G. Rosea scrunching up

[TheDarkAbyss]

Greetings.

So my Grammastola Rosea 3.5 inch female molted around 11 days ago from the date I made this post, and she has not eaten at all yet. I know this is typical for this species so when can I expect this girl to eat again? And one time, I didn't really see it properly since i was looking the other way, but I saw my Rosea on the wall of her enclosure, I looked the other way and when I looked back she looked like she scrunched up all of the sudden with all but 2 of her back right legs hanging onto the wall. She did this for around 5-10 seconds before going back to normal. Could this be an early sign of DKS or is she just doing molt stretches? She hasn't done it ever since, at least until I make an update...
I want to clarify that when she did the "scrunch", I meant she looked like she went into death curl for a few seconds. I have no idea if it was normal behavior because it was pulsating movement and even her spinnerets were moving along with the episode

 

[Vanisher]

It can take some weeks more. Some speicies of tarantulas with faster metabolism like A geniculata tends to eat more readily after a moult. G rosea tends to not. Just keep a full waterdish

 

[Poonjab]

Your T is fine. Nothing to be alarmed about.

 

[TheDarkAbyss]

It can take some weeks more. Some speicies of tarantulas with faster metabolism like A geniculata tends to eat more readily after a moult. G rosea tends to not. Just keep a full waterdish

I'm not too concerned with her not eating, I'm more concerned of the scrunching fit she had...

Your T is fine. Nothing to be alarmed about.

I assume that "scrunching" behavior she did so suddenly is a natural thing these tarantulas do? It really took me by surprise.

 

[Vanisher]

What does scrunching mean?

 

[TheDarkAbyss]

What does scrunching mean?

I mean the tarantula went into a sort-of death curl with all but her two right back legs hanging onto the wall of the enclosure, and moving like that for a few seconds, along with the spinnerets flicking

 

[PidderPeets]

How high was the fall? Was this before or after she molted? I would be concerned that a fall from a freshly molted tarantula would be more likely to cause internal damage. That could potentially cause behavior like you describe. It could also be nothing. All you can really do is wait and observe her behavior

 

[Royalty]

It could be a "stress curl" if you startled her. They will sometimes pull their legs in protectively but it is not quite the same as a death curl.

 

[darkness975]

Greetings.

So my Grammastola Rosea 3.5 inch female molted around 11 days ago from the date I made this post, and she has not eaten at all yet. I know this is typical for this species so when can I expect this girl to eat again? And one time, I didn't really see it properly since i was looking the other way, but I saw my Rosea on the wall of her enclosure, I looked the other way and when I looked back she looked like she scrunched up all of the sudden with all but 2 of her back right legs hanging onto the wall. She did this for around 5-10 seconds before going back to normal. Could this be an early sign of DKS or is she just doing molt stretches? She hasn't done it ever since, at least until I make an update...
I want to clarify that when she did the "scrunch", I meant she looked like she went into death curl for a few seconds. I have no idea if it was normal behavior because it was pulsating movement and even her spinnerets were moving along with the episode

Post molt they assume all kinds of strange positions to stretch out their new exoskeleton. Make sure the water dish is full and leave it at that for now.

 

[TheDarkAbyss]

How high was the fall? Was this before or after she molted? I would be concerned that a fall from a freshly molted tarantula would be more likely to cause internal damage. That could potentially cause behavior like you describe. It could also be nothing. All you can really do is wait and observe her behavior

I mentioned that this was 11 days after the molt

It could be a "stress curl" if you startled her. They will sometimes pull their legs in protectively but it is not quite the same as a death curl.

I guess it might be this? Maybe she got startled when I swung my head back to look at her, my attention was caught by a different T at the time

Post molt they assume all kinds of strange positions to stretch out their new exoskeleton. Make sure the water dish is full and leave it at that for now.

I've seen the faux-poecilotheria stretch and flayed legs but this was the first time I've seen a tarantula curl for post-molt!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Probably a stress curl (legs pulled tight to the body with the knees of the front legs covering the eye cluster).

 

[PidderPeets]

I mentioned that this was 11 days after the molt

You said that she molted 11 days prior to this post, and that one time she fell. That wording didn't specify when she fell and made it seem like it wasn't something that just happened, so I was seeking clarification.

But regardless, observation and prevention are really all you can do at this point. Observe to make sure she's behaving normally, and make adjustments to the enclosure to prevent future falls or injuries.

 

[TheDarkAbyss]

You said that she molted 11 days prior to this post, and that one time she fell. That wording didn't specify when she fell and made it seem like it wasn't something that just happened, so I was seeking clarification.

But regardless, observation and prevention are really all you can do at this point. Observe to make sure she's behaving normally, and make adjustments to the enclosure to prevent future falls or injuries.

I didn't say she fell though, I said she was still hanging on the wall when it happened

 

[PidderPeets]

I didn't say she fell though, I said she was still hanging on the wall when it happened

I'm sorry, I misunderstood. So two legs were holding her entire body up while she was curling? Was she dangling on the wall or was her body on the substrate below?

 

[CommanderBacon]

Hey @TheDarkAbyss

Mine did this once when she was just being a lazy weenie and it freaked me out. I opened the lid and she got back on her toes like I had just woken her up from a nice dream.

I don't think hers was a stress curl, but more laziness and her going into standby mode in a weird position, like cats falling asleep on their faces.

 

[Coradams]

As for the scrunching, my T's often strike strange poses after a molt. My husband once found our B. hamorii on its "belly" with all the legs stretched out to the side and in back. He got the shock of his life when he reached in the enclosure to remove what he thought was a dead spider and it jumped up and ran away. That was over a year ago and she is fine. My A. minatrix sling just molted and more than once I have thought that she didn't look right. A few hours later I check on her and she looks fine. I assume the stretching is their way of keeping mobility as their new exoskeleton hardens.

 

[cold blood]

I didn't say she fell though, I said she was still hanging on the wall when it happened

what you saw was grooming...nothing to worry about.