Skittish G.aureostriata?

[Syngyne]

When I first got my Chaco, she seemed pretty calm, if a bit prone to scrunching. Now that she's been here a couple of weeks, she's settled into a corner of her enclosure and webbed it up a little (the plastic plant that she originally tossed into her water dish is now webbed to the piece of cork bark in front of her corner). She seems active enough... a pet rock, but a pet rock in different parts of the enclosure throughout the day.

I've noticed that she seems to be more skittish than when I first got her, though. When I first got her, whenever I opened her cage to fill/clean her water dish, she would move slightly, but she was slow about it. Lately, when I go in to do water maintenance or clean out tarantula poop or cricket remains, she bolts a little when the cage is opened. She doesn't go very far, and she doesn't seem to care when my hands are in the cage doing maintenance, but I'm not used to seeing her move like that.

Is this normal for a Chaco? She definitely seems docile, never tried to bite me, and has only done a slow threat display twice (after I was seeing if I could get her to move forward by gently touching her abdomen a few times).

 

[Transylvania]

Sounds like she's in pre-molt.

 

[Syngyne]

She ate two days ago, though.

 

[Moltar]

Yeah, my 1-1/2" aureo sling is pretty skittish too. She is more fearful of bright lights than any other spider i have and any vibrations or movement of her kk causes her to scrunch into a corner. I messed up when i made her enclosure and gave her a big clamshell to use as a hide. She seems to love it but it's big enough that she doesn't come out at all! She just keeps excavating it and pushing the dirt out. Now there's this huge cave under there and only one way in... a 2 inch vertical fall. Crickets check in but they don't check out.

As her molt apparently approaches she's sealed off the only remaining entry point and now just sits in there. I hope she molts soon because watching her slay legions of crickets is too much fun!

 

[MindUtopia]

All T's can be skittish and it doesn't sound like anything too unusual. She's probably just more skittish now that she is settled in and the shock of shipping/travel and adjusting to new surroundings has worn off. I would also just make sure there isn't anything stressing her in her new home, like a bright light on her or vibrations from something, etc. I wouldn't be too concerned about it though, just normal behavior. Good luck with your new T!

 

[Mushroom Spore]

All my tarantulas kind of twitch when I open the tank, even my rosea. It's just startling and kind of scary, like a big "oh man is it a predator" earthquake. My slings, an aureostriata included, will wig out more and run for their burrow/a hide/a corner.

The aureostriata is definitely more chill than my L. parahybana who is about the same size, though--the former has never tried to beat up the capture/herding implements during a rehousing.

 

[IdahoBiteyThing]

Ditto

Sounds exactly like my Chaco- goes through periods of "Coconut Isolation" pre-molt, seals herself in, accepting donations of food at her food delivery opening with her usual crunch 'em & munch 'em gusto. Then she stops eating, molts, spends a couple more weeks eating in (I'm considering installing a phone in there so she can just order her own deliveries, "hello, this is Bow Wow, your Chaco in tank 3, I'd like a couple of roaches delivered at about 6 tonight, k?"). Then when she's good and ready, she'll tear everything down, emerge from her coconut, and bulldoze the entire tank. I'll enjoy several months of her out & about behavior (during which time I never stick my hand in the tank- anything that moves is fair game at this point), and then she'll start the whole process over again.

 

[Syngyne]

Does this mean she isn't going to be handleable? She's only 3", so she's still a juvie.

 

[IdahoBiteyThing]

handling

Hard to tell if you'll be able to handle her. I think this is a pretty variable species and you might get a handle-able one, or you might get one like mine! Either way, one of my favorite T's. Enjoy!