Trantula not moving after being shipped

MadFrog

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 21, 2020
Messages
12
Hi guys I just got my first T Brachypelma smithi and after I unpacked it she started kicking hairs so I thought she is ok. But now she doesnt really seem moving and doing anything. Any thoughts.
IMG_20200521_100210.jpg
 

Vanisher

Arachnoking
Old Timer
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Oct 2, 2004
Messages
2,533
They shouldnt move. Tarantulas are pretty unactive in general
 

MadFrog

Arachnopeon
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May 21, 2020
Messages
12
Ok thanks. Since Im new to this I wasn't sure if it isn't death crawl or something.
 

moricollins

Arachno search engine
Old Timer
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Nov 15, 2003
Messages
3,687
It's just settling in. Give it time. Looks like your enclosure has a lot more height above the substrate than most of us would recommend. Can you post pictures of the entire setup?
Gorgeous tarantula :)
 

quirinus

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 17, 2019
Messages
180
hello! it looks like you have a huge rock in there (or is it cork bark as well?). if the t burrows underneath the rock, it could be a death trap.
 

Goopyguy56

Arachnoangel
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
Messages
830
Yeah whenever I rehouse a t they sit around in the same spot for a while. If it flicked hairs at you I wouldn't worry about it. When you check on it tommorow it might move around overnight
 

EpicEpic

Arachnoangel
Joined
Apr 13, 2020
Messages
872
Posture looks perfectly fine. Not even a stress curl.

Brachys are called pet rocks for a reason!

Enjoy your new buddy!

[But do send the ppl asking enclosure pics. Will probably need to make a few changes but worth the peace of mind!]
 

MadFrog

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 21, 2020
Messages
12
Well that sucks, but i have already spent all my money on that enclosure so iam not going to change it. But that really piss me off. I thought they die from 1m fall not 40cm :/
 

testdasi

Arachnoprince
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May 26, 2008
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Well that sucks, but i have already spent all my money on that enclosure so iam not going to change it. But that really piss me off. I thought they die from 1m fall not 40cm :/
The warnings on here tend to be very doom and gloom. And it can be, but in your case, it's solvable.

If replacing the tank is not an option, try adding (a lot) more substrate. (Coco fibre bricks are rather cost-effective, surely way cheaper than a new tank).
If that tank is what I think it is (look like the popular design among Eastern Europeans), you want to create a slope. The front substrate should be on the same level as the horizontal black plastic bar that holds the door. On the back, the distance from the substrate to the top of the enclsure should be at most 2x the diagonal leg span of the T (the seller should know the size (especially if you got it from spidersworld.eu), failing that, the T looks to be about 10-12cm or so?).
On the ground below the higher areas, you can also add some soft bedding (e.g. sphagnum moss) or creatively place decors such that it reduces the height.
(of course do the above with the T outside of the enclosure).

Now if you really want to be creative, the world is your oyster. I have built a 2-level design on a cube tank just to make it less dangerous for a terrestrial T while providing way more "floor space" than the standard tank would offer. Obviously, that requires a lot more work (and euros).

Watch out for anything that is heavy (e.g. rocks). It should be in direct contact with the floor of the tank. That way the T won't burrow under it and potentially get crushed.
Your T looks to be an adult so it probably won't burrow so you probably are ok, just watch out. If it starts to burrow near the rock for whatever reason, you should remove the rock.

And with Brachypelmas, make sure your substrate is dry before adding the T back, especially if you use coco fibre compressed bricks. At the minimum, the top of the substrate has to be dry.
 

MadFrog

Arachnopeon
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May 21, 2020
Messages
12
Ok I will try that for sure. Btw rock is with direct contact with bottom of enclosure so that isn't problem.
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
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Jan 17, 2020
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5,275
If you are unwilling to change enclosures one fix would be to cut a piece of acrylic or plexiglass to match the inside width dimensions but cut it taller than the current opening height that way you can fill substrate higher to a more acceptable level. This is a very cheap situation to your problem.

like this, I did this for a to-be arboreal enclosure that I wanted at least an inch of substrate to stay in. Very easy solution to add more substrate to an enclosure.
61D2844A-F388-443A-B010-C2DF69B00AC2.jpeg
 
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Thekla

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Messages
1,878
If you want to play it safe for your T you get a cheap plastic container in an appropriate size, fill it up with substrate to a safe level (not more than 1,5xDLS of your T between the substrate and the top in vertical height) and sell that death trap of an enclosure. ;)
 

CJJon

Arachnokrólewicz
Joined
Oct 28, 2018
Messages
601
Ok I will try that for sure. Btw rock is with direct contact with bottom of enclosure so that isn't problem.
Yeah, but imagine a fall onto the hard rock. Since the inside enclosure height is all wrong take it out.

Although from your responses here so far, I think you are one of those who won't listen to sound advice.
 

Thekla

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Oct 13, 2017
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And may I ask why do you have two accounts? You do know that's against the rules, right? ;)
 
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