strange behavior (fang checking??)

ian robbins

Arachnosquire
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Sep 25, 2006
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78
watching my chaco golden knee climbing on the ceiling of its cage which is made of metal screen, then i watch her open her fangs up ever so gently, extend them out and pluck/pull the screen?
I have also noticed many little fang marks on the screen identical to the ones she let when i observed her doing this the first time. In fact alot of them!
Is she just checking to see if its going to give? Maybe for her own saftey:?
I also notice my B.bohemei crawling on its ceiling and the same type of dimples on the screen portion of the cage?? they are both about half grown 3-4nchs or so and pretty active.
any oone ever seen this before??
My golden knee will open her fangs up on my hand sometimes just to mess with me but she has never bitten or even shown signs of aggression, I think she just likes it when i cring in preparation for the bite

its a girl in my life so of course i excpect some head games from her just to show she belongs in the family.
 

Mushroom Spore

Arachnoemperor
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Oct 14, 2005
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its a girl in my life so of course i excpect some head games from her just to show she belongs in the family.
:embarrassed:

At any rate, you should keep a sharp eye on the mesh, check it every day for signs that the tarantula may actually be making progress eating its way through it. My L. parahybana ate a hole in its deli cup when it was smaller, and other people have had big Ts eat right through metal screens.

Your tarantulas, however, should NOT be "active." This is generally a sign that something is wrong with the enclosure, which might explain why they want out so badly. Can you describe their living environments?
 

jr47

Arachnobaron
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Aug 4, 2005
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My H. Gigas does that allot. She has been for a while. She is making some pretty good gaps but as yet nothing to worry over. I worry more about her damaging her fangs than escaping. I do cover her tank at night just in the event she finds a weak spot.
 

R.HENNING

Arachnosquire
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May 11, 2007
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I have also seen some break their fangs doing that on hard covers and screens.
 

spid142

Arachnobaron
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Apr 9, 2006
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Could be a sign of too-moist substrate, or other condition making the T want up off the floor, and try to get out. But, sometimes Ts act odd occasionally.
I had my para actually try 'scissoring' her fangs together scraping along her plastic jar sides, but after a week of that she hasnt done it since. So who knows?
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
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Jul 4, 2005
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Pretty sure it's trying to find away out. They use their fangs allot to dig, hold and move substrate around, just makes sense to me. I have one metal screen top that if you look at an angle, it's pretty messed up.
 
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