Odd Hiding Place

Bjorgly

Arachnodemon
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Hi, My 4-5 inch A.seemani which i just recieved is not taking advantage of the 5 inches of perfect burrowing substrate, but she has managed to get herself under the small silk leaves i piled in the corner and is staying there. I was wondering if this is bad or uncommon? The leaves do have plastic stems so im worried if i drop a cricket in there she MAY hurt herself, but the plastic isnt hard o pointy. Some insight would be greatly appreciated as i got her on wednesday and am a paranoid new owner. Thanks!

Edit: There is no hiding place in the tank because I really want her to burrow, perhaps I should throw one in there. Shes sorts scrunched up under the leaves in the corner of the tank. She took 2 crickets eagerly yesterday and is at 80 degrees and 60% humidity approximately.



Mark
 
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Gail

Arachnopixie
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Aug 16, 2002
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You could try starting a burrow for her by making a hole and sitting a half a flower pot over it or a piece of cork bark in such a way that when she goes to look under the hide she finds the started hole. I have found though that most of my adult T's, despite the lovely new cork bark hides I have given them all recently, would rather sit on top of the cork bark than under it. Go figure.
As for the plastic/silk plants, I use them all the time and so long as they don't have any sharp plastic points on them she should be OK. One thing to watch for though is mold on the silk leaves if you keep the humidity high.

Gail
 

Bjorgly

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Thanks Gail, I think i will cut a pot in half lengthwise and start a nice hole under it for her....now to find a way to divide the cage so she doesnt attack while i work......hehe

Mark
 

Bjorgly

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OK I cut a ceramic pot lengthwise and placed it in her cage so that she can burrow under it...i made a hole start so she can do so.....she is VERY scrunched up (no legs under her) in the corner of the cage under the silk leaves, and i see she has also laid some web down around the area..hopefully she is not setteling in! All this seem normal?

Thanks,

Mark
 

phoenixxavierre

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burrowing

One thing that I have found to help in encourging a t to burrow is to bury a toilet paper tube in the substrate on a diagonal slant, leaving the opening for the t to crawl inside and hide. Usually they will begin to create a burrow shortly thereafter.

Paul
 

Tranz

Arachnobaron
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Originally posted by Bjorgly
[BThere is no hiding place in the tank because I really want her to burrow, perhaps I should throw one in there.

Mark [/B]
I've found that with my little opportunistic burrower that it likes to start digging around and eventually under a hide. The hide should be light, so it doesn't cave in the burrow. I found it takes a while - the T uses the hide for a while and then one day starts making a little indentation near it that grows and grows and winds its away down and around the hide. I've found that it likes to dig where it isn't too wet so it's better to spray away from the hide.
 

Mojo Jojo

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I have a small B. vagans that is currently doing the same thing, silk plant and all. When I first got it, it burrowed all the time. But I rarely ever saw it, so I put a clear pill bottle in there so I could see it more often. It liked that real well and stopped burrowing. Recently I put a small silk plant in there for decoration, and now the critter has taken a liking to hanging out under the leaves. I too, don't know if this is good or not.
 

Bjorgly

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Well, my seemani has left the leaves and is currently 1/2 on top of the cage and 1/2 on the top ofthe wall. The top is mesh but is NOT woven so she can't catch her claws unless there is something I do not know....LOL never mind, she is down now sitting by her water dish. Anyways i have a 1/2 clay pot (fairly heavy) and i dug under it some...it shoudn't cave the burrow if she decides to make one there but i suppose it is possible. I started a burrow for her so if she goes in the pot she will have to go downwards as if into a burrow with the way i dug it out. So far i think all is good! Thanks for all the help,


P.S. When i dropped in a cricket she burst out through the silk plant/leaves and attacked the cricket so i guess it did nothing to harm the tarantula.


Mark
 

Raveness

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My Rose hair never burrows it does not like to usually..it likes to rest on the long cork bark stick or under.
 

Bjorgly

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My rose is similar..i provided it with a half burried flower pot and it just walks up the back of it which is half burried and sits on top hehe....this species suprises people every day and just about anything they do can be deemed "normal". Real heardy too...great spider.

Mark
 

Raveness

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Yeah..I know..they are dubbed as boring mine is not BORING..She is very eccentric and loves to clean herself all the time.but stubborn like yours.he he. She is my little sweetie the other one is a demon a P. terror he he. I have only had one Rose hair that loved to bite..it could not pierce the skin so it would pinch it lt like a pincher bug..It did not hurt i'd just laugh my butt off. My new rose hair though has very odd shaped long fangs thank god she does not use those babies..lmao!
 

Bjorgly

Arachnodemon
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Funny you should mention that, my rosehair is ALWAYS grooming, cleaning herself etc etc. Often she is rubbing a leg underneath her or moving her pediphalps and things of that sort...one of my unexpected favorites for sure.

Mark
 

Raveness

Arachnobaron
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he he..I know..they are like the human ladies for sure..IN certain areas that is..lmao.
 
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