My L.P. is biting through the lid of his KK.

[DreadLobster]

I'm really not one to panic, or ascribe human behaviors and/or intelligence to spiders, but it really really seems as though my male L.P. is knowingly opening a hole in the lid of his cage with his fangs. Its a simple plastic kritter keeper, and he's broken a bunch of the plastic bars, all right next to each other, in one corner. I have two pictures (sorry for the quality but you should be able to see his shiny little fangs wrapped around one of the bars). I have a video too which would be way more evidence but I don't have any way to upload it at the moment. He's been at it for about a week off and on. He's a male but I don't think he's mature yet... he doesn't have hooks and hasn't made any sperm webs. Is this normal? Anyone know how to deal with this? He's got a hole big enough for him to stick one of his legs through, so for now, I'm gonna switch out the lid with an undamaged one, so at least he'll have to start all over.

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

lol I would find something more sturdy, something with solid walls so it cant bite through it like it can the venting on the KK. It is definetly trying to get out. you better watch your ass lol

 

[the nature boy]

Frequently they will use their fangs to help when climbing. That's probably what you're looking at. BTW, is your substrate too damp? One of the reasons they may climb is because of this. Also, make sure you have enough substrate if you've got a climber. A fall could rupture the abdomen and kill the T.

--the nature boy

 

[the nature boy]

It is definetly trying to get out

Trying to get out, maybe. Trying to chew its way out, probably not.

 

[DreadLobster]

The substrate is fine, he spends most of the time on the ground (my two other LP's don't have this problem). He just climbs up there every now and then and starts biting. He's broken probably 10-12 of them.

 

[bliss]

what you need is a round, solid container. i had a haplo that i used to keep in a KK, large sized, and she would do the same thing. i switched her to a rubbermaid 1 gallon jar, which is round so she couldn't get a grip on the plastic to chew through it. after a few days of trying, she eventually gave up, and went back down, built a burrow, and i never had the trouble from her again. I'm sure a T could somehow figure out how to chew through a round object, but i say the chances of that happening are slim.

A rubbermaid 1 gallon jar is ok for a burrower, as they can burrow deep and have enough room. i dunno if i'd stick an LP in a 1g jar, as they need more floor space than vertical space... in my experience, LP's don't dig burrows, but that was just mine, i'm sure there are some LP's that do burrow.

How big is the LP?

-dan-

 

[Aurelia]

My little G. aureostriata girl does that, but she's never broken anything...yet....

 

[Mushroom Spore]

BTW, is your substrate too damp? One of the reasons they may climb is because of this.

With parahybana? I dunno about anyone else, but mine LOVES it damp. The only times it starts chewing the bars are if I forget to feed it for a couple weeks or the dirt gets too dry. Once I set things right, the little guy settles down again.

 

[Red Eyes]

I can see the headlines now "Killer Tarantula Escapes"

I don't know if this is against any rules but this was posted on another forum,
http://www.atshq.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18654

 

[blazetown]

Trying to get out, maybe. Trying to chew its way out, probably not.

If I was in a KK I would try to chew my way out but thats just personally space preference.

 

[Trogdora]

I'd keep a close eye on him, my B. smithi broke off his fangs that way.

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

what you need is a round, solid container. i had a haplo that i used to keep in a KK, large sized, and she would do the same thing. i switched her to a rubbermaid 1 gallon jar, which is round so she couldn't get a grip on the plastic to chew through it. after a few days of trying, she eventually gave up, and went back down, built a burrow, and i never had the trouble from her again. I'm sure a T could somehow figure out how to chew through a round object, but i say the chances of that happening are slim.

A rubbermaid 1 gallon jar is ok for a burrower, as they can burrow deep and have enough room. i dunno if i'd stick an LP in a 1g jar, as they need more floor space than vertical space... in my experience, LP's don't dig burrows, but that was just mine, i'm sure there are some LP's that do burrow.

How big is the LP?

-dan-

My LP loves to burrow, she's maybe 2-2.5" right now and i have her in a large deli container, plenty of room and a nice amount of substrate and she turned the whole underside of the container into her little mansion with two entrances and a sky light. she pushed the substrate up so much that theres a huge mound in the middle with a webbed over hole which kinda looks like a moon roof and used a couple of her leaf decor as side walls, pretty impressive honestly.

 

[DreadLobster]

How big is the LP?

Its just over 6". Its a male, not mature yet, and its considerably more aggressive/hungry than my other 2.

Last winter, this one was missing both fangs. Not looking to go through that again. Maybe he's just glad to have them back and figured he'll bite everything he can get them on? I don't know. I switched the lid... he's been on the ground ever since. guess I'll have to wait and see.

He wasn't using them to help climb, as he has no trouble getting up there and staying there. And if I make any sudden moves he stops biting.

I'm just amazed at how strong their bites must be to pull those things apart like that.

 

[Dutcharachno]

Damn your L.P is nuts :} But i think if he keep doing this he will lose his fangs again.

 

[barabootom]

I'd worry about the fangs breaking also. I keep several LP's 4-6 inches and all have the same housing with a slightly damp substrate. All are fed well. 5 of them are calm and always stay on the substrate, 2 are always trying to chew the lid of the container. I think it's probably more a personality trait than incorrect living conditions. I'm using latchable plastic containers with small holes drilled and the LP's can't get a good grip with their fangs anywhere inside the container. However, those two keep on trying and I can often hear their fangs scraping the plastic. I think it would be wise to switch the T into a different container.

 

[JBoer]

I'd keep a close eye on him, my B. smithi broke off his fangs that way.

i assumed this aswell, didn't even notice they were broken until she molted then i looked at the roof..still ate right up to pre-molt though.

 

[Le Wasp]

My L. parahybana used to do something like this too. I had him in a circular plastic container, with little circle holes cut into it for air. He would climb up and scrape his fangs against the holes, making a strange hissing noise that took me a while to figure out where it was coming from After I put him into a bigger container, he doesn't seem to be chewing on the terrarium anymore. I don't know if that's what's going on here, but it might be worth looking into if the kritter keeper you have yours in is small for his size.

 

[Dillon]

With parahybana? I dunno about anyone else, but mine LOVES it damp. The only times it starts chewing the bars are if I forget to feed it for a couple weeks or the dirt gets too dry. Once I set things right, the little guy settles down again.

I agree 100%.

 

[DreadLobster]

He used to be in a much bigger container, and I never noticed this problem (though with the broken fangs, i have to wonder if it was going on). I moved him to a smaller container a while back when I got a bigger female. He hasn't seemed too happy about the downgrade.

 

[rustym3talh3ad]

He used to be in a much bigger container, and I never noticed this problem (though with the broken fangs, i have to wonder if it was going on). I moved him to a smaller container a while back when I got a bigger female. He hasn't seemed too happy about the downgrade.

would u feel good about living in a 2 story house with a full basement and then being told u have to move to a camper becuz some bigger better bitch wanted to buy u out lmao? lets face it, T's have attitudes and show emotion too.