A. seemanni acting.... weird?

[windyboy]

Hello all! I’m a longtime lurker and first time poster, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. I’ve only been a T owner for a few months now and everything my little crawlies do worries me!

Anyway, I’ve had my A. semanni Nag Champa for about 4 or 5 weeks now, and so far she’s been a pet hole. She dug a shallow burrow and hangs out in it 95% of the time, but occasionally comes out for a walk. If she is disturbed on one of these walks she’ll dart back into her burrow. However, just in the past week or so, she’s started to come out way more often, and when she does, she walks to the side of the tank and kind of leans up against it with her legs up in the air. I’m thinking this could maybe be premolt behavior because she’s been fasting for a few weeks, but that’s all I can think of. She completely ignores me while she’s out leaning like this and sometimes stays in the same spot for hours. Should I be worried or should I just let her act like a weirdo??

Oh and I keep her on coco fiber that I don’t mist and she has a small (too small I think) water dish that she usually ignores.

 

[mantisfan101]

First of all I’d like to congratulate you on your enclosure setup, it is perfect for the T and thank you for providing pics. I don’t reallysee anythig seong, I had an A. Seemani that would crawl around every night whenever the lights were off. Noentheless make sure to keep a lid on the enclosure or else it’ll escape like what happened to me.

 

[JediCatty]

Haha! I am brand new to the T ownership and I just posted this same question! My guy is doing the same thing so I have no answers but the replies I got were pretty much not to worry about it.
I included a picture of my guy doing the leg wall lift.

 

[windyboy]

Thanks for the speedy reply! I’m glad my enclosure is up to snuff, it’s what she deserves <3. I knew I was probably just worrying over nothing, as apparently all new T owners do. I was mostly just a little nervous because I purchased a pinktoe from a certain pet store chain recently and the poor little thing died the day after, and in the same position my seemanni likes to hang out in, too.

Oh and JediCatty, I just saw your post and was about to respond, lol. We just have weird T’s I guess!

 

[Vanessa]

I was mostly just a little nervous because I purchased a pinktoe from a certain pet store chain recently and the poor little thing died the day after, and in the same position my seemanni likes to hang out in, too.

Having an arboreal spending time on the ground like that is a different ballgame. With some species, that is definitely a sign that there might be something wrong and, with Avicularia, it usually ends poorly.
Your Aphonopelma seemanni looks exactly like my girl often does. There is nothing to be alarmed about. You will often see them staying out in the open more when they are larger and when they are more comfortable in their new homes.

 

[Teal]

This species does enjoy their sub being a little moist... rather than misting, just overflow the water dish a little

I was mostly just a little nervous because I purchased a pinktoe from a certain pet store chain recently and the poor little thing died the day after, and in the same position my seemanni likes to hang out in, too.

Avicularia are VERY sensitive to improper husbandry. It likely was not kept properly at the store and you happened to get it at the end ): There is sooo much misconception about there in regards to what they need to thrive.

 

[Derivative]

I've noticed that whenever my Avicularia Variegata gets colder she tends to stay lower in her enclosure. And whenever I drop a cricket in she hunts on the ground and returns to the top when she's caught it.

 

[Vanisher]

Having an arboreal spending time on the ground like that is a different ballgame. With some species, that is definitely a sign that there might be something wrong and, with Avicularia, it usually ends poorly.
Your Aphonopelma seemanni looks exactly like my girl often does. There is nothing to be alarmed about. You will often see them staying out in the open more when they are larger and when they are more comfortable in their new homes.

My A seemanni dug and was more or less fossorial mist of the times. When she was out and you happend to disturbed her "då fick man veta att man levde" as the swedish saying goes! She became very defenssive. Coming at me with fangs flashing on her back legs sometimes! The only tarantula that was at her defensdive level was a P cancerides and some OW!

 

[LarsCody]

I know it’s apples to oranges but my little B. Albo does something similar once in a while. Sometimes it’ll place one whole side of legs on the enclosure, other times it’ll just throw the front two legs on as if it’s in a defensive pose. But it’s not defensive, it just chills there.

Here’s a photo of this below in an old enclosure.

In my short experience (I’m new too) that behavior is just a T being a T.

Also props to you on the A. Seemani! When I bought my T the shop only had one of those and my B. Albo. The rest were very young slings (A. Avicularia, etc). Not gonna lie, the A. Seemani intimidated me a bit due to research finding that they’re fairly skittish.

P.S. the water dish should be fine. Only problem I’ve encountered is that it tends to slip out of the tongs. The past 2 days I’ve unintentionally dumped it....once outside and once inside the enclosure. The upside is that the edges allow your T to perch legs on the side and maintain balance for ease of drinking.

 

[Badcat101]

Mine wont burrow or kick hairs, i dont know how yo post a forum question so hopefully someone answers,

 

[Goopyguy56]

I think your T is getting more comfortable in a newer habitat. If it is refusing food it could be getting ready to molt but maybe not. I don't think it is doing anything out of the ordinary

 

[TwiztedNinja]

Mine wont burrow or kick hairs, i dont know how yo post a forum question so hopefully someone answers,

Need a pic of your setup

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I have a male A. seemani that's about 4 inches or so and oftentimes he does the same exact thing. It sounds like your spider is starting to explore her new home, and doing tarantula things . My little guy does the same exact thing with his legs up against the glass, so I wouldn't be worried too much about that. They're just little weirdos sometimes. Also, keep in mind that tarantulas can go for weeks without a meal without suffering any negative effects. I know that when I first started out I really overfed mine and got concerned when they would fast for a long time. Most of the time, they're either in premolt, settling into a new habitat, or just not hungry. I'd offer her a cricket every few days, and only get concerned if her abdomen looks small and/ or shriveled. Your new girl is probably just settling in.