Odd or normal behavior?

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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Jan 28, 2017
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To my surprise, I came home today and saw my Pampho. sp. "esmeraldas" male-Mr. Noctis, outside of his coconut hide.

As you can see in my photo he is stressed curled in the corner behind his coconut hide. I'm not sure if this is unusual behavior? You can't see in the photo but he has a deli cup full of water and the substrate is completely dry. He is not in any direct sunlight either. He has a plump abdomen as well.

He is usually always in his coconut hide during the day time. My G. rosea/porteri likes to be in all sorts of odd resting positions but I don't know about my Pamphobeteus male, Mr. Noctis?
 

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ErinM31

Arachnogoddess
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To my surprise, I came home today and saw my Pampho. sp. "esmeraldas" male-Mr. Noctis, outside of his coconut hide.

As you can see in my photo he is stressed curled in the corner behind his coconut hide. I'm not sure if this is unusual behavior? You can't see in the photo but he has a deli cup full of water and the substrate is completely dry. He is not in any direct sunlight either. He has a plump abdomen as well.

He is usually always in his coconut hide during the day time. My G. rosea/porteri likes to be in all sorts of odd resting positions but I don't know about my Pamphobeteus male, Mr. Noctis?
I agree that dehydration is unlikely given the presence of water and that the legs are pulled in in a defensive posture rather than curled as they are in cases of dehydration. Did he recently mature? The behavior of my male Ephebopus murinus completely changed when he matured, which included being out and about nearly all the time in search of a mate.

I had also wondered whether some prey had gotten into his hide. So long as that isn't the case, I don't think there's anything to worry about. I've seen all of my T's periodically change their behaviors/preferences and start or stop using a hide.
 

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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Jan 28, 2017
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I agree that dehydration is unlikely given the presence of water and that the legs are pulled in in a defensive posture rather than curled as they are in cases of dehydration. Did he recently mature? The behavior of my male Ephebopus murinus completely changed when he matured, which included being out and about nearly all the time in search of a mate.

I had also wondered whether some prey had gotten into his hide. So long as that isn't the case, I don't think there's anything to worry about. I've seen all of my T's periodically change their behaviors/preferences and start or stop using a hide.
He is not a mature male as far as I know, he is maybe 4 inches in DLS. He molted about 2 weeks ago.

He's definitely shown more defensive behavior.

He went back into his hide and is no longer in a stress curl, as far as I can see.
 

KezyGLA

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If moulted recently he could still be recovering. Can take some time. Would explain the change in behaviour.
 

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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If moulted recently he could still be recovering. Can take some time. Would explain the change in behaviour.
How often do tarantulas of Mr. Noctis' size need water? Could he really go 2 weeks without hydrating himself?
 

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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Jan 28, 2017
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They are capable of going much longer than 2 weeks
I don't know if I'm crazy or not, or being too paranoid but...I'm noticing that there aren't really any fecal remains in Mr. Noctis' cage. I'm not seeing any fecal matter or hardening around his anal area, so he can't be suffering from impaction.

Am I being obsessively paranoid?
 

sasker

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I thought all members of the genus Pamphobeteus benefit from slightly higher humidity. I keep my Pamphobeteus sp mascara on 50/50 dry and moist substrate and she is never on the dry substrate, even though this species is known to be one of the least 'hydrophilic' members of the genus.

Also, did you pack down the substrate when you filled your enclosure with it? It looks rather loose and fluffy.
 

Stella Maris

Arachnoknight
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Jan 28, 2017
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I thought all members of the genus Pamphobeteus benefit from slightly higher humidity. I keep my Pamphobeteus sp mascara on 50/50 dry and moist substrate and she is never on the dry substrate, even though this species is known to be one of the least 'hydrophilic' members of the genus.

Also, did you pack down the substrate when you filled your enclosure with it? It looks rather loose and fluffy.
The "fluff" is substrate+webbing, but maybe I should add more and pack it down?

When I'm going to be moistening half of the substrate should I just gently spray some water to dampen the top of it?
 

sasker

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I use quite a lot of water if the substrate looks dry. I tilt the enclosure somewhat (like 10 degrees) with the dry part a bit higher to prevent that the water I add runs directly to dry part as well. I may drop half a glass of water on the moist area. It is very warm and dry where I live, so at first the substrate looks very wet, but after a short while it is just quite moist as the underlying substrate sucks up the water as well. Don't be too shy when you add water. Your substrate looks bone dry so a gentle spray will only elevate the humidity for a few hours because coco fibre really sucks up the water.
 
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