Burrows

bness2

Arachnoknight
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Sep 21, 2002
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With my limited experience thus far, I have some interest in hearing what experiences others have had with their burrowing species.

My first rosie was a real digger, after she got used to the tank. I had put in about 4-5 inches of substrate and packed it down hard. She dug a burrow starting at one corner and ran it to a small "gallery" right next to the side of the tank. It was nice, because I could look in on her any time I wanted to. The only drawback was that she spent most of her time in the burrow, so I had a lot fewer chances to handle her.

My current rosie seems to have no interest in burrowing. She seems to prefer either clinging to the side of the tank or sitting on the top of her plastic house (a milk carton cut in half).

What are your experiences? When Ts burrow, do they often do so near the wall of the enclosure? My theory, based on my one burrower (a rather small sample size) was that the T sensed that the burrow would be stronger if it ran along the rigid wall.

Bryan
 

pamandron

Arachnosquire
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Sep 23, 2002
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We have 4 rose hairs and none of them burrow. They all have enough dirt to burrow they just like to be out in the open. They also have caves, but they seldom hide. We have 3 brown morphs, and one red morph. I guess it just depends on the spider.

Pam
 

jwb121377

Arachnoangel
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Aug 20, 2002
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Most of my burrows do so close to the wall of the encloser. I presume they like to feel the snuggness( such a word?) of the wall. The good thing is that I can look in and see them somewhat at will. My one Tarantula that didn't seem to follow this rule was C. crawshayi. She burrowed smack dap in the middle of the cage. The only time I saw was in the two weeks before her death, when she was ressless in her cage.
 

Immortal_sin

Arachnotemptress
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Jul 17, 2002
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My C crayshawi both have their burrows right up against the glass...I am so glad!
However, my H lividum is right in the middle as well, and I can't see her unless I lift up the bottom, and shine a flashlight...something that is not easy to do.
I'm assuming that she is ok, because I only see her about once every 6 months or so.
Makes it hard to know what is going on with her.
My E campestratus used to burrow alot when she was small, now she doesn't burrow at all.
None of my Brachys burrow at all, and only 1 Aphonopelma spp burrows. I guess I'm lucky, since I can see all of mine but one.
 

JacenBeers

Arachnoprince
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Sep 1, 2002
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My stupid Usumbura made a burrow out of the cork bark I put in her tank.Then she put webbing up on either side of the tunnel so I nevwer ever see her. She could be dead.
 

The_Phantom

Scarlet O' Hairy
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dont you hate that ? Jacen, couldnt you just tear a tiny tiny hole in the webbing to peek to see if shes ok !?? How can she eat !??

And are curlies burrowers ?? Can I make a burrow for her or will she make her own ??
 

jwb121377

Arachnoangel
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Neither of my two adult curlys burrow. On the other hand most of my curly slings do. So it depends on the age of the curlys in question.
 

atavuss

Arachnoprince
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Aug 16, 2002
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Originally posted by Spider_savior
dont you hate that ? Jacen, couldnt you just tear a tiny tiny hole in the webbing to peek to see if shes ok !?? How can she eat !??
I would not bother it.......your nose will tell you if it has passed on to the great spider heaven.....besides who wants to go poking holes in an orange bitey monster's webbing!?
Ed
 

JacenBeers

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I actually did go and tear apart its burrow not only so I could check on it but because if it decides to molt in there I wanted the spce to be bigger. It was really small and she would have died I think because it has happened before. So i made her a huge new enclosure and she has already moved in but this time I can see her at all times inside of it.
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Jul 22, 2002
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Originally posted by JacenBeers
I actually did go and tear apart its burrow not only so I could check on it but because if it decides to molt in there I wanted the spce to be bigger. It was really small and she would have died I think because it has happened before. So i made her a huge new enclosure and she has already moved in but this time I can see her at all times inside of it.
Unless you had your spider in a matchbox and it died moulting, I doubt very much it was the physical space limitations that caused the problem. That spider is a LOT smarter than you when it comes to determine how much room it needs to moult in. I've seen large spiders moult inside of log tubes where they must not have had more than a centimeter or two's play in any given direction but they work and they wiggle til they get it right.
 

Botar

Arachnoprince
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Aug 27, 2002
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Ditto here CM. Not saying I know any more than Jacen at all, but my T. blondi molted under a terra cotta saucer and the amount of space between the floor and the saucer is just enough for the T to get in there and move around. I was fully expecting a molt on top of the saucer or out in the open.

Botar
 

galeogirl

Arachnoprince
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Aug 15, 2002
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All of my burrowers at least have tunnels that are built against the edges of their enclosures, except my H. lividum. Theirs are right in the middle of the enclosures, so I have to lift the cages completely to check on them.

Since I own a lot of burrowing species, I bought a cheap, bright penlight to help me find my ts when they're in their burrows.
 
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