Just got a baby red knee tarantula and need some help!

I was wondering if anyone had any good care sheets on these guys they are great spiders!


I have a baby red knee tarantula and it is pretty fast and active when i observe it in its deli cup. I have a problem though and that is that he wont eat the cricket I left for him. I am not sure if he is about to molt or not but its a concern of mine but seems to be active so I think it might be in need of a molt? Any information would be great! thank you! Also i heard these guys scavenge? so i left a headless cricket in there recently killed so that he might take a liking to it and get some food in him.

Thank you!

I've never had a red knee but don't stress if he won't eat. Make sure the prey is not too large, and if he won't eat it, remove it and try a few days latter. Try prey about 1/2 his body size or smaller.

Thank you for the help i appreciate it I have been attempting to leave pin head crickets and even larger crickets but headless so they cant munch on him because i heard these T's are scavengers haha but thanks ill try sticking with smaller prey.

Brachypelma smithi is a nice species.

Do you know the characteristics of premolt in tarantulas?

If you don't know, they get very fat, abdomen becomes darker in color, become reclusive, typically web up the entrance of their hide, make a silk mat, some new world species will shed their urticating setae, and most flip upside-down onto their "back" when they molt.

Tarantulas aren't scavengers, and won't take dead food.

As for care, how old is it? Size?

Spiderlings of all species have pretty much the same care. Keep the substrate slightly moist and feed more often than you would adults.

Once it's got a legspan of about an inch, you can start keeping it more like an adult. (That is to say, drier.) Always have a source of water at all times though.


If you're planning to get into the tarantula seriously as well, I suggest that you buy the book "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" by Stan and Marguerite Schultz. (Third edition.) It's by far the best book on tarantulas out there and will answer questions you don't even have yet.

Wow great bit of information thanks a bunch I just moved him from his deli cup to a larger bit of plastic wear so im hoping this will be a bit of a better home for him he didnt move much when i did move him to his new home as in he didnt respond very much to me actually moving him around which concerned me but now he seems to be moving around his new home and his substrate is a bit deeper.

As far as feeding i am gonna try tomorrow night again but other than this he doesnt seem to be getting close to a molt. His abdomen is getting a whitish color at the behind and isnt darkening but seems to be getting lighter. Is this a sign of a molt soon to come?

I am a bit concerned with how he is doing but he is keeping active and moving around so I am staying positive for now ill update as time goes on but i hope this fairly more suitable home works better for this little guy.

Thanks again

CactusHugger wrote:

As far as feeding i am gonna try tomorrow night again but other than this he doesnt seem to be getting close to a molt. His abdomen is getting a whitish color at the behind and isnt darkening but seems to be getting lighter. Is this a sign of a molt soon to come?

Sounds like she's just been kicking off some of her urticating setae.

Quote :

I am a bit concerned with how he is doing but he is keeping active and moving around so I am staying positive for now ill update as time goes on but i hope this fairly more suitable home works better for this little guy.

Thanks again

Don't worry so much about the T.

Remember, we are the fragile species, not the tarantula.

That is very true we are a fragile species. Here is a picture of what I am talking about with the white discoloration of the abdomen. Hope its nothing serious.

Can't really see it clearly, but I suspect that it's the case that she's just been kicking off some of her urticating setae.

Its what I am thinking as well and I am sorry for the terrible picture quality I really need to get a decent camera. But its a white streak that is bald and seems to be it just kicking hairs but I dont know why its kicking them and I gave it a cricket still no eating but im gonna give her a bit before I take the food out.

Thanks for the help!

It is natural for T's to kick hairs. Also, their abdomens can change color before a molt. They usually stop eating before a molt as well. Everything seems normal to me.

Thanks for the input I believe this is the case as well but he is fairly active arent tarantulas supposed to slow down before a molt?

In my experience that if often the case but young T's are often very active.

I see well that makes sense thanks so much for the help I am hoping he molts soon haha

Hey guys just to update my baby red knee has still not molted and has still not eaten at all. I am not seeing a bald spot on the abdomen yet but there is a spot on its back that is darker than the rest of its abdomen. Im worried only because he is starting to become very sluggish and when I held him tonight he would not move and did not respond well to my touch. He eventually crawled off my hand but only after I pushed a little. He became a bit more active after that but not by much is this part of a soon to come molt? I guess I just dont understand this behavior.

Sounds like it's in premolt. Don't handle it or offer food for a while, you may want to bump the humidity up.

Oh crap I hope it wasnt bothered by my handling it tonight haha the only puzzling part is that its abdomen isnt balding its confusing!?

Well, I can't make a call about it's abdomen without a pic, so if possible try to get one without disturbing the T.

Ill upload one once it hits my email

As you can see in yellow is the discoloration of black from the rest of the abdomen thats a light brownish color. In blue I have circled the possible spot that could be balding but hairs still seem to be present on the abdomen hope this helps and thank you so much!

Again this picture was taken before you told me not to handle haha I accidentally did...

Yes, I can see where it's been kicking hairs, it simply hasn't kicked all of them off. . .abdomen is looking pretty dark, but it's not all that fat.

From it's behavior I'm thinking it'll molt soon enough. Bump up the humidity a bit and don't disturb it for a few days. Have you noticed any excessive webbing? They typically make a silk mat to molt on. Oh, and don't be alarmed if you see it on it's back, it's in the process of molting.

Keep us updated on the little guy.

Ill be sure to do that and no webbing at all yet its pretty active now maybe because I disturbed it. Thanks for the help! What do you recommend about the food I put in about 20 minutes ago? Should I take it out?

Take the food out and try again in a few days.

Ok will do food is out and he is in quarantine DO NOT DISTURB haha!!!

well my baby G. rosea doesnt eat in 20 minutes, i have to leave the food in there overnight. but its alot smaller than yours.

acually none of my spiders eat rite when the food is offered.

i leave the food in there and eventually they eat it.