Lampropela violaceopes sling question

[shamilt1]

I recently purchased 3 2" slings that I have placed in 32oz deli containers w/a small cork bark and about half full of packed damp substrate. (A mix of topsoil and vermiculite along w/some sphagnum moss on top). To my surprise, they have completely bulldozed their entire container in about 2 days! It looks like a bomb went off in the enclosure. I mean the cork bark is tipped on the side in two of the cups and they have built "web/substrate tunnels" from the surface almost to the top of the cup. At night I see them hanging out at the top of the tunnels w/their legs splayed out. The tunnels go from top to bottom and all around the sides of the cup and in each case, I see two separate entrances. They dug through about 3 inches of hard packed substrate like nothing. I am a little surprised as I thought these guys were arboreal and none of the numerous care sheets I found while studying prior to purchase mentioned this. I saw on one site that mentioned that as young they may be semi-arboreal but sheesh!!!

For those of you w/experience w/L. Violaceopes, is this normal?

 

[awiec]

Spiders do what they see fit with their enclosures. I have an O. Panay Blue which is supposed to be the ONLY arboreal in that genus, but what does mine do? It made a huge tunnel system with using tons of webbing as support. Some T's modify their enclosures a lot, some don't. My G.pulchripes adds a new tunnel like every week, while my P.platyomma just enlarged the starter burrow I gave it for a day and was done.

 

[viper69]

I've owned 2 Lvs, that is EXACTLY what they are supposed to. They aren't arboreals like Avics. It's very misleading.

Basically whatever substrate height you put in, they will put the rest from tunneling on top as high as container will allow.

These are the most elaborate tunnelers I have ever owned.

As they get larger in the same container they will adjust burrows to accommodate their new size.

 

[Poec54]

I have a lot of LV's, all sizes (yours may even be some of my slings). Yours are behaving normal. At 2", they're juveniles, not slings.

We make up categories and try to force spiders into them. They, on the other hand, use the best option available to them. I have 32 OW and NW species of arboreals; only my Avics make retreats at the top of their cages. The others are at, or below, substrate level, even as adults. I dislike the term 'obligate' used with tarantulas, as many don't follow our preconceived ideas.

 

[shamilt1]

Yes Poec54, they are yours and I could not be happier with them. The longer I am in this hobby, the more I am finding out that many of my T's must have failed to read their respective care sheets!

 

[David VB]

I have an adult female and had a sub-adult male. Both were underground and almost never came out. But lately the female is hanging around in the whole enclosure, so i'm very happy coz she's gorgeous

 

[delo]

Same experience/observations as Poec54...I have18 Arboreal T's and only my Vericolor is behaving like a "true" Arboreal rarely touching the ground. All others hide underground during the day and venture in the uper half at night.