Tanzanian Dwarf Chestnut Baboon

[amberd]

Hello all,
I have not seen my Tanzanian dwarf baboon spiderling for quite a while now and there is mold or webbing inside it’s burrow. He used to sit at the mouth of his burrow at the opening inside. It’s a small spidering that I regretted housing him in a larger container. I don’t know what the heck he is doing in there. This nosy keeper wants to know! I am worried. I won’t dig him up or anything. Still making sure he has water. I feel a sinking feeling that he may have died. Anyone else have a Tanzanian dwarf baboon spiderling seal off their hide with webbing to molt?
Thanks in advance,
Amber

 

[curtisgiganteus]

Hello all,
I have not seen my Tanzanian dwarf baboon spiderling for quite a while now and there is mold or webbing inside it’s burrow. He used to sit at the mouth of his burrow at the opening inside. It’s a small spidering that I regretted housing him in a larger container. I don’t know what the heck he is doing in there. This nosy keeper wants to know! I am worried. I won’t dig him up or anything. Still making sure he has water. I feel a sinking feeling that he may have died. Anyone else have a Tanzanian dwarf baboon spiderling seal off their hide with webbing to molt?
Thanks in advance,
Amber

How long has it been since you saw the spider last?

 

[jbooth]

If it sealed off it's hide, it's probably molting.

 

[amberd]

How long has it been since you saw the spider last?

It’s been maybe a month to a month and a half. I usually don’t worry too much but it’s either webbing or white fuzzy mold in its burrow. It is a tiny spiderling maybe a half inch. Don’t they molt pretty quick and then come back out? I sure hope it’s alive. Do you have one them?

 

[amberd]

If it sealed off it's hide, it's probably molting.

Will they seal off their burrow with a massive amount of webbing? I sure hope it’s just down for a molt. Such a cool spider! Fossorials are my favorite!

 

[coolnweird]

Don't dig until the enclosure smells bad! Better safe than sorry, digging up a molting spider can kill them.
Mold generally isn't harmful, but it can be a sign that the enclosure is too moist/doesn't have enough ventilation. It's alright if the top layers dry out, don't soak the substrate completely. Feel free to attach a pic of the enclosure, folks here can make sure that's not part of the issue.
A month in spider time is barely the blink of an eye, especially for fossorials! There is some anecdotal evidence that some fossorials fail to come back up after molting, if you can get eyes on the spider and confirm a molt, you may choose to gently open the burrow and place a prekilled prey item at the mouth of the burrow. Never ever shove food down into the burrow. Hopefully your little guy is molting and will resurface soon!

 

[jbooth]

Will they seal off their burrow with a massive amount of webbing? I sure hope it’s just down for a molt. Such a cool spider! Fossorials are my favorite!

I've never had this species. Any baboons I have will seal up good to molt, yes. If it's mold in the burrow, then the spider is already dead, no rush to do anything... If not, it is doing just what it needs to do and will surprise you one day soon, no telling when. If it was super well fed/plump it could be down there for months. If you do dig it up, you may interrupt a molt or injure it and cause it's demise. I'd give it awhile... I just had a 1" spider buried for 2.5 months and it barely had shrunk at all. Keep the water filled up, and good luck!