C. versicolor pacing around enclosure, hasn't started webbing. Too small?

[Rinfish]

Something is amiss with my poor veriscolor!

I've had her since a small sling and as you do, have been slowly upgrading her enclosures as she grows. She just molted and her last enclosure was 100% web, so after a week, into the new enclosure she went.

Normally she webs it up right away, but something is amiss this time. She has not started webbing at all. She's eaten some small crickets but her abdomen has not grown.

The biggest difference was what I saw today, though. She wont stop pacing around in her enclosure! Still hasn't webbed. I tossed in 2 crickets and no signs of her seeing them yet, but i'm hoping its just that she's hungry. She's a bit overreactive as well, as in she freaked out when I walked near her cage and dashed around the enclosure like a madwoman.

I'm attaching a sort-of-poor picture of the enclosure. It's nighttime and I don't have overhead lighting, so it was the best I could do.

What do you guys think is going on?

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

Because that enclosure is pretty horrible... Add like an inch of coco fiber substrate because you have literally like nothing on the bottom... Add some fake plants and another piece of cork bark or a branch going diagonal from the floor up to a side that it can chill on.

 

[Vanessa]

And also please provide an elevated water dish, or one that reaches closer to the bottom of that piece of cork bark so the spider doesn't have to be completely on the ground to drink. I usually provide two water dishes for my arboreal species, but the one on the ground can always be reached by my arboreal spiders while they sit on their cork bark.

 

[Drizzliz]

I would add some fake foliage up near the top for webbing anchor points. She is likely pacing looking for somewhere to web up; although it can take time for them to settle. I would guess the overreactiveness is due to her not having somewhere she can hide and feel secure, aka her web tube (which she hasnt built yet).

I would add some more ventilation as well... a bit lacking in that regard for my tastes.

 

[Bluebird5591]

Add some fake leaves up top around the wood for sure. I agree she is probably searching for a suitable place to hide and call home.

 

[Rinfish]

Welp, this was an enclosure I bought at a reptile show. I assumed the arboreal enclosures were suitable for avics, but it seems not. Sorry all to petrify you with this haha. I was afraid of putting too much stuff in, as last time I did that, it was extremely crowded once she webbed everything up, and I wanted this to last her another molt or two.

Admittedly, her last enclosure had a lot more substrate at the bottom. The opening to this one is a small plexi top, which is only about 1/8th of an inch thick, so I did the best I could which would allow me to take the top off and place crickets in to feed her. Aside from retaining moisture, is there anything the substrate would do for an arboreal species?

I also did think about the water dish being too low, but I saw her drink out of it from the side and didn't believe it to give her a struggle.

Regardless, i'll have to change up the enclosure. Do you guys have suggestions for a tarantula about her size? She's about 3" in diameter. Thanks =)

 

[Bluebird5591]

Welp, this was an enclosure I bought at a reptile show. I assumed the arboreal enclosures were suitable for avics, but it seems not. Sorry all to petrify you with this haha. I was afraid of putting too much stuff in, as last time I did that, it was extremely crowded once she webbed everything up, and I wanted this to last her another molt or two.

Admittedly, her last enclosure had a lot more substrate at the bottom. The opening to this one is a small plexi top, which is only about 1/8th of an inch thick, so I did the best I could which would allow me to take the top off and place crickets in to feed her. Aside from retaining moisture, is there anything the substrate would do for an arboreal species?

I also did think about the water dish being too low, but I saw her drink out of it from the side and didn't believe it to give her a struggle.

Regardless, i'll have to change up the enclosure. Do you guys have suggestions for a tarantula about her size? She's about 3" in diameter. Thanks =)

I don't think there's anything wrong with the enclosure itself (aside from maybe adding a bit more ventilation) the main problem is the lack of foliage. They need leaves for anchor points and coverage to feel secure. Drill a few more air holes and add plants and it will be miles better.

 

[bulbophyllum]

What is the point of adding substrate if the care is to keep it dry and the spiders don't borrow or make dirt curtins? If its not there to retain moisture or help the spider hide what is the point? I think it is fine. It will make a tube web around the cork bark and the side of the cage when it fellls like it.

 

[EtienneN]

What is the point of adding substrate if the care is to keep it dry and the spiders don't borrow or make dirt curtins? If its not there to retain moisture or help the spider hide what is the point? I think it is fine. It will make a tube web around the cork bark and the side of the cage when it fellls like it.

I agree the answer is adding silk leaves around the cork bark to make it branch out like an actual tree. Also, I don’t put substrate in my Avic enclosures and they are completely content and happy. They do drink from the cork bark so make sure the water dish is close enough so the spider can reach it easily without having to actually get off the bark.