[Beginner] Question regarding my new G.Pulchrpies

[Red Raptor]

Hello, first sorry for my bad English, its not my native language so i try my best.

After months of doing homework and research on the hobby I acquired a Juvenile (4-5cm) G.Pulchripes female.

I have received her in a plastic container, around ~16Cm length, 7cm Height, ~7Cm Width.

The container has holes both in the lid and on walls.

The substrate that the seller provides is a Peat Soil, slightly moist/fluffy, around 1.5-2Cm of it.

Since this was a new enclose for my new T, i decided to give her several days to explore and get used to it, so no feeding or bothering her.
The only thing i did was adding a bottle cap full of water in the corner, and provides a hide, although it seems she isn't really interested in it.

My concern is that since the first day she arrived at my house, she keeps clinging/moving to the walls of the enclosure, on the first few days i thought its normal for her to explore, and maybe the soil is too moist, i gave it a few days to dry up.

Its been 5 days now, and she stills clings to the wall of the enclosure, despite the soil being mostly dry.

I live in Israel, currently its around 25-27 Celsius in my room, i keep her away from the window, and the humidity is around 50-60 in my room.

Im starting to get a bit worried that she doesn't feel comfortable with her enclosure.

Am i missing anything, is this normal or should i move her to a different enclosure and try a different substrate?

I have a larger critter keeper box i bought with the plans to transfer it once she grown a bit.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Arcana]

I have G. rosea sling that has been climbing on the walls for a month now. And I got her about a month ago But today she started to build a burrow and I think it's a good thing. I also thought there was something wrong with my sling or with her enclosure. I did a lot of research and didn't find anything to fix so I let her wander around. It looks like she took some time to adjust. In my case some time indicades a month

So... In my experience I thinks it's just normal that T wanders around at the beginning.

 

[Vanessa]

If her substrate has dried out, then it might be that she is just exploring. It might need a bit more drying out to be perfect for her. I just rehoused my female and she is doing lots of exploring and crawling along the walls - in addition to exploring her plants and the surface.
You can offer her food if you like. If she doesn't take it, within a couple of hours, then remove it.
It can take a while for them to get comfortable. It can be a different period for each individual with a wide range of times.
Thank you for giving all the information up front. Including photos is also a good idea if you can.
When you transfer her to the bigger enclosure, please give her lots of substrate so she cannot injure herself if she falls off the walls. The Kritter Keepers are fairly high.
You are going to love her - G. pulchripes is an awesome species and perfect for new comers. I adore my two.
And your English is great... no need to apologize. There are lots of members whose first language is not English.

 

[Trenor]

I have noticed that my Ts will go to the side of the enclosures near the vent holes if I let my T room get around the 80s. When it was spring I wasn't running the air and it got a little warm(80-82F). A lot of my Ts moved up the sides near the lowest vents. Once it cooled off they moved back down.

 

[Haemus]

For a second language, you speak English quite well

I've found my G. Pulchripes loves bone dry substrate, to the point where the dirt rises like dust when the substrate is moved.

 

[Red Raptor]

Thanks for all the replies guys!

Seems that i didn't screw anything up, il try to feed her tomorrow and see how she feels.

 

[Vanessa]

I like to feed mine almost right away. Maybe it matters and maybe it doesn't, but I don't like them to think that I've moved them somewhere where there is no food. Maybe that's what they're looking for sometimes when they won't settle down? Maybe feeding almost immediately reassures them that the food will still keep coming in their new place?

 

[cold blood]

I must say I find it so amusing that every time any t is climbing people automatically assume its because there's something wrong with the substrate. Its not a rose hair, which is literally the only species I would jump to that conclusion with. I've had many pulchripes and have yet to find one with a distain for damp areas of substrate. What you are experiencing is almost certainly just your standard acclimation process (normal)....give it some time.

 

[Vanessa]

I don't think that it is just a case of making assumptions that are wrong. I think it is more along the lines of a process of elimination of some of the more common problems that occur with setups.
Process of elimination is often all you have to work with. I don't see what the problem is with that approach, to be honest. Looking for food is just a guess too.
Until they can write it in the substrate for us - process of elimination is the best we have.

 

[Tremayne]

Yeah, I received a new G. pulchripes sling (I'm a nobbie too), and once in the enclosure it's been just sitting under bark - chillin'. I'm not too worried after everything I've read.

 

[Storm76]

I must say I find it so amusing that every time any t is climbing people automatically assume its because there's something wrong with the substrate. Its not a rose hair, which is literally the only species I would jump to that conclusion with. I've had many pulchripes and have yet to find one with a distain for damp areas of substrate. What you are experiencing is almost certainly just your standard acclimation process (normal)....give it some time.

The only time I "worry" about a T climbing is when I'm about to open the cage of "Hera" to refill her waterdish. Somehow makes me uneasy that she occasionally moves -right- to the corner of the cage under the lid...hmm.

 

[Red Raptor]

Hey everyone, i decided to update this thread instead of creating a new one, as i have several other questions regarding the topic.

Its been 2 weeks now since i received my G.Pulchripes and since i posted this thread.

I Would like to update the status of my little girl.

First, i added some pictures, in hopes that you guys can give me feedback on the enclosure and the T state.

Since i received her, she still appears to hang around the walls, i never seen her walk or chill on the substrate.
She also never seem to use the cave i put in her enclosure (toilet paper).

The substrate is pretty dry, i didn't moist it in those 2 weeks and i just keep refreshing the water in the cup.

Whats more concerning for me, is that she refused food for 2 weeks now.

I tried feeding her mealworms and super worms, tong feeding or just leaving it there for 24 hours, no luck either way.
He reaction was either trying to climb the enclosure into my hand or just turning around, sometimes just pulling her legs unto her, which looks like a stress posture.
I have read that juveniles tend to eat a lot and golden knees usually have good appetites.
The only thing that comes to mind is pre-molt, however i have yet to see any signs (black belly, lethargy) of it, and since shes only juvenile, i don't know of they have a long pre-molt period, would like if someone can enlighten me of this part (how long does it take for a juvenile to molt? how often do they molt? signs? etc...)

I called my seller and asked if he remembers when she last molted, he couldn't give me a precise answer but said he doesn't remember her molted in the last days before he sold her to me.

I thought that maybe the enclosure is too small and considered transferring her to a bigger one, but would like to hear your feedback and opinions first.

Thanks!

 

[crlovel]

Do NOT put your sling into a Kritter Keeper, not for quite some time. Anything under 1.5 inches, in my sadly experienced opinion, will escape. To be safe, I put nothing nothing under 2.5 inches into a Kritter Keeper. Use storage containers or plastic AMAC cubes instead.

I've come to not trust Kritter Keepers. Too many holes, and the gap between the flip up lid and the top of the container is larger than it appears. Plus, the flip-up lid area isn't big enough to really work in an enclosure with - I have to remove the whole top. And that is why I wouldn't dream of using a KK for anything arboreal, or anything that might race up the side of the plastic. The only thing I keep in KKs are heavy bodied terrestrial or fossorial species that like dry conditions.

 

[Trenor]

The enclosure is too small IMO. It doesn't allow you to give the tarantula a big enough hide and still have floor room for the T. I would change it out for a bigger one. I would also change out the paper tissue roll for a better hide. You want one large enough the T can go all way in and feel secure. That one looks barely big enough to hold the T and will eventually soak up moisture and mold. You can use a clay pot(broken) or some curve wood. I would also go through the substrate and remove any of those really large wood chip like pieces and see if I could break it up more.

I think once your T feels more secure it'll be more likely to eat. It looks like it had a decent sized abdomen so that is not a big worry yet as long as it's drinking.

Good luck.

 

[Red Raptor]

The enclosure is too small IMO. It doesn't allow you to give the tarantula a big enough hide and still have floor room for the T. I would change it out for a bigger one. I would also change out the paper tissue roll for a better hide. You want one large enough the T can go all way in and feel secure. That one looks barely big enough to hold the T and will eventually soak up moisture and mold. You can use a clay pot(broken) or some curve wood. I would also go through the substrate and remove any of those really large wood chip like pieces and see if I could break it up more.

I think once your T feels more secure it'll be more likely to eat. It looks like it had a decent sized abdomen so that is not a big worry yet as long as it's drinking.

Good luck.

Thank you!

I have a critter keeper which is around twice the length of her original enclosure, around 1cm larger in width, it is pretty high though.

Do you think it will do? or is it too large? i will fill most of it substrate to counter the height.

 

[Trenor]

I have very little experience with critter keepers myself(only with them and feeder mice) and no experience with them and Ts. So I can't be of much help there. I like using containers like the one you have. If you have access to it, I would just go with one like you're using but bigger. If the enclosure is tall adding more substrate will help you reduce the ceiling and also give your T more room to dig out a safe spot if it wants. I always provide more substrate then needed for all my Ts and in most cases even if they didn't burrow they use it to fix up their homes.

 

[Vanessa]

I had Evelyn in a KK, but back then you didn't have anywhere near the options that you do today. For a semi-arboreal, or burrowing, species - I think they are appropriate. With the terrestrials, I find that they are too high and you have to fill them almost to the top with substrate. It is a waste of substrate since Evelyn never burrowed in her entire life. Plus, it makes them heavy and more cumbersome to move around. I now use a much shallower enclosure for my terrestrials.
A KK is fine as long as you have enough substrate in them to prevent the spider from falling and causing injury.
This is the type of enclosure that I use for my terrestrials. It's nothing fancy, but they are very functional. They also seem to have more ground space than a KK does. My group seem to have no problems getting comfortable in them.

 

[Red Raptor]

I had Evelyn in a KK, but back then you didn't have anywhere near the options that you do today. For a semi-arboreal, or burrowing, species - I think they are appropriate. With the terrestrials, I find that they are too high and you have to fill them almost to the top with substrate. It is a waste of substrate since Evelyn never burrowed in her entire life. Plus, it makes them heavy and more cumbersome to move around. I now use a much shallower enclosure for my terrestrials.
A KK is fine as long as you have enough substrate in them to prevent the spider from falling and causing injury.
This is the type of enclosure that I use for my terrestrials. It's nothing fancy, but they are very functional. They also seem to have more ground space than a KK does. My group seem to have no problems getting comfortable in them.

Thanks for the reply,

Yeah those boxes look perfect, it just i couldn't manage to stumble across one as of yet, will probably have to ask in the supermarket or in some stores.

 

[mistertim]

I think that KK should be fine. You can go with something shallower, however I generally like to give most terrestrial Ts at least somewhat deep substrate so they have the choice to burrow if they feel the need and it makes them feel more secure; some do, some don't. Sure, you may not see it as much for a while, but IMO the most important thing is that it feels safe.

 

[cold blood]

That kk will be fine.

As mentioned, don't use tp rolls as hides.....ts don't want to live under a glorified paper roof, its just not appropriate as it will absorb water, mold, and break down, not to mention a t can shred it quickly should it choose...leaving with a mess of fine cardboard to clean up.

There are many things you could use, a halved coffee cup or small pot, a piece of PVC pipe cut in half the long way or even just driftwood you locate in a wild area (that's all I use).