# tarantula has sore on abdomen



## kaleton (Feb 1, 2010)

Hi

My wife and I have a male Brachypelma Verdezi or Mexican Grey Rose Tarantula. We recently cleaned his tank out and put new substrate in. Shortly after we did this (although it could be a coincidence) we noticed the hairs falling off his abdomen to reveal a large pink spot. About the rear third of his abdomen is now bare and pink. Does anyone have any idea what could cause this and what we should do?

I can try to take a photo and upload it if that helps.

Thanks

James


----------



## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

He's been scratching off the urticating (barbed) hairs on his abdomen. It's not a sore. They sometimes do it as a response to disturbance. 

Is his new substrate the same as the old stuff, or is it still damp or in some way different to before?


----------



## kaleton (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks for your reply. That does make a lot of sense. We used the same kind of substrate but it did seem a bit damp in the bag. I noticed the humidity gauge shot from its usual 70% right up to 100% after we had finished. It fell back down again after a while and is now normal. We also put a new wooden hide into his tank in addition to the one he already had.

We have had him since July 2009 and this was actually the first time we had a full clean out and also the first time he had been out of his tank. We let him walk around on a desk for 20 minutes or so whilst doing the clean and he seemed fine but maybe it freaked him out a bit.

What is the best course of action? Just leave him be and the hairs will grow back?

Thanks

James


----------



## dodgy (Sep 15, 2009)

the hairs will come back with his next moult


----------



## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

Brachypelmas usually hate getting their feet damp and will sometimes climb the tank or sit on top of their hides if the substrate is even a little bit damp. New World tarantulas also tend to cover their substrate with a thin layer of itchy hairs (I was told it is to help keep predators away from their burrows). 

So if you've cleaned him out, chances are he'll be laying down a new lot of hairs, plus he won't have liked the damp substrate. I expect he got in a strop over it and had a good old flicking session leading to a bald bum!

The bald patch will remain until he next moults but after that he'll be good as new.

In general T's don't really need cleaning out and don't appreciate it. Just pick out uneaten food remains when you see them.


----------



## David L (Jul 13, 2009)

garlicpickle said:


> Brachypelmas usually hate getting their feet damp and will sometimes climb the tank or sit on top of their hides if the substrate is even a little bit damp. New World tarantulas also tend to cover their substrate with a thin layer of itchy hairs (I was told it is to help keep predators away from their burrows).
> 
> So if you've cleaned him out, chances are he'll be laying down a new lot of hairs, plus he won't have liked the damp substrate. I expect he got in a strop over it and had a good old flicking session leading to a bald bum!
> 
> ...





A bit like looking after a teenager!!!!!:lol2:


----------



## kaleton (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice! Its a relief to know he isn't ill.


----------



## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Sounds like hairs as said - although just to check, we are talking about a bald patch on the upper surface of the abdomen, not the underside yes?

If it was on the underside, it could have been cyst as Brachy's can be prone to these if they are on a substrate that is quite rough.


----------



## Oderus (Nov 24, 2009)

Sounds like it could be a pain arse :gasp: 

But what everyone else said :blush:.


----------



## My plague (Aug 15, 2009)

David L said:


> [/B]
> 
> 
> A bit like looking after a teenager!!!!!:lol2:


LOL :lol2::lol2:


----------



## kaleton (Feb 1, 2010)

GRB said:


> although just to check, we are talking about a bald patch on the upper surface of the abdomen, not the underside yes?


Yes its on the upper side.


----------



## My plague (Aug 15, 2009)

kaleton said:


> Yes its on the upper side.


 Then he'll be fine :2thumb:


----------



## treenajoi (Feb 16, 2011)

*Another sore ... may be more than flicking haris?*

There is a dark line at the top of the bald spot -the dark line distresses me.

web


----------



## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

I'm just always surprised with how many people buy tarantulas without knowing about the urticating hairs. More correctly I'm surprised with how many people sell someone their first tarantula without telling them about urticating hairs, seems a little irresponsible to me.

It means there's people out there who don't know to get right back if a tarantula starts to flick (rather than going in for a look and maybe getting a face-full, eye-full or even worse a lung-full).

So yeah, as everyone said, it's just been flicking, some tarantulas (New World terrestrial ones) can do that. Also, depending on the species they can be more or les likely to flick them and the severity of the itching differs. If you get them on you and you react badly to them you can be in for a few months itching. If you inhale them you can endanger your health. 

So yeah, watch out for that if he looks like he's scratching his arse with a back leg


----------



## treenajoi (Feb 16, 2011)

*utricating hairs*

Thank you for the reply.

I am aware of the utricating hairs - generally these have been coming off her legs and rather modestly at that. What my concern comes from was how rapidly this bald spot appeared - over just 2-3 days, and then the dark line did not look like anything I have seen before. 

I was concerned that crickets might be nibbling her at night, as I have heard they sometimes do on lizards. Is that possible? Mites were another possibility but I looked rather close with a dissecting microscope and saw a 0.5mm dark bump or two in the odd dark line (about 2mm wide itself), but they were likely hairs coming back. Mites, I guess, would be scurrying a bit more. Anyways - I have indeed read the other posts, and would dismiss this as shedding if it looked more benign. I just felt that this looked different enough, and thanks in advance for not making fun of me or discounting my concern in any replies.


----------



## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

treenajoi said:


> Thank you for the reply.
> 
> I am aware of the utricating hairs - generally these have been coming off her legs and rather modestly at that. What my concern comes from was how rapidly this bald spot appeared - over just 2-3 days, and then the dark line did not look like anything I have seen before.
> 
> I was concerned that crickets might be nibbling her at night, as I have heard they sometimes do on lizards. Is that possible? Mites were another possibility but I looked rather close with a dissecting microscope and saw a 0.5mm dark bump or two in the odd dark line (about 2mm wide itself), but they were likely hairs coming back. Mites, I guess, would be scurrying a bit more. Anyways - I have indeed read the other posts, and would dismiss this as shedding if it looked more benign. I just felt that this looked different enough, and thanks in advance for not making fun of me or discounting my concern in any replies.


OK, well maybe I'm being thick and misunderstanding but I'd like to point out that they don't have urticating hairs on the legs. Only on that patch of the abdomen (well, _Ephebopus spp. _have them on the pedipalps, but they're weird anyway). That is just a regular bald spot from flicking, they can essentially flick al the hairs off in one sitting so I shouldn't worry about the speed at which it appeared. I guess something stressed her out recently.

Could you get a close up of the dark line? I'd assume that it's just some hairs that weren't kicked off (they can look weird if they all bind together, and they won't be lying the same as before. You can get odd patches of removal as they can't always reach the whole abdomen with back legs.

Parasitic mites on tarantulas tend to attach themselves at the joints between the top and bottom of the carapace and chelicerae, they wouldn't attach to the abdomen. Phoretic mites (i.e. ones hitching a lift on the T) would most likely attach around the carapace and be white.

The hairs are not hairs like ours and as such don't grow back. However they will be replaced (along with the skin, stomach lining and lungs) when it next moults.

She doesn't look like she's coming up for a shed, but you'll know when she is, that pink patch will turn dark (as the new skin forms beneath it).

In short, I wouldn't worry it looks fine.


----------



## treenajoi (Feb 16, 2011)

*dark line*

Thank you so much! The legs flick so fast I always thought they flicked off there. The line is in the skin, it is not hair at all, it is dark purple to maroon, like a scab but not quite that irregular or scaly. 

It is not very deep, but different from the surrounding skin. I am not sure I can get much closer to it for a photo, but will try.


----------



## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

Don't risk yourself getting too close to it.

I'm a bit stumped about the line though, I'm sure someone else might have an idea though.


----------

