obt falling

kush

Arachnopeon
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Jan 5, 2011
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37
i have a post about how my p.murinus fell on her hide from climbing high on the top of her cage.she seems fine but shes keeping falling on things in her cage like her water bowel,hide and some piece of wood thats like a mini climbing tree that fills one side of her tank.the problem is that she lost grip on sticking to objects.its like its less sticky.is there something wrong with her that shes losing her grip?she cant climb on the glass without falling now
 

curiousme

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A few things come to mind when I read your post.....

1) It is in premolt and is to the point that it is having trouble climbing.

2) It isn't a she and is actually a M(ature)M(ale) that is reaching the end of his life.

3) It is oil wrestling on the side for some extra $........ ;)

Whenever a T gets to the premolt stage, its tarsal claws stop gripping as well.
 

phily1579

Arachnopeon
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Aug 6, 2010
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32
Also dude. I have my 4" orange monster in a terrestrial setup. Dnt put it in a arboreal setup. I found they prefer the ground to as opposed to being up high. Only arboreals need a taller incloser, with climbing space. My OBt is as happy as a pig in u know what. ;-):worship:
 

Madratter

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Jan 30, 2011
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OBTs are semi arboreal. My girl is currently webbed in her vine and my male is in his burrow. I agree with curiousme, either in premolt or a MM.
 

curiousme

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Also dude. I have my 4" orange monster in a terrestrial setup. Dnt put it in a arboreal setup. I found they prefer the ground to as opposed to being up high. Only arboreals need a taller incloser, with climbing space. My OBt is as happy as a pig in u know what. ;-):worship:
This is not correct. It is semi-arboreal which means it may do a little burrowing and it may do a little climbing and webbing. Some actually have quite impressive webbing projects. There is an entire thread with pictures of P. murinus enclosures, though it is eluding my searching at the moment.

So, just because yours prefers to burrow, does not mean that all do. We provide both height and inches of substrate for ours, so if it wants to do either, it can.
 

Suidakkra

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Nov 23, 2010
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Kush, you keep posting about your OBT constantly trying to climb, are you sure you have the right conditions ? They like it dry with just a water dish, and humidity around 40-50%.

I have a OBT, and she only made a small hammock in the corner just above the dry substrate (I use coconut choir). Other than that, she rarely ever climbs, and mostly spends her time in her burrow, and rarely in her hammock. In honesty, I only see her when its feeding time. However, this is just my OBT's behaviour, which can differ from others.

I agree with the above about losing the ability to grip to a possible pre-molt. However, unless you post pictures, all advice is just speculation.


Good luck.
 

kush

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well she molted about 3 weeks before i got her. I had her since the first of this month.shes a female and is about 3 years old.the shop got her from kenthebugguy.the substrate is dry and i have a water bowel thats always filled but she climbs alot.she sometimes chills in her hide but mostly up in corners that she webed up .i just dont know why shes losing her grip.she fell last night and started to hiss and ran.i put her in icu incase she injured herself.i also left her with the steam in the bathroom for about 20 mins.i hope im doing the right things for her.some ppl said before that the icu was a bad idea but last time i left her in there she seemed alot better.
 

curiousme

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well she molted about 3 weeks before i got her. I had her since the first of this month.shes a female and is about 3 years old.
Unfortunately the amount of time since she molted and her age, don't really tell the pertinent information. How big is she from the front leg on one side, to the back leg on the other side? (D(iagonal)L(eg)S(pan)) How warm are you keeping her and how much and what are you feeding? If she is still on the small size and you have been feeding it a bunch and have it at warm temperatures, it is possible for it to already be in premolt again.

the shop got her from kenthebugguy.
I have never purchased anything from him, but I hear that he is a reliable dealer.

the substrate is dry and i have a water bowel thats always filled
That sounds appropriate.

but she climbs alot.she sometimes chills in her hide but mostly up in corners that she webed up .
You haven't had her for even 2 weeks yet, so this is probably due to not being settled in. All tarantulas have a period of time that they need to finally appear to be comfortable and settled into their enclosure. It can vary from days to weeks to months, each T is different.

i just dont know why shes losing her grip.she fell last night and started to hiss and ran.
If it is not the reasons I stated above, neither do I.

i put her in icu incase she injured herself.i also left her with the steam in the bathroom for about 20 mins.i hope im doing the right things for her.some ppl said before that the icu was a bad idea but last time i left her in there she seemed alot better.
ICU is a great idea if you see an injury, but for just in case, not so much. Especially such a dry loving species, it is more likely to stress it out. What do you mean by "She seemed alot better"?
 

Bill S

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OBTs are semi arboreal.
Semi-arboreal means it climbs trees in the wild. Does anyone have any evidence of this? I was unser the impression that they were generally found very close to the ground. (Climbing a few inches up a cage wall is not enough to qualify as arboreal.)
 

kush

Arachnopeon
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Jan 5, 2011
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shes about 3 inches and only ate one large cricket since i had her. The temps are around 75 to 85.the reason i said she seemed better was because after the fall she seemed like my rose hair in personality wise and looked like she was in pain.after the icu she was energetic and was acting like an obt again,until she kept falling again.she had great grip when i first got her,she ran against the glass and was climbing like crazy on everything.she seemed like 80percent aboreal.she still tries to climb but falls off.half way up and she tries to stay on but falls.i had her in the icu since last night.
 

Madratter

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curiousme

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shes about 3 inches and only ate one large cricket since i had her. The temps are around 75 to 85.
When you say 3", is that a D(iagonal)L(eg)S(pan)? At those temps and since you have only had it 2 weeks today, I am still betting on premolt.

the reason i said she seemed better was because after the fall she seemed like my rose hair in personality wise and looked like she was in pain.after the icu she was energetic and was acting like an obt again,until she kept falling again.she had great grip when i first got her,she ran against the glass and was climbing like crazy on everything.she seemed like 80percent aboreal.she still tries to climb but falls off.half way up and she tries to stay on but falls.i had her in the icu since last night.
Then it sounds like it was just 'happy' to get out of the ICU, not that it made her better. It is debatable whether Ts even have the capacity to feel pain and IMO they don't. So, I am wondering what you mean by "looked like she was in pain"? However, with the behavior you are describing in terms of slipping off the glass now, but not when you first got it; I still say it is most likely premolt, if that is the only troubling thing it is doing.
 

Bill S

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Thanks. The first article indicates they are sometimes seen in low trees or bushes - but the same is true of Aphonopelma chalcodes, which is still considered to be a terrestrial. The second article says they are sometimes found in the hollows of trees, but also hints that it's at the base of the trees. Clarification on this would be helpful - such as how high in the trees, how much of their life is spent there, etc. Both articles suggest they are primarily ground dwellers. Going back to the A. chalcodes example, although I've seen them as high as ten feet above the ground, it's obvious that they spend the vast majority of their lives on or in the ground, and are correctly considered terrestrial, not semi arboreal. It's unfortunate that so little is recorded about the natural history of so many of the species we have in captivity.
 

curiousme

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Thanks. The first article indicates they are sometimes seen in low trees or bushes - but the same is true of Aphonopelma chalcodes, which is still considered to be a terrestrial. The second article says they are sometimes found in the hollows of trees, but also hints that it's at the base of the trees. Clarification on this would be helpful - such as how high in the trees, how much of their life is spent there, etc. Both articles suggest they are primarily ground dwellers. Going back to the A. chalcodes example, although I've seen them as high as ten feet above the ground, it's obvious that they spend the vast majority of their lives on or in the ground, and are correctly considered terrestrial, not semi arboreal. It's unfortunate that so little is recorded about the natural history of so many of the species we have in captivity.
It is an unfortunate thing that tarantulas do not want to fit neatly into categories that we humans give them. ;) Terrestrial does not mean they don't burrow or climb, arboreal does not mean they don't burrow, but in actuality most arboreals are more semi-arboreal and exist somewhere between a burrow and someplace around/ up a tree, brush, etc. Avicularia species are the only true arboreals that I can think of.

We have our P. murinus set-up with roots from the base of an uprooted tree and another log extending up like a branch stuck in the ground. It has 4" of substrate and at least 1 1/2 that in height, so it can choose to do what it wants. Unfortunately that was to build a burrow behind the wood and to stay there at all times. :)
 

Merfolk

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From my experience with old world arboreal (or part-time arboreals), decreasing ability to climb glass is a sign of premolt. The growing layer of new skin underneath some outer organs (such as the mechanism enabling them to stick to smooth surface) makes operating them kind of difficult.
 

kush

Arachnopeon
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Jan 5, 2011
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37
i found mold under the water bowel and it was starting to spread to the substrate.i also found a dead cricket under the substrate in her hide that was causing a little mold.i put some wood chips,because thats all i had and got rid of the bowel,becuse it was full of mold..the coconut husk was too moldy so i tossed that too.could of this been the problem and what kinda substrate should i try next that does not mold so quickly? Also what is another good old world tarantula that has the personality of a p.murinus? even though the obt is a big step from my g.rosea,i find it great and i want more aggresive t's.angry t's are not as big of a deal as ppl make it seem.im gonna try to stick with old worlds only,besides my rose hair.alot of ppl have alot of t's,but does anybody have just an old world collection? P.s i want old worlds that stay in the open and dont hide in tunnels or in webed up retreats.
 

kush

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 5, 2011
Messages
37
its been a while since i posted on this,because i was hoping that my obt will regain her sticky feet lol but she still has no grip she cant climb at all anymore.any idea whats wrong?i dont think shes in premolt,but if she is what are some great signs to know.not just the basic signs like she wont eat and stuff like that.please help me help my t! Thanks
 
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