Do any of your slings do this?

[joossa]

Recently, some of my Brachypelma slings have become more rebellious and have moved the sub from one side of their enclosure to the other. Some have even "chopped up" the strand of sphagnum moss I originally put in there. I try to fix it and even out the sub only to find it back to how they want it in a few days... all the sub on one side.

It goes from something like this:






To something like this:

 

[viper69]

Tons do that

Stop changing what it’s doing!

One fat sling too!

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

My spiderlings do that. It means they are trying to dig, but can't. Upgrading it to a bigger container, such as a 16 fl. oz. condiment cup, with top soil or top soil mix will allow it to construct a proper burrow.

 

[dimensionaut]

My L. parahybana sling does this a lot. When I first put it in it's enclosure it proceeded to completely bury it's water dish and all of the decorations I had in there with it. Then it moves dirt around in it's burrow and rearranges things probably once a week. As it was mentioned previously, you probably need more substrate so it can create a burrow.

 

[zoroastrianpulchripes]

Recently, some of my Brachypelma slings have become more rebellious and have moved the sub from one side of their enclosure to the other. Some have even "chopped up" the strand of sphagnum moss I originally put in there. I try to fix it and even out the sub only to find it back to how they want it in a few days... all the sub on one side.

It goes from something like this:

View attachment 403371

View attachment 403372


To something like this:

View attachment 403373

View attachment 403374

View attachment 403375

its doing this because it needs more substrate to burrow, as this is a sign they are attempting to burrow and cannot. also, thats one fat sling. how much have you been feeding it?

 

[BoyFromLA]

Brachypelma slings have become more rebellious

It’s more like adventurous, and instinctive.

 

[courtney1027]

That’s one big spider booty I think it’s normal for them to do a bit of redecorating, I would just do what PP said and add more substrate and slightly upgrade enclosure size

 

[joossa]

Thank you all for the input. Let me provide more info and a question about the amount of sub and burrowing:

There are actually 4 different slings pictured above, it's not just one. I have a total of 9 Brachypelma slings (8 B. albiceps and 1 B. smithi). 4 out of the 9 are showing this behavior where they move the sub around.

I am keeping them very warm and very well fed in an effort to have them grow and get to the 2in mark (or so) faster than normal. B albiceps is known to be one of if not the slowest growers in the genus. In the daytime, they are kept between 82F and 86F. At night, they are kept at 74F.

I offer them half a small cricket every 5 days and they always eat unless in premolt. I have had them for 4 months and have followed this pattern since and each have molted twice since then. Most of them have molted within a week of each other, so they are roughly synchronized.

In regards to substrate. I am intentionally providing not enough sub to prevent them from burrowing and not eating for extended periods of time, which will cause them to grow more slowly. This will not be permanent... just until the 1in to 1.5in mark. At that point I have 24oz square containers ready to rehouse them into and where they will have enough sub to burrow and hide away for months if they choose to.
Is not providing them tons of sub at this stage (under 1in DLS) a bad thing?

 

[greeneyedelle]

Thank you all for the input. Let me provide more info and a question about the amount of sub and burrowing:

There are actually 4 different slings pictured above, it's not just one. I have a total of 9 Brachypelma slings (8 B. albiceps and 1 B. smithi). 4 out of the 9 are showing this behavior where they move the sub around.

I am keeping them very warm and very well fed in an effort to have them grow and get to the 2in mark (or so) faster than normal. B albiceps is known to be one of if not the slowest growers in the genus. In the daytime, they are kept between 82F and 86F. At night, they are kept at 74F.

I offer them half a small cricket every 5 days and they always eat unless in premolt. I have had them for 4 months and have followed this pattern since and each have molted twice since then. Most of them have molted within a week of each other, so they are roughly synchronized.

In regards to substrate. I am intentionally providing not enough sub to prevent them from burrowing and not eating for extended periods of time, which will cause them to grow more slowly. This will not be permanent... just until the 1in to 1.5in mark. At that point I have 24oz square containers ready to rehouse them into and where they will have enough sub to burrow and hide away for months if they choose to.
Is not providing them tons of sub at this stage (under 1in DLS) a bad thing?

My personal preference which actually came from the breeder I get my t's from, is to provide more moss (being careful not to saturate it so heavily that it can't dry out) at the top of the substrate. At that size, it's easier for them to make a "burrow" in the moss, and still provides them the same sense of security, but is 1) easier to shape 2) easier to web 3) easier for you to remove when the time comes. But that's just what works for me and my slings

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I've had the "wrecking the moss" thing but in 5 years of raising slings I don't think a single one has moved most of the sub to one side and I use the same sort of cups (although a little more spartan, it's just sub with a starter burrow, and a clump of damp moss).



Not sure why loads of people are going on about the abdomen size, if it was a heavier juvie/adult with those proportions then I'd understand the concern as it can lead to drag injuries but you can't overfeed slings.

 

[ThatsUnpossible]

Just wondering (and I’m a complete novice, so no idea), could they be piling that sub up as a shield against something? Heater on that side? Drafts? Bright light?

 

[Marlana]

I agree with @The Grym Reaper , you can’t overfeed a sling that small. And trying to cut food based on abdomen size in tiny slings can lead to mismolts. They need the resources to grow and molt.

 

[greeneyedelle]

Not sure why loads of people are going on about the abdomen size, if it was a heavier juvie/adult with those proportions then I'd understand the concern as it can lead to drag injuries but you can't overfeed slings.

I was gonna say, my small t. albopilosus sling is even chunkier than that (but to be fair, he's in premolt right now)