# bird eating spider



## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

Hi how active should a Goliath bird eating spider be I rescued one a week ago . She is eating well but not been in her hide that I have seen and is very active when we rescued her she was in a black viv with no light or heat she is in same viv but this has been cleaned out with new compost and vamiculight in hides in same place and temp at the right temp for her with light for day but not night .


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

a bird eating spider could be anything, got a picture, or a scientific name?


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

having said that in general tarantulas are not active at all, I only read the title properly, sorry I see its a blondi now


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

yes a goliath it walks round quite a lot and trys to climb front of viv glass and no hole viv not glass just front otherwise sits in corner on top of hide but never seems to go in it


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

is the substrate wet?


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## Vaughan69 (Nov 22, 2007)

Do you have any pictures of the viv/ spider at all?


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## daikenkai (May 24, 2007)

if theyre wandering around and climbing a lot it usually means theyre stressed. do you have a light in the viv? personally i wouldnt do that, if natural light is getting into it theres really no need for it. She could just be taking a while to settle in though. 
could you get pics at all?


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Could also just be exploring. Both my T's were very active when I first got them. In fact my Curly was regularly out and about for months before finally settling down.


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Is it a mature male?


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

LOL, all the random questions:
i assume from your name, you dont really have any experience with Tarantulas.
Basically wack a couple of photos of the spider, and of the enclosure up and we be able to help you for sure.

Tarantulas will wander for many reasons.
I assume you only jst ahd the goliath?
Its probably just unsettled, as its been placed in a new environment so give it a few days and im sure you find the spider settling down.
Give it ample place to completely hide its body, these tend not to dig their own hide but will occupy one already made.
If after a few weeks the spider still wont rest then theirs more things it could be. Most likely its just that the spdier doesnt feel comfortable in the enclosure, so its probably not set up correctly for it. Redress the enclosure, try a different setup
How big is the spider?
Keep a nice water dish in the tank, but also soak the substrate enough. They come from the jungle so really appreciate humid air... just make sure you dont let the substrate dry out
Theyl eat al they can so supply them a decent amount of crickets per week. It doesnt have to be all at once, but you could feed it a number at once. Dont overfeed it and youl be happy
Beautiful spider, and your lucky to have got one for free, congrats:2thumb:


PS - If i was you, id take the light source out, its totally unneccessary for them They come from deep on the floor of jungles where very little if any direct sunlight reaches... at that the spider in the wild would most likely be deeper in its hide when the sun is out so near enough never coming into contact with the light

Heres my setup to give ideas


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## steveyruss (Feb 19, 2008)

Mature males tend to wander for a mate, also it could be just acclimatising to it's new home, sometimes they take weeks to settle down. Generally remember that an unactive spider is usually a happy one. By the way if a Blondi is your first tarantula it isn't really recommended as a starter one but they aren't as difficult to care for as some think.


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## Hardwicki (Jun 18, 2007)

Our T did this when we first got her. She was always climbing and mooching around. She has settled down now and is a lovely pet rock.:2thumb:


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

Hi We Have Been Told By Previous Owner That It Is A Girl She Is About The Size Of A Lunch Plate At Mo Water Dish In Since Day One . Substrate Wet New That Viv Same As Was When Got Her Just Been Cleaned Out Fed Every Other Day As Was With Last Owner Always Had Light But Ill Take That Away They Had Heat Mat In Should I Leave That In She Was Acting Werd For About Three Wks Before We Got Her They Thought She Was Going To Shed As Upside Down In Hide But Never Did We Got Her A Week After She Came Down And Started Eating Again . We Have Not Changed Viv At All Bar Substrate And Then Its Same As She Had Compost And Vimiculit Mixed Together Ill Try And Put Pic On But Not Sure How To Yet So Give Me A Little Time Viv Is 3 Foot Long Fed On Crickets And Large Locus They Had Only Fed Crickets But We Gave Her Large Locus Which She Court Within 5 Mins And Has Eaten


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

vivs arent a good idea with spiders, best off buying a smaller home thats better designed for them, then selling the viv.
I didnt really get the rest of the psot:lol2:


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

my message was saying that all the things you said are already in place bar the light whats wrong with a viv its black inside as its a black viv so its a dark space like you say she is around 3 years old and has done well in there up until now if i move her again im going to stress her out more how do i post a pic of her on here . Zoos keep them in vivs so vivs cant be that bad can they ?


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

What temp is she at?
Has she got a hide?
Has she got a water bowl?
Is the substrate wet?

You can post pictures on here using Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket then upload them into there, then post the IMG code.


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

temp at 80 f which we have read to be correct temp most info says between 75 and 80 f . She has 2 hides one up each end dug out slightly as all sites say do . She has a water dish and substrate wet thank you ill try and post pic


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

Basically, with vivs being wood (if yours is) they can ecome sodden with the damp, and warp.. they can also rot and contaminate the environemt.
A viv doesnt allow the spider much to dig in either, theyr opportunistic burrowers, they do like to hide, but would prefer a pre-build one rather than to dig their own.
I see it as alot of space for only a spider too.
Heatmats shouldnt be in the enclosure, put it underneath or prefereably n the side of the viv
Grats though!


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

thank you all the sites say a goliath should have between a 2 foot and 3 foot thats why we left it in there but we thought it was to big what should we make home from as it must be sercue if not made from wood what then


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## C_Strike (Feb 20, 2007)

glass is ideal

ex terra 45x45x45 are great, allws you pletny of room to allow them to dig, they keep humidity well (with minor alterations to the lid)
easy access and make great display tanks..
not ideal for big collections, but perfect for showing your favs off in


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

sorry still can work out how to get photo on managed to get it onto photobucket but cant get from there to here


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

ill change profile pic to her if that helps


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

Post the link with the


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## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

Email me the pics if you want and i'll post them up. PM me for my email address


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## snake girl (Mar 14, 2008)

<ahref="http://s283.photobucket.com/albums/kk290/snakegirl1975/2actio and yes is first spider but partner has been in the pet shop trade for years selling reptiles , spiders etc so had cared for them at work but thats a totaly different inviroment thats why I was stumped as we had done everything correct bar light but we new that she didnt need the light it was just because it had always had light we left along I useally change things around in there to how I think the vivs should be once they have settled in as iv been rescuing reptiles for 12 years now and this has always worked to lesson them stressing as much as they would if i changed everything


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