Poecilotheria regalis Hiding behind background

[TheSmiths]

Hi. We’ve added a Poecilotheria regalis to our collection. We are housing it in a exoterra viv. It’s now hiding behind the decorative background. Should we be concerned? We’ve had it for about a week. We don’t handle any of our T’s so it’s been left to settle but a bit concerned with this one now. Any advice appreciated.

 

[KezyGLA]

A lot of my OW arboreals used to do this. So I started removing the backgrounds or swapping them out before housing.

 

[TheSmiths]

A lot of my OW arboreals used to do this. So I started removing the backgrounds or swapping them out before housing.

This is or first Pokie and it’s got us a bit worried. Keep thinking it’s espcaped. Our other three are too big to get behind and out and proud all day every day. Will remove the background. Thank you very much for the reply

 

[Poec54]

Are you concerned about what's it's doing back there, like plotting an escape?

Actually, in the wild tarantulas are easy targets for predators when they're out of their retreats/burrows, and tend to come out mostly at night. Unless they're preparing for an upcoming molt, you'll usually see a lot more activity from your spiders after dark, especially in the middle of the night. A lot of people miss this part of spider ownership. I keep a flashlight I my spider room so I can peek in on them.

Glad to hear you don't handle.

 

[Trenor]

If your background has space behind it a lot of species will hide back there. I'd suggest removing everything else from the enclosure before removing the background. Get your tarantula in a catch cup. Then if you still want to use the background get some aquarium silicone and seal up the openings that let it get back there. You'll need to leave it a few days for the silicone to fully harden before replacing the rest of the stuff and reintroducing the tarantula.

Or take it out if you don't want the hassle.

 

[TheSmiths]

Are you concerned about what's it's doing back there, like plotting an escape?

Actually, in the wild tarantulas are easy targets for predators when they're out of their retreats/burrows, and tend to come out mostly at night. Unless they're preparing for an upcoming molt, you'll usually see a lot more activity from your spiders after dark, especially in the middle of the night. A lot of people miss this part of spider ownership. I keep a flashlight I my spider room so I can peek in on them.

Glad to hear you don't handle.

We have a GBB, Chaco golden knee and a pink toe. All big fat spiders that are out all day. Fancied a pokie to add to them three so this is all new to us. Just don’t want it to be unhappy. Will leave it a few more weeks to settle before removing the background so as not to stress it out.

And we don’t believe in handling them. Purely ornamental for us and we take a lot of pleasure in just looking at them.

Thanks for the reply

 

[chanda]

Yeah, a lot of arboreals will find little nooks and crannies to hide in. When my P. vittata was small, he used to wedge himself up under the plastic molding around the door. At first I thought he'd somehow managed to escape - and unwittingly risked a real escape by tearing apart the cage looking for him. Had he popped out of the molding while I was looking, he could have taken off - and I almost left the cage door open after failing to find him, convinced that he'd managed to wriggle through one of the ventilation holes or the gaps around the doors. Fortunately, habit won out and I closed the door, so the next time I went into the room after dark, there he was, prowling around as if nothing had happened. It was a great relief to me once I figured out where he kept disappearing to - and an even greater relief when he got too big to (successfully) hide there. He still tried, of course - but there was usually a leg or two sticking out by then.

I haven't had any of my tarantulas get back behind the styrofoam backdrops, but we have had geckos that would do that. They'd disappear for weeks at a time, then - just when we were sure they'd died on us - out they'd pop.

It is not necessary to remove the backdrop, but if you do decide to remove it, make sure you securely cup the spider first and remove it from the cage. If you try to remove the backdrop with the spider behind it - or unsecured elsewhere in the cage - there is a very good chance that the spider might escape or might be injured. Those backdrops tend to fit pretty tightly, so removing them can take a few minutes and may require some maneuvering of the backdrop to get it out.

Also, be prepared - if you take away this hiding place, your spider will find or make a new one. Pokies love having a small, safe place to hide in the daytime. Mine is too big to use the molding now, so he dug himself a shallow burrow and topped it off with a "dirt curtain" (a section of webbing with a LOT of substrate worked into it) and that is where he spends most of his time.

 

[TheSmiths]

Yeah, a lot of arboreals will find little nooks and crannies to hide in. When my P. vittata was small, he used to wedge himself up under the plastic molding around the door. At first I thought he'd somehow managed to escape - and unwittingly risked a real escape by tearing apart the cage looking for him. Had he popped out of the molding while I was looking, he could have taken off - and I almost left the cage door open after failing to find him, convinced that he'd managed to wriggle through one of the ventilation holes or the gaps around the doors. Fortunately, habit won out and I closed the door, so the next time I went into the room after dark, there he was, prowling around as if nothing had happened. It was a great relief to me once I figured out where he kept disappearing to - and an even greater relief when he got too big to (successfully) hide there. He still tried, of course - but there was usually a leg or two sticking out by then.

I haven't had any of my tarantulas get back behind the styrofoam backdrops, but we have had geckos that would do that. They'd disappear for weeks at a time, then - just when we were sure they'd died on us - out they'd pop.

If you do decide to remove the backdrop, make sure you securely cup the spider first and remove it from the cage. If you try to remove the backdrop with the spider behind it - or unsecured elsewhere in the cage - there is a very good chance that the spider might escape or might be injured. Those backdrops tend to fit pretty tightly, so removing them can take a few minutes and may require some maneuvering of the backdrop to get it out.

That is FANTASTIC advice. Thank you. I aren’t in a rush to remove it as it is a relatively new set up and don’t want to cause more stress by fiddling and prodding and poking.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I always hated the look of those backgrounds and they take up too much space so I just replace them with cork tile. It's less than half the thickness, they can't get in behind it and it looks so much better.

 

[Poec54]

FYI, all of my Poecs live on or under their substrate, hiding under pieces of cork. They go where the most secure place is. I've had some Poec slings live in silk retreats at the top of their 32 oz deli cups for a while, but they give that up as they grow, and take security over elevation. In the wild, tropical ficus grow to huge dimensions, single trees can spread out, via aerial roots, and cover an entire acre, along with being 100+ feet tall. With many branches spreading so far out, arboreal animals may be walking on horizontal surfaces as often as they do vertical.

 

[TheSmiths]

I always hated the look of those backgrounds and they take up too much space so I just replace them with cork tile. It's less than half the thickness, they can't get in behind it and it looks so much better.

Hi. Could you please post a pic. I’m imagining cork tiles that old people have on bathroom floors. I’m guessing you’re States based with the time that you posted and wondering if you mean that kind of cork. We don’t mind the look of the background but I’d love to go with a real live set up. Would like to see what yours looks like to see if it’d be worth going with cork ourselves.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[TheSmiths]

FYI, all of my Poecs live on or under their substrate, hiding under pieces of cork. They go where the most secure place is. I've had some Poec slings live in silk retreats at the top of their 32 oz deli cups for a while, but they give that up as they grow, and take security over elevation. In the wild, tropical ficus grow to huge dimensions, single trees can spread out, via aerial roots, and cover an entire acre, along with being 100+ feet tall. With many branches spreading so far out, arboreal animals may be walking on horizontal surfaces as often as they do vertical.

Thank you for such a detailed reply. I’ve shown my husband who is the T lover and it all made sense to him. We are a year into keeping Ts and all advice is appreciated.

 

[Walker253]

Can't stand that foam backing. I have a pile of them wondering why I haven't tossed them out already. Your P regalis will hide a lot until she's ready to be seen. For me, it was 5 months in a cork tube. Now she is seen frequently. I never pulled and split that tube. It's her place, not mine.

 

[darkness975]

Hi. We’ve added a Poecilotheria regalis to our collection. We are housing it in a exoterra viv. It’s now hiding behind the decorative background. Should we be concerned? We’ve had it for about a week. We don’t handle any of our T’s so it’s been left to settle but a bit concerned with this one now. Any advice appreciated.

Remove the background so that the issue becomes void. I do not have any of those types of Enclosures personally but I always remove anything along those lines if I purchase custom type terrariums and such. Saves the headache later on. Be sure to catch cup the Spider prior to leaving the Enclosure open for an extended period.

I keep a flashlight I my spider room so I can peek in on them.

I use a red flashlight so it does not spook them. I also have a UV one but I only use that on the Scorpions. I am pretty certain they can see UV since they always react to it but don't react at all when I use the red flashlight. Plus UV is harmful to them so I don't use it for long.

The "normal white" flashlight is mostly there so I can find coins and things when I drop them

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Hi. Could you please post a pic. I’m imagining cork tiles that old people have on bathroom floors. I’m guessing you’re States based with the time that you posted and wondering if you mean that kind of cork. We don’t mind the look of the background but I’d love to go with a real live set up. Would like to see what yours looks like to see if it’d be worth going with cork ourselves.

Thanks for the reply.

Na, I'm in the UK, I just have a really messed up sleep cycle lol.

The Ts are sat on the cork background, it looks just like a flat piece of cork bark, you just cut it to size and squeeze it into place, you can get a sheet for about 12 quid and one sheet does 3 exo terra nano tall enclosures or 2 of the next size up, they come in different colours.

Link: https://www.internetreptile.com/111-natural-backgrounds

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[TheSmiths]

Na, I'm in the UK, I just have a really messed up sleep cycle lol.

The Ts are sat on the cork background, it looks just like a flat piece of cork bark, you just cut it to size and squeeze it into place, you can get a sheet for about 12 quid and one sheet does 3 exo terra nano tall enclosures or 2 of the next size up, they come in different colours.

Link: https://www.internetreptile.com/111-natural-backgrounds

View media item 42219View media item 41495

Thank you so much for those pics. I’m thinking you meant cork like a notice board. I’m not a huge fan of how the backgrounds look and never really thought about changing em. Just put up with them, never realised there was an alternative. Very impressed, it looks miles more realistic. And WOW what beautiful Ts.