. They are hardy, readily available, and generally remain relatively docile. The big con for most of them, especially of you want to grow one up, is that they grow slowly, and aren't really much to look at when they're small.

Yes, you've got the right idea with the slings: keep them in appropriately sized enclosures and upgrade as they grow. A lot of people keep them in those pill vials; I prefer plastic portion cups myself. You can use almost anything providing it's made of plastic/glass, has a secure lid, and can be ventilated.

One species I can recommend is Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, the Green Bottle Blue tarantula, or GBB. I'm quite fond of these guys, and IMO, they are the perfect starter especially if you intend to grow one up from a sling.
Like the previously mentioned genera, they are very hardy even as slings, readily available and affordable. They also look amazing, and unlike most of the previously mentioned, they have a beautiful color scheme as slings. They grow relatively quickly with regular temperatures and feeding (I'll get into this later), and are very good eaters. They seem to be more visible than most other species too, usually opting to sit right in the open than in a hide/hole somewhere, and they make intricate web structures. The only con I can think of is that they are a very skittish, flighty species that wouldn't be a good candidate for handling. IMO, handling should be kept to a minimum, so it's a non issue for me, but keep it in mind if you are looking for something you would like to handle every now and then.

"How fast do they grow" is a loaded question when it comes to tarantulas!
It varies greatly depending on the temperature you keep it, the amount you feed, and the sex of the tarantula (at least in the juvie/sub adult phase). On top of this, different species will grow at different rates!
Generally speaking, the warmer and more often you feed it, the faster it will molt and grow. Feed them sparingly and keep them cool, and they'll barely grow at all. Their growth can be sped up and slowed down by manipulating these two variables. Males tend to grow faster, reaching sexual maturity and adult size much sooner than a female. To muck it up further, sometimes siblings from the same sac will grow at different rates despite being kept at the same conditions and being the same sex, for no apparent reason!

To give you an idea, I sold a couple of slings sometime in 2011 approximately two years ago. They were undoubtably fed normally. Their siblings I have with me I feed sparingly, and I make no effort to heat them in any way. Just last month, the guy was selling them as a pair, one was a male that matured in May (they are typically about 4"+), the other a female at about 3.5". Their siblings here at home are still in their "baby clothes" barely pushing 1.5". At this rate, the mature male will be long dead of old age before the males in my care even get their adult colors!

Didn't mean to make this post so long winded, so sorry if I lost you :Smile: 

Short version:
No, you're not crazy,
Yes that's pretty much how to keep slings,
I suggest you get a GBB, they're awesome,
And it may or may not take a few/several years for your sling to grow up.
 :Smile:

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## Lija

wooowww! now i want 2 Ts  :Big Grin:  because i like red knees and now i want GBBs too, i guess it will depend on what is available and since nothing is, we'll see what people will bring to Red Deer. what do you think about red knees? see i'd like to handle now and then, of course not on a regular basis, but once in a blue moon would be fun to take it out.
 by the way i did 12x12 cube yesterday, need to take pics, in think curly hair likes it, ate a cricket today and now is sitting out of the burrow.

 p.s. get ready for more qs that I'm sure to come lol thank you!

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## Lija

I. AM. DUMED...... 
Greenbottle Blue(Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens)-Tangled In Webs - City of Toronto Pets For Sale - Kijiji City of Toronto Canada.
 these guys are coming to red deer.....

 all right, a q - it is says most of GBBs are skittish and nervous, some guard their burrow... are you sure it is a good thing for beginners?
 what 3/4" means - a tiny sling? and i should get that?

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## Glenn

Getting two (or more) is always a better plan in my head, but I'm a little biased :Smile: 

Red knees are a fine choice, though they are a bit pricy here in Canada. They are a Brachypelma, so they grow very slowly, and will be a plain shade of brown for most of it's baby years. They are an excellent choice if you are wanting to handle, even if some individuals will flick a lot. At the risk of enabling you further, you can get nearly anything you want, as tarantulas ship very well. We have a couple of dealers here in Canada, and you'll find many hobbiests selling stuff across the country while perusing Canadian classifieds of spider forums. Picking them out in person is always best though; I've dealt with Dawn before, and she is great. Warning you now, you may come home with more than what you were looking for. I'm sure you know what that's like haha.

Anyway, the GBBs defensiveness isn't anything to worry about, IMO. I mean, you're getting a sling, so no matter what species it is you won't be handling it much at all anyway until its larger. By the time it's big enough to maybe scare you with it's big show, you'll be used to it. Besides, "defending its burrow" for GBBs in most cases consists of the spider bolting away from whatever bothered it and cowering somewhere. If it wasn't able to run, or is feeling particularly bold, it will start with the hair flicking and threat poses with fake lunges and ground slaps. None of this is really and issue unless you're bothering it with your face or your fingers right up to it!

3/4" is a sling, yes. Probably 2nd instar, which is pretty much right out of the sac. Yeah, if you wanna grow one up, you should get that!

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## Jack

Glenn is right. GBBs can be skittish but so can any tarantula. They have different personalities. Chilean roses are supposed to be calm, docile and perfect for beginners but mine is really aggressive and rears up allot in a defensive display. Red knees are a great choice and it's true that they grow slowly but that doesn't mean they aren't brown for a long time. This Red Knee has only just turned a year old and already has plenty of colour. When I got it a year ago it was less than 1/4" and was only £7.99.

Edit: 3/4" will be more than 2nd instar.

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## Lija

i have a very bad feeling here.... Ts may be even more addictive then frogs, gosh you can leave them for a week and go camping,  they need small cages and don't need all that stuff sticking out of my other cages, they don't even need thermometers/hydrometers and then on top they're so awesome.. i'm in trouble....
 my curly hair by the way ate another cricket yesterday, and was sitting out on a nice cork piece i have in there, it should probably mean he is all right.

 what does instar mean?

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## Glenn

> Edit: 3/4" will be more than 2nd instar.


 While true for B. smithi (they are ~1/4" at 2nd instar) GBBs are actually relatively big at second instar. The largest individuals I observed were even a hair above 3/4" after molting into 2nd instar!



> i have a very bad feeling here.... Ts may be even more addictive then frogs, gosh you can leave them for a week and go camping, they need small cages and don't need all that stuff sticking out of my other cages, they don't even need thermometers/hydrometers and then on top they're so awesome.. i'm in trouble....
>  my curly hair by the way ate another cricket yesterday, and was sitting out on a nice cork piece i have in there, it should probably mean he is all right.
>  what does instar mean?


Yup, they seemingly thrive on neglect!
Instar is basically used to describe the developmental period of some inverts, measured by the amount of molts. Being Nth instar mans the individual had molted N times since "hatching". With tarantulas, we are mostly only concerned with the first few and the last one (for males); Most species become fully formed little predators at second instar and are typically ready to sell/ship out at that time. You will have many to choose from at the Red deer show. Not only will Dawn (Tangled in webs) be there, but Bruce (Arachnophiliacs) and Martin & Amanda (Tarantula Canada, though I'm not sure if they will personally be there). Vancouver has a couple of shows a year, and the local spider vendor recently quit the hobby, so I'm pretty jealous you get to see three big vendors in one show. A couple of other species to look out for at the show are B. Emilia, and G. pulchripes. Both slow growers, but look great when they get their adult colors, and are among the most docile.

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## Hypnotic

I know what you mean, my curly was my very first tarantula, bought him as a sling and he's an adult male now.
He enjoys neglect, he gets feed weekly but eats about once a month-2 months, aslong as the back is nice and round, the spider should be healthy.
Mine has escaped 3 times, at first I thought I was being careless and forgetfull, but my spider actually slides open windows, so it has a little lock on them now.  :Wink: 

I actually own two tarantulas, I would advise looking up Aphonopelma moderatum, I currently have a sling of that species and it's looking awsome, Can't wait untill it's an adult.

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## Lija

i must say GBB and red knee look the most striking, such a bold colors, we are gonna have another show in Calgary, but i don't think i can wait this long lol

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## Hypnotic

I've actually owned a female red knee, ended up selling her on to a breeder. From all the animals I've owned, that spider has got to be the most boring, foul mooded creature I've ever met. Everytime I even got close to the terrarium, I got a face full of hair.

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## Lija

hm... interesting...
 is care is the same pretty much for everybody? or should i say as less care as possible lol ?

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## Hypnotic

Yeah, it's pretty much the same for all tarantulas, there are always some exceptions though. But most caresheets I've read up on, say the same thing.

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## Jack

Lija you should look at both mexican red knee and fire legs. Both different but both have red on their legs. Instar is the period between two sheds not the actual shed.

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## Lija

thank you! will sure do  :Smile:  just got a new camera, will play tomorrow, hoping to take some pics of mine. 
 how can you tell if your tarantula is hungry? how much do i need to feed mine? and what to feed babies and how often?

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## Jack

You should feed them about once a week. Some tarantulas will eat often luke almost everyday but this is unhealthy for them. After your T moults you shouldn't feed it for at least a week. Many people say to wait a month but you dont. After about a week and a half to two weeks after its shed you should feed it a roach or whatever for three days in a row then go back to once a week. This is what I have found to work well. Dont worry if it doesn't eat for a while because they dont eat much. DONT FEED THEM MICE. If you do though only one a year.Despite what people argue there is more than enough evidence to prove the calcium causes shedding problems.

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## Jack

That should say like not luke lol

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## Hypnotic

Regarding molting, I think I have the most awsome sling ever.  :Big Grin:    Right now he has barricaded himself in his log, even filled up all the holes to it with the substrate so I know the little one is shedding.
He also did this last time, I can simply check daily if he's out or not, and when he's out, he's ready to eat.

I'm personally against feeding mice to tarantulas, I've owned 4 in total and I've never ever fed even one of them a pinky. They don't need mice and when feeding live mice, there can be serious risk attached to it.
Btw Truffs1178, I disagree with your calcium statement, the majority of a mouse's calcium is stored in it's skeleton, wich isn't eaten by the tarantula. However, there are valid arguments that prove mice contain wrong nutrients, proteins and fats.
Tarantulas can thrive on a insect only diet, so I agree on the part where feeding mice is unnecesary and well, it creates a serious mess and leaves the stench of a corpse.

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## Jack

Its funny when they block themselves in their burrow isn't it. My red knee doesnt do it any more though. It is the calcium. Search it if you like. I dont know how they get the calcium but that's what the experts say.

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## Jack

Calcium isn't only stored in the bones of. Mammals. There is also calcium in blood, muscle and other tissues.

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## Hypnotic

Read this link  :Wink: 
MYTHS: MICE CALCIUM AND MOLTING

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## Glenn

Slings and adults can be fed on the same schedule; Once a week seems to be a popular choice. I feed most of mine every two weeks. As long as their abdomens are at least the same size as their carapace, they'll be fine.

There is no strong evidence for or against vertebrate prey other than it's a chore to clean up after, and it's not necessary for survival.
I know of several keepers who feed FT mice regularly to their larger Ts with no issues, and one who has fed one of their Asian arboreal nothing but frogs. :Frown: 
I feed my tarantulas with the same gut loaded, calcium rich feeders my big frog gets, and they're all doing fine.
It's just another one of those myths. 
Here's a good read. Note that it's written by an "expert": MYTHS: MICE CALCIUM AND MOLTING

Edit: ...and Hypnotic beat me to it.  :Stick Out Tongue:

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## Jack

Well I guess you guys got me there :Wink: 

While the guy who wrote this may be a T expert he obviously isn't in the biology of mammals. He says that it cant be calcium because they dont digest bones but lime I said before in mammals there is alot of calcium in blood and muscles and other tissues.

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## Jack

Im not dissagreeing with the guy just he doesn't take into account calcium in anything but bones.

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## Hypnotic

Well, the calcium isn't really the issue. It seems we are all on the same page when it comes to feeding gutloaded insects over mice anyday.
However, I do spoil my cranwelli girl once a month with a mouse. Whenever she sees the mouse, her feeding response is through the roof. Once she even leaped up to snag it from my hands. 
They are high in fat, but aslong as my girl looks nice and round, I don't see the harm in it.

Edit: Truffs1178, I actually know people who also feed tarantulas nothing else but mice, and had no molting problems ever. I think one of the big problems with this issue is that alot of tarantulas die from molts gone wrong, even ones that aren't fed mice. So I think it's easy to associate the two, but remember, there is no evidence supporting it.
Eitherway, I would love to see a study be released with actual numbers from tarantulas fed only mice during a lifespan, with insect fed tarantulas on the other end.

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## Jack

I guess there is no deffinative proof of either sides of the story. My male bullfrog loves them too.

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## Jack

I was just going off what I have read. Sorry for s.tarting an arguement. I just didn't want to risk killing Lijas T. That's ehy I brought up the calcium thing
.

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## Hypnotic

We're not having an argument! We are agreeing on the same thing, but disagreeing on the reason.  :Big Grin: 
Anyway, it's not important, I think all of us made enough valid arguments so people can decide for themselves.

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## Jack

Im still a tarantula noob. I have only had red knee and chilean rose

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## Glenn

> ...what to feed babies...?


Missed this bit :Smile: 

Easiest thing would be small crickets/feeders, usually the smallest you can get at a pet store is good for any typical sling (aside from the slings of dwarf Ts, which would need something much smaller).
If you cannot get small feeders for whatever reason, the good (maybe) news is that slings will scavenge, so you can feed them parts from larger feeders like the jumping legs on crickets, or prekilll a larger one they otherwise could not take on their own, and leave it where they will happen upon it in their enclosure.

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## Lija

thank you so much guys for all your help, i can say i sure know more now.  but the more you know the more qs you have, so..... until now i didn't even know they eat mice in general  :Smile:  i don't know what i was thinking but spiders that i saw outside all eat insects, but i guess with big tarantula especially if one named bird eater, would eat that. why are they called bird eaters, are they up to eat a bird?
 for a baby i'll have small crickets, i get 2weeks ones for my baby geckos, so that stuff is always around.

 a qs regarding mine. you are saying he is happy when he barricaded himself in his burrow. mine are out during a day, sitting on a cork on a ground and then goes back into his burrow at night. what does that mean? hungry? happy? just sitting minding his own business looking around? he was housed in his current tank 2 days ago and didn't dig much yet, may be s/he likes the burrow it has  :Smile:  have a pic, will post as soon as i get to a normal device.
 is there any explanation to this behavior? curious  :Smile: 

 oh and when and how to sex them? is it something i can do myself?

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## Hypnotic

Yes, you can sex them yourselves, it can be done two ways, by looking at the pedipalps when the tarantula is mature (the front legs of the male grow little hooks that are used for mating on the inner side of the legs) and for the second one, I'l give you a link  :Wink:  Sexing Guide
Well, mine stays in his burrow all day but sometimes wanders around, note the barricading inside the burrow for my tarantula points to molting, he only barricades himself so predators can't get him while he's weak.

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## Glenn

> thank you so much guys for all your help, i can say i sure know more now.  but the more you know the more qs you have, so..... until now i didn't even know they eat mice in general  i don't know what i was thinking but spiders that i saw outside all eat insects, but i guess with big tarantula especially if one named bird eater, would eat that. why are they called bird eaters, are they up to eat a bird?


It is thought that the name "bird-eater" originated from eyewitness accounts from naturalists observing arboreal tarantulas (yup, they come in arboreal types too!) eating birds in the wild. In particular, the works of Maria Sybilla Merian in 1705 with illustrations of tarantulas eating birds, made a huge impact as a spider being able to catch and eat a bird was unheard of.
So, while they do take birds down in the wild, it will almost certainly be arboreal tarantulas, and will probably make up a very small part of it's diet.




> a qs regarding mine. you are saying he is happy when he barricaded himself in his burrow. mine are out during a day, sitting on a cork on a ground and then goes back into his burrow at night. what does that mean? hungry? happy? just sitting minding his own business looking around? he was housed in his current tank 2 days ago and didn't dig much yet, may be s/he likes the burrow it has  have a pic, will post as soon as i get to a normal device.
>  is there any explanation to this behavior? curious


That's just a tarantula being a tarantula. From the sounds of it, it just seems like it's treating the hide as a burrow; Most of mine will come to the entrance and "wait for prey to walk by". It must also like what you've done with the place, a recently rehoused tarantula would typically be crawling around everywhere, or hanging from the glass for a week or so. 
Most of the behavior you will see will seem odd at first, but you'll get used to it. Would love to see pics :Smile: 




> oh and when and how to sex them? is it something i can do myself?


Pretty much what Hypnotic said :Smile: 
If don't have a shed handy, you can also sex it by looking at the ventral side of the abdomen. This method is a bit tricky and requires lots of practice to get it down, and even then one can still get it wrong, especially with some of the trickier species. It also works best on older tarantulas, so it will be difficult, if not impossible to reliably sex a sling this way. Just in case, here's a link: How to Determine the Sex of Your Tarantula: Rick C West - Birdspiders.com

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## Lija

anyhow i don't think i will try to take it out anytime soon to check on sex, male or female not a big difference at this point, as long as it is happy, but i bet at its size it would be possible to determine that, i think I'll wait for the shed to try to do that, dead skin can't stress out  :Smile:  that bold spot should be gone after shed, right?

presenting Jamie :Smile:  sitting on its favorite spot on a cork, i saw him yesterday walking around late at night, sitting on a water dish, then back to burrow, this am he is on the same spot on a cork again  :Smile: , how old it can be?

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## Hypnotic

It looks like a good size to sex, but we'll need to see a picture of the front legs and even with the pedipalps missing ,the only 100% sure way is to check through the molt. Note, that bald spot you were referring too is caused by stress, something or someone is stressing your tarantula, mine had that bald spot after I accidently thought a dubia was eaten, but it was still in there.
So find the source of stress and emediately remove it.
When you went near him, was he flicking hairs at you? did you see his backleg rubbing his hind body?

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## Lija

see the beginning of the thread  :Smile:  my daughter used to lift up the cork he has burrow under every day to check on him and spray his tank and him included every day too. now the source of stress is removed and nobody even opens the cage, unless me here to take a pic or to feed. will do pic, any side of front legs in particular? 

 no i didn't see, but i wasn't really looking either  :Wink:

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## Hypnotic

Seems I mixed my names up, sorry. "Sexing adults is simple for adult males because most have the distinctive tibial spurs on
the underside of the front legs". (pedipalps are the two smaller ones, and these are increased in size on males) 
If your spider has them, they should be easy to spot, they look like hooks on the spiders front walking legs.

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## Lija

no, no hooks present,  should i assume it is a female and wait for a shed to confirm?

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## Monza geckos

good advice jaquiline

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## Jack

Thanks Benny. :Cool:  How's Ember and when are you getting your Gargoyle Gecko?

Edit:Private message me. It seems a bit rude making someones Tarantula thread into a Gecko thread lol.

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## Glenn

> no, no hooks present,  should i assume it is a female and wait for a shed to confirm?


Not necessarily.
If it doesn't have tibial hooks or bulbs, that only means it's not a _mature_ male. It could still very well be an immature male as well as a female. If you happen to catch it up on the glass, take a close photo with the macro on of the ventral side of the abdomen, with a clear view of the area between the first pair of book lungs, like this. I know my way around a furrow and can probably tell you the sex  :Smile: .

As for how old it is, there is no way to know for sure. As I said in a previous post, growth rate varies greatly depending on how warm it was kept, how often it's been fed, and what sex it is. A tarantula at that size could be anywhere from a 2 - 15 years old!

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## Lija

> Not necessarily.
> If it doesn't have tibial hooks or bulbs, that only means it's not a _mature_ male. It could still very well be an immature male as well as a female. If you happen to catch it up on the glass, take a close photo with the macro on of the ventral side of the abdomen, with a clear view of the area between the first pair of book lungs, like this. I know my way around a furrow and can probably tell you the sex .
> 
> As for how old it is, there is no way to know for sure. As I said in a previous post, growth rate varies greatly depending on how warm it was kept, how often it's been fed, and what sex it is. A tarantula at that size could be anywhere from a 2 - 15 years old!


 will try, but s/he never on a  glass, I'll wait for it to be bigger or just for a shed. 
 to be honest i don;t care much male or female, i will never bred them anyway, but males live shorter so it would be nice to have a female. either way life span is counting starting maturity, is it right?

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## Glenn

Most mature males will live about a year or so after maturing (Grammostola rosea males more often than not push three years!), but can take quite a while to get there. Slow growing Grammostola and Brachypelma can take 11+ years to mature in the wild, or if fed lightly in captivity.

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Lija

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## nok1888

> it escaped 2 days ago


See this is why I refuse to let my wife get a tarantula lol


2.0 Border Collies - Jinky &amp; Chance
3.0 Cats - Monty, Dodger &amp; Crunchie
1.1 Royal Pythons Orlina &amp; Sedrick
0.1 BCI Boa - Aasia
1.0 Western Hognose - Hagrid
0.1 Bearded Dragon - iiara

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## Lija

> See this is why I refuse to let my wife get a tarantula lol


 it happened only because of owners (us), we didn't think about possibility of escaping and i was actually pretty sure our cage should be ok, and when we found it, it was like 10 cm away from his cage. In the future i will always think on how to make sure the tank is 100% escape proof, just like i do with king snakes, especially babies, they're nightmare lol but tarantulas are awesome, i never knew they're so interesting to keep.

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## Lija

:Smile: .... and i got mexican knee baby from tangled in webs  :Smile:  there are 3 sheds in a deli cup it is in from tiny tiny to little bigger, it is a bit smaller then adult cricket now, when we got home he ate small cricket. was very cute to watch  :Smile:  how their size is measured, like you mentioned before, from end of front leg to the end of rear one diagonally?

 a q - the soil is very dirty, lots of leftovers of everything- food, sheds,  parts of bigger spiders sheds and not sure what's else. I would like to change it and put a hide may be, small something that would fit in a deli cup, i have small flat pieces of cork i can use. so should i do it or leave as is? and if to leave as is for how long? if to change - how it should look like, how to transfer such a tiny and fragile thing? spoon?

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## Hypnotic

I usually tip the enclosure lightly and chase them out carefully into the new one, I clean mine once every 6 months, but note, I spot clean and use a mix of plantation soil and vermiculite.
Sure you can put cork in there, just a heads up, spiders are ultimate destroyers. So far every tarantula I owned chewed pieces out of the cork, it's really funny to see.
If he's that small you can even use your hand to move him, like I do with my little sling right now, just be warned, they can be *FAST*.
I'l take a picture of my enclosure and post it in a minute or two, I'l also add a picture of my sling, since he's currently in hiding (suspect he has to shed).


And yeah, my windows get dirty instantly when misting, he's been in there for around a month or two.

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## Lija

Oh guys need help here.
 My baby red knee got shed for the 4th time and got a piece of old shed stuck to his top part of the belly, it is thorax upper part that is stuck to it, can't take pic it is so fast, the moment I open the lid to take pic it disappears in his burrow.

 What to do?

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## Jack

Try increasing humidity. It would help if I could see a pic. I need to see the exact problem and size of sling. How long has it been stuck on?

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## Lija

A week or a little bit longer, I thought it might fall off.
 humidity is fine, substrate is exo earth and it is not dry yet, it also has a water dish too. 

 No idea how to take pic, it is very very fast. Size.... Hm.... I'd say about 1,5" diagonally.

 Going to try to do that picture.....  May be try to get it out of its little tank

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## Jack

Can you not pick it up?

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## Lija



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## Jack

Oh the thorax is stuck on the abdomen. That shouldn't be a problem. Just use tweezers and try to knock it off. Don't grab it in case it's actually stuck to something. It doesn't seem stuck though so it should fall off with a little help. You will probably have to take it out its tank.

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## Lija

Hmmmmm it is gonna be interesting..... Should I spray on it or something?

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## MatthewM1

I agree should come right off with a little gentle help. I just had a similar thing happen with my LP, it came right off with a little touch from the tongs

Sent from my LG-P930 using Tapatalk 2

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## Lija

I took it out and now belly looks like that. Leave it or do something?

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## Jack

NOOOOO DONT SPRAY HER!!! They hate that and it really stresses them. They have an incredibly sense of touch as well. Such awesome little creatures. :Smile:

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## Jack

Ok now I'm more concerned. I can't quite tell what that is. Can you describe it. I think it's had a bad molt. :Frown:

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## Lija



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## Lija

It looks like a wrinkle of old skin I'd say or may be leftovers

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## Jack

If it's more excess she'd then try to tap that off as well. I thought it looked like a would or something on the pic. Extra skin shouldn't be too bad though. Keep me updated I want to see it ok.

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## Lija

thank you Jack, no it is not a wound and if it is, it is healed.
 so i should leave it be and it should be better after next shed? or a guy will knock it off? and if it is a bad shed, why did that happen and what i can do to prevent it from happening in the future?

 all i can say that whatever that is it didn't affect his appetite lol it is possible to overfeed tarantula?

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## Glenn

Looks like it's some left over molt on his abdomen; I've had that happen to some slings on occasion.
What you can do is keep it moist for a while, and try and grab it off with tweezers or something if it does not come off on it's own. I would think it's just barely stuck on, as there are bristles under there.
Otherwise, you can just leave it; it's not anywhere serious that would impede a future molt.

You can "overfeed" a tarantula to a point that it may stop eating or fast for an indeterminate amount of time, but I've only heard/read of one or two reports of them actually eating so much that they seemingly burst.
To be safe, I wouldn't feed it so much to the point where the abdomen is more than double the size of the carapace.

Edit:

Cute 'lil guy, by the way. I miss when mine was that small.

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## Lija

thank you! i will slow down on a food then, the guy eats like 6-8 3 week crickets probably a week, i get them for my baby geckos once a week and then extra just throw in there, i must say they disappear pretty fast. I can swear after molt it doubled its previous size, how this is possible?

 i tried to grab whatever is stuck and take it off, it stuck pretty well, i'm afraid to hurt it. will increase humiidty, but i think it should be around 75 at least in there already, it is a small plastic tub with a few small holes for ventilation, substrate has never dried out yet. 

 i have another question though about my other one, it has molded, going right now to take a pic. one of those what the heck I'm looking at lol

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## Jack

Make sure humidity and temp are perfect especially when it's molting. If it already was then it's just bad luck.

When a tarantula molts it isn't actually stuck inside the old exoskeleton all cramped up. It comes out soft then as it's new exoskeleton is hardening it expands so it grows bigger.

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## Lija

Boy or girl?

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## Glenn

Looks like a boy to me.

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## Lija

I was told forget about humidity and temps and they strive on neglect lol right Glenn? Lol

Then the q- can humidity be too high? I can get one of those humidity gauges and stick a probe in this enclosure, I should have one of those, I have so much of everything laying around lol

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## Jack

Looks male.

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## Lija

thank you! it doesn't have hooks though, does it mean he will have it later on?

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## Glenn

> I was told forget about humidity and temps and they strive on neglect lol right Glenn? Lol
> Then the q- can humidity be too high? I can get one of those humidity gauges and stick a probe in this enclosure, I should have one of those, I have so much of everything laying around lol


IME, it just happens sometimes, regardless of humidity. At that size, I'd start to just keep the bottle cap of water in there and let it dry out completely. 
It does look a bit too damp in there, but I don't think that has anything to do with the molt thing.



> thank you! it doesn't have hooks though, does it mean he will have it later on?


Upon his maturing molt, yes he will.

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## Lija

well, i set up it up when i got the guy at the end of august, substrate as damp as for pacman frogs, wet, but not dripping, and i placed a bottle cup with water in there, i haven't refilled water or sprayed the enclosure yet. should i increase ventilation? or leave it as is?

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## Carlos

Hi Lija  :Smile:  !  Well, if a week went by it's skin is hardened and pulling off anything that won't come off by itself is dangerous.  If by any chance you damage the new skeleton; it could kill it.  Molting is a process where some humidity is required.  That is achieved by lightly spraying a corner of the enclosure (never spray the spider) in the case of babies and juvies and/or maintaining a water dish for adults (depends on species).  

Right now, would leave it alone and be watchful for signs of next molt.  When that happens (bald dark abdomen, refuses feeding or spins a molting area) you must ensure the enclosure is humid.  With good luck the next molt will correct problem... or the T will probably perish then  :Frown:  .  If you plan to keep Ts and maintain interest in them strongly recommend this book.  Good luck  :Smile:  !

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## Lija

right..... as if i have not enough stuff going on.... Carlos you just keep my paranoia going lol gosh i just wish for at least one month without anything at all happening. part of pet ownership i know....  :Smile: 

 anyhow would you please advise me on humidity, because i really don't think it was low, it might be too much though.

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## Glenn

> With good luck the next molt will correct problem... or the T will probably perish then  .


It's not that serious of a problem.

If it were stuck on the booklungs, or something then maybe (and even then, I wouldn't count the spider out!), but this is clearly just a case of some of the molt being stuck on the top of the abdomen.

You do not really need to increase humidity to facilitate molting; it's internal hydration that matters (which is mentioned in the TKG as well :Smile: ).
And you should definitely dry things out if it's as moist as a pacman's substrate!

You can simply add more ventilation, or do a rehouse with some drier stuff if you aren't feeling too lazy :Smile:

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## Lija

all right, so what humidity there should be? it was wet as for pacs in august, now it is kinda fine i think but i can drill more holes, no problems here, in fact I'm gonna do it right now. what is TKG, - that book Carlos mentioned, gonna get it today, i think i saw it in a library.

P.S. you guys are awesome!

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## Glenn

Don't worry too much about humidity.
As long as he has a full water dish, the sub can be relatively dry. At around that size they begin to develop the waxy outer layer on their exo that prevents excessive water loss, so they can be kept drier than slings.
Yes the TKG is the book Carlos mentioned, and the author is the same guy who I'm sure I've linked you to earlier in this thread, maybe? I don't remember and I'm too lazy to look, hahah.
Here's a relevant link from his site, just in case: SPIDERS, CALGARY: GROWING YOUR TARANTULA

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## Hypnotic

I make my slings terrarium moist, but not pacman moist. I allow it to dry out before moisting it again, I'd say I spray it once every week. They hate being sprayed by the way, really dislike it, it makes them panic. 
What you can also do is allow one half of the enclosure to dry out and the other half kept a bit moist, so if the spider has an issue, it can sort it itself. I only mist the top, I never mix the substrate around. 
The next shed should fix the back, shouldn't be a problem. Just listen to Carlos, don't touch it because it might have grown into the exo-skeleton.  :Smile:

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## Lija

I'll tell ya! Went for crickets and they had a tarantula day at the store that I didn't know about, and the guy  Stan Schultz, who wrote the book you guys said I should get, did presentation... 5 hours later lol...... I got home to get my baby tarantula and molt that I posted pics to show him. He said nothing serious and it happens sometimes them they molt in their burrows. 
 So now I have a book with his autograph.... and  I learned so much...  And my daughter who is 8, got her answers answered ( a lot of them lol)... And we got to hold so many different tarantulas  :Smile:  .... What an amazing day!

 Tomorrow is gonna be book reading day  :Smile:  yay!

 Oh and I got a paper with recommended reading list and annotation that we should put as a sticky all over the forums. It says about pet stores: " don't believe ANYTHING they tell you unless you can confirm it with one of the books above. In fact, read the books and ignore the pet shop clerk entirely!" So true for all exotics!

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## MatthewM1

> the guy  Stan Schultz, who wrote the book you guys said I should get, did presentation...


I'm super jealous, I've been working my way through TKG, soooo much great info in there

Sent from my LG-P930 using Tapatalk 2

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## Carlos

> I'll tell ya! Went for crickets and they had a tarantula day at the store that I didn't know about, and the guy  Stan Schultz, who wrote the book you guys said I should get, did presentation... 5 hours later lol...... I got home to get my baby tarantula and molt that I posted pics to show him. He said nothing serious and it happens sometimes them they molt in their burrows. 
>  So now I have a book with his autograph.... and  I learned so much...  And my daughter who is 8, got her answers answered ( a lot of them lol)... And we got to hold so many different tarantulas  .... What an amazing day!
> 
>  Tomorrow is gonna be book reading day  yay!
> 
>  Oh and I got a paper with recommended reading list and annotation that we should put as a sticky all over the forums. It says about pet stores: " don't believe ANYTHING they tell you unless you can confirm it with one of the books above. In fact, read the books and ignore the pet shop clerk entirely!" So true for all exotics!


Wow, what an awesome experience!  Please do share with us the recommended book list Lija  :Smile:  !

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## Lija

Absolutely, I'll scan or take pic of the whole thing and post it. there are links to internet resources as well and his personal website too. 
I'll tell you not every day you get a chance to talk to someone as knowledgeable and interesting as he is, he sure knows tarantulas, everything about them, even down to molecule level. Wow!

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## Glenn

Told ya it's nothing to worry about  :Stick Out Tongue: 

Am also a bit jealous you got to meet him.
You should have told him to join frog forum :Smile: 

For those interested, I'm fairly sure his recommended reading list is this: http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/referenc.html
If you peruse the rest of his site, you'll find the internet sources too, as well as a wealth of info.

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## Lija

Dang forgot to take pic of that list, will look for it tomorrow.
 Hey question- both silly tarantulas completely barricaded themselves in their burrows. I can't see curly hair, but another one is  visible on a bottom of his burrow through the plastic, his belly is round and he is very much alive. Why do they do that? What do they do when they wanna get out? Dig out the entrance or find another way? 

I really need need to read that book :Smile:  but very much appreciate if you could clear these things for me

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## Glenn

It's their version of a "do not disturb" sign. Rest assured that when they want to, they are more than capable to digging themselves out. It could simply be full, or hunkering down for a while, or it could be in premolt. The course of action is the same: leave it be and let it come out when it wants to.

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## Lija

Thank you!

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## Jack

Nothing to worry about, mine usually molt when they block themselves in their hides. They seem to grow out of that as well because mine stop doing that when they grow bigger.

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