harpactira pulchripes weird behaviour

[bluecheese]

Hey, I have a subadult female harpactira pulchripes. I bought her a month ago. She has an enclosure with a lot of substrate and I made her a hole in the ground but she never uses it. She pretty much only ever hangs out near the top of the enclosure and that worries me a bit. The ground is probably a bit too moist for her but there's a ton of springtails so no mold. Could she not want to burrow because of the moisture? If so can I take her out for a bit and put her back once I've dried it? Or should I just leave her (she eats normally). Thanks for any advice : )

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

H pulchripes are an arid species, although they do go through a rainy season. Moisture and springtails aren’t usual for these guys. What is the ventilation like on your enclosure? I’m not seeing any holes. Does she have a water dish?

 

[bluecheese]

To be honest poor ventilation and no water dish. I think I'll put her in a temporary enclosure and make way more ventilation holes, dry off her substrate and add a water dish (pretty much the only reason I haven't done all of that already is because I'm scared as hell of being bitten, she's quite aggressive)

 

[TheraMygale]

if you are not confident around your tarantula, it can go south quickly.

show us pictures of enclosure.

put a temporary top on while you drill holes in the current enclosure top. That should help.

catch cup it in a juice bottle, then put holes on the sides at sub level.

 

[viper69]

To be honest poor ventilation and no water dish. I think I'll put her in a temporary enclosure and make way more ventilation holes, dry off her substrate and add a water dish (pretty much the only reason I haven't done all of that already is because I'm scared as hell of being bitten, she's quite aggressive)

Sounds like you bought the wrong species. They are defensive not aggressive.

It could be due to moisture. Look where they are from, and the weather….

It’s a great species just be careful.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

She may need more space, too, and other places to hide. Not being out in the open, or limited on where to go, can help a lot. My H pulcripes just hooked out and has always been one of my grumpier ones. If you haven’t already, watch Tom Moran (Tom’s Big Spiders). He has some great educational videos and is well respected here.

 

[bluecheese]

Yeah I'll drill way more ventilation holes and dry the substrate. I'll also make a better hide. Is the enclosure big enough? Thank's for the advice everyone.

 

[TheraMygale]

Isnt this a fossorial species? It doesnt need an enormous amount of ground space. Just deep substrate so it can burrow.

that being said, it doesn’t stop you from
giving the amount of ground space you want. Other members seem to have success with that as well.

i think id research the board to see what others have done. That could inspire you.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Switch to dry/deep sub, add more ventilation, and a water dish.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Mine only ever lived fossorially when a sling. He made turrets, used it for maybe a month, then closed it off and lived on the surface. Three times. @OP, I give them 3x the dls for species that have no problems finding their food (with the exception of mature males). Just a suggestion, but with a little extra space, you could put a plastic plant in there for a second hiding place.

 

[jennywallace]

Mine lives on the surface, never burrowed and has dry substrate, loads of ventilation and always a full water dish. In fact she's on the wall of the enclosure as we speak. Had her for a couple of years now living like this.

 

[bluecheese]

Mine only ever lived fossorially when a sling. He made turrets, used it for maybe a month, then closed it off and lived on the surface. Three times. @OP, I give them 3x the dls for species that have no problems finding their food (with the exception of mature males). Just a suggestion, but with a little extra space, you could put a plastic plant in there for a second hiding place.

i don't think I have space for a second hide in her enclosure but I made some ventilation holes and am currently drying the substrate in the oven. I'll buy a larger glass enclosure in the future and make more hides : )

 

[bluecheese]

Mine lives on the surface, never burrowed and has dry substrate, loads of ventilation and always a full water dish. In fact she's on the wall of the enclosure as we speak. Had her for a couple of years now living like this.

And she stays on the wall most of the time?

 

[jennywallace]

And she stays on the wall most of the time?

Not most of the time, but she doesn't burrow, just lives on the surface, with the occasional climb up the walls. T's even of the same species can be different in their behaviours though.

 

[bluecheese]

Will this be good for now?

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

To note, until mine matured, this was his most favorite position. His substrate is a mix I made after researching the soil composition in the area they come from. I’ve heard others mention theirs sit in this position as well that don’t use this mix. I may experiment with sub compositions in the future to see if it makes a difference.

Sihamba

• IntermittentSygnal
• Jan 5, 2024
• 2
• harpactira pulchripes

Sihamba trying to fit into the corner.

 

[bluecheese]

To note, until mine matured, this was his most favorite position. His substrate is a mix I made after researching the soil composition in the area they come from. I’ve heard others mention theirs sit in this position as well that don’t use this mix. I may experiment with sub compositions in the future to see if it makes a difference.

Sihamba

• IntermittentSygnal
• Jan 5, 2024
• 2
• harpactira pulchripes

Sihamba trying to fit into the corner.

Okay, thanks a lot : ). I was worried that her sitting in the corner was a problem

 

[bluecheese]

Here she is

 

[Brewser]

Welcome to Arachnoboards,
All Great Advice Given Above ...
Congrats on Superb Specimen,
Gotta Luv H. pulchripes / Golden Blue Leg
All the Best to T & U ...

 

[bluecheese]

Welcome to Arachnoboards,
All Great Advice Given Above ...
Congrats on Superb Specimen,
Gotta Luv H. pulchripes / Golden Blue Leg
All the Best to T & U ...

Thanks a lot!! And also thanks to everyone else for helping ; )