Mexican Red-Knee odd behavior

[FireKneeNewbie]

So is been bumpy so far and my spider isn't exactly happy in fact, "aggressively attempting to escape"
I got it around Halloween and off the bat didn't eat for about two months. I understand that can be from stress rehousing and in all honesty i got it from Petco and nobody there was any help. i did a little research on keeping a tarantula, thought I knew enough, and... went to my closest bulk pet shop. Anyway, at the time it wasn't eating, dug a burrow, the abdomen got very dark in color and it molted. it started eating any time I offered food, about every six days after that for a while. I have two small and happy plants and a 4" hollow log going from corner to corner in his enclosure which is 9"x9"x10". with a substrate depth that is 5" on one side and three on the other where the log comes out. This is where the burrow entrance was. the substrate looks woody which I read on one website is a bad thing. At one point I did have some moss in there. another website said you shouldn't have moss in the enclosure, removing it resulted in its burrows ceiling collapsing. It continued to use the open burrow for another two weeks. His behavior, all tho stressed because of cats causing constant vibrations, (I no longer have cats due to life situations) and all of the above seemed what to expect from a tarantula. Life is always fun and full of surprises so I had to move the enclosure into my room on a shelf near my tv. my room is darker and doesn't have a window with as much natural light coming through it as its last location.

Short version its been pacing the walls and trying to squeeze through the cracks between its lid and the walls. seems very upset and is using its fangs around the lip of the lid. this is much different as it spent most of its time in its burrow. He won't stay off the walls now unless he falls, sits for a second then goes back on the wall. While I've been wrighting he's made 3/4 around the lid looking for a way out.
If you didn't pull out your hair reading this and still wanna tell me everything I'm doing wrong, please do.

 

[ladyratri]

Photos would help a lot.

 

[Chris73G]

Its not necessarily you doing something wrong. If its a mature male, its desparately looking for a way to find a female. Or it could be seasonal changes, which can trigger behavior changes too.

 

[jbooth]

Is the substrate too damp? It may not like walking on it, it might be looking for a new hide, it might be a mature male, or it might just be Sunday. Pics would definitely help.

 

[M1201rocks]

So is been bumpy so far and my spider isn't exactly happy in fact, "aggressively attempting to escape"

I got it around Halloween and off the bat didn't eat for about two months. I understand that can be from stress rehousing and in all honesty i got it from Petco and nobody there was any help. i did a little research on keeping a tarantula, thought I knew enough, and... went to my closest bulk pet shop. Anyway, at the time it wasn't eating, dug a burrow, the abdomen got very dark in color and it molted. it started eating any time I offered food, about every six days after that for a while. I have two small and happy plants and a 4" hollow log going from corner to corner in his enclosure which is 9"x9"x10". with a substrate depth that is 5" on one side and three on the other where the log comes out. This is where the burrow entrance was. the substrate looks woody which I read on one website is a bad thing. At one point I did have some moss in there. another website said you shouldn't have moss in the enclosure, removing it resulted in its burrows ceiling collapsing. It continued to use the open burrow for another two weeks. His behavior, all tho stressed because of cats causing constant vibrations, (I no longer have cats due to life situations) and all of the above seemed what to expect from a tarantula. Life is always fun and full of surprises so I had to move the enclosure into my room on a shelf near my tv. my room is darker and doesn't have a window with as much natural light coming through it as its last location.



Short version its been pacing the walls and trying to squeeze through the cracks between its lid and the walls. seems very upset and is using its fangs around the lip of the lid. this is much different as it spent most of its time in its burrow. He won't stay off the walls now unless he falls, sits for a second then goes back on the wall. While I've been wrighting he's made 3/4 around the lid looking for a way out.

If you didn't pull out your hair reading this and still wanna tell me everything I'm doing wrong, please do.
Wheres your cats?

 

[FireKneeNewbie]

Photos would help a lot.

 

[FireKneeNewbie]

Is the substrate too damp? It may not like walking on it, it might be looking for a new hide, it might be a mature male, or it might just be Sunday. Pics would definitely help.

 

[jbooth]

Is it usually a hair kicker? May already be getting ready to molt again. Maybe the timing for the hide collapse was just bad. Brachys will lay hairs down on a molting mat before they molt, so if they usually don't kick, balding can be a good indication a molt is coming. I see nothing wrong, maybe high enough for possible fall risk, but that's not the question... Sometimes they will scour the place making sure nothing is left alive in there before they molt, maybe it will calm down if you get that dubia out (pic 1, first set)... I have a B. boehmei on similar substrate and it doesn't seem to mind.

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

Could you get a good image of your spider from the front? If it's a mature male it should be easy to tell from that angle.

 

[DustyD]

My G. pulchra and G. pulchripes sometimes squeeze in between tight spaces on the ground. I think that it provides a “comfortable” situation for them.

 

[MariaLewisia]

Although I can't say for sure what's stressing the little one out, I have a few theories. But first and foremost: from the pictures you provided it looks like a tall enclosure, and if the tarantula is climbing up the wall constantly (and even falling down, as you mentioned it had) it WILL rupture its abdomen or sustain internal hemorrhaging sooner or later. Internal injuries are, if the T survives the fall, often completely or partially asymptomatic and invisible to the naked eye until the T simply dies for seemingly no reason, either suddenly or while/after molting. The risk of a fatal fall is even greater when it's a terrestrial tarantula such as yours. So before you do anything else I would very, VERY much recommend you switch out the enclosure to something no taller than 1,5-2 times the leg span of the T as soon as possible. It doesn't have to be fancy or permanent, but the T will be much safer.

Now for my theories. It's not a mature male as some suggested. You can see the pedipalps and there's no boxing gloves or emboli. A stressed tarantula would more likely hide away in a stress pose in a corner than try so desperately to escape, so I don't think it's outside factors causing the behaviour. It could be unhappy with the fluffiness of the substrate, or the dubia that's on the loose. It could be looking for somewhere to molt (the abdomen is looking a bit dark). It could be that it's unhappy with the interior and wants to find somewhere else to live. It could be because it sees light somewhere. It could be because it just wants to wreak havoc and be a menace to society and destroy everything that is good in the world. Trust me, some tarantulas are born to rip apart everything you love and cherish, including their own tanks.

My own bet is that the tarantula is getting ready for a molt and doesn't want to do it in their cage for some reason or another. My main issue is the risk of falling as I mentioned before, because the injuries sustained are not always apparent. I would rehouse it into something smaller and simple for the time being, just to keep the T safe. A clear plastic container with some air holes, a couple inches of packed substrate, a smaller waterdish, a simple hide. Done! See if it molts or at least calms down.

Keep us updated in the meantime, and best of luck to you!