Tarantula's sensitivity to weather as a group?

[Moltar]

Has anybody else noticed radical behavioral changes in there T's that coincide with changes in atmospheric conditions?

Example: Where i live (eastern shore, maryland) it's usually very hot and humid this time of year. for the past two days it's been unseasonably cool (lower 80's) and less humid. After work i stop by my house to grab a little LED flashlight to use to closely inspect this H lividum i'm considering buying (different story, different post). When i enter my spider room most of my T's are climbing the glass or acting otherwise kooky. Of the 11 T's i have 5 wre actively climbing the glass and NOT ONE was in their burrow. This is pretty unusual for my bunch at 5:00pm. The difference was i had windows open and AC off. If anything it was cooler than normal - maybe 70deg and about equally humid as normal - 47%.

So when i get to the pet store they have the front door open to enjoy the nice day. I walk back to their climate controlled reptile/arachnid room and it's the same thing there! Every single spider is climbing the walls! What's up with that?

Anybody in the Mid-Atlantic region experiencing this behavior coinciding with this weather system we're having now? Anybody else?

This wasn't the only instance i've seen of this by any means; just the most recent.

 

[bluetubegroove]

I don't know anything about it, but that's gnarly. It's amazing how oddly uniformed these creatures are as a group in whole in turn with the weather. Makes me want more T's just to compare their behavior patterns as a group.

 

[Moltar]

Ya bluetube, that's probably my favorite part of t watching; comparing behavior of 1 sp to the other and trying to figure out why in the world they do the weird stuff they do.

 

[spid142]

behavior

Sounds like a reason to have lots of Ts, so can compare ones behavior with the others. Hmm, I have also noticed groups of my Ts on the enclosure sides at times. Figured it was only resting behavior, but I wonder if weather might play a role too.

 

[Desert Rose]

My chilean rose clims when it rains, wich is weird because it donsn't rain alot where they live, so how should it know what to do?

 

[neanyoe]

i forget who it was, but there are post all over from people having this theory of when humidity rises (or is it drops?), they have more molts during that time. ..it's fascinating. look it up, i gota go back to work. haha

 

[ctsoth]

i forget who it was, but there are post all over from people having this theory of when humidity rises (or is it drops?), they have more molts during that time. ..it's fascinating. look it up, i gota go back to work. haha

I believe the theory that was presented states that molts are induced by drops in barometric pressure.

Perhaps the tarantulas are ready for a molt for some amount of time, and wait for that final stimulus to innitiate the molt. I can confirm this with my collection, as can many others. [Molt timing with pressure change.]

 

[Moltar]

I believe the theory that was presented states that molts are induced by drops in barometric pressure.

Perhaps the tarantulas are ready for a molt for some amount of time, and wait for that final stimulus to innitiate the molt. I can confirm this with my collection, as can many others. [Molt timing with pressure change.]

Seems logical except for 1 thing: Wouldn't this cause spiders in rain prone areas to molt right when inclement weather is approaching? Perhaps jungle burrowers don't exhibit this particular behavior? I don't currently own any 'swamp diggers' so i can't say.

It definitely makes sense though that it may be barometric pressure rather than humidity or temp causing this behavior. That's the only thing that would account for the t's at the pet store doing it at the same time as mine. They control the heat and humidity in their reptile room there but it's not airtight so the pressure would still change with the weather.

I guess i'll need a big dollar weather station in my t room now... Isn't it ironic how all the accessories for exotic pets end up costing so much more than the pets themselves? :?

 

[ctsoth]

It takes a long time for the new exoskeleton to form under a tarantulas old exoskeleton. I am assuming that the drop in pressure acts as a final stimulus for the molt after the new exoskeleton is fully formed. This may or may not be the case, but I find it to be an interesting theory which I have seen some proof of.

 

[Drachenjager]

my male A. anax is climbing the walls lol but then again he is a hooked out and gloved male lol
but the interesting thing is that both females are doign the same thing too well actually just sorta stuck on the wall and its been raining a lot here for several months.

 

[AubZ]

I would like to go a lil further in the wheather topic. I keep all my T's at room temp. No heaters or pads. My temp hasn't dropped below about 17 celcius at night & in the day between 21-25. It is winter here at the moment. Now all my T's have been doing fine, excepting for my N Chromatus 0.5in< sling (who has not molted in the last 3 months & only ate a very very lil bit) & my 1in C Crawshayi sling who has maybe eaten once. The rest of them have been eating. Can this be due to the fact that they know it's winter with the colder temps??