He just won't move.

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

So I bought a Avicularia tarantula 2 days ago. Well, he has not moved from his spot much at all he won't explore or do anything. I was told not to feed him for like a week so that way he can get to know his new environment. But if he won't move from his spot and explore!!? I have a hide in there but he won't move so he isn't gonna use it. He has literally just stayed in a corner and hasn't moved much in 2 days. He is not dead I saw him move his leg like a centimeter.

Any ideas?

 

[WoofSpider]

Some pictures of the enclosure would help us determine if there is anything wrong. A tarantula not moving for 2 days is by no means unheard of though. These creatures really teach you the meaning of patience.

 

[miss moxie]

Yes, pictures of your entire enclosure as well as the tarantula are what we need to help you.

 

[Ellenantula]

Pix definitely needed. This is an arboreal T that generally like to web up near the top of enclosure. Is yours sitting on the bottom?
That said, 2 days isn't long -- they do need to settle in; but mine, even slings, started webbing pretty much immediately.

 

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

He has water, places to hide, height, ect.

 

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

He's just staying in the top right corner. Has not moved much. I'm not sure what to do. I'm trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

 

[checkmate]

Like others have said, 2 days isn't long. Is your enclosure in a high traffic area with a lot of vibrations? Maybe move it somewhere with less disturbances to allow him to settle in?

 

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

He's in dark room not being messed with much all day. So I'm not sure.

 

[Ellenantula]

It's not an ideal setup, but could be tweaked. I don't use that kind of hide for arboreals and I use taller/narrower enclosures.
My first gut reaction is wondering if it's just too much space -- horizontal space at that -- perhaps it's a bit daunting.

And I'll repeat, it's only been two days -- and it has a lot of space to explore before planning its home/webbing.

 

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

Yeah right now those bigger cages are just so darn expensive, this is all I got at the moment so I will be doing some upgrading in the future. Also the hide is pointed upwards so he can go down in there if he likes. And it's fairly tall yes it's more horizontal than tall but like I said I will be doing some upgrading. Those plants are most of what I got to make his enclosure feel smaller. Right now I just need to know if he feels comfortable enough to make webs and not be so disturbed. Will this be suitable for a while? I intend to feed him in about a week.

 

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

And yeah, his space is big for him he's about 2 inches. I thought bigger would be more natural. But he won't make webs if he won't explore so I don't know what to do. He just keeps to that corner.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The enclosure is not ideal but will work (tall enclosures with less horizontal space work better), it could do with more plants/cork slabs to climb/web up, Avics will tend to go towards the most cluttered spot they can find so that they can stay in hiding, A. avicularia are not terribly active and it can also take up to a month before they decide to lay down any webbing at all (the one I had didn't web at all until he was in premoult).

I spent a nice bit of time setting this up for my A. variegata.



And she decided she was going to hide in the back corner and rarely come out (she was in here for over a week before she started to build this web tube).

Yeah right now those bigger cages are just so darn expensive

I think you'd do better with something like this (4L Lock & Lock food storage containers available from eBay), these are W6" x L6" x H10", just drill plenty of holes for ventilation and provide anchors for webbing.

I thought bigger would be more natural.

They're not really fans of wide open spaces (makes them easy targets for predators) so smaller is generally better.

 

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

Heh, gotcha I will look into that soon. Do you think I could keep this one in it for a few months? Or should I try and get one pretty soon?

 

[boina]

I've tried to use a kritter keeper for an A. aviculata, but with more sticks and fake plants in the upper region of the thing. All I got out of it is that the spider webbed the lid completely shut when she went into premolt and I couldn't open it at all because I didn't want to disturb her molting preparations. I'm not doing that again.

It can work for a while, though, but I like to stuff the upper area of an Avic enclosure as full as possible. They don't go up and down like a Poecilotheria, they just move around high up.

 

[spotropaicsav]

Sounds like he's just settling in...also some tarantulas, regardless of what kind... are just not very active. You can just enjoy observing your T, and congratulations on your new acquisition!

 

[Olan]

I've also used these Kritter Keepers for avics, and it worked fine except that, as boina said, they web the top shut. I agree with everyone else, just wait a while longer. Avics can really take their time setting up shop in a new enclosure

 

[Ellenantula]

Heh, gotcha I will look into that soon. Do you think I could keep this one in it for a few months? Or should I try and get one pretty soon?

Look around your kitchen -- you may already have the perfect container -- it might even have food in it.

 

[Trenor]

You could go with something like this 2 gallon jug.

Modify it by taking the spigot out and silicone some plastic over the hole. Drill you vents on the side (it's plastic) and add some substrate to the bottom. If you add your heavy plants near the middle then the T should make a home away from the lid. The biggest downside to top opening enclosures are getting to the water dish when it needs cleaning.

 

[H3rmitHasTrantulas]

You could go with something like this 2 gallon jug.

Modify it by taking the spigot out and silicone some plastic over the hole. Drill you vents on the side (it's plastic) and add some substrate to the bottom. If you add your heavy plants near the middle and the T should make a home away from the lid. The biggest downside to top opening enclosures are getting to the water dish when it needs cleaning.

Gotcha! Now I'm interested in that. I will probably get that within a few weeks.

 

[Joshua zaugg]

I am also new to the t world, I have had a Choco golden knee for a few weeks and he has a log and water dish but he just sits in one corner and won't go into his hide or borrow, is it ok??