Gorgyrella sp. needs to get out that hole

[Lostindespair]

My big black trapdoor spider has been in the same substrate for about 4 or 5 months now and i believe its getting close to a change time (found quite a few lil chunks of mold btw). This however presents a puzzling dillemma, how do i get her out of her burrow?? i have thought about maybe squirting some water in the burrow, but this seems like it would cause quite a bit of undo anxiety, so i was wondering what you invert experts had to say about such a question?

 

[Moltar]

If possible, just try to adjust the environment so that the mold is no longer an issue. Basically more ventilation and/or less water... Maybe add some isopods and try to keep it cleaner in there.

Unless the environment has become downright dangerous for her you'll be better off trying to work with what you have. Digging up a trap from a jar and moving it to another can be dangerous and problematic for both of you.

If you really must, try grabbing the corner of her burrow with tweezers and lifting the whole thing out of the dirt. If you can actually lift it out this way that will make things quite a bit easier. Just be careful, those lil suckers are very defensive and I've heard that their venom packs a punch. Not fatal or anything, but seriously unpleasant.

 

[buthus]

Dump the whole thing into whatever bowl and transfer her to her new enclosure n'thumbed-out hole.

 

[kevin91172]

I have the same species,and stop eating for me so I checked if it was dead.
I got a pair of tweezers and grabbed the door to pull it out and the hole"plug" came out.Totally intact and he was just fine and is now eating again.

Interesting litle guys the whole burrow was in lined with silk.I just had to take a part to investigate it built a new burrow right away .I figured it needed the stimulus any ways .

 

[Lostindespair]

If possible, just try to adjust the environment so that the mold is no longer an issue. Basically more ventilation and/or less water... Maybe add some isopods and try to keep it cleaner in there.

Unless the environment has become downright dangerous for her you'll be better off trying to work with what you have. Digging up a trap from a jar and moving it to another can be dangerous and problematic for both of you.

If you really must, try grabbing the corner of her burrow with tweezers and lifting the whole thing out of the dirt. If you can actually lift it out this way that will make things quite a bit easier. Just be careful, those lil suckers are very defensive and I've heard that their venom packs a punch. Not fatal or anything, but seriously unpleasant.

i think the soil i used for the substrate might have been a bad rought to go lol, is been rather unpleasent from day one but was the only soil i could find without any pesticides in it and i ran out of time. Ill try and clean it up with some isopods and whatnot, maybe pick out the top layer and replace it.

She is surprisingly docile unless ya start really pokin at her. If i must, removing the entire burrow sounds useful, might try it eventually if i cant clean it out enough. Its got a really powerful Mildew smell to it.

 

[Lostindespair]

I have the same species,and stop eating for me so I checked if it was dead.
I got a pair of tweezers and grabbed the door to pull it out and the hole"plug" came out.Totally intact and he was just fine and is now eating again.

Interesting litle guys the whole burrow was in lined with silk.I just had to take a part to investigate it built a new burrow right away .I figured it needed the stimulus any ways .

Lol, i ripped mines door off by accident and she looked at me like "the f**k?"

I've found they dun eat very often with the lid off the tank or any substantial light on the door, so i drop a couple crickets in and leave her alone to destroy them on her own schedule, pretty cool to watch.

 

[Moltar]

i think the soil i used for the substrate might have been a bad rought to go lol, .... Its got a really powerful Mildew smell to it.

Well hey, if the soil's not right, it's not right. Funny smells, mildew, mold everywhere, maybe you should change it out after all. I was assuming that you started with clean soil and were just dealing with moldy leftovers or whatever. Try again with straight peat, maybe cut with a little sand. That stuff pretty much doesn't mold unless you make a concerted effort to cause it.

 

[Lostindespair]

im using a top soil/peat moss mixture, they switched formula's on me right after i bought the first bag :s now it doesnt mold lol, is in my a seemani's tank and doing great, but ma trapdoors is pretty bad, and, she is a lil hoarder, all the left overs are still in her burrow, she dun clean it like she should for some reason. The soil is just moldy in places, even though there are no leftovers.

 

[Moltar]

I'd try to keep her a little more dry and introduce a cleaning crew. If she's just living in a burrow that's full of mold then you really do need to relocate her asap after all. Mold spores can get into book lungs causing potentially fatal complications.

 

[Lostindespair]

successfull change

Alrighty so i meant to bring this topic to finality a long time ago and spaced it lol. I changed HIM, successfully i might add. (i say him cause hes got that trademark weird male trapdoor abdomen). I tried to pull out the burrow, it broke and collapsed. So i carefully dug him up. Put him in a shallow container with a hide for a couple days so i could make sure he was doing okay before he was put into a burrowing capable viv. He was fine, so after a couple days, into the new tank with Coconut fiber substrate. Im done with top soil, failed me once, no mo chances lol.

Id also like to give a special thanks to Moltar for his diligent assistance, means a lot to me bud, thanks a million. ^_^