my mexican red knee is acting strange the last few days

brettapuss

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
18
heyy so ive had my mexican red knee since he or she was the size of my thumb nail and ive never had any problems. the last couple day though theres been some strange behaviour just always sticking to the walls, squatting over its water bowl, and now on the roof of the enclosure. we have been having some crazy heat wave in the uk of temps 33-36 degrees C. so i turned off the heat mat just in case it was so hot in the it couldnt handle it. maybe im being paranoid i dont know ive just never seen it do this before. its not been in its hide once either this molt. it still cobbles up any food i put in front of it though no questions asked
 

Attachments

NMTs

Spider Wrangler
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 22, 2022
Messages
1,331
You very likely don't need the heat mat at all - these do perfectly well in temps as low as 20 C, but 22-26 is perfect for them. No supplemental heat is usually needed unless your house gets absolutely freezing in winter. And yes, the odd behavior you're seeing is likely due to the T trying to thermoregulate. They stand in odd positions and in strange places sometimes to increase airflow in order to cool off. Leave the heat mat off and provide a full water dish and it should be fine.
 

brettapuss

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
18
thank you so much for the speedy response i appreciate it so much. okay ill keep the heat mat off since it is very warm at the moment. i do have one for it since yes in the winter the house can get pretty cold
 

NMTs

Spider Wrangler
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 22, 2022
Messages
1,331
thank you so much for the speedy response i appreciate it so much. okay ill keep the heat mat off since it is very warm at the moment. i do have one for it since yes in the winter the house can get pretty cold
If you really need to use one - meaning, your house gets below 18C for extended periods of time consistently - then read up on the proper way to mount and control it so your T is safe. Should be mounted on the side of the tank and controlled by thermostat...
 

Tarantulafeets

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 8, 2020
Messages
336
The spider might not like the substrate, could easily scratch its abdomen on all those sharp rocks.
 

brettapuss

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
18
oh yeah it gets very cold thats why ive got the temp gauge in the to keep it around 22-26c yeah its mounted to the back of the enclosure up the other end you cant see it in the pictures ive take there

im not sure what substrate is the correct answer really or who to even trust on the matter i dont use this site often since ive only ever had 1 or 2 issues with my spiders in the past but one thing i have noticed is every single person has a different answer/opinion im the furtherst thing from an expert so therefor i have to rely on others "knowledge" since i could search on "best substrate for mexican red knee" on google and get 100 different answers. which im sure every single one of those people would claim they're right and the other 99 are wrong. i came on this website when i first was looking into getting one of these and ive brought it up from just when it was the size of my thumb nail. the sustrate im currently using was strongly recommended to me by someone on this site so im just curious what you suggest i should use since all i care about more than anything at the end of the day is the well being of my spooder. its near impossible to find any type of consistency in terms of what substrate i should be using
 

Marlana

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
211
I doubt this is a substrate issue as you’ve had this tarantula so long and haven’t experienced this issue before (it sounds like anyway). There’s really not a right and wrong answer on substrate as there are many you can use. Including coco fiber, top soil (without fertilizer), reptile soils, peat, clay/loam soils, and a mix of these soils. So you’ll get lots of answers and people saying what works for them. Personally I like top soil but doesn’t mean it’s wrong to use coco fiber. Only thing I’d advise against is wood chips.

I think it’s the temps. I’ve noticed this too during heat waves. Some tarantulas start roaming, likely trying to find somewhere cooler.
 

NMTs

Spider Wrangler
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 22, 2022
Messages
1,331
oh yeah it gets very cold thats why ive got the temp gauge in the to keep it around 22-26c yeah its mounted to the back of the enclosure up the other end you cant see it in the pictures ive take there

im not sure what substrate is the correct answer really or who to even trust on the matter i dont use this site often since ive only ever had 1 or 2 issues with my spiders in the past but one thing i have noticed is every single person has a different answer/opinion im the furtherst thing from an expert so therefor i have to rely on others "knowledge" since i could search on "best substrate for mexican red knee" on google and get 100 different answers. which im sure every single one of those people would claim they're right and the other 99 are wrong. i came on this website when i first was looking into getting one of these and ive brought it up from just when it was the size of my thumb nail. the sustrate im currently using was strongly recommended to me by someone on this site so im just curious what you suggest i should use since all i care about more than anything at the end of the day is the well being of my spooder. its near impossible to find any type of consistency in terms of what substrate i should be using
That's good about the heat mat being on the side and on a thermostat. 👍

As for the substrate, if it's been working for you and your T, then there's probably no reason to change what you've been using right away. There are some chunks (pebbles?) with rather jagged edges in your pics, and it's usually recommended to stay away from sharp stuff like that (and sand and wood chips) because it can damage their exoskeleton. It likely hasn't been an issue since your T is still young and on the smaller side, but just something to consider and keep an eye on as it gets bigger.

Hope it starts to cool down for you soon!
 

Marlana

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
211
That's good about the heat mat being on the side and on a thermostat. 👍

As for the substrate, if it's been working for you and your T, then there's probably no reason to change what you've been using right away. There are some chunks (pebbles?) with rather jagged edges in your pics, and it's usually recommended to stay away from sharp stuff like that (and sand and wood chips) because it can damage their exoskeleton. It likely hasn't been an issue since your T is still young and on the smaller side, but just something to consider and keep an eye on as it gets bigger.

Hope it starts to cool down for you soon!
Ooh good eye. Didn’t notice the rocks. I’d likely get rid of those but I’m also a worrier so I’m probably too cautious.
 

brettapuss

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
18
sorry for the slow reply guys been a busy day. no those arent sharp dont worry actually used a siv to get all the rocks out the rest are more like balls of sand that have just dried/collected i imagine from the spider wandering around etc. if you pick them up they just crumble. but no theres nothing sharp in there. im hoping im just over thinking this whole matter, i dropped a locust in there about 4-5 inches away from him/her and it was gone in an instant. its now just munching away.
 
Top