A. geniculata Climbing in Premolt

[JonnyTorch]

Hey guys, like the title says. I have done some research and still wondering what's going on. My female A geniculata has a pretty fat booty and is in what seems to be heavy premolt.

I've had her for about a month now, the first 3.5 weeks was fine. Substrate a little on the moist side, full water dish. It always eats without any issue whatsoever, great eater. She is about 4" DLS. Substrate is no more than 1.5x legspan to the top, cage is 3.5x legspan in length and 2.5x legspan in width. It has a hide, that it doesn't really use. Some moss on the ground.

About 3 days ago I noticed the premolt getting heavier and it has started climbing the walls for very long periods of time (hours) and the first 3.5 weeks it never did, and seemed very content with the substrate on the moister side. I know premolt is usually when they are lethargic and this one obviously isn't.. I haven't changed anything in the last week. Is my T just being a T and wandering, or what's going on?

 

[viper69]

Convicts like to escape

Do you really expect a caged animal to be content?

 

[JonnyTorch]

Convicts like to escape

Do you really expect a caged animal to be content?

Ya I get that. None of my other T's have done this, they have but usually it's for the first week or two then settle down. Just don't know what randomly triggered it, or if they do this often as a species. Done some research, but usually the answers are the substrate not being moist, etc. It was happy for a while but it's crawling everywhere now, when it's in premolt and I figured it should be resting.. and I think it's supposed to know that. LOL

 

[viper69]

Ya I get that. None of my other T's have done this, they have but usually it's for the first week or two then settle down. Just don't know what randomly triggered it, or if they do this often as a species. Done some research, but usually the answers are the substrate not being moist, etc. It was happy for a while but it's crawling everywhere now, when it's in premolt and I figured it should be resting.. and I think it's supposed to know that. LOL

little is known about these animals

 

[Dorifto]

Do you really expect a caged animal to be content?

Mine "are"... 4 days with the door open and she didn't scape. It happened twice...

@JonnyTorch did something changed outside? Weather, room temp etc? She is right in the vents, she could be feeling something that she likes or wants that's outside.

 

[viper69]

Mine "are"... 4 days with the door open and she didn't scape. It happened twice...

@JonnyTorch did something changed outside? Weather, room temp etc? She is right in the vents, she could be feeling something that she likes or wants that's outside.

just lucky! Do it forever and see then

 

[JonnyTorch]

@JonnyTorch She is right in the vents, she could be feeling something that she likes or wants that's outside.

The weather here in the desert where I live is getting less humid as the colder weather is coming in. Temps OUTSIDE this summer reached up to 122 degrees F! Pretty hot, but inside it stayed around 78. Now inside is around 74, but the cage is most likely more humid than outside in my room where it lives. So with it being even less humid than normal outside I'm not quite sure. Nothing really changed at all in the last month though.

 

[Dorifto]

just lucky! Do it forever and see then

Both times, was my mother... Never ask to your mother to check your enclosures Instead of checking the water tank level, she understood to water the plants... I don't have any desires to check again if she stays in her enclosure, but I believe she will, she is such a good T

No seriously, I'm planning to leave them freely in my living room? Is it possible to keep them without an enclosure?


PS: In reallity I'm glad of having this mother, even being afraid of spiders she offers to take care of them while whe are out of home

 

[Dorifto]

Any air currents, heat source? Like a fan, sun reflection etc

 

[JonnyTorch]

Any air currents, heat source? Like a fan, sun reflection etc

Nope, no heat source I don't use heat for T's, no direct sun just ambient sunlight from the room. I use my fan sometimes, sometimes I don't. Lately I've just kept my screen door open (I have a screen door in my room leading to an atrium) and it's 75 degrees outside, which is around the same as it is when the AC is on Cage hasn't been moved, been in the same spot for a month.

 

[JonnyTorch]

PS: In reallity I'm glad of having this mother, even being afraid of spiders

My mom is afraid of them too

 

[JonnyTorch]

It's still at it climbing the walls. It's been like 16 hours now. It just keeps going. Not sure what the issue really is. Hopefully it'll calm down soon. I saw it rest last night after about 4 hours of climbing but today all day and even now still climbing walking the walls. Not sure.

 

[Dorifto]

Do a little experiment, put a tape in one side blocking the vent holes.

My pulchra did the same if she felt an air current.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

It's not in heavy pre-moult, bald patch would be black (last two pics were taken 24hrs apart).

 

[JonnyTorch]

It's not in heavy pre-moult, bald patch would be black (last two pics were taken 24hrs apart).

View attachment 401819

Sure. Totally get it. Mine may not be in "Heavy premolt" but it definitely is in premolt. The white spot you see in the pic wasn't there two days ago, or when I first got it. The skin is balding and showing the skin underneath where the abdomen is in the picture I posted, it hasn't kicked a single hair since I got it. It's still on the walls this morning. Been going on two days now nonstop.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Mine may not be in "Heavy premolt" but it definitely is in premolt. The white spot you see in the pic wasn't there two days ago, or when I first got it. The skin is balding and showing the skin underneath where the abdomen is in the picture I posted

Balding of the abdomen isn't a sign of pre-moult, all a balding abdomen means is that your tarantula has kicked hairs at some point.

it hasn't kicked a single hair since I got it.

Unless you've been watching it 24/7 since you got it then you cannot definitively say that it's never kicked hairs, just that you've never witnessed it kicking hairs. They don't just fall out of their own accord.

 

[JonnyTorch]

Balding of the abdomen isn't a sign of pre-moult, all a balding abdomen means is that your tarantula has kicked hairs at some point.



Unless you've been watching it 24/7 since you got it then you cannot definitively say that it's never kicked hairs, just that you've never witnessed it kicking hairs. They don't just fall out of their own accord.

It's not just hairs, the skin is breaking away in that spot. I've never witnessed it kicking, and it randomly happened in the last day or two, the spot where the skin was breaking away was very faint 2 weeks ago, but now the skin is breaking away and leaving that spot. It's definitely premolt, I know what premolt looks like, it's not just "a bald spot" it's old skin breaking away and showing the skin underneath it. Two weeks ago, the spot was showing signs of premolt. I'm not really looking to see if this is "in premolt or not" as I definitely know it is. I'm looking to see why my T is so restless.

 

[JonnyTorch]

And lol, I work from home on the computer and my T's are in my room, I watch tv in my free time so I'd say about 16-18 hours a day I see them, in between working and watching tv in down time. Still on the walls now.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

it's old skin breaking away and showing the skin underneath it.

No, it's not, tarantulas don't have skin let alone layers of skin, due to the types and density of urticating setae in some species it tends to look kind of crusty/scabby when they kick off a bunch of setae (Theraphosa are a great example) but it's literally just exoskeleton with a covering of urticating setae.

I'm not really looking to see if this is "in premolt or not" as I definitely know it is.

Sure...

I'm looking to see why my T is so restless.

Could just be wandering, could have taken issue with something in the setup, sub looks too dry (can cause them to wander and/or hang around/straddle the water dish) and a lot of tarantulas aren't overly fond of walking on loose/dry moss (it can get stuck to their scopulae so they try to avoid it).

And lol, I work from home on the computer and my T's are in my room, I watch tv in my free time so I'd say about 16-18 hours a day I see them

Lol, that leaves around 6-8hrs per day where you're not observing it so obviously at some point during the last few days it decided to kick hairs off around the enclosure while you weren't watching.

 

[JonnyTorch]

@The Grym Reaper I could very well be wrong about the premolt, but the way the spot showed up so slowly is confusing so it could be a bald spot, yes, but it has been in this tank for less than a month and I've had quite a few go into a premolt quickly after rehousing.

I fed it a pretty huge hornworm last week when I gave my T's a treat. So I figured it would be good for a couple weeks considering how big the hornworm was that it ate. It took it like 9 hours to eat it all.. I wanted to see if the wandering was "searching for food" so I decided to give it two supers with crushed heads just now and it pounced on them and is now webbing the ground while eating them. I'm not sure, but I'll see if it will chill for a while now.

I've definitely watered the substrate more than a few times for it and it didn't seem to care at all, still climbed the walls. I know they prefer moist substrate, so I've tried that and am doing that. I know it prefers more moist than my porteri and hamorri setup, which is basically bone dry with just a water dish. I had placed some spaghnum in there on the corners to retain moisture, and it's been there the whole time, but it decided to loosen it up and spread it around the enclosure. I could take some out? Not sure.

So if it is urticating hairs, what would cause it to do this if everything was dandy the first 2-3 weeks?

Thanks for you replies.


Moist substrate & abdomen spot, off the walls for now eating.