Live Plants & Pacing ?

PTCruiser

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
Messages
3
Hello..

I just adopted a 3yr old Pink Toe from a friend one week ago. This is my first T.

She *thought* she had a Chilean Rose but when I picked her up, it was a PT instead so she was in totally the wrong environment. I made a dash to the pet store and now have her in a Exo Terra 12X12X18.

I do have a concern though. I put in 2 live plants because it said it would help with the humidity. I can't seem to get it to stay above 60%. She's done fine with them but I did notice her hanging around the little gel cup that houses the plant last night. She's been in the same spot ALL day and tonight which is unusual for her. That gel is supposed to be non-toxic but now I'm worried. When I touch her, she does move a little but it still seems odd. :confused:
Does anybody know anything about that?

Also, can somebody define "pacing." The other night I put 3 crickets in with her. I happened to be up really late that night and had my first opportunity to observe her in action late at night. I'm not sure if she was "pacing" or hunting but she kept making slow laps around the entire terrarium non-stop. She would crawl along the glass walls, the screen top, go down and crawl across the substrate and then back up on a different wall. Since this was my first night up with her, I wasn't sure if she does this every night and is normal or if this is the pacing I'm supposed to be worried about? :?

I did notice all 3 crickets were gone by the next morning though.

Thanks so much!

Laurie
 

Mushroom Spore

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Messages
4,588
Hahaha, how do you mistake a pinktoe for a rosehair? That's something. {D

Roaming and other odd behaviors in a new enclosure is pretty normal. Sitting motionless in one spot IS normal for tarantulas--activity is not, barring the occasional fit of landscaping/webbing.
 

Shayna

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
96
You should go for water, not gel which is meant for feeder insects. Your T wont drown, and it will help with the humidity thing if you have actual water out too.

Edit: Sorry, I read that wrong, the gel holds the plants. But do you have a water dish out for your T or are you giving it gel?
 

Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,509
i am just wondering how you checked the humidity?
the little round guages they sell at the pet stores are not much good i dont think. But a large water dish and misting should give you plenty of humidity
 

PTCruiser

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
Messages
3
I know what you mean by mistaking the two tarantulas! I spent several hours researching the Roses before I picked her up so I would know what I was doing before I brought her home.

During that research, I did read other about T's which is how I immediately recognized what she was and that I was dealing with a whole other type of T!

My friend was very apologetic. She explained that she and a another friend went together and purchased the T's 3 yrs. ago...a Rose and a PT and she *thought* SHE had the Rose! It's obvious the pet store didn't give them very good care directions AND that she never did any additional research on her or she would have figured it out! Her young son wanted the T for Christmas but when he actually got her, he was afraid and didn't want her so his Mom has been trying to find a home for her ever since. I don't know what happened but out of the blue I kept thinking about her and agreed to take her in. I'm SO GLAD I did!!!

The plants are in the little gel cups that come with them. I have no idea how long they will last though?

She is in a different spot this morning so I guess all is well.

As far as humidity goes, I was going by those gauges I got at the store. I do mist the terrarium several times a day (she's not really a fan of that) but it temporarily raises the humidity up to about 67% according the guage. She does have a water bowl in there. Mostly she likes to kick dirt into it I think :)

I did add attach one of those heaters on the lower left side of the glass. My friend did not have one and she spent many hours sitting on the glass where it was when I first gave it to her. I was afraid she would get too hot but she did eventually move away from it and now doesn't seem to notice it.

My friend said she only ate 4-6 crickets once very 2 weeks. I fed her 4 crickets last Tues. and then 3 crickets this Tues. and she ate them all so I think I'm going to adopt a more frequent feeding schedule for her.

Thanks for the replies to my first post! :)
 

verry_sweet

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
569
Personally I do not mess with my A. avics tank too much. She has a large water container filled to the brim (A. avics do not drown they float very well). I never mist and she’s huge, doing fine and seems happy. I find misting causes more problems than it’s worth like mold and so on.

Heater is not necessary she’ll do fine with out one but it wont hurt either. Have fun with her!!

Oh and do not mist the spider directly they despise being squirted with water.

Steph
 

Norsken

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
44
When it comes to humidity you can try to cover one of the two ventilationspaces in top of the terra, i use Exo's myself and i cover the space nearest the door in all my terras with a glassplate. This would raise the humidity.

Btw...just got myself a Avicularia avicularia today..........

Johny
 

Mushroom Spore

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 14, 2005
Messages
4,588
My friend said she only ate 4-6 crickets once very 2 weeks. I fed her 4 crickets last Tues. and then 3 crickets this Tues. and she ate them all so I think I'm going to adopt a more frequent feeding schedule for her.
I would advise against this. Tarantulas will keep eating and eating and eating until they've got enough stored energy to power a molt, which means that overfeeding will speed up the molting cycle, and that's the cycle that determines how long a tarantula has to live.

Especially since avics seem to have a shorter lifespan than the terrestrials ANYWAY, you don't want to speed that up.

You aren't starving her on a lean diet, it is pretty much impossible to starve a tarantula. :) 2-3 crickets a week (or 4-6 every two weeks, or 6-9 every three, etc) for any adult tarantula is fine, unless you've got one of the huge species like T. blondi or L. parahybana.
 
Top