Goliath Bird-Eater not making burrows.

[goatfactory]

Hello. First time posting on here, I just recently got a Goliath bird-eater. It's my second tarantula, the first one was an OBT (it was mislabeled when I got it and I only found out afterwards). I've got her set up in a 20 gallon tank since she's not fully grown. I've added a little heating pad to one side of the tank since my understanding was they needed a temperature of around 80f and our room temperature is typically around 70. She's been eating well except for the last few days but I'm not too worried about it yet however she has made no attempts to hide or make a burrow. The sultrate isn't quite as deep as it needs to be in certain parts of the tank but I've intentionally added some slight hills where she should have more than enough room to dig down. I've also added some fake log and rock things for her to be able to hide in but I've never seen her go in.

She has stopped wandering around and trying to climb the glass as much since I put the heater in which I assume is a good thing but I find it kind of strange that she just prefers to sit in the open instead of digging down or using the hiding spots I provided for her. She also seems to just shoot webbing around the ground randomly without really settling into one specific area. Is this normal? Is there something I'm missing or should be doing?

 

[cold blood]

I've got her set up in a 20 gallon tank since she's not fully grown

20 gal would be suitable for a full grown adult....it would be significantly over sized for a smaller specimen.

I've added a little heating pad to one side of the tank since my understanding was they needed a temperature of around 80f

Ts do not require specific temps and while 80 is fine, so is 70.

our room temperature is typically around 70

Shouldn't be a problem

She's been eating well except for the last few days

How often are you feeding??

The sultrate isn't quite as deep as it needs to be in certain parts of the tank but I've intentionally added some slight hills where she should have more than enough room to dig down.

The needed depth of the sub is actually going to be dictated by the depth of the enclosure...you need to add enough sub to reduce the distance to the top, thus minimizing any fall risks.

She has stopped wandering around and trying to climb the glass as much since I put the heater in which I assume is a good thing

Not exactly. See, ts are drawn to heat, like a moth to a flame, and a t sitting on such a warm spot can actually be quite detrimental...even fatal.

Heat pads aren't ideal for ts, as they're designed for reptiles which have significantly different heating needs....Pads should NEVER be placed under an enclosure, in fact, they really shouldn't be in direct contact with the t enclosure at all.

I find it kind of strange that she just prefers to sit in the open instead of digging down or using the hiding spots I provided for her.

Not all ts burrow, others simply take a long time to acclimate and finally burrow...the t not hiding or burrowing is in no way shape or form something to worry about

Is there something I'm missing or should be doing?

Post pics, that's the best way to get the most accurate help...without pics, we can only guess.

But be sure that the sub remains damp all the time, they aren't very tolerant of dry conditions.

 

[basin79]

Remove the rocks. Have you actually created a burrow for you tarantula under some cork bark? Usually if you make a "starter" burrow a tarantula will utilise it. Then dig down more if they feel the need or just leave it.

Remove the rocks. Have you actually created a burrow for you tarantula under some cork bark? Usually if you make a "starter" burrow a tarantula will utilise it. Then dig down more if they feel the need or just leave it.

So to add to my post. Here is a T.blondi sling. Just arrived. You can see the starter burrow I made. Pic taken 2nd June 2019.


This is a screen shot from 9th June 2020. Same enclosure. Same burrow. But you can see she continued to use the hide although she obviously dug more out as she grew.



11th of July. She's now dug out more and has gone to a more open front.