CuteSpooders
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2020
- Messages
- 4
I'm new to this hobby and picked up my first T a few months ago. I've spent so much time researching, reading, and watching before I seriously considered picking up a T.
I went to Pet Supplies Plus for cat supplies, so of course I had to see if they had any spiders. I did find one, in this condition, on top of a shelf directly under the lights, for who knows how long:
It was neglected, didn't have a real hide, and they were feeding it pinhead crickets. It's been a challenge, and maybe I'm projecting, but it hasn't acted as I expected. For one, it absolutely will not eat during the day, will not eat if I'm in proximity, barely digs, and it's come to my attention that it apparently sits in a stress position all day?
But here's where things have started getting weird. I started finding more uneaten prey. I figure maybe premolt. I come out one morning to check on it, and it's in a really weird position with its legs splayed out and it's body flat against the ground. It wasn't a death curl, but I'd seen similar positions on YouTube videos from spiders that were dehydrated. But that also didn't make sense because I keep an eye on its water and moisture levels. I tapped the enclosure and it flinched a little. So I opened the enclosure to investigate, and it got up and walked off to its usual spot. I worry, but it dawns on me that maybe I interrupted the start of a molt.
I go about business as usual, but reduce the prey I'd put in (she loves wax worms, and likes dubia). I drop some worms in one night, and they're there the next morning. Plus I find the spider in this position:
I get excited and figure NOW it's molt time. I come back a couple hours later, and she...stopped? I think one of the wax worms touched her and made her freak out and stop, but I'm not 100%.
So I stopped putting in prey, and have left her completely alone. I brought this up in a Facebook group and multiple people said she was stressed. I figured I'd put in a hide I used previously (in an enclosure that wasn't right for her), but she's not using it, at all. She sits in her web mat, in a depression she dug, every hour of every day, in the same position.
I'm at a loss here and I'm not sure what to do, if anything. Have any of you seen problems like this? Does my seemanni have mental issues? Does it need counseling?
I went to Pet Supplies Plus for cat supplies, so of course I had to see if they had any spiders. I did find one, in this condition, on top of a shelf directly under the lights, for who knows how long:
It was neglected, didn't have a real hide, and they were feeding it pinhead crickets. It's been a challenge, and maybe I'm projecting, but it hasn't acted as I expected. For one, it absolutely will not eat during the day, will not eat if I'm in proximity, barely digs, and it's come to my attention that it apparently sits in a stress position all day?
But here's where things have started getting weird. I started finding more uneaten prey. I figure maybe premolt. I come out one morning to check on it, and it's in a really weird position with its legs splayed out and it's body flat against the ground. It wasn't a death curl, but I'd seen similar positions on YouTube videos from spiders that were dehydrated. But that also didn't make sense because I keep an eye on its water and moisture levels. I tapped the enclosure and it flinched a little. So I opened the enclosure to investigate, and it got up and walked off to its usual spot. I worry, but it dawns on me that maybe I interrupted the start of a molt.
I go about business as usual, but reduce the prey I'd put in (she loves wax worms, and likes dubia). I drop some worms in one night, and they're there the next morning. Plus I find the spider in this position:
I get excited and figure NOW it's molt time. I come back a couple hours later, and she...stopped? I think one of the wax worms touched her and made her freak out and stop, but I'm not 100%.
So I stopped putting in prey, and have left her completely alone. I brought this up in a Facebook group and multiple people said she was stressed. I figured I'd put in a hide I used previously (in an enclosure that wasn't right for her), but she's not using it, at all. She sits in her web mat, in a depression she dug, every hour of every day, in the same position.
I'm at a loss here and I'm not sure what to do, if anything. Have any of you seen problems like this? Does my seemanni have mental issues? Does it need counseling?
