Pink toe tarantula hiding

[Pinkhairybeast]

New tarantula owner here. A couple of weeks ago we got a pink toe sling. We thoroughly researched environmental needs as well as basic care beforehand. He spent his entire first week exploring and made plenty of webs. I let him settle a day or two before I tried giving him crickets (pinheads). I woke up the next morning and the crickets were gone (no shell or anything. Is this normal? Do they burrow? I’ve only fed them to reptiles and have never dealt with loose substrate or leaving crickets in there for longer than a couple of minutes).
Anyway, he explored for about a week before settling inside a wood-hide on the ground. I know these guys are arboreal spiders, so I thought this was a little weird. He doesn’t seem to be in pre-molt as far as I can tell.
He’s still active, as he makes more and more webs every night , though now they are inside of the log. I never see him outside of his log anymore. There are times where he peeks out and puts his body halfway out, but then he goes back in. Is this something to worry about? Stress? Something wrong with husbandry? Again, I am new to the world of tarantulas. Thank you!

 

[Poonjab]

A.avic don’t burrow. It is a little odd that he chose the log hide on the ground, but it’s not 100% uncommon that an avic will go towards the ground. So I wouldn’t stress yet. I’m curious what the care guides told you about husbandry, as there is lots of misinformation online. First things first. Post pics of setup. This will help us determine if there are any reasons he’s hanging low. Also.. it’s not uncommon for a T to hide.

 

[Pinkhairybeast]

A.avic don’t burrow. It is a little odd that he chose the log hide on the ground, but it’s not 100% uncommon that an avic will go towards the ground. So I wouldn’t stress yet. I’m curious what the care guides told you about husbandry, as there is lots of misinformation online. First things first. Post pics of setup. This will help us determine if there are any reasons he’s hanging low. Also.. it’s not uncommon for a T to hide.

I should have worded my question differently. Do the crickets burrow? I don’t want them to “hide” from me when I try to clean them out. My T isn’t burrowing in the ground. I just thought it was weird that he never wants to come out of his hide.
I’ve mostly gotten my information from here.
this is my setup. You can view husbandry details underneath. I apologize the image is not the best. I’ve learned very quickly that google isn’t very reliable. This is what I’ve been following:
Cricket (gutloaded) feedings twice a week; pick out any uneaten material within 24 hours
NO MISTING (I’ve heard that many times)
I have read that I must wet the soil every once in awhile. I do this by slightly overfilling the water cap every so often. I never completely soak the soil.
We don’t use any lights or UTH since our house is warm enough for a T. I never got any direct input on my setup, so let me know if there is something I am missing.

 

[Poonjab]

No. Crickets shouldn’t burrow. Your enclosure isn’t awful, but it could be a bit better. IMO, it could use some more vertical height to climb on. Like a nice nice piece of cork bark. It also looks a little too exposed to me as well. Get the fake foliage up higher. It doesn’t do much good low. The openness may be why it’s hiding down low.

 

[Pinkhairybeast]

No. Crickets shouldn’t burrow. Your enclosure isn’t awful, but it could be a bit better. IMO, it could use some more vertical height to climb on. Like a nice nice piece of cork bark. It also looks a little too exposed to me as well. Get the fake foliage up higher. It doesn’t do much good low. The openness may be why it’s hiding down low.

Ok. Sounds good. I will try that. I will continue to add things into his habitat. Everything you see came with the viv, and none of the petstores within a few hours sell anything small enough to put into this cage. Will have to order some or keep an eye out. Thank you so much! I will add onto this thread if I have an update. Thankful for forums like this

 

[Poonjab]

no worries. Just keep us posted. I’m sure more people will come into this thread here shortly and give you some other ideas. If you look up photos of a.avic enclosures, you’ll notice all the correct setups have height for the T to climb, and webbing points up high. Also, not super exposed. Also, when you get a chance. Replace that mesh top with drilled acrylic with lots of ventilation. A larger T can get its claws caught I mesh and lose a leg.

 

[jaw6053]

Your enclosure seems pretty large for a sling, just my opinion.

 

[Pinkhairybeast]

Your enclosure seems pretty large for a sling, just my opinion.

This was the smallest they had and our sling is on the older side. Not full grown for sure, but still young enough to be called a sling. Hes about the size of the interior of his log hide. However, i did look into deli cups (or something of those size) because I saw how popular they were in the T community. The problem is, none of my stores carry anything of the kind. I live in an extremely small town and we barely have a produce aisle. It would also be out of my budget to build a new enclosure from scratch. Will this do for now? When I was reading up on them, it said this was the recommended size for slings. Thank you for your input!

 

[Feral]

Crazy check- Am I the only one not seeing any pix in this thread, of the enclosure or otherwise?

 

[Pyroxian]

Crazy check- Am I the only one not seeing any pix in this thread, of the enclosure or otherwise?

I won't comment on your sanity, but I will confirm that the pictures which were showing earlier are now missing for me as well.

 

[Swagg]

I won't comment on your sanity, but I will confirm that the pictures which were showing earlier are now missing for me as well.

For me also

 

[Pinkhairybeast]

Apologies. Don’t know what happened. I’ll upload again. Update* I did end up rearranging the foliage. The setup is not exact as to what it is now, but it gives you an idea of what is in the cage.

 

[Smotzer]

Crazy check- Am I the only one not seeing any pix in this thread, of the enclosure or otherwise?

Same here no pictures! Oops never mind there it’s back

 

[Pinkhairybeast]

Same here no pictures!

Is it showing up in the post above yours? I posted it right before you commented. Might be a problem with my phone or connection.

 

[Feral]

IMO, it could use some more vertical height to climb on. Like a nice nice piece of cork bark. It also looks a little too exposed to me as well. Get the fake foliage up higher. It doesn’t do much good low. The openness may be why it’s hiding down low.

Replace that mesh top with drilled acrylic with lots of ventilation. A larger T can get its claws caught I mesh and lose a leg.

I definitely second all that above!

What is the DLS of this spood?

My opinions are...
Proper cover (pieces of cork bark and lots of faux leaves) that's properly placed (cork bark pieces leaning upright against the side, lots of fake leaves around the tops of the bark) will go a looooong way to helping your friend feel secure and relaxed.

These also serve as anchor points for webbing.

Also, I'm not a fan of using these types of enclosures for Avics and their like, I would choose different ventilation arrangement. Since the enclosure only has ventilation at the top, it doesn't have as much airflow as it would if you also had additional substrate-level ventilation to create a rising air current. I think airflow is great for everybody, but seems to be super important for this genus (and thier like) in particular.

Thank you for caring about him and wanting to do the best for him, and congrats on your new fuzzbutt friend!

 

[Smotzer]

Same here no pictures! Oops never mind there it’s back

I was writing the post I guess at the same time as you were. It’s there now

 

[Pinkhairybeast]

About 2.5 inches? I can check tomorrow and give a more accurate measurement. That’s what I measured it at last week. And yeah it sure has been fun! I have had a variety of pets, but this is nothing like what I’ve had. I’m looking into better enclosures. Don’t really know how to build one, but looking into it. We got the only enclosure that the store had and was told it would be perfect (the guy apparently owned quite a few tarantulas and so we trusted him). I never would have heard about the acrylic top if it weren’t for this website. Thank you for your input! It sure makes this whole thing a lot easier for me.

I was writing the post I guess at the same time as you were. It’s there now

Ok that’s good. Thanks!

 

[Feral]

About 2.5 inches? I can check tomorrow and give a more accurate measurement. That’s what I measured it at last week. And yeah it sure has been fun! I have had a variety of pets, but this is nothing like what I’ve had. I’m looking into better enclosures. Don’t really know how to build one, but looking into it. We got the only enclosure that the store had and was told it would be perfect (the guy apparently owned quite a few tarantulas and so we trusted him). I never would have heard about the acrylic top if it weren’t for this website. Thank you for your input! It sure makes this whole thing a lot easier for me.

I feel ya.

2.5" DLS... For this genus and that size, I personally wouldn't be wetting the substrate at all. I would have him bone dry with a water dish. And excellent airflow! And also, in case you didn't know, he's about the size where he's due an upgrade on water dish size. He needs to be able to stick the underside (ventral side) of his cephalothorax into the dish, so it needs to be wider than his cephalothorax plus coxae.

Did someone already mention, I can't remember, removing any uneaten prey items within twenty four hours? That's the usual standard recommendation. Its not bad practice to give prey in the evening, leave overnight if needed, and remove in the morning if still there. I don't need to give 24 hours or whatever personally; Mine are all very confident, capable hunters so honestly mine all eat within one hour or I remove it, but that's just because I know my animals and that's what's right for them. 24 hours is a good start, or 12 as long as it includes an overnight, until you learn your spood. Read a lot on AB and pay attention to yours and get to know them more and more over time. You'll learn their feeding habits and just all around "personality".

If you haven't checked out Tom Moran from Tom's Big Spiders yet, please do! It's excellent, reliable information. He has a YT channel, a website, and podcasts. He covers lots of topics, including species-specific care. An excellent resource!

 

[Pinkhairybeast]

new tarantula owner here. Just got a pink toed tarantula about a month ago. Was very active the first week or two we got him, but then went down Under small wood hide and will not come out. He did not have anything resembling a shiny abdomen during this time, but I noticed he wasn’t moving very much. He made himself a web all around the inside of his wood hide. I added more foliage thinking it might have just been too much exposure that was making him hide, but he still has not come out. He hasn’t eaten in a week, but still no sign of a shiny abdomen. Should I hold off on feeding? Obviously don’t want to offer crickets during premolt.
setup, since I know it will be wanted
Tarantula starter kit vivarium
Water cap filled (occasionally overfilled, but not often)
We have been starting to offer more and more crickets. Don’t want to contribute to re-homing stress.
top of viv covered in plants (fake)
Dirt/mulch substrate on bottom
No heat/light source

I feel ya.

2.5" DLS... For this genus and that size, I personally wouldn't be wetting the substrate at all. I would have him bone dry with a water dish. And excellent airflow! And also, in case you didn't know, he's about the size where he's due an upgrade on water dish size. He needs to be able to stick the underside (ventral side) of his cephalothorax into the dish, so it needs to be wider than his cephalothorax plus coxae.

Did someone already mention, I can't remember, removing any uneaten prey items within twenty four hours? That's the usual standard recommendation. Its not bad practice to give prey in the evening, leave overnight if needed, and remove in the morning if still there. I don't need to give 24 hours or whatever personally; Mine are all very confident, capable hunters so honestly mine all eat within one hour or I remove it, but that's just because I know my animals and that's what's right for them. 24 hours is a good start, or 12 as long as it includes an overnight, until you learn your spood. Read a lot on AB and pay attention to yours and get to know them more and more over time. You'll learn their feeding habits and just all around "personality".

If you haven't checked out Tom Moran from Tom's Big Spiders yet, please do! It's excellent, reliable information. He has a YT channel, a website, and podcasts. He covers lots of topics, including species-specific care. An excellent resource!

I have been using a large bottle cap. Larger than Gatorade bottle. Almost fits in palm. I used a tiny water cap when I got him but immediately upgraded to the one I currently use. And I feed him at night and will remove whatever is uneaten in the morning! Sorry, seems I forgot to mention it. The thing is, I never see any “shells”. I check the entire cage and there are no dead or live crickets to be found. Don’t know what happens to them. Again, sorry it seems I forgot to talk about this in my post. Thanks for the info!

 

[fried rice]

I have been using a large bottle cap. Larger than Gatorade bottle. Almost fits in palm. I used a tiny water cap when I got him but immediately upgraded to the one I currently use. And I feed him at night and will remove whatever is uneaten in the morning! Sorry, seems I forgot to mention it. The thing is, I never see any “shells”. I check the entire cage and there are no dead or live crickets to be found. Don’t know what happens to them. Again, sorry it seems I forgot to talk about this in my post. Thanks for the info!

I’m sorry because this isn’t really helping, but the same thing happens with the crickets my dolichothele diamantinensis sling eats. She grabs them and eats them, but I never see they’re remains! I think she is hiding them in her web.