burow maitinance .questions in regards to burrowing t

[mephisto13]

Ok..after 7 months I thought my wild caught a.chalcodes was gravid..so I re housed her in deep substrate with a hide filled with substrate and against glass..she is not gravid was just in premolt and fat now she is fine....but stays in condo she has built and I can't clean out the food parts and recently I noticed a cricket hid and died before she could eat it...I watch for mold 24 7 should I disrupt her to get it out if its not moldy ...I get the stuff out she pushes up her tunnel but this I can't reach...any advise....thank you...

 

[Venom1080]

One dead cricket in a dry enclosure isn't a huge deal. I would reach in for it with tongs though. She can easily rebuild after

 

[EulersK]

My advice is that you leave her alone. Mold isn't harmful unless you have a bad outbreak of it. Plus, this species should be kept absolutely bone dry... so mold shouldn't even be possible. Provide a water dish and that's all.

A. chalcodes is my favorite beginner tarantula for a reason. It requires absolutely no more work than providing a hide and a water dish. No misting, no humidity, and very sparse feeding. If your girl is as fat as you say, I'd be feeding her once per month until she slims down a touch.

 

[user 666]

As the other member have pointed out, A chalcodes are fine in a dry enclosure.

Mold, boluses, and dead crickets aren't a problem - just let them desiccate.

 

[mephisto13]

My advice is that you leave her alone. Mold isn't harmful unless you have a bad outbreak of it. Plus, this species should be kept absolutely bone dry... so mold shouldn't even be possible. Provide a water dish and that's all.

A. chalcodes is my favorite beginner tarantula for a reason. It requires absolutely no more work than providing a hide and a water dish. No misting, no humidity, and very sparse feeding. If your girl is as fat as you say, I'd be feeding her once per month until she slims down a touch.

Cool ...yeah I put her on a diet she is cool now...and I keep her bone dry so as you say then i should not worry

 

[mephisto13]

As the other member have pointed out, A chalcodes are fine in a dry enclosure.

Mold, boluses, and dead crickets aren't a problem - just let them desiccate.

Cool...thank you for the advice.....do you recommend at least a once yearly complete clean and re substrate

 

[cold blood]

Cool...thank you for the advice.....do you recommend at least a once yearly complete clean and re substrate

No...substrate doesn't just go bad...I have sub in with a few of mine that's a decade old.

 

[cold blood]

Boli and dead prey in a burrow are annoying, but one day the t will clean house and eject everything...then you pick it out...spot cleaning is about all you can or need to do.

 

[Ellenantula]

Everyone else pretty much said it -- if you keep your T dry, the cricket will just dry up and not attract anything nasty. Naturally, if you can easily remove something dead -- do. But if it's not easily accomplished and the tank is dry -- just keep an eye on things and you have decent odds it'll just turn into a crispy crunchy dry cricket.

 

[mephisto13]

Everyone else pretty much said it -- if you keep your T dry, the cricket will just dry up and not attract anything nasty. Naturally, if you can easily remove something dead -- do. But if it's not easily accomplished and the tank is dry -- just keep an eye on things and you have decent odds it'll just turn into a crispy crunchy dry cricket.

Thanks for the advise ..now I won't worry about it.they known in the wild they just push every thing out eventually...I just like to keep it clean but at the same time not disturb my tarantula to much if it can be avoided....thanks for all the advise...