quick question about storm my Acanthoscurria geniculata

[Marc saxby]

Hi guys whats the easy way of saying Acanthoscurria geniculata lol
So my question is everyday when i wake up and storm has covered its water bowl and i clear it and the same the next lol had it for about a week now is it trying to tell me something or is this normal ?

 

[Ungoliant]

Hi guys whats the easy way of saying Acanthoscurria geniculata lol
So my question is everyday when i wake up and storm has covered its water bowl and i clear it and the same the next lol had it for about a week now is it trying to tell me something or is this normal ?

Many tarantulas and their owners are locked in an eternal war over the water dish. Tarantulas often flip their dishes over (if they are small enough), fill them with substrate, or even soil them with poop or boluses.

No one really knows why tarantulas bury their water dishes, but it is normal behavior.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Hi guys whats the easy way of saying Acanthoscurria geniculata lol
So my question is everyday when i wake up and storm has covered its water bowl and i clear it and the same the next lol had it for about a week now is it trying to tell me something or is this normal ?

Normal, get used to it man...its not going to change anytime soon.

 

[Deeser]

Hi guys whats the easy way of saying Acanthoscurria geniculata llol

A. Genic

 

[Marc saxby]

Thanks guys and thats cool it gives me a reason to say hi lol

 

[keks]

My one don't bury her water dish, but it defends it, if necessary with all eight legs . I love this spider ^^.

 

[dragonfire1577]

In regards to how to say the name simpler people call these guys genics quite often on here probably because its easier and they are a commonly mentioned species, this is actually one of few species that have nickname in the hobby so that's cool. As for the dish burying thing my old Grammostola pulchra was the king of it and my current pulchra is moving out of a vial into a small enclosure soon so we will see if she can match his earth-moving capabilities!

 

[chanda]

Ah yes, the battle of the water dish. You may be bigger, stronger, and arguably smarter - but your spider will win out from sheer persistence and stubbornness. Most of my tarantulas prefer their water dishes webbed over, filled with substrate, or completely buried - and no matter how many times I dig them out, clean them, and refill them, they are always back to that state in a matter of days. I've quit worrying about it. I just pour water in the general vicinity of the dish and trust that the wet substrate in or over the dish will keep the humidity up to an adequate level - or that the T will drink whatever it needs before all the water soaks in. Fortunately my T. stirmi - which is one of the few spiders I have with a relatively high humidity requirement - has no grudge against her water dish. One of my Pamphobeteus sp. is also quite fond of her dish - though she does prefer it empty. Her favorite spot is sitting in her dish - after she has put down enough webbing or substrate to wick off all the water - and she will attack the water any time I try to refill the dish.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

My genic doesn't do this...

My. G. pulchripes, on the other hand, dumps substrate in hers, tries to flip it, buries it, I'd say she does pretty much anything other than drink from it but she's trolled me on that one too.

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[Grace Cannell]

The idea of a T flipping its water bowl is a great mental image. Mine has never flipped it but Nimhe does use the bowl as a toilet instead of drinking from it.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The idea of a T flipping its water bowl is a great mental image. Mine has never flipped it but Nimhe does use the bowl as a toilet instead of drinking from it.

Yeah, a lot of my arboreal species seem to like using their dishes as a toilet/garbage disposal.

 

[PidderPeets]

My A. seemanni likes to dump a tiny bit of substrate into her bowl, but never enough to drain it thankfully. My N. chromatus, on the other hand, has just decided over the past week or so that he needs a bigger burrow and that the water bowl is where he's supposed to put all that extra dirt. It's just what they do sometimes

 

[Moakmeister]

Tarantulas don't mess with their water dishes if you don't put them in the corner. Put it in the middle of the wall instead. My G. pulchripes used to bury the dish constantly, but since I put it in the middle of the wall, she hasn't messed with it at all in months.

 

[FrDoc]

Actually one advantage of having a very limited number of T's is that you don't mind spending the cash for such things as store bought water dishes. Most are relatively heavy with large bases that take some serious effort to turn them over. Although, my A. Geniculata does feel the occasional need to drop pieces of substrate into hers just to show me who's boss of the enclosure.

 

[Venom1080]

Tarantulas don't mess with their water dishes if you don't put them in the corner. Put it in the middle of the wall instead. My G. pulchripes used to bury the dish constantly, but since I put it in the middle of the wall, she hasn't messed with it at all in months.

Irrefutable proof right there..

 

[Graves6661]

My genic does vile things to her water dish... It's her garbage can for lack of a better description that's appropriate for the forums lol. Boluses, droppings, substrate, the works. She also has a habit of coming out when I open the enclosure to clean her dish. When I put the clean dish back and fill it with water she crawls right on top of it and takes a drink (at least I assume shes drinking). Then, a day or two later, dirty dish... never ending battle.

I've even tried to sit down with her and talk things over... She tried to bite me which I took as a big ole F U or I'm hungry. Can't tell with this species

 

[WoofSpider]

A lot of my Ts dump out their water dish or fill it with dirt. The ones that are particularly bad, I have stopped fighting with them. I only keep their water dishes clean and full when the spider is in pre-molt.

 

[Poec54]

What it's trying to tell you (I didn't read all the responses) is that a depression around their retreat is basically a pot hole in a road. When the spider ventures out, especially at night, and a predator approaches, the spider may have a split second to run inside before it is grabbed and eaten. Stumbling over holes could cost it it's life. That's why we tarantula owners frequently find water bowls filled with substrate and/or covered with silk. Solutions include moving the water bowl to less contested territory, or adding a second water bowl (letting it keep one full of dirt, that way you both win, the King Solomon approach). I recommend always keeping a full water bowl in every cage, as if you get tied up for a few days you won't come back to a dehydrated spider. This is especially important for the times of year when the a/c or furnace are being used.

 

[Tanner Dzula]

its just something that they do, and most likely will always do.

especially with A. Genics, but even just in general, its something that they seem to love doing.

i currently have a H. Gigas that literally had a Burried tower of 6 water bottle caps in his enclosure.
I put one in, he fills it with substrate and digs underneath it.
i put another one on top and fill it up, he again, fills it with dirt and then digs deeper underneath it.
so i put a third one in, and well you get the picture. it was really quite the spectacle when we went to re-house him, as we ended up with 1 T and 6 Caps and a big pile of dirt haha.