Curly hair keeps trying to escape

[pishcakes]

Hello all you arachnid lovers!

I just got my first tarantula this past weekend, and I have a concern. It is an unsexed curly hair from a reptile store. It keeps climbing up the walls, and as soon as I open the lid it tries to run out. It's also very reluctant to get back into it's terrarium.

I'm using eco earth coco fiber for substrate. The drying process is time consuming, so I keep taking it out and adding more dry substrate when it's ready. I did not add water to the bottom layer and it is very dry. I've packed it down so it feels like the "ground".



It's also been laying web on the top layer of the substrate everyday, which I remove when adding more.

I believe it's a juvenile, the store said you could put it on wood chips so I refuse to ask them anymore questions lol. Right now the substrate is 3 to 4 inches deep and I will continue to add more as it dries.

My main concern is that it is stressed out, and I'm sure the fact that I keep messing up it's house isn't helping...

Gonna post some pics, hope y'all got some advice. Thanks in advance!

PS yeah I don't have decoration right now. I bought a little hideaway for it but it's too heavy, so I'm going to get some cork bark this weekend. Usually has a cap full of water in there but I had just added substrate.

 

[kingshockey]

your missing 2 critical things it needs a water dish and a hide it can run into and hide when you open the lid thats why it keeps running out trying get away its got no pace to hide, the dirts fine as is an quit removing all its webbing thats how it knows where its at in the cage guide lines if you wanna call them. no offense but you really should do alot more research about your new pet

 

[pishcakes]

your missing 2 critical things it needs a water dish and a hide it can run into and hide when you open the lid thats why it keeps running out trying get away its got no pace to hide, the dirts fine as is an quit removing all its webbing thats how it knows where its at in the cage guide lines if you wanna call them. no offense but you really should do alot more research about your new pet

Thanks for your reply! I took the pictures without the water dish inside but this is what I usually have in there.
I read that that's all the water it will need. I top it up when I feed it.

This is the hide I got for it but I haven't put it in since it's probably too heavy. Made of clay or something...
I'm waiting for cork bark to arrive in the mail. I may put this in temporarily since I doubt it will hurt itself in 2 days, but I really do hate messing with it's apartment.

Thank you for the information on the webbing! Everywhere I looked, YouTube, tomsbigspiders.com, mostly YouTube from people that own this species, never mentioned anything about the web except that it will make one to molt on top of. I've only been doing research on this specific tarantula so if it's a general tarantula thing then maybe that's why I missed it. Could also have been looking in the wrong places...

I don't want you to think I just bought one and looked at one article or one video and put it in whatever, lol.

I appreciate the input and will adjust accordingly .

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

Hello all you arachnid lovers!

I just got my first tarantula this past weekend, and I have a concern. It is an unsexed curly hair from a reptile store. It keeps climbing up the walls, and as soon as I open the lid it tries to run out. It's also very reluctant to get back into it's terrarium.

I'm using eco earth coco fiber for substrate. The drying process is time consuming, so I keep taking it out and adding more dry substrate when it's ready. I did not add water to the bottom layer and it is very dry. I've packed it down so it feels like the "ground".

View attachment 470288

It's also been laying web on the top layer of the substrate everyday, which I remove when adding more.

I believe it's a juvenile, the store said you could put it on wood chips so I refuse to ask them anymore questions lol. Right now the substrate is 3 to 4 inches deep and I will continue to add more as it dries.

My main concern is that it is stressed out, and I'm sure the fact that I keep messing up it's house isn't helping...

Gonna post some pics, hope y'all got some advice. Thanks in advance!

PS yeah I don't have decoration right now. I bought a little hideaway for it but it's too heavy, so I'm going to get some cork bark this weekend. Usually has a cap full of water in there but I had just added substrate. View attachment 470289 View attachment 470290

just read this guide unfortunately my local pet store only sells Mostly sick tarantulas. Good luck.

 

[kingshockey]

good luck enjoy your t you will notice in time the entire floor of its cage will get a coating of webbing

 

[cold blood]

It keeps climbing up the walls, and as soon as I open the lid it tries to run out. It's also very reluctant to get back into it's terrarium.

Well of course, its got nowhere to go hide.

. The drying process is time consuming, so I keep taking it out and adding more dry substrate when it's ready.

Why? You are worrying about something you shouldn't be giving a second thought to....its actually preferable to put in sub while its damp, it makes it easier to tamp down....and the t doesn't care...curly hairs are tropical and don't mind dampness like a rose hair might.

It's also been laying web on the top layer of the substrate everyday, which I remove when adding more.

never remove webbing....its laying down a comfort zone and you are stripping it away.

Right now the substrate is 3 to 4 inches deep and I will continue to add more as it dries.

Just add it, dont worry about it not being dry.

My main concern is that it is stressed out

well of course it is, its been offered zero stability.

This is the hide I got for it

Terrible hide....the weight of the hide isnt the issue, its the shape. A hide isnt a home, rather its like a front door...the t will use the entrance as a point of burrowing and they will make their home beneath the hide....ts prefer tight places, and a hide like that with a dome is exactly the opposite of what a t wants.

Just about anything not made of paper or a biodegradable substance can work as a hide...even a flat piece of wood. You can do this by just laying a flat piece down and creating an opening so the t can get under it....

0519152106 (1)

• cold blood
• Jan 30, 2017

Making a hide out of a flat piece of wood.

Something concave is ideal, cork works, but its far from the only thing...a cut piece of PVC pipe or even a broken flower pot work just fine.....but with those, you dont just set them on top of the sub, you want to bury them most of the way so you can only see part of it and the opening just looks like a hole in the ground.

cabocla

• cold blood
• Jun 7, 2019
• 4
• brazilian redhead tarantula bumba bumba cabocla cabocla iracema cabocla

Re housed Larry Houdini after his escape from a KK.

juvie terrestrial housing

• cold blood
• Sep 6, 2018
• 3
• enclosure terrestrial

Resized952017031195214505

• cold blood
• Mar 12, 2017
• 3

C. schieoedtei

This is the best look I ever get of her...shame, because she is stunning.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Webbing is a good thing. Part of making its home. Definitely needs a hide and the cork will be best. Did the reptile store not have any? Even an opaque short, wide mouth cup on its side would give him/her something to hide in while it awaits the cork home. As long as your substrate is about 1.5x the diagonal leg span of the T, you wouldn’t need to keep adding more. If it’s not, add it and leave the T be. You don’t need to throughly dry in sections. Tom’s Big Spiders and Dave’s Little Beasties are the only two I believe most agree on here as reliable sources of info on the internet. The link on beginners info above has great info. Welcome to T keeping!

 

[viper69]

So your concerned a wild animal always looks to leave its prison? My this is most enlightening I didn’t know they would want to escape

 

[smithyramone]

you can bury some of that clay hide in the substrate until your cork bark arrives in the mail. you just don't want him to get squished, so burying it might give you more stability? good luck! he'll be really cute once he's a little more relaxed <3

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

So your concerned a wild animal always looks to leave its prison? My this is most enlightening I didn’t know they would want to escape

LP wasn’t happy about the temporary enclosure it attempted escaping … twice