Grammostola pulchra Questions

[niallbakken]

ive had my Pulchra since March 2021.... shes a small juvenile and i never used a heat mat, just room temperature...... when i put my own heating on at home, she would come out of her hide and start to climb the sides to the top which i know she senses a heat source..... fear of her falling and injuring herself, i placed a heat mat under her tank and she started to burrow deeper ( obviously attracted to the heat source ).. she has now buried herself completely like the previous members photos, like ive now got a tank with a hide and water dish and no tarantula.... i know its only been 3 weeks but i havent seen her at all... just a concerned keeper and enquiring if this is normal as i havent seen any mention of this in a lot of care and husbandry info in which ive done an extensive research on this T before i got her.... cheers

 

[Neonblizzard]

ive had my Pulchra since March 2021.... shes a small juvenile and i never used a heat mat, just room temperature...... when i put my own heating on at home, she would come out of her hide and start to climb the sides to the top which i know she senses a heat source..... fear of her falling and injuring herself, i placed a heat mat under her tank and she started to burrow deeper ( obviously attracted to the heat source ).. she has now buried herself completely like the previous members photos, like ive now got a tank with a hide and water dish and no tarantula.... i know its only been 3 weeks but i havent seen her at all... just a concerned keeper and enquiring if this is normal as i havent seen any mention of this in a lot of care and husbandry info in which ive done an extensive research on this T before i got her.... cheers

You put the heat matt under the enclosure?? Remove immediately, this is a massive no no and may have already cooked her.

You did extensive research and didn't find any info about

A) Tarantulas burrowing and not coming out for long periods?

B) Not placing heat matts under enclosures?

You can't have looked very hard imo

If you think about how they live in the wild, they burrow to escape heat; so that goes against their natural instinct if you place the matt under the enclosure.

Plus they will sit on the matt potentially until they dehydrate and die.

 

[Dorifto]

ive had my Pulchra since March 2021.... shes a small juvenile and i never used a heat mat, just room temperature...... when i put my own heating on at home, she would come out of her hide and start to climb the sides to the top which i know she senses a heat source..... fear of her falling and injuring herself, i placed a heat mat under her tank and she started to burrow deeper ( obviously attracted to the heat source ).. she has now buried herself completely like the previous members photos, like ive now got a tank with a hide and water dish and no tarantula.... i know its only been 3 weeks but i havent seen her at all... just a concerned keeper and enquiring if this is normal as i havent seen any mention of this in a lot of care and husbandry info in which ive done an extensive research on this T before i got her.... cheers

Remove it asap, under the tank mats only are recommendable for certain circunstances and following some norms.

If for some reason you need to heat up your enclosure, place the heat mat in one side and right where the substrate ends. Also you need to place it far from his burrow (cooler), to give them the hability to thermo regulate. Never heat the whole enclosure.


Ps: what's your house temp? Also could you post some pics of you enclosure?

If you think about how they live in the wild, they burrow to escape heat; so that goes against their natural instinct if you place the matt under the enclosure.

I have to make an incise here. Their burrows can work just the opoosite too, keeping them warmer than external conditions, like in winter. But obviously their temps won't reach anywhere near the temp they achieve using heat mats incorrectly. Hence my above statement that one can use them under the tank but following some rules. But I only recommend this for very specific cases, and keeping under control a lot of things.

Plus they will sit on the matt potentially until they dehydrate and die.

This only happens when the keeper heats the whole enclosure, without giving them any spot to cool down. They have the hability to leave that warm spot in order to regulate themselves, but if there is not enough temp gradient, and the keeper doesn't keep under control other things like moisture etc then that could happen. It's more than a husbandry issue than the heat mat's one.

 

[niallbakken]

My main question is how do I stop my T from climbing the sides when I put my own home heating on? It doesn't do that when I don't have it on. The heat mat doesn't touch the tank and is only situated on one corner of the tank. The water dish and hide are placed on the opposite side of the mat. Having said that I removed the heat mat last week dated 3rd January. .

I know this species is a burrower as I have studied the care and husbandry and yes I know it doesn't need a heat mat. The ONLY reason why I put in under the tank was to stop my T from climbing high and risking itself from falling.

 

[Dorifto]

My main question is how do I stop my T from climbing the sides when I put my own home heating on? It doesn't do that when I don't have it on. The heat mat doesn't touch the tank and is only situated on one corner of the tank. The water dish and hide are placed on the opposite side of the mat. Having said that I removed the heat mat last week dated 3rd January. .

I know this species is a burrower as I have studied the care and husbandry and yes I know it doesn't need a heat mat. The ONLY reason why I put in under the tank was to stop my T from climbing high and risking itself from falling.

To answer that, first you should post a pic of your enclosure, because they play a big role in those behaviours, and also help us to see if there is any other issue involved.

If the enclosure has top ventilation only, the T will feel the warm air current coming from the top, so they will be attracted to it.

I have a pulchra, and I have used a heat mat under the tank, but because my old house conditions could reach 7°C 45F inside, so it kept her burrow warm at 17°C 62F.

There are other methods to prevent those behaviours, like raising the room temp gradually.

 

[Gutz323]

My main question is how do I stop my T from climbing the sides when I put my own home heating on? It doesn't do that when I don't have it on. The heat mat doesn't touch the tank and is only situated on one corner of the tank. The water dish and hide are placed on the opposite side of the mat. Having said that I removed the heat mat last week dated 3rd January. .

I know this species is a burrower as I have studied the care and husbandry and yes I know it doesn't need a heat mat. The ONLY reason why I put in under the tank was to stop my T from climbing high and risking itself from falling.

It's not too much of a problem T's climbing the sides generally, unless you have a substrate problem, (too damp or too loose under their feet or something) the only problem that can occur is if the T falls from a great height. Just make sure there is not too much room between the top of the enclosure and the the surface of the substrate. Just add more substrate if there is a too big of a distance, or chance the enclosure all together.

ive had my Pulchra since March 2021.... shes a small juvenile and i never used a heat mat, just room temperature...... when i put my own heating on at home, she would come out of her hide and start to climb the sides to the top which i know she senses a heat source..... fear of her falling and injuring herself, i placed a heat mat under her tank and she started to burrow deeper ( obviously attracted to the heat source ).. she has now buried herself completely like the previous members photos, like ive now got a tank with a hide and water dish and no tarantula.... i know its only been 3 weeks but i havent seen her at all... just a concerned keeper and enquiring if this is normal as i havent seen any mention of this in a lot of care and husbandry info in which ive done an extensive research on this T before i got her.... cheers

When I first got my pulchra Juvie (around 2 inches DLS) she pretty much buried herself straight away within days, and sealed off her burrow. I didn't see her for nearly 6 months, until one day she reappeared freshly moulted and ate like the devil lol! She pretty much stayed above ground for a few months then did the same again. She sealed herself off for a few months until reappearing freshly moulted again . But that is the last time she has sealed herself off. Now she is a slightly larger size she has moulted above ground twice, and is always on display. I don't know whether it is because she is larger and feels less threatened, and maybe more comfortable now she has settled in her home, or whether I am just lucky now, because other keepers may still have larger pulchras that have the same behaviour for their whole life. Also, like others have said, definitely get rid of the heat mat, especially underneath the tank, that is a death death sentence.

 

[niallbakken]

To answer that, first you should post a pic of your enclosure, because they play a big role in those behaviours, and also help us to see if there is any other issue involved.

If the enclosure has top ventilation only, the T will feel the warm air current coming from the top, so they will be attracted to it.

I have a pulchra, and I have used a heat mat under the tank, but because my old house conditions could reach 7°C 45F inside, so it kept her burrow warm at 17°C 62F.

There are other methods to prevent those behaviours, like raising the room temp gradually.

 

[Dorifto]

What I though.

Unfortunatelly the current setup is not appropriate, sorry. Too much height, not so much depth, and the top mesh...

Height and the mesh are the biggest issues so far. Height is easily solvable adding more substrate, but the mesh should be changed for a perforated acrylic sheet.

If you feel capable, you can drill the glass and bond some round grilles, this way the air will enter from the bottom, reducing the air entering from the top, so less chances of climbing etc.

Also, thar enclosure needs some decorations that will provide some covering, so she feels safer. I would change her hide too, replacing it with a piece of wood, cork bark etc and digging it a bit.

 

[niallbakken]

That tank is under 10 inches high and I have 5 inches of substrate in it. I had a skull decoration which I took out for fear of whatever or wherever she has burrowed would collapse and fall on top of her. I kept a G Rosea in that same tank and set up for almost 12 years so my set up is suitable. My next question is, what about hydration? Will my T not be dehydrated by being buried for so long without coming up for water?

I also have a side vent on this tank too. .

 

[Jonathan6303]

That tank is under 10 inches high and I have 5 inches of substrate in it. I had a skull decoration which I took out for fear of whatever or wherever she has burrowed would collapse and fall on top of her. I kept a G Rosea in that same tank and set up for almost 12 years so my set up is suitable. My next question is, what about hydration? Will my T not be dehydrated by being buried for so long without coming up for water?

Just because you had one t who had not die does not mean it’s suitable. There have been many threads were ts have fell and died because of height. You said yourself that your t likes climbing. There is never enough substrate so adding more substrate will not effect your t negatively. If anything it will make it happier since that t loves to burrow.

 

[niallbakken]

That's fair enough. I never said my T likes to climb. I'd rather she didn't, once I put my own home heating on, hence why I put the heat mat under the tank to stop her from climbing. The mat was taken away over a week ago. I appreciate everyone's responses in helping with my situation . . I can't put anymore substrate into this tank at the moment as she's buried below and whatever cave she's dug I'm afraid it'll collapse on top of her. I have no way of knowing if she's still alive or not. THAT'S MY MAIN CONCERN. .

 

[Dorifto]

No, it's not suitable, time doesn't convert it in a suitable enclosure, a proper setup does. Unfortunatelly time does not convert you in a better keepet neither, knowledge along with experience does. If the answer it's not from your liking, sorry but it's not my issue, I'm not the one having problems.

I also have a side vent on this tank too. .

Perfect, this will help.

Raise the substrste level right to the vents level, and then use a stagered setup to reduce even more the height to the top.

A good substrate will help too. In case you don't want to change it simply pack it down firmly. If not get a nice bag of topsoil, it helps.

Without knowing more info about your husbandry, climatic conditions etc we can't know if your T could be debydrated or not. A T can withstand a loong time without any food or water source if kept correctly before gets dehydrated. Same for closing the burrow, it could mean that it close to a molt or simply that the conditions are not ideal.

 

[niallbakken]

No, it's not suitable, time doesn't convert it in a suitable enclosure, a proper setup does. Unfortunatelly time does not convert you in a better keepet neither, knowledge along with experience does. If the answer it's not from your liking, sorry but it's not my issue, I'm not the one having problems.


Perfect, this will help.

Raise the substrste level right to the vents level, and then use a stagered setup to reduce even more the height to the top.

A good substrate will help too. In case you don't want to change it simply pack it down firmly. If not get a nice bag of topsoil, it helps.

Without knowing more info about your husbandry, climatic conditions etc we can't know if your T could be debydrated or not. A T can withstand a loong time without any food or water source if kept correctly before gets dehydrated. Same for closing the burrow, it could mean that it close to a molt or simply that the conditions are not ideal.

Thanks for your honest opinion

 

[Dorifto]

Thanks for your honest opinion

Even if I could sound too blunt, I hope it doesn't offend you. I'm not calling you a bad keeper, simply that time alone does not improve our husbandry capabilities. There is a lot of people that believes because they have more Ts or simply because they had them for long time, it makes them better keepers, and unfortunatelly that's not the case, I was simply pointing that.

If you accept a suggestion, swaping the lid will make a huge difference, thanks to your side vents. If you raise the substrate to that same level it will work by convection, so the biggest part of the air will enter from the side vents. This alone will help a lot, as the T will feel the warm air down low, rather than coming from the top, helping to prevent climbing. It will decrease a bit the ventilation, but it won't be an issue using the right perforated acrylic sheet.

Other thing that can help you is to raise the temp gradually. Sudden temp changes trigger those behaviours, specially in top vented enclosures. If you raise it slowly, the T won't feel any sudden change or an air draft with different temp, helping too.

Substrate wise, a good one helps preventing climbing issues, some simply don't like coco fiber if it's too loose. Using a stagered setup, will give your T better temp and moisture gradients, so it will have more spots to choose depending on their needs.

 

[niallbakken]

I will change the mesh lid to acrylic and raise the substrate once and if she surfaces . . Thanks for your advice and help