chaco climbing problem

[jesters22]

i recently got a chaco golden knee from a friend who couldn't take care of it anymore.. it was in a small 6x3 inch critter keeper but for the size of her i thought it might b to small. today i moved her into a 5gallon *i think* cage and all she keeps doing is climbing the walls.

my problem i think is that she is a horrible climber and it seems to get stuck on the top holding for dear life to the top part of the cage and the mesh top.. i have to open the cage and get her down..

is their anything i can do to keep her from climbing?

here is a pic of her in the small cage i had. taken from my phone

here is a pic of the new cage i just set up today. horrible pic i no its from my phone

 

[K1j1m]

My opinion is that you need a lot more substrate. I also would say get rid of the mesh top to avoid problems.

 

[jesters22]

i was just thinking.. and i think the problem might b that it doesnt likethe smell of the rocks i put it.. they have a distinct smell to them and frankly i dont like the smell either.. im gona take them out and try to clean them out and dry them completely b4 i try to put them back in..

or mayb its to humid in the tank. i did just put the dirt/sand mix in their today and it might b just to damp for her liking?

 

[Dillon]

its a combination of all that youve mentioned.

Substrate should be raised to the top of the "COLTS" logo on your blue bandana.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Your tarantula is in a NEW CAGE. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop her from climbing, tarantulas just plain get stressed when their environment changes and will behave oddly for weeks or months until they get settled in.

Which brings me to my second point, that cage looks dangerously overlarge. You do not ever want to house a terrestrial tarantula in an enclosure with more than about 1.5x the animal's legspan from dirt to ceiling. Otherwise all this climbing and getting feet stuck in the mesh can result in losing legs or falling, and falling can be instantly fatal to these animals.

 

[jesters22]

the mesh is to small for the legs to get stuck.. but i thought the tank might b to large for the spider.. tomarow i will put alot more substrate down and have it about 5inches from the top. i guess ill either have to find a different cage thats shorter in hight. or make my own..

 

[Mushroom Spore]

A shorter cage will be easier if only because you waste a lot of substrate with a large one.

How big is the spider, anyway? The critter keeper might be fine for now after all, tarantulas don't really need much space and you can save the big tank for when it's grown a little.

 

[jesters22]

about 3.5inches, from wat my buddy told me shes about a year and some change old.. not to sure on the exacts though.

 

[jesters22]

so today i fix'd my problem of having my tank to tall.. now their is just enough room for her to wander.. and not enough room to get to high and fall and hurt its self.

wat do u guys think?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

If I understand what you did, that's a pretty clever fix! Just be careful the mesh doesn't tear from the weight of the substrate, and keep an eye in case the spider digs down to the mesh - sometimes they like to chew on it, and they can do some damage if allowed to chew long enough. Not something you want with open space beneath the mesh.

As long as you watch for that, I'd say this is just about perfect, good show!

 

[Dillon]

No doubt, thats pretty intelligent. Nice!!

 

[jesters22]

haha u guys a bit reversed.. instead of making a smaller in hight cage.. i just made the lid shorter.. shes still in on the bottom.. just the top is closer to her..

the substrate will b about 2 inches from the bottom of the wood.. but she can craw all the way from the bottom of the tank. to the top of the 2x4.. the mesh top is now the new lid..

hope that made it more clear?