Tarantula Hiding in Hole for a few Weeks

[chalon9]

Hey all, so my Honduran Curly Haired a couple weeks back went into its hide and sealed up the entrance behind it, as my Ts usually do before they molt. However, it’s been a couple weeks now and he still has not come out, should I be worried? I’ve been told not to disturb the hide to check in case he is still molting, do you guys agree? I keep the water topped if in there in case he’s been sneaking out at night then resealing himself in, but I’m afraid to put any crickets in in case he is still molting. I don’t know what to do and I’m worried about him

 

[SonsofArachne]

My G. pulchra buried itself for a month when I first got it, came out freshly molted and perfectly fine. Second time it molted it did it right at the front of the enclosure. Leave it alone, keep watering, and don't put crickets in there. Crickets can injure or kill a molting T.

 

[Nightstalker47]

At times some will do this even when they aren't nearing a molt.

Leave a pre killed feeder at the mouth of its burrow overnight, if it dissapears then you know its still hungry.

 

[Venom1080]

How big is it?

 

[aphono]

What size is it?

I had a 1/2" G. pulchripes(Chaco gold knee) that burrowed down and sealed it off for solid 2, 3 weeks at a time. Also a H. cafreriana at about 1" that's always down and sealed off for month or two at a time. Both are fine. It's something one has to get used to with tarantulas. Their metabolism is so much slower than other pet animals.

The bigger the tarantula, the longer the whole molt process takes. Forming the new skin, molting, hardening the new skin takes many weeks. Months for adult sized. Especially the species with slower metabolisms.

Do not dig up, do not feed live prey. Leave prekilled if you really want to but don't worry about it too much. Keep the water filled up as usual.

When the burrow is finally open or you see it out it's probably ready to eat again but to be sure try to check and see if the fangs are black. If they're pale or red, it's still too soon to feed.

 

[chalon9]

Thanks for the replies guys! He is still pretty small, his body is roughly the size of a thumbnail. I got him a month or two ago so this is the first time he’s done it with me. But I’ll try leaving a prekilled cricket outside his burrow to see if he’s trying to pull a fast one on me ​

 

[aphono]

Good luck! I had to go through the same learning curve- if it wasn't for this board I'd probably have dug up the little pulchripes after a week underground. Now with some hands on experience it's like 'eh okay you do you, I'll just wait...'.

 

[viper69]

should I be worried?

More than likely, no.

I strongly suggest you research more about T husbandry and their behavior. Your Ts life may depend upon it.

 

[AngelDeVille]

I had a couple of tarantulas that sealed themselves off.

I had them in too large of an enclosure.

When I rehoused, they moved some substrate around, but didn’t burrow.

Feeding response and growth improved immensely.

 

[aphono]

I had a couple of tarantulas that sealed themselves off.

I had them in too large of an enclosure.

When I rehoused, they moved some substrate around, but didn’t burrow.

Feeding response and growth improved immensely.

Yep. Two 1/2" G. pulchripes March of last year. One in condiment cup, not much sub. One in AMAC box, deep substrate. Former is pretty much at three times the size of latter. It's the latter one I mentioned earlier doing the sealing off for 2, 3 weeks at a time.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Hey all, so my Honduran Curly Haired a couple weeks back went into its hide and sealed up the entrance behind it, as my Ts usually do before they molt. However, it’s been a couple weeks now and he still has not come out, should I be worried? I’ve been told not to disturb the hide to check in case he is still molting, do you guys agree? I keep the water topped if in there in case he’s been sneaking out at night then resealing himself in, but I’m afraid to put any crickets in in case he is still molting. I don’t know what to do and I’m worried about him

Typical of brachys how big is it?back when I had b vagans it did that one time for monthsz

 

[SonsofArachne]

I had a couple of tarantulas that sealed themselves off.

I had them in too large of an enclosure.

When I rehoused, they moved some substrate around, but didn’t burrow.

Feeding response and growth improved immensely.

Exact same thing happened with my G. pulchra.

 

[FOREVER]

I have a G Pulchra that sealed itself in its burrow for nearly 3 month before molting and it was about 3/4 inch (2 cm). no worry i'm sure it's fine

 

[AnObeseHippo]

Just let it do tarantula things. It will clear the entrance when it is ready for food.

My adult B. vagans disappeared for months when she molted