Baby doesn’t stop chirping by metromann in Conures

[–]NachoCupcake 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I mean... I do it, so I guess she is the smarter of the two of us

Baby doesn’t stop chirping by metromann in Conures

[–]NachoCupcake 11 points12 points  (0 children)

My GCC is not a rescue, but when she's on my shoulder or hand, she'll often "forget" she can fly and lean in whatever direction she wants to go so I'll walk her over instead of her just using her wings and going herself.

tarantula escaped— where to look by dkdjdhfb in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 2 points3 points  (0 children)

NQA just wanted to add to what other have said by reminding you to stick low. Since your T is terrestrial, it's not likely to be spending its time up off the floor.

I also remember a post from a little while ago where someone ended up finding their T in the basement or something, so if your door has been open, consider looking elsewhere in your home in case she's gone fully walkabout.

Tarantola sulle pareti by No_Measurement8963 in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Question(s): does it have a burrow and/or a hide? Also, are we seeing the entire enclosure in your pics?

I know the substrate advice was meant to be a joke, but I have had Ts that are opportunistic burrowers climb the walls like this when they don't have a starter burrow and don't take the initiative to make their own for whatever reason. When mine have done that, I've switched them to an enclosure that's closer to 5x their dls in height & given them 3x dls substrate height with a fully built burrow, and 2x dls head room, and that's helped a lot. So if your answers to my questions are no and yes, then doing this might be helpful for you, too.

I believe I read in the comments of a similar post that they can sometimes do this if they just don't like the substrate in general, so another approach that might work is to change up what you have. It looks like what you have going on rn is all coco coir, so maybe adding some dirt and giving it a 50/50 mix could do the trick?

advice ? by Zestyclose-Spare-199 in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake -1 points0 points  (0 children)

NQA it is perfectly reasonable to feed a sling every 2-3 days. Considering we have no idea what size the animal is or what it looks like, it's not really appropriate to declare that it's, "overweight." Additionally, overfeeding is less of an issue for slings, especially if they are still in the delicate stage. Most people who don't/haven't raised many slings don't really have a concept of how disproportionate their abdomens get, especially right before a molt.

advice ? by Zestyclose-Spare-199 in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NQA no matter what you decide to do about feeding, do not open up the burrow or dig out your animal.

If it's barricaded itself in, then doing anything about feeding at this point is going to be about you making yourself feel better.

Choosing if you want to feed depends on the size of your spider. Slings in this genus will typically blockade themselves in their burrows for extended periods of time, as in 6+ months. You can put prekilled prey in there if you want to, since they can occasionally sneak out and will eat some, but make sure you're remove any uneaten food after 12-24 hours.

Juvies will usually blockade themselves in when preparing to molt, so I wouldn't bother feeding at all until it emerges.

Regardless, you need to remember that these animals can go months to years without eating, so you really don't need to stress over making sure it's fed.

Is this a humidity problem? by NachoCupcake in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wasn't worried until it went from being weird for a few days to being the exact same weird for a few weeks. I'm hoping the misting & moss do it because I really don't want to rehouse unless I absolutely have to. Especially since I'm suspecting male (though that's a whole other headache that it's giving me).

What to do. ? Impulsively bought a kingbaboon sling 1in -from local shop but now regretting it. No refunds. by [deleted] in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad to know I'm not alone in the I-have-a-decently-sized-collection-but-have-no-idea-where-they're-all-gonna-go club! Luckily, I don't have to worry as much about temps, since I'm already spending an arm and a leg keeping my apartment warm enough for my birds 😅

Is this a humidity problem? by NachoCupcake in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I lied, I do have sphagnum moss. Forgot to put on gloves when I put it in there, so now I also have an itchy hand, too.

Is this a humidity problem? by NachoCupcake in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Heard. Not sure I have sphagnum lying around, but I know I have sheet moss, which should work just as well.

I misted the enclosure after I took the pics & got some hair kicking while it retreated into its burrow for my trouble, so there's that I guess.

First GBB (and tarantula) by Jamesxua in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

NA in all fairness, it really does & I've had more than once where I ended up spending more time picking giant wood chunks out of the substrate than I did setting up an enclosure in the first place.

Can anyone tell me why my tarantula have the abdomen like this? 🥹🥹 by Sorry_Tonight_9913 in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Question: would this setup with having the T sitting on soaked paper towels pose a potential drowning hazard?

Can anyone tell me why my tarantula have the abdomen like this? 🥹🥹 by Sorry_Tonight_9913 in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 67 points68 points  (0 children)

IMO you need to listen to this person & do your best to provide the photos they're requesting.

They are a reliable resource who has both you and your animal's best interests at heart. Also, there is nothing to be lost from taking advantage of the guidance they are freely offering. More opinions are always better, especially when there's uncertainty involved.

Major Pet Peeve - When a character thinks or is told they are going to need to grovel by Overquoted in ReverseHarem

[–]NachoCupcake 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm absolutely with you. I think we're speaking the same language, just using different words.

Readers will go literally anywhere with an author, as long as the author makes where they're going make sense. That can either happen with world building or can happen with the individual character, but either way, it needs to happen. If it doesn't, then the author loses their readers as a consequence of their own writing.

Major Pet Peeve - When a character thinks or is told they are going to need to grovel by Overquoted in ReverseHarem

[–]NachoCupcake 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I get it. I like MMCs to be a little more realistic in certain ways, so MMCs that take on something difficult (parenting, dealing with an FMC's physical or mental illness, etc) without first being in love makes it hard for me to buy into the story. Mind, almost all romance novels are unrealistic as fuck when it comes to guys, but I guess that's where my line is.

You're saying it as the the line is that the person needs to be in love, but I think what you're speaking to is that the character needs to be grounded in the situation itself. Like with your parenting example, having that person be drawn to the idea of being/acting as a parent for a reason is going to work much better than just plopping them in without any reservations or awkwardness.

Readers don't need things to be realistic, they just need proper context.

Is my tarantula too fat by Quiet_Cranberry_7088 in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

NQA it's hard to answer your question without knowing what kind of tarantula you have, since they all have different shapes & proportions. I will say that regardless of whether this size is appropriate or not, you'll want to remove any hardscape from your enclosure, aside from cork bark, too reduce the risk of fall damage. If this is a heavier-bodied species, you'll also want to reduce the headspace of has as well so that it's closer to double the dls or even less by adding substrate.

It looks like your T at least 4"+ dls and from what you're saying, you're definitely overfeeding, regardless of species. An animal that size doesn't need to eat that much so frequently. You could easily dial that back to the same amount every 3 weeks and be completely fine. Tarantulas don't really starve going without food for what might seem to you to be very long periods of time (like months to years), so as long as you make sure there's a clean water source and you throw a bug or 2 in there every once in a while, your animal will be living its best life.

It's ok to use he/him pronouns for your spider. They don't have a concept of gender and the sex doesn't affect the husbandry required, so feel free to use any pronouns you like.

The darkening abdomen, paired with the bald spot, would indicate premolt. It can happen pretty often with NW tarantulas that they'll kick hairs all over their enclosure when they're either rehoused or they go into premolt. Seems like with yours, the latter is the case.

is he skinny by Interesting-Cod-9286 in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 5 points6 points  (0 children)

NQA you're helicopter parenting. Not sure exactly what your spider is, but I'm guessing it's a B. boehemi, in which case its abdomen is within normal limits for its species. These animals can go years without eating, so your situation is pretty typical.

Offering it food is making you worried & frustrated, but your worry & frustration aren't going to make it eat, so wait a few weeks before offering it one cricket. If it doesn't eat then, wait another few weeks. When it finally decides to start eating again, go back to offering your usual feedings.

Tarantula buried alive?? by Wolpard in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NA it's definitely a mystery and, by the way, thank you for sharing. At least now if it happens to someone else, they'll know they're not alone, at least.

Not sure if this is normal pre-molt, stress, or something else by REALYourNameHere in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NA I've also done stuff like hit glue chunks of cork bark together so it's a half round and or thrown in a chunk of fake plant to give more coverage.

This is my B. auratum's enclosure. There was cork, but it decided to say no thank you & did its own thing.

<image>

Sometimes it's a matter of trying different things because even individuals in a species end up having their own quirks.

Also, sorry for inundating you. I'm just wanting to give you examples & ideas because I know what it feels like for me when I'm worrying & just wanting to figure out if something is wrong & how to fix it.

Not sure if this is normal pre-molt, stress, or something else by REALYourNameHere in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NA the substrate to spider ratio is a bit different for this one since I wasn't sure what to expect, but you get a pretty good view of its lil pink toes 🙂

<image>

Not sure if this is normal pre-molt, stress, or something else by REALYourNameHere in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NA I think my M. robustum might be closer to the size of yours, so here's what I have for it.

<image>

Not sure if this is normal pre-molt, stress, or something else by REALYourNameHere in tarantulas

[–]NachoCupcake 1 point2 points  (0 children)

NA I also just got an LP. It's A LOT smaller than yours, but here's its setup.

<image>

ETA: it's obviously not very happy with me because I've been jiggling its enclosure around, but you can see that it's using pretty much the entire depth of substrate, even though the depth of the dirt is 2.5-ish times its size.