Pink Zebra Beauty depressed?

[Vilurum]

So I have had it for nearly 2 weeks now and it just looks stressed and not liking its new home

I keep it at just above room temp and give a good misting every 2/3 days and it is just curled up in the corner (not the death curl the stress curl) it also hasn't eaten yet either and I am getting worried :S

 

[Alexandra V]

Does it have somewhere to hide (half log, flower pot, whatever?)

Is it in a high traffic area?

When you mist, be careful not to mist the actual spider (it's pretty stressful for them, they hate it), and just give it time to settle in. Some spiders take longer to settle into a new environment than others, so as long as you provide an ideal habitat, there isn't much you can do but wait out her adjustment process. Unless she's a tiny spiderling, not eating in two weeks isn't much to be worried about. They can go much longer without food no problem, so for now the situation isn't dire.

 

[Meecht]

Stop misting it. They come from arid regions.

http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/E-campestratus.html

If it's a sling (baby), then only wet one corner of substrate and mist one SIDE of the enclosure so it can drink.

 

[Vilurum]

Yes ofcourse it has something to use as a hide but it doesn't use it (yes its big enough) she is just out in the corner curled up.

I wouldn't call it high traffic but her tank isn't disturbed at all apart from misting (and yes I do try my very best not to spray the spider )

And while 2 weeks isn;t long at all I thought it may help to the solution, so it may just be settling in still?

 

[advan]

My first thought is this should be in The Watering Hole.

On topic: Just a little stressed and needs some time to get used to its new home. How big is it? Is it WC? If it is wild-caught that could also contribute to the stress factor. Just wait and see, keep the water bowl full, offer food once a week, if it is not eaten remove prey item. Also try to leave 'em alone for awhile. Good luck!

 

[Vilurum]

Stop misting it. They come from arid regions.

http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/E-campestratus.html

If it's a sling (baby), then only wet one corner of substrate and mist one SIDE of the enclosure so it can drink.

It isn;t a sling.

I have read on afew caresheets that it likes a high humidity???
It sits on the wet ground without climbing.

---------- Post added at 02:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------

My first thought is this should be in The Watering Hole.

On topic: Just a little stressed and needs some time to get used to its new home. How big is it? Is it WC? If it is wild-caught that could also contribute to the stress factor. Just wait and see, keep the water bowl full, offer food once a week, if it is not eaten remove prey item. Also try to leave 'em alone for awhile. Good luck!

Not sure if WC or CB I got it from a clueless pet shop, it isn't my first T btw.

I could get a proper measurement but don;t want to disturb but im guessing about 4 inch

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

How do you know it is a PZB? What was it sold as? Post some pics :worship:

 

[Vilurum]

It was sold as a zebra beauty tarantula lol.

I already did http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=213161

 

[BQC123]

It isn;t a sling.

I have read on afew caresheets that it likes a high humidity???
It sits on the wet ground without climbing.

Never kept the species, but I don't think the substrate should ever be WET.

 

[The Spider Faery]

Mine's not "happy" unless it has room to burrow. Try giving it a few more inches of substrate or however much it would need to build tunnels if it doesn't already have enough, and see if yours would like to burrow too.

 

[sebeed]

you definitely don't need to be misting every 2/3 days, all you need is a water bowl and keep it full of water and that should be more than enough humidity, plus, judging by the picture, your using either aquarium gravel or vermiculite, neither of which is beneficial for a desert species. when misting the gravel its just going to go down to the bottom of the tank and get stagnant (eg, just fart around lol) and vermiculite is extremely good for holding water so you REALLY don't need to be misting it that often. That said, vermiculite shouldn't be used for desert species, at least not on its own. If you really felt like it i suppose you could mix a little bit with eco earth but that is not necessary.
Chances are your T isn't feeling so awesome in its damp/moist/humid (whatever word fits best :/) environment. I suggest swapping the substrate with eco earth or ecoearth/peat moss

 

[Vilurum]

It is on Eco earth, the pic was taken when it was in a temp enclosure, and i do as the eco earth starts drying out and there is no way to keep humidity up in the tank its in.

Also it has 2" sub atm but I havn't seen it attempt to dig or see any signs of digging in the enclosure.

 

[Hobo]

First of all, give it more sub, perhaps. I'm guessing it had more than several legspans to the top if it's enclosure? Make sure it has less than 2.
Second, stop misting it every two days. Just keep a water dish, that's it.

Will you be able to post a pic if the current enclosure in full? I'd be curious to see it.

 

[Nanchantress]

I have a 5" E. camp on completely dry substrate that is about 4 inches deep. Only have a water dish in the corner that I keep full but don't overflow it. I never mist. She has completely excavated the entire opposite corner and likes to sit in the bottom of the hole. She is very mellow and slow moving, but I wouldn't call her unhappy. Maybe yours is just mellow also.

 

[Vilurum]

Hobo it is just under a 2 leg span gap, on the right side half a flower pot, on the left a full jar lid. Sorry my camera is currently broke atm....

Nanchantresss, mine is very calm, slow moving and docile.

Half are saying keep it dry half are saying keep it humid :S
Btw, when it waas in the temp enclosure it had about 4" and made no attempt to dig.
Maybe it is just taking its time settling in?

 

[BQC123]

A small water dish that is overflowed on occaision can keep the humidity up, while leaving most of the substrate dry. High humidity can be obtained without wet substrate.

 

[Vilurum]

Yes but if it didn;t like the sub it would climb?

 

[GamerSpike]

Hi I just got a 4" Eupalaestrus Campestratus last friday... (my first T!) and she doesn't seem to be very happy either.
Every night she crawls around the walls and perimeter of the cage. During the day she does the "stress curl" underneath the leaf of a plant. I gave her a log (which she ignores) and 5" of potting soil (she doesn't burrow). I just checked the ingredients of the potting soil and saw it contained pine bark... I remember hearing something about tarantulas not liking bark.
Thanks in advanced!

P.S. She has been eating though (quite abit!)

 

[RobS]

Hi I just got a 4" Eupalaestrus Campestratus last friday... (my first T!)
-snip-
I just checked the ingredients of the potting soil and saw it contained pine bark... I remember hearing something about tarantulas not liking bark.

I would strongly recommend getting rid of the substrate you now have, and switching over to either additive-free peat moss or Eco Earth / coconut coir. Pine and such contain volatiles which are not healthy for your T.

 

[GamerSpike]

Okay thanks, do I need to remove all of it or can I just cover it up with the peatmoss since she doesn't burrow?