Tarantula Closed Hide

[Mitchel]

So, my G. pulchra just closed herself in her hide and I have no idea why. Does anyone know why she's doing this? I'm aware that I need to leave her alone when she does this, but she's never done this before and I'm a little confused.

 

[CommanderBacon]

She's probably going to molt Just leave her alone and make sure she has water. She'll come out when she's done

 

[Mitchel]

She's probably going to molt Just leave her alone and make sure she has water. She'll come out when she's done

She just molted, though. She molted a few weeks ago, and due to her size, I don't think she'll be molting again anytime soon. Also not to mention that the time between molts has been extremely long. It was nearly a year since the last time she molted.

 

[cold blood]

Normal tarantula behavior and absolutely nothing to be concerned about....ever.

Sometimes we can determine a possible reason like premolt, other times they just do it and we won't ever know why.

It's like asking why did you close the door when you walked into a room today and why didn't you the last 3 days? You closed the door today because you did, nothing more.....or you may have closed it for a reason....even me as a fellow human cant always answer your whys.

 

[Sarkhan42]

It’s good that you know this as a do not disturb sign!

Most commonly this indicates the tarantula is preparing for a molt, but that’s also not always the case. Sometimes tarantulas will seal themselves away after heavy meals to fast for some time, and will emerge later when the desire to feed kicks in again. Sometimes they seem to do this during what could be considered “random” fasts as well. Regardless, I would very rarely worry about your spider when they do this.

That being said, I have had all 3 of my Cotztetlana sp Puebla seal themselves off when they are in fact perfectly ready to feed and quite hungry at that. I suspect this is an accidental product of them not having enough space to pile their substrate as prolific borrowers, clogging up their entrances in expanding the depths of their burrows. If this is a potential concern especially in a freshly molted spider, it may be a good idea to double check, but this is the only rare case in which I have disturbed a spider that has sealed itself away.

 

[Mitchel]

I suspect this is an accidental product of them not having enough space to pile their substrate as prolific borrowers, clogging up their entrances in expanding the depths of their burrows. If this is a potential concern especially in a freshly molted spider, it may be a good idea to double check.

That's a good point. The entrance to her hide is pretty small, and I've had suspicions that she's been burrowing for a while now. If this is the case (and this may sound dumb) she won't need any assistance pushing away the substrate clogging up the entrance, right? I would assume she could just push it out of the way, but I wanna make sure.

 

[cold blood]

No, it wont need help getting out....it knows what its doing even if we dont.

 

[Mitchel]

No, it wont need help getting out....it knows what its doing even if we dont.

Okay that's good. Just making sure. Thank y'all

 

[CommanderBacon]

fwiw I have a few sp that rarely have an open burrow. I leave pre-killed prey items out unless I can specifically tell they're in premolt and they usually come get them and close their burrows back up, so maybe your pulchra is just anti-social XD

 

[Mitchel]

maybe your pulchra is just anti-social XD

That may be the case, lol. She does enjoy time to herself quite often. I don't blame her, honestly. If I could burrow into the ground for several days and not have to pay rent, I'd totally do it.

 

[krbshappy71]

My P. muticus just did this and took her water dish with her. I think she was trying to bait me, she left just the top edge of it exposed. Not falling for it! I gave her a new water dish, she can have 10 in there for all I care, build herself a little subway system with them.

 

[viper69]

@Mitchel

It's great you care so much about your cherished pet, as you should, it's life depends on YOUR level of interest. However, I would also suggest you read up more about Ts on the forum than you already have.

Also, I strongly urge you to remember these are wild animals, and they live quite well for millions of years without human help.

 

[DARTH ARACHNUS]

I have gone weeks without seeing some of mine I know a few people who have gone longer for a variety of reasons.
Some hide away in reaction to conditions like temperature and humidity if it's not in their comfort zones they lockdown until conditions are favourable.

 

[DixonCyder]

So, my G. pulchra just closed herself in her hide and I have no idea why. Does anyone know why she's doing this? I'm aware that I need to leave her alone when she does this, but she's never done this before and I'm a little confused.

Whatever she's got going on... She put up the "do not disturb" sign. She will either open it or dig a new exit, when she's ready. Don't add prey items.
I typically start misting the substrate around the burrow to make sure she has moisture, so she has access to water. Not a whole bunch, just a little. I keep pill bugs with my T to help clean. I use them if an indicator of having enough moisture in the dirt. They will go to the water dish, if the substrate is too dry.