T Likes Sunlight?

[Spyders]

I gave my B. hamorii a new enclosure 3 days ago, but she ignores her hide cover and instead hangs out in the one corner of her enclosure that gets a patch of sunlight (and now she's digging there too). The only reason she has sunlight at all is because I noticed in her last enclosure set up that she hung out in the sunny corner one time when I had the shades pulled open on the nearby window, so I kept a corner open as an experiment to see if she continued to hang out there. And she has, pretty consistently. Most of what I've read says they like the dark. Although I did read one place (can't remember now) that said a few B. hamoriis do like to sit in the sun. What do you all think? Could she really like the sun?

Also is it common/okay for Ts to not use their hide cover? Like.. should I get her another one?

 

[Ungoliant]

What do you all think? Could she really like the sun?

Also is it common/okay for Ts to not use their hide cover? Like.. should I get her another one?

She might be responding to the warmth more than the light. That being said, ditch the sunlight and keep the hide. (Sunlight can quickly overheat an enclosure due to the greenhouse effect.)

She may or may not use her hide, but it should always be there as an option.

 

[KezyGLA]

Its the heat that they are atteacted to, not the light.

If an enclosure is left in direct sunlight it can soon become an oven and cook your T

Best to keep it out of the sun.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Tarantulas are attracted to heat as it speeds up their metabolism.

That being said, keeping an enclosure in direct sunlight is a bad idea as it can quickly turn your enclosure into an oven and roast your Tarantula.

 

[darkness975]

As everyone else said, keep the hide and remove sunlight from the equation.
They may or may not use a hide but always provide one.

My girl is out 98% of the time, but the other 2% she is in the hide.

 

[Spyders]

Cool. Thanks for all the responses!

 

[Leila]

I have a MM (mature male) G. porteri that used to do the same thing!!

He would sit in the one corner of his enclosure that got a tiny bit of sun. The amount of sunlight was minimal, just a speck that peered through the blinds in the late afternoon. Well, my guy would also clear that corner in his enclosure of as much substrate as possible, spending countless moments shoveling it away.

I feel like he thought the sunny corner was his ticket out of his box and into the wide world of beautiful ladies with whom he could mate. Lol. (His enclosure is in a different room now, so I no longer see this behavior.)

Are you sure your T is a female? Don't misunderstand me- I am not saying that the behavior of my and your T is solely that of a MM. I am just curious.

 

[JoshDM020]

I feel like he thought the sun drenched corner was his ticket out of his box

That's an interesting idea! Similar to.... well, anything with marginally functional eyes (i know their eyes arent the best, but obviously they can at least tell when its bright). A human in a cave, for instance, "Light means escape". Very interesting. There should really be more study on the behavior of tarantulas.

 

[Spyders]

I feel like he thought the sun drenched corner was his ticket out of his box and into the wide world of beautiful ladies with whom he could mate.

Its funny that you say that because I thought maybe the light translated to getting "out" to her too!!
As for her sex, my friend who introduced me to tarantulas sexed her along with the store I bought her from, so I'm hoping that they're right (especially since I paid the price that goes along with a lady! lol) If I can get a focused pic, I'll be posting it on the sexing forum too just to triple check though