My Tarantula burried itself help D;

[Delirious122]

Hey everyone Im real new to the T hobby and I have a 2" honduran curly hair female. However she has burried herself in her hide and blocked the entrance off with the substrate. What does this mean and when will I see her more often if it helps she has been here a little over 3 1/2 days now.

 

[iwlim]

She might be preparing to molt, if so don't worry. My curly female is doing the exact same thing and has stayed there for a week, even though she isn't in premolt. I guess it's just an albopilosum thing.

 

[Garth Vader]

They do this. I have posted this same thing on here when I worried about a new T hiding and then I saw that the entrance was blocked off. Your T is fine. They do this. It might be preparing to molt, or it might just be chillin. Just leave him to do his tarantula thing.

 

[cold blood]

They do this for various reasons, as mentioned, a molt is a common reason, but simple acclimation is another. There's no way to know when it will emerge, it could be tomorrow, it could be 3 months from now or even more. Its normal, there's nothing for you to do, and no reason to worry. Just keep the water dish full.....wait till it emerges to offer food.

 

[Delirious122]

They do this for various reasons, as mentioned, a molt is a common reason, but simple acclimation is another. There's no way to know when it will emerge, it could be tomorrow, it could be 3 months from now or even more. Its normal, there's nothing for you to do, and no reason to worry. Just keep the water dish full.....wait till it emerges to offer food.

What if she only emerges when I am sleeping then I cant really feed her then and I dont want her to starve.

 

[petkokc]

What if she only emerges when I am sleeping then I cant really feed her then and I dont want her to starve.

They can go months and months without the food so you really do not need to worry about it. This hobby will test your patience

 

[EulersK]

They can go months and months without the food so you really do not need to worry about it. This hobby will test your patience

Which is why more spiders is always the answer.

 

[Haksilence]

What if she only emerges when I am sleeping then I cant really feed her then and I dont want her to starve.

Starvation is the very last thing to worry about. Starvation of a captive tarantula is virtually impossible. Certain species (yours being one of those certain species) have reports of adults going a year without food. I've never even HEARD of a tarantula of any species dying of starvation.

 

[Anoplogaster]

Didn't we just talk about this on another thread recently? Lol

Forget most of your animal husbandry instincts. Tarantulas are so different from any animal you will ever keep. They are built to survive on practically nothing. You will not believe how long they can go between meals!

The main thing is to interpret your tarantula's behaviors and understand why it's doing what it's doing. When they web up their hide and block themselves off from the outside world, it could be for a few reasons as stated above. But whatever the reason, that behavior is spider language for "Leave me the heck alone," which is exactly what you should do. A common thing that happens in this situation is they molt without you seeing it. And one beautiful day, a molted skeleton will be pushed out, and a larger spider will emerge

Btw, molting is a very fragile time for a spider. They are extremely vulnerable to everything. The molting process itself is very critical, and even the slightest disturbance can result in the death of your spider. This is why it's very important that you leave them alone in a spot where you know the enclosure isn't going to get bumped. And if he does molt, he'll be very soft and defensive afterward. RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO FEED!! Most spiders will refuse food after a molt anyways, but don't try feeding for a week at the very least. They shed their fangs, too. And after a molt, they will be very soft. Feeding could result in damaged fangs, which they fully rely on to eat!

And after a molt, you're required to provide us with photos of your glorious spider

 

[Andrea82]

In addition to the excellent post above, you can check the fangs to know if the T is ready for food. When just molted, they are white, gradually turning red, and then shiny black. Never feed before black, the fangs can get damaged when feeding to soon.

 

[Delirious122]

Didn't we just talk about this on another thread recently? Lol

Forget most of your animal husbandry instincts. Tarantulas are so different from any animal you will ever keep. They are built to survive on practically nothing. You will not believe how long they can go between meals!

The main thing is to interpret your tarantula's behaviors and understand why it's doing what it's doing. When they web up their hide and block themselves off from the outside world, it could be for a few reasons as stated above. But whatever the reason, that behavior is spider language for "Leave me the heck alone," which is exactly what you should do. A common thing that happens in this situation is they molt without you seeing it. And one beautiful day, a molted skeleton will be pushed out, and a larger spider will emerge

Btw, molting is a very fragile time for a spider. They are extremely vulnerable to everything. The molting process itself is very critical, and even the slightest disturbance can result in the death of your spider. This is why it's very important that you leave them alone in a spot where you know the enclosure isn't going to get bumped. And if he does molt, he'll be very soft and defensive afterward. RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO FEED!! Most spiders will refuse food after a molt anyways, but don't try feeding for a week at the very least. They shed their fangs, too. And after a molt, they will be very soft. Feeding could result in damaged fangs, which they fully rely on to eat!

And after a molt, you're required to provide us with photos of your glorious spider

So I got 3 more small questions.

1. Will turning on the light in my room bug the spider at all ?

2. Since she is hiding and blocked off should I continue to change the water every couple days and water the substrate as needed even though shes in a "leave me the hell alone mode "?

3. How often does molting occur ?

 

[nicodimus22]

So I got 3 more small questions.

1. Will turning on the light in my room bug the spider at all ?

2. Since she is hiding and blocked off should I continue to change the water every couple days and water the substrate as needed even though shes in a "leave me the hell alone mode "?

3. How often does molting occur ?

1) As long as you're giving it a day/night cycle with light and darkness, I don't think it's a big deal. Tarantulas are nocturnal, so just make sure they have a period of darkness at night.

2) I'd keep the water dish full, but changing it every couple of days sounds like overkill if there's no activity. I doubt you even need to water the substrate, as long as you have water available in the dish. Slings need it more moist than adults do, but a 2" spider isn't really a sling any more.

3) When they're tiny, every couple of weeks is typical, but it slows down to roughly once a year with adults in my experience.

 

[Anoplogaster]

So I got 3 more small questions.

1. Will turning on the light in my room bug the spider at all ?

2. Since she is hiding and blocked off should I continue to change the water every couple days and water the substrate as needed even though shes in a "leave me the hell alone mode "?

3. How often does molting occur ?

Well, if she's hiding, the light in your room shouldn't bother her. And yeah, just make sure there is always water in the dish. Topping it off is all that's necessary. When newly molted tarantulas first start getting active, I've always noticed they love a big drink of water.

The frequency of molting varies a lot between species and even individuals. As a general rule, younger spiders molt more frequently. If you feed a lot, it occurs faster.

 

[CyclingSam]

Just had my B. vegans emerge after a month of playing buried games and same with my P. pulcher and P. cambridgei. My chaco just went down under and don't expert to see her for at least a month. As EulerK said, more spiders is the answer.

 

[cold blood]

What if she only emerges when I am sleeping then I cant really feed her then and I dont want her to starve.

If it emerges, you will almost certainly see the spider or the hole it made when it emerged. The starving concern has been covered.

Which is why more spiders is always the answer.

This is precisely why many people who really like these things have lots of them...its so we can always observe activity of some sort.

I recall a time when I had like 8, and all seemed to always be in pre-molt (as I would binge feed when they were eating)...I thought, man, if I had like 20 it would be perfect, then I would get my t fix every day...fast forward to when I have 20....I recall an entire month where literally all 20 were hiding or pre-molt...I stopped resisting expansion at that point and just filled the room Now I always have activity, and lots of it and when a t hides or goes pre-molt, its literally inconsequential and makes being patient about things much much easier.

So I got 3 more small questions.

1. Will turning on the light in my room bug the spider at all ?

2. Since she is hiding and blocked off should I continue to change the water every couple days and water the substrate as needed even though shes in a "leave me the hell alone mode "?

3. How often does molting occur ?

1. no, not for most species, although there are many that are quite photosensitive (an H. maculata or LV for example, will disappear instantly when faced with light)...light won't hurt anything though, but keeping things darker will make for spiders that tend to be out more...I keep my room dark and use a flashlight when I am in there...although I do have a small wattage bulb lit near the floor to make my navigation easier....at most it might simulate twilight.

2. Change? Just keep it filled, I only pull dished when they get too dirty or the edges get webbed up...otherwise I just fill when empty.

3. Totally variant, but as mentioned, younger ts molt much more frequently. Also species that grow faster, also molt at shorter intervals....but also the temps you keep and the feeding schedule you offer will also play large roles in molting frequency.

 

[petkokc]

Which is why more spiders is always the answer.

It is one of the reasons why I started buying more xD

 

[Delirious122]

So should I try offering it food even though its in hiding or should I wait for her to emerge from the blocked off entrance then try offering her food?

 

[nicodimus22]

So should I try offering it food even though its in hiding or should I wait for her to emerge from the blocked off entrance then try offering her food?

Wait for it to show up, and see if it has molted. It might take days, weeks, or months to come out.

If it has molted, you should wait about 3 weeks to feed it, because its body needs time to harden (particularly the fangs.) Keep the water dish topped off, as they often drink a lot after molting.

If it hasn't molted, you can try offering food, but you don't need to do so more than once every week or two.

 

[gobey]

B. albos just hide and burrow a lot when they're small. They're very skittish until they hit about 3-4 inches. Then they usually stay above ground.

 

[cold blood]

Wait for it to show up, and see if it has molted. It might take days, weeks, or months to come out.

If it has molted, you should wait about 3 weeks to feed it, because its body needs time to harden (particularly the fangs.) Keep the water dish topped off, as they often drink a lot after molting.

If it hasn't molted, you can try offering food, but you don't need to do so more than once every week or two.

Wait 3 weeks after molting...for a young t? Naw, give it a week to 10 days.

But yeah, I agree, wait for it to emerge to offer food.