Temperature / behaviour

mirimoo

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 12, 2022
Messages
3
Hi there,
I have a chaco golden knee who, when the temperature in my room gets a bit higher than room temperature, goes up against the enclosure wall nearest the heat source (electric space heater) on her tippy toes and sticks her abdomen in the air. I’m not sure if she does this because she dislikes the rise in temperature or if she actually does like it and it’s a method of warming herself up? It’s definitely temperature related because she only does it on the few occasions the room has become noticeably warmer than room temp.
Any ideas are much appreciated! 70E479A3-3D28-43E7-BCBA-C9CB8F5DE4AC.jpeg
 

greeneyedelle

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Messages
199
What I’ve heard/read/noticed from a lot of people and on other sites, is that this is kind of a common grammostola thing? (as far as tarantulas go, I mean, I believe other spiders outside of theraphosidae raise their abdomens as a defensive posture more commonly). My g. pulchra has only done this exact pose during rehouses, sooooooo basically when she’s ticked off, and others who have t’s that have done the same thing were in similar situations of disrupting the environment. Not a “happy” stance is what the general consensus seems to be, but maybe someone else has had a different experience.
I think if she were actively seeking out the heat, she’s be climbing the wall and seeking heat from her cephalothorax, but that’s just my amateur assumption, so take it with a grain of salt.
 
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mirimoo

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 12, 2022
Messages
3
What I’ve heard/read/noticed from a lot of people and on other sites, is that this is kind of a common grammostola thing? (as far as tarantulas go, I mean, I believe other spiders outside of theraphosidae raise their abdomens as a defensive posture more commonly). My g. pulchra has only done this exact pose during rehouses, sooooooo basically when she’s ticked off, and others who have t’s that have done the same thing were in similar situations of disrupting the environment. Not a “happy” stance is what the general consensus seems to be, but maybe someone else has had a different experience.
I think if she were actively seeking out the heat, she’s be climbing the wall and seeking heat from her cephalothorax, but that’s just my amateur assumption, so take it with a grain of salt.
Yes it’s a bit confusing isn’t it because I also assumed it was a threat pose and that she didn’t like the raise in temperature. I also thought if she really liked the heat she’d maybe actually lay on the wall. But I know Ts can be attracted to heat so wasn’t sure. I’m not too concerned with it it just interested me to know what she was thinking! Probably “get outta my swamp!”
 

spideyspinneret78

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jul 19, 2019
Messages
1,253
I remember reading that this is a behavior called "stilting" and is used for temperature regulation. Unfortunately I can't remember anything else about it. Time to do some reading. I agree though that she likes the heat.
 

Introvertebrate

Arachnoprince
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Dec 18, 2010
Messages
1,199
"In biology, it is stated that more surface area and less volume helps keep bodies cool. The higher the surface area the higher the amount of heat transfer. More surface area and exposure to the air offers more places for heat to leech out."

I think it's trying to cool down.
 

AmbushArachnids

Arachnoculturist
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
629
"In biology, it is stated that more surface area and less volume helps keep bodies cool. The higher the surface area the higher the amount of heat transfer. More surface area and exposure to the air offers more places for heat to leech out."

I think it's trying to cool down.
I think your statement is referring more to warm blooded animals. They spread out to expel internal heat into the air. This is just called “heat exchange” it can go both ways. Heat is just a measure of a volume of temperature. A fridge has more “heat” than a lit match.

I’n nature I’d think doing this would be impractical to cool down for the risks below..

If it was hot don’t you think it’s instinct would be to decrease water loss by finding a moist burrow? Rather than fanning it’s self out to the elements that caused it to overheat in the first place?
How hot could it be to feel the need to cool down in this situation? Surely it’s not 100 degrees in the cage or room.

Another theory is that in a very dry desert it is trying to keep its book lungs away from the hot substrate. Possible but not this case. It’s not a desert, it’s a cage in a heated room. There’s no sun creating direct infrared to the substrate to cause that extreme. I believe it’s the former theory.. it likes the heat and is attempting to fan out and absorb it. Just in a reverse temperature heat exchange to what you’ve stated. Still making that biology statement true. Just Inverted.
 
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