# Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater (Lasiodora parahybana) problems



## chrisgard (Mar 25, 2008)

hi i am not new to keeping spiders, i have had a t.blondi and a chile rose from slings and the rose is full grown and blondi just moulted and is about the size of the palm of my hand so they are all nice and healthy

the girl who lives downstairs from me works in a vet and they had some one come in and give them the spider in question, it was in a sorry state of affairs, in a wooden viv, on aspen with no mat, a energy saving bulb for heat with no stat, and a snake log hide for shelter, i was disgusted and love animals and immediately took it in,

i have it in a plastic exo terra which is about 24x12x6 inches, with about 4 inches of potting soil, a plastic ice cream box at the hot end with a hole in and a cork back hide at the other and a shallow dish with clean water in it, i also have covered one end of the tub with sticky back plastic as i know this species likes it humid, also i have a third of the exo terra sat on a heat mat which is at a steady 86-88 dergees which works out about 80ish inside the enclosures

now my only problem with this spider is a big one, i have had it for nearly 6 months now and to the best of my knowledge i have never seen it eat? i have tried locusts and pinkies and it just doesnt seem interested

do any of you guys have any ideas on what i could try, cos i really want this T to be happy

many thanks


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

i'm not really seeing what's specifically that bad about the housing? not the substrate i'd use, but loads of people have a variety of opinions as to the best substrate. wooden tanks and snake logs...well you saw it, maybe it was filthy, maybe there were sharp edges or gaps, so i'll take your word for it.

i don't even use a heat mat for mine, it's in a room that is generally mid 20's, but it's been colder and still eating, moulting and content.

some i know have said they'd RATHER use lighting to heat, as they've had heatmats go wrong and overheat and kill the tenant. that being said, stats are probably wise for anything.

in my experience, it's hard to hurt parahybana, they're really hardy. 
they have a reputation for eating anything that goes by, but i reckon they could fast to a certain extant sometimes, especially at bigger sizes, or with cooler temps.
i know of someone who posted on the BTS site about a male he has that i believe is still alive, and took 12 years to even mature.
he basically didn't feed it all that often, and it did fine, and obviously has lived a long, long time. not sure i recommend that kind of feeding schedule, but just to illustrate how hardy they are.

is she fat and active? if she's showing signs of weakness, there may be a problem, and a supply of water and slightly higher temps may kickstart her eating. the water alone will help get her through if she's getting close to a moult, and then after she may need a bit of assistance.

another thing to try is just crickets, and they don't have to be huge. i do find some spiders don't like locusts, and pinkies aren't always taken (nor should they be fed to spiders too often, too much calcium i believe is the reason for that, or perhaps an overdose of protein). give crickets a go, or giant mealworms, etc. she may like them more.


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## chrisgard (Mar 25, 2008)

spider is currently unsexed, i spray it every 2 days with a fine mist, it has a hamster bowl full of water sunk slightly in to the substrate for easy access, i feed it small locusts , usually offer one a week, the abdomen is really small which is why i think it has not been eating for a long time, it is reasonably active and seems to be acting normally, albeit slightly weak i think but i havnt seen spider of this species in optimum health.

i have always thought that spider absolutely hated light , my heat mats are all on stats so there is no worries of over heating at all

please let me know what you guys think

mank thanks


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## killerclown (Nov 21, 2008)

can you post a pic of ya spider


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## spudsgirl (Jan 29, 2009)

I dont use a mat with my salmon pink either. He is fine mine is over eating so is now on a diet.

I hope your salmon pink is ok and good on ya for taking it in. I do know T's can go for months without food and could maybe coming up to a molt I would ensure there is always water available for it but other than that hun am pretty new to T keeping myself.


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

well they're not keen on light, but lighting mimics the way they'd be warmed in the wild, so yeah they might hide, but at least it "feels" to them like they're hiding from the sun, so all is right with the world, if that makes sense.
that being said, i use heatmats for some, and use natural room heating for others. bad me: no stats yet. but they're not on all the time.

i suggest trying crickets rather than locusts...perhaps raise the temp a bit if you can, as well.
really hope your spider pulls through...being a bit thin or weak isn't the best sign.
have you seen her drink? sometimes spiders can be a little dim about water and need convincing. i almost lost an adult Chilobrachys andersoni that way after a tough moult. i ended up having to hand water her for 5 days...and thankfully she made it.
hopefully you won't have to intervene so drastically though.


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## chrisgard (Mar 25, 2008)

ill upload some pix now


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## spudsgirl (Jan 29, 2009)

great stuff hun will hang on for the photos though admitt I will be no help.


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## chrisgard (Mar 25, 2008)

pix of t and housing please excuse the dirty water, its a dirty little so and so, i change it every 2 days


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## squaddie (Aug 3, 2008)

People saying they don't use heat mats. Depends on how warm your house / room is where you're keeping the T.

Well it's not in premolt judging by the pink skin on its bald patch.

Have you tried it with crickets or a roach? Some T's (even L.para's) are fussy and will only eat certain things. 

I have to say in the first pic I thought it was a MM, but then looking at t'other pics I retract that view.


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## davieboi (Jul 17, 2008)

its a MM it probably wont feed and will just die over time


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## chrisgard (Mar 25, 2008)

i will try some try offering some different food items and see what that does, the spider has not moulted in my care either and i have no idea when it did with the previous keeper


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## chrisgard (Mar 25, 2008)

what is a MM? im unfamiliar with this


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

Mature male.
it isn't clear in your pics, but are the ends of its pedipalps enlarged? that's the best way of telling if it's a mature male, or if you notice hooks on it's first pair of legs on the tibias (tibial spurs). not all species of tarantula have them, but i believe these do.
hate to say it mate, but it does look like a mature male to me.
the good news is i know of one named Noel that lived for 5 years from birth to death, that's i think 4 years mature. (different from the one i mentioned before! that one didn't mature for 12 years, so no idea how long it lived or has been living, whereas Noel matured at the normal time, 1-2 years i believe and only died recently).
if it's male, then this explains why it isn't eating. they don't eat nearly as much.
if he's acting a bit weak, it might be down to age, i'm afraid.


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## chrisgard (Mar 25, 2008)

ok cheers guys, i didnt think my setup was wrong cos everywhere i looked it looked fine, the spider doesnt seem to be even interested in the food so maybe it is a mature male, if it was a female im sure it would be more voracious. 
ill keep trying with some different food types and see what happens, 

thanks again


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## andrew brazenall (Nov 12, 2009)

well the heat mat should be on side of tank not underneath! the warmer it is the less humid it is inside tank.80 percent humiditys bout right. it could be thats its not interested in food as its coming upto a shed.sometimes upping the humidity will help break a fast


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## danza (Mar 31, 2009)

My big female L.Para hates locusts, it simply refuses to eat them.

However, she loves Blaberus roaches (~2" long), but annoyingly is off her food at the moment.

I must confess that in the distant past, my husbandry has slipped from ideal to not-so-ideal in terms of heating, but the spider has always been pretty voracious.

Yours seems to have the build of a MM - my large female has proportionally broader chelicerae and is generally stockier, disregarding the difference in abdomen size.


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## andyh75 (Nov 16, 2008)

sure looks like its a mature male, some males dont eat much, if at all when there mature, there only programmed for one thing once mature :2thumb:


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