Tarantulas keep climbing walls

[JuvenileHobbyist]

Hey there!

So i currently own 10 Tarantulas and 2 slings, and my 2 Brachypelma Hamorii's keep climbing the walls and basically live attached to the wall at this point. Occasionally a few others do it momentarily but those two have been doing this for months.

I've changed the substrate at a higher level to decrease any possible injuries from falling, i've personally dug their burrows deeper in case it wasn't deep enough to hide in, i've left them alone for weeks only giving water and have also had them weeks in an other room with much less traffic but nothing has worked so far.

All i can think off is maybe not enough hiding spots, or some other pieces of cork bark i use as decoration might be in the way, but as of now i have no clue what's been causing this.

Thanks for the help.

^ Picture of one of the enclosures, other one is in a similar style but with a higher level of substrate. ^

 

[NMTs]

Substrate is too dry. You need to provide at least some moisture in the substrate - there's a misconception that Brachypelma species like bone dry sub, but that's just not the case. At least the bottom third of the sub should be moist, with about half the surface area being moistened about weekly by overflowing the water dish. Your sub looks so dry that it's shrunken (see the gap around the edge of the enclosure), so it probably won't absorb water anymore and will need to be replaced.

 

[JuvenileHobbyist]

Substrate is too dry. You need to provide at least some moisture in the substrate - there's a misconception that Brachypelma species like bone dry sub, but that's just not the case. At least the bottom third of the sub should be moist, with about half the surface area being moistened about weekly by overflowing the water dish. Your sub looks so dry that it's shrunken (see the gap around the edge of the enclosure), so it probably won't absorb water anymore and will need to be replaced.

I can definitly do this, i too have mostly been told and informed that Brachy's like it dry, and admit that i've never actively moistened the sub or payed attention to it, would you recommend me doing a layer of fresh sub to push it up an higher level, and for my other enclosure to wetten all the corners and then biweekly wetten the corners?

 

[NMTs]

The coco fiber in the enclosure pictured above is going to have a hard time absorbing moisture - after a while, it becomes so dry that the moisture retention properties disappear. You should replace this sub altogether, and use fresh coco fiber, top soil (with no fertilizers or pesticides), organic sphagnum peat, or a mixture of them to help it hold water. I would put in a layer about 1/3 the total depth and moisten it to where it can be squeezed and a drop or 2 of water comes out (moist- not wet), then put the other 2/3 of dryer sub on top and moisten about half the surface area to the same level. That will give your T the option of staying on the moist side or moving to the dryer side, and if it wants more moisture it can dig down to the lower level. Keep this routine and I'm guessing you'll see your T's spending more time on the substrate.

Note in this photo of my T. albo enclosure how the surface is dry except near the water dish, and the bottom third to half is moist (the darker portion) with more moisture near the surface by the dish. I'll let this dry out for about a week, then I'll overflow the dish again to keep the bottom moist. She has dug down under her hide and stays right at the top of the moist level.

 

[Smotzer]

Too dry, and the fact that sometimes they climb regardless. I’d include larger diameter dishes of tbey were my enclosures too!

 

[viper69]

Substrate is too dry. You need to provide at least some moisture in the substrate - there's a misconception that Brachypelma species like bone dry sub, but that's just not the case. At least the bottom third of the sub should be moist, with about half the surface area being moistened about weekly by overflowing the water dish. Your sub looks so dry that it's shrunken (see the gap around the edge of the enclosure), so it probably won't absorb water anymore and will need to be replaced.

What happens if you keep them dry?

 

[NMTs]

What happens if you keep them dry?

They hang on the walls all the time, and eventually shrivel up like a raisin...

 

[HeartBum]

They hang on the walls all the time, and eventually shrivel up like a raisin...

Not if they're provided with a water dish, which all T's should be. The only issue with SUPER dry sub, like this, is it may become fluffy (if it's coco fibre) or rock solid and impossible for the T to move around if they wish to bulldoze.

 

[viper69]

They hang on the walls all the time, and eventually shrivel up like a raisin...

Never had that happen with any Brachy I’ve owned, and still own. All are females and different species I raised from slings.

I always keep a dish that holds -20mL of water

 

[jc55]

Some climb for no apparent reasons but i have a G pulchripes that will climb on the side of the enclosure the day before we get rain like clock work.

 

[NMTs]

Never had that happen with any Brachy I’ve owned, and still own. All are females and different species I raised from slings.

I always keep a dish that holds -20mL of water

Well, the raisin part was a joke.

Aside from the 20ml of water in the dish, do you add any water to the substrate?

 

[viper69]

Well, the raisin part was a joke.

Aside from the 20ml of water in the dish, do you add any water to the substrate?

For Brachy- no

 

[NMTs]

For Brachy- no

Huh. Well, different strokes and all that...

 

[Shinn]

No need to replace the dry sub. Just pour some water at the edge and the water will seep through any gap due to shrinkage from drying and the cocopeat will absorb and wick moisture upwards, keeping most of the bottom part moist. You only have problems if the cocopeat has gotten too loose and fluffy. Nothing a slight moistening and tamping down won't fix.
That said, I believe Brachys are arid species so you probably don't need to stress about moist substrate as long as there is a water dish around for hydration. Try moistening a small corner first and see if there's any preference shown by the T to start of with if you must. If the T doesn't gravitate towards the moist spot you probably don't need to bother with moisture

 

[viper69]

Huh. Well, different strokes and all that...

theres a lot of things people say about husbandry here as if it’s fact.Most of the time it isn’t a fact, just what works.

 

[Liquifin]

Climbing behavior doesn't always mean that it's not a proper enclosure or that something is wrong. Sometimes, specimens just like to climb or hang around on the side of the enclosure. Your enclosure looks fine to me.

They hang on the walls all the time, and eventually shrivel up like a raisin...

Really? B. hamorii and most Brachypelma's are quite tolerant of dry substrate. While some species or specimens may prefer a bit of moisture. They are very dry tolerant which shouldn't be an issue. A water dish is more than plenty for most species and specimens of Brachypelma's.

 

[NMTs]

Really? B. hamorii and most Brachypelma's are quite tolerant of dry substrate. While some species or specimens may prefer a bit of moisture. They are very dry tolerant which shouldn't be an issue. A water dish is more than plenty for most species and specimens of Brachypelma's.

Everyone should note the big smiley face at the end of the post I made. I'm not a social media guru, but what I've come to understand is that big smiley faces usually mean someone is being humorous - which is what my intention was.

The OP posted with a concern about their T's hanging on the wall and attached a pic of an enclosure with bone dry, crispy looking sub. If the climbing was occasional it would be one thing, but the impression I got from the post is that it's constant. Terrestrial T's constantly hanging on vertical surfaces is not normal (otherwise they wouldn't be terrestrial), so the assumption would be there is a reason it's happening. The obvious thing to point out is how dry and uninviting the substrate looks, so there were some suggestions by several people to correct that by offering some moisture in the substrate to see if the T's change their behavior.

Just making some observations and using critical thinking to offer help to someone that was asking for it. Obviously, people are gonna do what they want to do... (Insert appropriate emoji face here)

 

[viper69]

Everyone should note the big smiley face at the end of the post I made. I'm not a social media guru, but what I've come to understand is that big smiley faces usually mean someone is being humorous - which is what my intention was.

The OP posted with a concern about their T's hanging on the wall and attached a pic of an enclosure with bone dry, crispy looking sub. If the climbing was occasional it would be one thing, but the impression I got from the post is that it's constant. Terrestrial T's constantly hanging on vertical surfaces is not normal (otherwise they wouldn't be terrestrial), so the assumption would be there is a reason it's happening. The obvious thing to point out is how dry and uninviting the substrate looks, so there were some suggestions by several people to correct that by offering some moisture in the substrate to see if the T's change their behavior.

Just making some observations and using critical thinking to offer help to someone that was asking for it. Obviously, people are gonna do what they want to do... (Insert appropriate emoji face here)

I thought your emoticon was for the raisin part only actually. I’ve read your posts and they are always well thought. This one threw me off even with the emoji

 

[Benzen]

Huh. Well, different strokes and all that...

You could ask 10 different T owners and get 10 different answers on 10 different issues...it's so frustrating sometimes...

As for OP: in my case my Brachy (Smithi) climbed the walls because the substrate was way too damp. When i changed it to something dry, the climbing stopped and it adopted the little hideout and started digging. Now i keep the substrate mostly dry, but do overflow the waterdish from time to time.

theres a lot of things people say about husbandry here as if it’s fact.Most of the time it isn’t a fact, just what works.

Something akin to: "heat lamps kill Ts. Case closed."

?!

 

[quirinus]

My hamorii climbs up the walls when I turn on the radiator in my room and goes back on the sub when I turn it off.
When I moisten a corner she always moves there and stays there for a very long time, but she doesn't stay near the water dish for long.
I never saw her drink from the water dish (I have her for 3 years) but multiple times I saw her drinking from the moistened substrate.