My spider was inside its own water dish why?

[Cristian22]

So I woke up to check on my A. Seemani and I saw it totally submerged into its water dish only part sticking out were its legs. Immediately I opened its enclosure to remove it from then when I dumped the water out she began to kick hairs I was so relieved to find out she was okay but can anyone tell me why she would do that ? Ive never seen this behavior before if she stays in there for too long could she drown herself ?

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

Do you have pics of your dish? Not sure how a whole T could fit in a water dish if it is small enough. Probably too big/deep if your T can do that... It may have been too hot? Not sure if T's regulate their twmp by dunking themselves, but that is the best bet if it is still fine and healthy

 

[Cristian22]

Do you have pics of your dish? Not sure how a whole T could fit in a water dish if it is small enough. Probably too big/deep if your T can do that... It may have been too hot? Not sure if T's regulate their twmp by dunking themselves, but that is the best bet if it is still fine and healthy

Yeah when

 

[KezyGLA]

They do this when hiding.

Something may have spooked it and it ran and tried to hide in water

 

[Andrea82]

There's not much water in there and she was thirsty
Theraphosids need to submerge their mouthparts to drink so it looks like they dive in for a drink

 

[GreyPsyche]

Looks like she was just drinking, they can survive for a good while even completely submerged which her book lungs looked as if they were even in the water to me.

 

[Cristian22]

There's not much water in there and she was thirsty
Theraphosids need to submerge their mouthparts to drink so it looks like they dive in for a drink

No it was full when I found her at first I dumped it out and then to a pick I don't know if it's a good idea but I feffilef it it with water and she didn't even budge just stood there and got a shower lol not sure what is wrong with her

 

[Cristian22]

I'm guessing she is gonna be okay the rest of my other 3 t are fine not even near there water dishes

 

[GreyPsyche]

I wouldn't worry about it, seems like she's just really thirsty, let her drink.

 

[Nightstalker47]

So I woke up to check on my A. Seemani and I saw it totally submerged into its water dish only part sticking out were its legs. Immediately I opened its enclosure to remove it from then when I dumped the water out she began to kick hairs I was so relieved to find out she was okay but can anyone tell me why she would do that ? Ive never seen this behavior before if she stays in there for too long could she drown herself ?

That's not an ideal water dish, switch it out to something with less depth. Keep it well filled and align it to ground level so she doesn't have to go inside to get a drink.

 

[Cristian22]

It's been 30 min and she is still inside there submerged to here carapace only thing sticking out is her abdomen and two legs

 

[WoofSpider]

It's been 30 min and she is still inside there submerged to here carapace only thing sticking out is her abdomen and two legs

A tarantula "breathes" through book lungs on the underside of the abdomen. So long as the abdomen is not submerged, there is a 0% chance of your tarantula drowning. Just leave it be.

 

[Crone Returns]

It's been 30 min and she is still inside there submerged to here carapace only thing sticking out is her abdomen and two legs

Practising yoga?
Seriously. Get yourself short, like a bottle cap. Keep it filled for her. My big Ts use peanut butter lids, little guys get sports drinks bottle caps.
My MF Brachypelma albopilosum loved to "swim" in her cap when she was younger. She'll still plop right in, sending her water spewing out around her.

 

[Cristian22]

A tarantula "breathes" through book lungs on the underside of the abdomen. So long as the abdomen is not submerged, there is a 0% chance of your tarantula drowning. Just leave it be.

Right exactly that's what I'm thinking too. she is still inside been like 3 hours now ...

 

[Ghost56]

Was the substrate bone dry before dumping the water dish? This species likes a little moisture. If it was dry, she may be looking for the extra moisture.

 

[cold blood]

Hint:

Any, and I mean any animal face down in the water and alive...is drinking....mystery solved...call off the investigation.

Ts take a long time to take in water...I have had ts face down for hours (my T. ockerti female does this regularly).....next time just leave it

 

[Rittdk01]

You need to keep them a little more humid than most t's. Deep substrate too.

 

[Ungoliant]

if she stays in there for too long could she drown herself ?

You'd pretty much have to hold her underwater (so that the book lungs are submerged) for hours to drown her.

Spiders have very slow metabolisms, so they don't need a lot of oxygen to survive. Respiration occurs by passive diffusion across the "pages" (plates) of its book lungs, which are located under the abdomen. Additionally, the hairs on their bodies trap a thin layer of air around them. This layer can exchange some carbon dioxide for oxygen from the surrounding water, further increasing the amount of time spiders can spend under water.

I have rescued spiders (not my tarantulas, just random spiders) that became trapped in containers of water. They often look dead and are unresponsive. Half an hour later, they're crawling around as if nothing happened.

 

[Ellenantula]

I think many A seemannis do this. I haven't seen mine do it lately -- but mine used to love to spend time in her water dish. I was advised to dampen an area of her substrate but she continued to sit on/in her water dish (from time to time) anyway for a few years. It's been a few months since I last witnessed this behaviour -- she spends more time in her burrow these days.

When I first posted here about my own concern for my A seemanni sitting in/on water dish a couple years back -- I received some expert keeper replies stating this was fairly normal for this species (unlike other Aphonopelmas which prefer things drier).

Basically, A seemannis like water.

 

[viper69]

Color me crazy, but your T was drinking. Why did this not occur to you?

I've found Avics doing this too.

Do you not know where their lungs are located? Brush up on their anatomy in case you don't, it might save your Ts life.