juvenile Mexican red knee

[jorogumo]

So my tarantula has been spending a lot of time at the top of the cage and I got it about 3 weeks ago and I'm trying to figure out how to get to stay on the ground. I'm going to try and get a better burrow but I'd like some advice on what to do next.

 

[viper69]

Welcome to AB- THE LARGEST RESPOSITORY OF TARANTULA INFO ON THE NET, excluding peer-reviewed journals

All Ts need to settle. Also let it behave as it wants, it’s a wild animal, not a true pet.

leave it alone

send a pic of the entire cage in your thread, sometimes Ts go up due to owners not keeping them properly

 

[Andrew Clayton]

So my tarantula has been spending a lot of time at the top of the cage and I got it about 3 weeks ago and I'm trying to figure out how to get to stay on the ground. I'm going to try and get a better burrow but I'd like some advice on what to do next.

Photos of setup will help. Generally it will just still be settling in and advice will be just to leave it be.

Also welcome to AB

 

[scottyk]

As requested, detailed photos and description of what you are doing would be helpful. In my experience, three weeks on the top of the enclosure for a juvenile Brachypelma is starting to get a bit long. I would not be surprised if there is a husbandry or environmental factor needing some fine tuning here...

Also, please supply some clarity about what "top of the cage" means. Is it just not burrowing, which could be fine, or is it up on the walls/lid?

 

[Requiem4aSpleen]

Thats normal. Just make sure the lid isnt mesh and that you have enough substrate. Their abdomen can rupture if they take a big fall with too little substrate, and their tarsal claws can get caught in mesh. Those are your concerns. They take a while to adjust and my B smithi thinks it's an arboreal, so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[Mustafa67]

So my tarantula has been spending a lot of time at the top of the cage and I got it about 3 weeks ago and I'm trying to figure out how to get to stay on the ground. I'm going to try and get a better burrow but I'd like some advice on what to do next.

Show pic of your setup

Normal while settling in

 

[Gevo]

Terrestrial species will often climb, sometimes because they're in an unfamiliar space or something isn't to their liking, and sometimes just because they want to. This is why it's critical to ensure there is an appropriate substrate level--no more than about 1.5 times the diagonal legspan from the top of the dirt to the top of the lid. It's also why an appropriate lid is important and why keepers should be mindful of hazards in the enclosure.

You cannot make your tarantula do anything. If it wants to climb, it will climb. You can only make sure the setup is appropriate and risks are mitigated. Share pics if you're unsure!

 

[goofyGoober99]

Some spiders just like climbing lol.
I don't think I could convince my Pseudhapalopus sp. blue to stick to the ground if I wanted to.
All you can do is make sure the substrate is nicely tamped down (a lot of tarantulas don't like if the substrate is loose), not too wet, and if they really refuse to stay on the floor, make the distance between the ground and the ceiling smaller.