H. Lividum not burrowing.

Dylan Campbell

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I've had this T in the same enclosure for over a month now and it really doesn't burrow. I made a little spot for it to hide under cork bark but really all it does is spin a wall of web surrounding itself.. is this normal behavior?
 

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ledzeppelin

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Perhaps it will molt. Tarantulas at least in my experience need a little time before they start to burrow. Keep them damp enough,but not too damp and it will be fine. My P. sanderi who is also a burrower started to burrow after a few months.
 

Ijk24

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Perhaps it will molt. Tarantulas at least in my experience need a little time before they start to burrow. Keep them damp enough,but not too damp and it will be fine. My P. sanderi who is also a burrower started to burrow after a few months.
I've had this T in the same enclosure for over a month now and it really doesn't burrow. I made a little spot for it to hide under cork bark but really all it does is spin a wall of web surrounding itself.. is this normal behavior?
Yeah I made the mistake of making the substrate too damp. It was too hard for her to make a borrow on her own. So if it is too damp then all you got to do is loosen it up for her. Also yeah she may be in pre molt
 

Dylan Campbell

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Yeah I made the mistake of making the substrate too damp. It was too hard for her to make a borrow on her own. So if it is too damp then all you got to do is loosen it up for her. Also yeah she may be in pre molt
I was worried about the dampness but there's not much I can do with it. I'll just never buy eco earth by bricks again.
 

Ijk24

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I was worried about the dampness but there's not much I can do with it. I'll just never buy eco earth by bricks again.
What I did was just stir the substrate until it's loose enough for you to stick your finger to the bottom with ease and then she'll be fine. Once I put her back in she made a burrow the next day on her own
 

Flexzone

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How many inches of sub did you provide? for my burrowers I give a generous amount since they'll need it to create a burrow system. I really don't provide hides for my fossorials, I had one Cyriopagopus that would just crinkle up in the corner so I decided to make a pre-made hole at the side of the enclosure and let her do the rest and woke up at night to find her starting to shift mounds of sub..
 

Venom1080

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These guys dig through clay in Africa and much harder substrates than eco Earth. I don't know what this guys talking about.

OP, it's something else, maybe premolt or it may just be taking it's time.
 

AustralianBirdEater

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It may just be the personality of the spider, my phlogius blue leg is a burrowing species as well, but it mostly prefers to live in a silky cave it's built. I wouldn't worry about it. As long as it's still eating and looks happy.
 

Ijk24

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These guys dig through clay in Africa and much harder substrates than eco Earth. I don't know what this guys talking about.

OP, it's something else, maybe premolt or it may just be taking it's time.
Well obviously what I did worked Im just giving him an option
 

dopamine

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Dampness of substrate (unless it's actually swampy and wet, something you never want) has nothing to do with burrowing. This species prefers it in the damper side and any obligate burrower will have a much easier time constructing one when the sub is packed down tightly, not broken up.
Also, this may or may not be a factor, but the enclosure looks a bit on the large side for what I'm presuming is a smaller juvenile?
One more thing, I've had spiders that have taken months to feel acclimated enough to burrow. I wouldn't worry too much. As long as it's not scrunched up in a corner looking stressed it's probably ok. Just let it do its thing and it'll burrow eventually. Your sub looks fine, moisture wise.
 

Dylan Campbell

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Dampness of substrate (unless it's actually swampy and wet, something you never want) has nothing to do with burrowing. This species prefers it in the damper side and any obligate burrower will have a much easier time constructing one when the sub is packed down tightly, not broken up.
Also, this may or may not be a factor, but the enclosure looks a bit on the large side for what I'm presuming is a smaller juvenile?
One more thing, I've had spiders that have taken months to feel acclimated enough to burrow. I wouldn't worry too much. As long as it's not scrunched up in a corner looking stressed it's probably ok. Just let it do its thing and it'll burrow eventually. Your sub looks fine, moisture wise.
I thought it was the perfect size for it. I wanna say it's actually sub-adult to adult because it's very close to 4 inches long. It is so active at night too which is awesome because I see it in a different place with its legs sprawled out. Looks like it is enjoying life at night.
 

Dylan Campbell

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It may just be the personality of the spider, my phlogius blue leg is a burrowing species as well, but it mostly prefers to live in a silky cave it's built. I wouldn't worry about it. As long as it's still eating and looks happy.
The wall of web it makes is insanely thick too. I think it's really pretty honestly.
 

Dylan Campbell

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How many inches of sub did you provide? for my burrowers I give a generous amount since they'll need it to create a burrow system. I really don't provide hides for my fossorials, I had one Cyriopagopus that would just crinkle up in the corner so I decided to make a pre-made hole at the side of the enclosure and let her do the rest and woke up at night to find her starting to shift mounds of sub..
It's got about 7 inches of substrate so it would have no problem finding a place to dig. I made that cork bark hide to kind of push it to burrow in that spot but really it just sits there during the day and come out at night. I really don't think it's unhappy at all and people on here are probably right. It's just taking its time
 
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