G. Aureostriata getting busy (no, not like that)

[mikeymo]

So I’ve heard that they call these guys mini bulldozers. I had never seen my guy do any sort of digging until tonight, when he essentially moved around 25% of the substrate in his container. The water dish is on top of its hide, the rock I had in there is buried and the place just looks a mess. He seems to be digging in one corner especially. I know he’s not looking for treasure, and I’ve provided a hide for it already so…

Is there anything wrong with me returning the enclosure to some sense of order after it's done its digging? Does this digging ultimately serve a greater purpose, and will it stress my T out if I return everything to the way it once was?

thanks in advance

_mike

 

[P. Novak]

I'm not sure if it will stress the T out if you put everything back the way it was, but I would just leave it the way the T has done it. The T knows what it wants. Just let it a mess. Of course if you really NEED to return back to the way it was, there really wouldn't be much harm in it.

I just rehoused mine a couple of hours ago, after it grew out of its old vial and it's already started digging all around.

 

[Alice]

if you put everything back, ime they will start digging again ;P

so i would just leave it the mess that it is now, and try to find a place where it will accept the waterdish and hide as they are. basically, my tip is to modify the tank's interior to your maintainance needs while intruding as little as possible on your t's landscaping needs

 

[kyrga]

My g. rosea sling started digging about a week ago. She started a small burrow at first, but she works on it every night, and now she has quite the mess too. It's adorable to watch. What's not adorable, though is how she likes to colapse the opening to her burrow after she's done for the night, and dig back out when the mood suits her. The first time she did it a few days ago, I freaked out, wondering where my T went and how it could have possible escaped, until I saw her little toes come poking out from the substrate.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Is there anything wrong with me returning the enclosure to some sense of order after it's done its digging? Does this digging ultimately serve a greater purpose, and will it stress my T out if I return everything to the way it once was?

There's plenty wrong with that--why would you ruin all its hard work? After all, YOU don't live in that house, the spider does. They love to decorate, and since they generally only do it when they're settled in, presumably it's a sign of happiness (or at least as much as inverts are capable of emotion). That and tarantulas are notoriously stressed by changes in their environment that they didn't do themselves, such as being transferred to a new enclosure, or getting new substrate.

Plus it'll just do it all over again, so you'd just be wasting your time and the spider's.

 

[mikeymo]

thanks for the advice everyone. i've decided to let things be the way they are. i did have to re-locate the water dish, hopefully it doesn't end up atop the hide again - haha. it sure was fun to watch him work though

 

[dukegarda]

Are the G. Aureostriata friendly? And how gold are those knees? I'm considering getting one...

 

[mikeymo]

While there are exceptions to evey rule;
from personal expereince (and from speaking to a few others who own them) there really isn't anything negative about this species. Typically they are hardy eaters, they like to dig which is amusing to watch, they grow to a nice size (8 inches i believe), and they arn't prone to webbing themsleves away from view. My little guy is pretty docile, but he can move quickly when i catch him by surprise. But then again, i move pretty quick when i get surprised (and i'm not a big mover) haha...

The knees get pretty nicely coloured. Everything looks better after a molt, though

 

[IdahoBiteyThing]

Chaco digs digging?

These guys DO love to bulldoze and rearrange. Mine has walled up her coconut today with sphagnum, and created a tunnel under the coconut so she can be half-in, half-out. Think you're on the right track to just leave things be. It'll all get rearranged again later! I agree, these spiders have a lot of good qualities; visibility, size, pattern, etc. As far as being "friendly", I definitely don't put my hand in mine's tank. Mine seems to operate on the principle that anything coming into the tank is probably food, so jump on it first, bite it and see if it tastes good. It is definitely not overly defensive ie. no threat displays, rare to no hair-kicking, but it is an eating machine!

 

[Moltar]

I've only had my 1-1/2" chaco for a few weeks but i just love her! Yes, she is a little bulldozer. I'd say she's completely relocated 25-30% of her substrate. I can see also where she ran into the wall and probably would have dug more if given the room. Also, she is terribly voracious of an eater, tackling crickets more than half her size in the blink of an eye. If i let her she'll eat her own weight every day. I'm afraid she'll hurt herself growing to fast though so i've scaled back her diet a bit.

"If you have the means i strongly reccomend picking one up. They are very choice." <--(name that quote)

 

[dukegarda]

These guys DO love to bulldoze and rearrange. Mine has walled up her coconut today with sphagnum, and created a tunnel under the coconut so she can be half-in, half-out. Think you're on the right track to just leave things be. It'll all get rearranged again later! I agree, these spiders have a lot of good qualities; visibility, size, pattern, etc. As far as being "friendly", I definitely don't put my hand in mine's tank. Mine seems to operate on the principle that anything coming into the tank is probably food, so jump on it first, bite it and see if it tastes good. It is definitely not overly defensive ie. no threat displays, rare to no hair-kicking, but it is an eating machine!

Na that sound like my new rosea. She will eat anything! I give her dewinged flies as a snack. She pounces on them like a puppy. HAHA

And I seriously am saving up money for a Chaco now.