LP sling feeding while barricaded in burrow

[GRyda]

Hey everyone new to the site and also T's seems like a really great site though tons of info everywhere! Anyways, I just got my very first T about 2 weeks ago, it's a 2" LP, for the first day or two it mostly spent it's time in the corner behind a fake plant I put in but then it went into the hide I made for it and sealed off the entrance completely with substrate and has remained in there for about 12 days now. I read that this is pretty normal behaviour for a sling LP and it may be possible that it is molting, although I did not recognize any other signs of pre-molt since this all happened so fast after recieving it. After about a week of it being barricaded in there I decided to tempt it with a cricket to see if it would emerge to eat or not, I know that it is stressful to the T if the cricket is around it during a molt, so I checked on it every hour or so and at the end of the day the cricket remained so I removed it. 5 days later (today) I decided to attempt it again and placed a cricket in there, I checked in it an hour later and it appears the cricket is gone, but the entrance to the burrow seems untouched and still blocked off with substrate. So my question is, do you think it was eaten by my T? Or is the cricket possibly just hiding or hopefully not bothering my T in its burrow if it managed to squeeze in there? And what my next plan of action should be? I know it's always good to be patient but ya I'm a bit worried haha. My second question is, is it normal for LP slings to block themselves in their burrow with substrate? I see a lot of posts about slings blocking their burrow but it seems like webbing is usually used by the T and I see no sign of webbing at all? And also how long ish is normal for a LP sling to be blocked off in its burrow? And when should I begin to get worried it's been in there too long?
Thanks for hearing me out, sorry for the essay long question haha

 

[Sana]

I think I would sit a carrot on the sub to try to get the cricket to come out of hiding. I doubt that it was eaten and it is a little concerning that it disappeared when the tarantula may be molting. On the other hand of things some slings barricade their burrow in a new environment until they settle in and feel safe. As a future reference I would use prekilled prey at the entrance to the burrow overnight with a buried tarantula, make sure the water dish was full, and generally leave it be. I've had some slings burrow for close to a month before reappearing but I think that is on the longish side for slings. I'm on the fence with that cricket though. Normally I wouldn't disturb a burrowed tarantula but if that darn thing doesn't show up it may be a consideration for what is more potentially harmful, the missing cricket with a possibly molting tarantula or collapsing a burrow on a possibly molting tarantula.

 

[TownesVanZandt]

To answer your second question first, it is completely normal for a tarantula to close off their burrow with webbing and/or dirt when they are in pre-molt or otherwise don´t want to be disturbed. When this happens you shouldn´t offer the spider live crickets. They will be normally be in a "hunting position" (for burrowers, often their legs sticking out of the burrow) if they are hungry. If you really want to give a closed off spider food, always go for pre-killed prey.

I agree with Sana that this is a bit tricky. You might try to put some food for the cricket somewhere in the enclosure first, but if it don´t come out and you are certain the T didn´t take it, you should consider whether it is worth the risk to dig it out. I honestly don´t know what the best option is.

There is no way to know how long a molt will take as it varies from spider to spider and molt to molt. After a molt you also have to wait until the fangs have hardened before you offer any prey, both pre-killed and live. For slings this takes a week or so for bigger specimens longer. With burrowers this is easier to see, as they will clear up the opening of their burrow again to look for prey to ambush.

Good luck! I hope your spider is safe and sound and that it just ate that cricket!

 

[GRyda]

I think I would sit a carrot on the sub to try to get the cricket to come out of hiding. I doubt that it was eaten and it is a little concerning that it disappeared when the tarantula may be molting. On the other hand of things some slings barricade their burrow in a new environment until they settle in and feel safe. As a future reference I would use prekilled prey at the entrance to the burrow overnight with a buried tarantula, make sure the water dish was full, and generally leave it be. I've had some slings burrow for close to a month before reappearing but I think that is on the longish side for slings. I'm on the fence with that cricket though. Normally I wouldn't disturb a burrowed tarantula but if that darn thing doesn't show up it may be a consideration for what is more potentially harmful, the missing cricket with a possibly molting tarantula or collapsing a burrow on a possibly molting tarantula.

Alright I think I will try to lure the cricket out with a carrot and continue to hunt for it, hopefully it shows up soon. Thank you for the answers it helps a lot, much appreciated

 

[GRyda]

To answer your second question first, it is completely normal for a tarantula to close off their burrow with webbing and/or dirt when they are in pre-molt or otherwise don´t want to be disturbed. When this happens you shouldn´t offer the spider live crickets. They will be normally be in a "hunting position" (for burrowers, often their legs sticking out of the burrow) if they are hungry. If you really want to give a closed off spider food, always go for pre-killed prey.

I agree with Sana that this is a bit tricky. You might try to put some food for the cricket somewhere in the enclosure first, but if it don´t come out and you are certain the T didn´t take it, you should consider whether it is worth the risk to dig it out. I honestly don´t know what the best option is.

There is no way to know how long a molt will take as it varies from spider to spider and molt to molt. After a molt you also have to wait until the fangs have hardened before you offer any prey, both pre-killed and live. For slings this takes a week or so for bigger specimens longer. With burrowers this is easier to see, as they will clear up the opening of their burrow again to look for prey to ambush.

Good luck! I hope your spider is safe and sound and that it just ate that cricket!

Awesome stuff thank you very much I think I will try to lure out the cricket with food and to keep looking for it, I'll let you guys know if the hunt is successful

 

[Sana]

Okay I think I made my decision about what I would do in your place if the cricket doesn't come for the food. I hate to say this but I would attempt to excavate the burrow. My line of thinking is that if the cricket is in the burrow with a molting tarantula I stand a chance of preventing it from getting munched, whereas if I don't look there isn't a possibility that I can help the spider. A cricket in a molting tarantula's enclosure can easily be a death sentence. Terrible decision to have to make.

 

[cold blood]

Often times burrowing and sealing themselves in is just part of the acclimation process, its not necessarily always related to pre-molt.

In the future, when a t seals its self in, regardless of the time that passes, just wait till the t emerges before feeding...there's no rush, when its hungry, it will come out.

I'd bet the cricket is in fact, just hiding.

 

[GRyda]

Hey guys, I put some cricket food in there yesterday and kept an eye out and after waiting about an hour or two the cricket came out of hiding and I was able to get it out of there *sigh of relief* thanks for all the help everyone, lots of good tips. Going forward im just gonna let em be in there and just keep its water dish fresh and wait for him to emerge, be pretty cool getting to see how much bigger it'll be when it finally comes out thanks again!