My Brachypelma Smithi (mexican red knee) hasn't molted in months.

[Kohle]

Hey guys I'm new to the tarantula hobby. And I'll go ahead and say it when I bought it from the pet store the sign said Brachypelma Smithi but it might be a Hamorii I don't really know the difference of them. I've tired looking them up but alot of dead ends and some say there the same thing. So I'm sorry if I got the name wrong I would love to learn and know more about the subject. But anyways I bought the T Feb 15 2020 it molted the 1st night I bought it home, but it hasn't molted since. And it's June 10 2020. I'm starting to worry because I read that they molt alot when there young. Temp is 64-70 degrees and humidity stays between 60-70. It only eats about a meal worm or cricket about 2 to 3 weeks I try to feed it every week. But i leave it in for a day if it doesnt eat it i take it out. I cut the meal worms in half cuz they where bigger. Again because they said not to leave it in there cuz it will stress the T out. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong. Or if it's normal. But I'm stressing out because I love him/her(haven't figured out the gender yet) and I don't want it to be unhealthy.

This was the 1st day I got my T

this is the T now.

it's a exo terra terrarium, cork bark hide that I buried in at a angle, coco fiber with zoo med terrarium moss. And that water bowl.
And I don't handle the T since it's so small I'm afraid I might hurt it. And it's never gave me a treat pose or acted aggressively in anyway. Thats all the info I know to give you guys. Any info would be much appreciated and thank you for even taking the time to read this.

 

[ilovebrachys]

Hi welcome to the forum and the hobby your enclosure and feeding regime are all great from what I can see... Please don't worry about your T not moulting.. Brachypelma can go a very long time between moults this is normal.. They can also go a long time between feeding as they can be in premoult for months.. Its fine to offer food and remove if not eaten as long as you provide a water dish at all times it will be fine,it sounds like you are doing a good job looking after your little one
I hope that helps

 

[Konstantin]

Hi
as mentioned above they are slow growing species.
The enclosure looks far too large for tour tarantula.
What size is the exo terra and what size is your tarantula?
Big is not always better for tarantulas.
I have 5inch B hamorii that consider small for my empty 30cm cube Exo Terra.
Regards Konstantin

 

[Kohle]

Thank you so much. I guess I'm just worrying over nothing. The not knowing is frustrating for me. I trying to learn as much as I can from websites and videos. I just want the T to be healthy and have a long life. I've always wanted one and my wife finally agreed to let me get one, ever though she scared of them.

 

[Kohle]

Hi
as mentioned above they are slow growing species.
The enclosure looks far too large for tour tarantula.
What size is the exo terra and what size is your tarantula?
Big is not always better for tarantulas.
I have 5inch B hamorii that consider small for my empty 30cm cube Exo Terra.
Regards Konstantin

It's the 8x8x8 one and maybe a little over an inch. I don't know exactly I don't handle or disturb him/her as much as I can.

 

[ilovebrachys]

It's the 8x8x8 one and maybe a little over an inch. I don't know exactly I don't handle or disturb him/her as much as I can.

Size wise it is a liitle on the large size for your T... Its up to you if you want to rehouse it into something smaller.. Usually deli cups or something similar work well for slings of that size just basically do the same set up you have in that enclosure ( a decent amount of substrate and a piece of cork bark for a hide) and include a bottle cap as a water dish

 

[Kohle]

Size wise it is a liitle on the large size for your T... Its up to you if you want to rehouse it into something smaller.. Usually deli cups or something similar work well for slings of that size just basically do the same set up you have in that enclosure ( a decent amount of substrate and a piece of cork bark for a hide) and include a bottle cap as a water dish

Ok thanks for the info.

 

[testdasi]

You might want to rehome it into a smaller enclosure until it gets a bit larger. Are you able to take a pic of it next to a common object (e.g. a coin) for size reference?

My concern is the 8x8x8 Exo Terra is too large and it is having troubles finding food - your comment about having to cut a mealworm in half suggests the T is still very small.
The main clue is in the 2nd pic of "T now". That abdomen looks a bit small (not starvation small but in captivity, it is typically bigger) so that may be why it is not moulting more frequently (given its (inferred) size, 4+ months is a bit slow in captivity even for Brachys from my experience).

Having said all that, don't panic. Don't even worry.
Your T is normal so it's moulting in the normal (slow) schedule.
T's in captivity tends to be fat (or fatter) so they moult more frequently. That's about it really.

 

[menavodi]

Welcome to TF. A great place to be. As @ilovebrachys said: no worries. You are doing fine and I would not change anything! You have a slow growing species. If she don’t eat, not a problem. She will when she is hungry. Water is important. You will see, she will molt and eat and grow old...have fun and keep us updated. We always like to see pictures!

 

[Kohle]

Size wise it is a liitle on the large size for your T... Its up to you if you want to rehouse it into something smaller.. Usually deli cups or something similar work well for slings of that size just basically do the same set up you have in that enclosure ( a decent amount of substrate and a piece of cork bark for a hide) and include a bottle cap as a water dish

Is this better

 

[ilovebrachys]

Is this better

That's much better you can pop a small piece of bark in there for a hide and it's a perfect home for your T

 

[Kohle]

That's much better you can pop a small piece of bark in there for a hide and it's a perfect home for your T

Ok thanks, Sorry it took so long to replay and rehouse, but work got alot more busy. I'm gonna go out today and try to find a good piece of bark. So I guess I wasted money on the terrarium right now. Lol so at what size will I be able to place him back in the terrarium? If it's years I might get another t that's already more mature.

 

[ilovebrachys]

Ok thanks, Sorry it took so long to replay and rehouse, but work got alot more busy. I'm gonna go out today and try to find a good piece of bark. So I guess I wasted money on the terrarium right now. Lol so at what size will I be able to place him back in the terrarium? If it's years I might get another t that's already more mature.

Yes it will be years.. Brachypelma are so slow growing lol it will have to be almost full grown so about 8 yrs or so
Go for it get yourself another.. Its given you a good excuse to

 

[Kohle]

Yes it will be years.. Brachypelma are so slow growing lol it will have to be almost full grown so about 8 yrs or so
Go for it get yourself another.. Its given you a good excuse to

Lol ok. Just have to figure out what to get now there's alot of them I want but there old worlds. Not sure I'm ready for that yet.

 

[ilovebrachys]

Lol ok. Just have to figure out what to get now there's alot of them I want but there old worlds. Not sure I'm ready for that yet.

If you are sensible and careful and provide the right environment old worlds are fine to have if you feel comfortable... From experience they are not as daunting as some people say they are...
Do you have anything in mind?
As for new worlds.. What about a Grammostola pulchripes? Lovely Ts with real character... Very nice looking get to a good size and great feeders.. I'd always recommend them

 

[Kohle]

If you are sensible and careful and provide the right environment old worlds are fine to have if you feel comfortable... From experience they are not as daunting as some people say they are...
Do you have anything in mind?
As for new worlds.. What about a Grammostola pulchripes? Lovely Ts with real character... Very nice looking get to a good size and great feeders.. I'd always recommend them

 

[Kohle]

If you are sensible and careful and provide the right environment old worlds are fine to have if you feel comfortable... From experience they are not as daunting as some people say they are...
Do you have anything in mind?
As for new worlds.. What about a Grammostola pulchripes? Lovely Ts with real character... Very nice looking get to a good size and great feeders.. I'd always recommend them

Poecilotheria metallica
Cyriopagopus Sp. Hati Hati
Omothymus Violaceopes
Cyriopagopus lividus
Poecilotheria regalis
Pterinochilus murinus
just a few i have alot more. lol I like the bright color Ts. if you couldn't tell lol

On the New worlds
I haven't looked into the Grammostola pulchripes yet, but i do want a Grammostola pulchra.
and i like the Sericopelma sp. Santa Catalina. there are a few more but not exactly what there real names are. i'm sorry i'm still trying to learn all the names, but there so many of them. lol

 

[ilovebrachys]

Poecilotheria metallica
Cyriopagopus Sp. Hati Hati
Omothymus Violaceopes
Cyriopagopus lividus
Poecilotheria regalis
Pterinochilus murinus
just a few i have alot more. lol I like the bright color Ts. if you couldn't tell lol

On the New worlds
I haven't looked into the Grammostola pulchripes yet, but i do want a Grammostola pulchra.
and i like the Sericopelma sp. Santa Catalina. there are a few more but not exactly what there real names are. i'm sorry i'm still trying to learn all the names, but there so many of them. lol

Everything on your list excluding the poecilotheria and the P. Murinus will be pet holes so although you may see them on rare occasions as pretty as those Ts are you will be effectively looking at a box of dirt and not much else lol
P. Murinus can be daunting for some people but providing the right set up is provided they tend to run and hide if disturbed they are often quite visable... Poecilotheria are very very fast at times but again if you are careful they are great Ts to own they will need an arboreal set up too so not really ideal for the enclosure you are hoping to use - that's more suited to terrestrial 'ground dwelling' tarantulas
As for G. Pulchra.. Great choice they are gorgeous and also have that 'grammy' character.. The choice is your and also dependent on how much you want to spend

 

[Kohle]

Well I went to

Everything on your list excluding the poecilotheria and the P. Murinus will be pet holes so although you may see them on rare occasions as pretty as those Ts are you will be effectively looking at a box of dirt and not much else lol
P. Murinus can be daunting for some people but providing the right set up is provided they tend to run and hide if disturbed they are often quite visable... Poecilotheria are very very fast at times but again if you are careful they are great Ts to own they will need an arboreal set up too so not really ideal for the enclosure you are hoping to use - that's more suited to terrestrial 'ground dwelling' tarantulas
As for G. Pulchra.. Great choice they are gorgeous and also have that 'grammy' character.. The choice is your and also dependent on how much you want to spend

The local pet store and ended up buying both of the ones they had. Had a 4 inch maybe 4.5 inches aphonopelma seemanni. I got it to but in the exo terra terrarium. And I got the mature avicularia avicularia. They didnt have an arboreal terrarium. But I order one so right now it's in a med size kritter keeper till the new one arrive. The aphonopelma seemanni is pretty chill and was easy to house. But the avicularia avicularia was not having it. I was shocked to see how fast it was it bolts over everything. But I learned alot from the experience today. The mix emotions of happy, frustrated and a bit scared when it bolted. But I'm sure after I give him a proper terrarium he'll calm down.

 

[ilovebrachys]

Well I went to

The local pet store and ended up buying both of the ones they had. Had a 4 inch maybe 4.5 inches aphonopelma seemanni. I got it to but in the exo terra terrarium. And I got the mature avicularia avicularia. They didnt have an arboreal terrarium. But I order one so right now it's in a med size kritter keeper till the new one arrive. The aphonopelma seemanni is pretty chill and was easy to house. But the avicularia avicularia was not having it. I was shocked to see how fast it was it bolts over everything. But I learned alot from the experience today. The mix emotions of happy, frustrated and a bit scared when it bolted. But I'm sure after I give him a proper terrarium he'll calm down.

Congrats on your new arrivals first off if you think the Avics are fast you certainly won't want a poecilotheria.. They practically teleport it will settle down and once you've got the set up all perfect I'm sure you will enjoy your Avic... The A. Seemani was a perfect choice for the empty enclosure you already had.. Its a learning curve but any questions feel free to ask we are here to help.. Most importantly enjoy your new Ts