# B hamorii never comes out. Too big enclosure?



## Moneo (Aug 22, 2019)

Hey guys!

I have (roughly) 5cm B hamorii. I've had her couple months and she basically never comes out of her hide and every time I check, she's crawled up in the corner of her hide. 

She molted couple weeks ago and hasn't eaten since then, even though I offer her food every couple days. She ate like once a week, every two weeks before she went to premolt hunger-strike. 

I keep her in a medium faunarium 30L x 19W x 20H cm. Is it possible it's too big for her and she's stressed? 

My A Chalcodes molted at the same time and she's running around her enclosure and eating like acid and B Hamorii should be more active species as I heard...

Thanks for your thoughts!


----------



## Hoxter (Aug 22, 2019)

Enclosure seems excessive for tarantula of that small size. I would rehouse it into something closer to 15x15 or even a bit smaller. It will need a lot of time to actually fit into enclosure it is right now. 
How long has it been since last molt? I'm not really sure what couple weeks mean. It could be still waiting to get more confidence and come out.


----------



## Moneo (Aug 22, 2019)

Hoxter said:


> How long has it been since last molt? I'm not really sure what couple weeks mean. It could be still waiting to get more confidence and come out.


Around two weeks
And she literally never comes out. I saw her maybe twice? And trust me, I check my Ts a lot!


----------



## Vanisher (Aug 22, 2019)

Tarantulas hide themself. Thats not strange! But how large was tje tarantula again? And how large is that enclosure??

Aha, 5 cm. Is that bodylenght or legspan? If ut is legspan, the enclosure is way to big. If it is bodylenght, it is a goid size enclosure


----------



## Moneo (Aug 22, 2019)

Vanisher said:


> Aha, 5 cm. Is that bodylenght or legspan? If ut is legspan, the enclosure is way to big. If it is bodylenght, it is a goid size enclosure


It's a legspan


----------



## Hoxter (Aug 22, 2019)

Then it's too big for sure and it's best if you rehoused it into something more suitable anyway.

Reactions: Like 1 | Disagree 2


----------



## Paul1126 (Aug 22, 2019)

Reclusive creature being reclusive.
There is no rule for size of enclosure as long as the height doesn't exceed 1.5 of its diagonal leg span.

In the wild they are not boxed in and tarantulas do and will roam about.

They hide for different reasons and will eventually come out, it took my new brachypelma emilia a while to adjust and stop being so skittish.

Reactions: Agree 3 | Disagree 1


----------



## Gnarled Gnome (Aug 22, 2019)

There's a reason they're called a pet hole.


----------



## cold blood (Aug 22, 2019)

Paul1126 said:


> In the wild they are not boxed in and tarantulas do and will roam about.


And they hide all the time, grow slower and have abysmal survival rates in the wild.

Reactions: Agree 3


----------



## Vanisher (Aug 22, 2019)

Paul1126 said:


> Reclusive creature being reclusive.
> There is no rule for size of enclosure as long as the height doesn't exceed 1.5 of its diagonal leg span.
> 
> In the wild they are not boxed in and tarantulas do and will roam about.
> ...


Captivety and the wild is not comparable. One cannot replicate the wild in a plastic container. To some degree you can, but not st all complestly. There is a reason small juveniles should be kept in appropriate sized enclosures!


----------



## Moneo (Aug 22, 2019)

Vanisher said:


> Captivety and the wild is not comparable. One cannot replicate the wild in a plastic container. To some degree you can, but not st all complestly. There is a reason small juveniles should be kept in appropriate sized enclosures!


So the bottom line is that I should give her something smaller?


----------



## Paul1126 (Aug 22, 2019)

cold blood said:


> And they hide all the time, grow slower and have abysmal survival rates in the wild.


I keep slings in small enclosures, juvinelles and adults do fine with bigger enclosures. I have zero excessive hiders with the exception of an A. seemanni.
No harm in giving them the option to roam a bit.
OPs enclosure is not massive and a 5cm DLS spider is not small.





Vanisher said:


> Captivety and the wild is not comparable. One cannot replicate the wild in a plastic container. To some degree you can, but not st all complestly. There is a reason small juveniles should be kept in appropriate sized enclosures!


Who said anything about keeping them exactly how they are in the wild? If I thought this way I wouldn't have them as pets.
Every single spider I own with exception of  fossorial species never hides 24/7.
All of them hid for the first 1-4 weeks and now they will all roam and hide when threatened.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Moneo (Aug 22, 2019)

Paul1126 said:


> Every single spider I own with exception of  fossorial species never hides 24/7.
> All of them hid for the first 1-4 weeks and now they will all roam and hide when threatened.


And my B Hamorii hides exactly 24/7  That's why I think there is something wrong with her...


----------



## Paul1126 (Aug 22, 2019)

Moneo said:


> And my B Hamorii hides exactly 24/7  That's why I think there is something wrong with her...


Spiders are not social creatures it isn't unusual for a spider to remain hidden....
They will hide for a number of reasons.

FYI: the attached is a 7cm hamorii, got it at 5cm never rehomed and is always out and about.
It was hidden for 2 months because of a pte moult.
2 weeks is still adjustment peroid to being in an unfamiliar place.
A big enclosure is not making your spider shy, that is absolute rubbish. They will roam in big enclosures.


----------



## cold blood (Aug 22, 2019)

Paul1126 said:


> eep slings in small enclosures, juvinelles and adults do fine with bigger enclosures.


agreed...but there are exceptions.


----------



## Paul1126 (Aug 22, 2019)

cold blood said:


> agreed...but there are exceptions.


I also agree, but lets be honest OPs enclosure isn't 8ftx4ft 

Also for the OP a small vagans, hides when disturbed, never skips meals and is always out when not feeling threatened.

No issue at all with giving tarantulas space to explore, in fact it should be encouraged not to keep them in tiny enclosures.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Moneo (Aug 22, 2019)

Paul1126 said:


> 2 weeks is still adjustment peroid to being in an unfamiliar place.
> A big enclosure is not making your spider shy, that is absolute rubbish. They will roam in big enclosures.


I've had my T for several months and she literally never comes out. And everyone says that their B Hamorii roams around a lot or is moving the decoration or whatever... Mine never came out even for a food. Always crawled up in the corner, kinda covering her "face" 

I was about to rehouse her to a smaller enclosure and now you say it doesn't matter, so I'm torn again! 

BTW my T is same ratio to her enclosure like yours... So what's wrong with my T?!?


----------



## cold blood (Aug 22, 2019)

"BTW my T is same ratio to her enclosure like yours... So what's wrong with my T?!? "


Nothing is  wrong...some individuals are just more reclusive.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Vanisher (Aug 22, 2019)

Paul1126 said:


> I keep slings in small enclosures, juvinelles and adults do fine with bigger enclosures. I have zero excessive hiders with the exception of an A. seemanni.
> No harm in giving them the option to roam a bit.
> OPs enclosure is not massive and a 5cm DLS spider is not small.
> 
> ...


During 20 years of experience, i have had juvenile tarantulas flourish better in smaller enclosures. Easier to controll them too



Moneo said:


> So the bottom line is that I should give her something smaller?


In my experience yes!

Reactions: Agree 2


----------



## The Grym Reaper (Aug 22, 2019)

Rehouse to a small faunarium or equivalent (the example below is a 4.5L hobby life tub).

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## NukaMedia Exotics (Aug 23, 2019)

If the T is actually like 2" that enclosure looks fine...


----------



## Moneo (Aug 27, 2019)

Update: that's how she looks in her new, smaller enclosure. Let's see if she'll be out more


----------



## krequiem (Aug 27, 2019)

Moneo said:


> Update: that's how she looks in her new, smaller enclosure. Let's see if she'll be out more


How much height is there between the substrate and the top of the enclosure? It looks to me like you may need more substrate, but it's hard to tell from the overhead view. From the substrate to the lid of the enclosure it should only be about 1.5xs the length of the tarantula's diagonal leg span in order to prevent injuries from falls - especially with a harder hide like the one you have in there.


----------



## Moneo (Aug 27, 2019)

krequiem said:


> How much height is there between the substrate and the top of the enclosure?


More than half of the height. Around 7cm of space left.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Paul1126 (Aug 27, 2019)

Moneo said:


> Update: that's how she looks in her new, smaller enclosure. Let's see if she'll be out more


I am going to tell you now the enclosure size is not why your spider is hiding all the time...
IMO you have a very nice setup. although I would personally use a smaller waterdish but that is just me.
Has she moulted recently?


----------



## Moneo (Aug 28, 2019)

Paul1126 said:


> I am going to tell you now the enclosure size is not why your spider is hiding all the time...
> IMO you have a very nice setup. although I would personally use a smaller waterdish but that is just me.
> Has she moulted recently?


Thank you. She moulted like 3 weeks ago.


----------



## Moneo (Aug 31, 2019)

Seems like you were right! This is her now (see pic). Worse than before!!!

And she's not in premoult, she moulted like 3 weeks ago and ate one tiny cockroach since then... What now?


----------



## Paul1126 (Aug 31, 2019)

Moneo said:


> Seems like you were right! This is her now (see pic). Worse than before!!!
> 
> And she's not in premoult, she moulted like 3 weeks ago and ate one tiny cockroach since then... What now?


Rehome her then I really do not care

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Olan (Sep 1, 2019)

Moneo said:


> Seems like you were right! This is her now (see pic). Worse than before!!!
> 
> And she's not in premoult, she moulted like 3 weeks ago and ate one tiny cockroach since then... What now?


Is the enclosure kept in a bright area? Could be trying to get away from the light.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## Vanisher (Sep 1, 2019)

Moneo said:


> More than half of the height. Around 7cm of space left.


If it is only 7 cm left it is ok. It looks much more than 7 cm i would say!


----------



## Moneo (Sep 1, 2019)

Olan said:


> Is the enclosure kept in a bright area? Could be trying to get away from the light.


Hmm.. I never thought about that. She gets a bit of afternoon sun indeed, but my A Chalcodes' enclosure is shielding her from it and she's out all the time.. I'll try to move her somewhere else, thx for advice!


----------

