What's this strange behavior?

[Appreciate Creation]

I don't remember exaclty when this became more common for my Aphonopelma chalcodes but I think it's been going on for weeks now. She spends most of her time in this corner of the tank standing up tall (on her "tip-toes") with her abdomen pointed up. Is something wrong? I read online hanging out in the corner may mean it's time to clean the tank. That may be so, but why the "tip-toes" and abdomen pointing?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Mine never does that, you have a strange t !!! It’s getting tall.

 

[A guy]

I read online hanging out in the corner may mean it's time to clean the tank.

Wherever you saw that, never read anything from there again.

 

[Appreciate Creation]

Wherever you saw that, never read anything from there again.

So she's not trying to avoid the dirtier areas of her tank? It's been a very long time since i changed her substrate

 

[A guy]

So she's not trying to avoid the dirtier areas of her tank? It's been a very long time since i changed her substrate

It wouldn't even know what "dirty" is.

 

[Appreciate Creation]

It wouldn't even know what "dirty" is.

Okay, cool. Thank you! Just wanted to be sure.

 

[jennywallace]

You shouldn't really ever need to change substrate if you spot clean boluses and poop bits. I've been keeping 11 years now and my older girls that I've had since the beginning are still on the same substrate. Not sure what the tip toe thing is, but I've had the odd one do that over the years too.

 

[viper69]

It wouldn't even know what "dirty" is.

That’s not entirely true. Many species will roll up the webbing they laid down for fresh, new webbing that is not full of debris. I’ve seen it.

 

[Brewser]

Let Her ' Settle In ' aka Adapt to Her Cage
Undisturbed in a Quiet Spot
Is there a Waterbowl available? more pics.
All the Best to Both of You,

 

[Mustafa67]

I don't remember exaclty when this became more common for my Aphonopelma chalcodes but I think it's been going on for weeks now. She spends most of her time in this corner of the tank standing up tall (on her "tip-toes") with her abdomen pointed up. Is something wrong? I read online hanging out in the corner may mean it's time to clean the tank. That may be so, but why the "tip-toes" and abdomen pointing?

Add more sub

 

[CentiPete]

My B. hamorii is cleaning up the tank on the regular. She has two dumping grounds for boluses, one inside the hide and one directly behind the hide and cleans up any traces of leftover prey from her killing fields. Also, webbing up boluses and camouflaging with dirt webbed around them.

I see it do a similar pose from time to time but never for long, and minus the abdomen pointed so high. Sub is dry as a bone expect under the water dish.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I don't remember exaclty when this became more common for my Aphonopelma chalcodes but I think it's been going on for weeks now. She spends most of her time in this corner of the tank standing up tall (on her "tip-toes") with her abdomen pointed up. Is something wrong? I read online hanging out in the corner may mean it's time to clean the tank. That may be so, but why the "tip-toes" and abdomen pointing?

Take a photo of the whole enclosure please.

None of my Aphonopelma ever done this.

What room is the enclosure in like high foot traffic?

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

What are you using for substrate? Second the water dish question.

 

[Appreciate Creation]

You shouldn't really ever need to change substrate if you spot clean boluses and poop bits. I've been keeping 11 years now and my older girls that I've had since the beginning are still on the same substrate. Not sure what the tip toe thing is, but I've had the odd one do that over the years too.

Thanks for that feedback. Tbh i have not been keeping up with spot cleaning but this is a good reminder.

That’s not entirely true. Many species will roll up the webbing they laid down for fresh, new webbing that is not full of debris. I’ve seen it.

I think I've seen that behavior in this species. I though it was a method of digging. Using it to clean their home makes sense too.

Let Her ' Settle In ' aka Adapt to Her Cage
Undisturbed in a Quiet Spot
Is there a Waterbowl available? more pics.
All the Best to Both of You,

I appreciate the feedback. She's actually been in that tank for 6 years. There is a water bowl. I dont keep it full all the time becuase she is a desert species.

My B. hamorii is cleaning up the tank on the regular. She has two dumping grounds for boluses, one inside the hide and one directly behind the hide and cleans up any traces of leftover prey from her killing fields. Also, webbing up boluses and camouflaging with dirt webbed around them.

I see it do a similar pose from time to time but never for long, and minus the abdomen pointed so high. Sub is dry as a bone expect under the water dish.

View attachment 494774

Thanks for the feedback!

Take a photo of the whole enclosure please.

None of my Aphonopelma ever done this.

What room is the enclosure in like high foot traffic?

 

[viper69]

I think I've seen that behavior in this species. I though it was a method of digging. Using it to clean their home makes sense too.

In my cases it was definitely not a method of burrow formation based on the actions done

 

[Appreciate Creation]

Yes, high foot traffic. It's my bedroom. Abdomen up is generally a defensive posture so, i have been wondering if she is overstimulated. However she's been here for 6 years. Right now she's under her middle peice of cork bark. It's 10:15 am on a Saturday. Perhaps she only does the strange behavior in the evenings. However that would correlate to when i am more active in my room. But why not hide from me if that is scaring her? She's a very mild mannered tarantula. Very calm about being held and IF she's ever lunged at me it was one time (but i may be thinking of a different member of her species that I kept).

I appreciate the feedback. She's actually been in that tank for 6 years. There is a water bowl. I dont keep it full all the time becuase she is a desert species.

10:15am. She's under the middle peice of cork bark. I usually see her in the corner in the afternoon/evening when I'm home and more active in the room.

What are you using for substrate? Second the water dish question.

Soil from her native evironment. Though i think it's too sandy and shallow for burrowing. I've read they dont need to burrow when kept in an enclosure.

Take a photo of the whole enclosure please.

None of my Aphonopelma ever done this.

What room is the enclosure in like high foot traffic?

Yes, high foot traffic. It's my bedroom. Abdomen up is generally a defensive posture so, i have been wondering if she is overstimulated. However she's been here for 6 years. Right now she's under her middle peice of cork bark. It's 10:15 am on a Saturday. Perhaps she only does the strange behavior in the evenings. However that would correlate to when i am more active in my room. But why not hide from me if that is scaring her? She's a very mild mannered tarantula. Very calm about being held and IF she's ever lunged at me it was one time (but i may be thinking of a different member of her species that I kept).

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Yes, high foot traffic. It's my bedroom. Abdomen up is generally a defensive posture so, i have been wondering if she is overstimulated. However she's been here for 6 years. Right now she's under her middle peice of cork bark. It's 10:15 am on a Saturday. Perhaps she only does the strange behavior in the evenings. However that would correlate to when i am more active in my room. But why not hide from me if that is scaring her? She's a very mild mannered tarantula. Very calm about being held and IF she's ever lunged at me it was one time (but i may be thinking of a different member of her species that I kept).

I've had an A. chalcodes, male to be exact. I kept a waterdish full at all times. I also had the enclosure more than half full of substrate.

The sub in your chalcodes enclosure is the next step after bone-dry. I would fill that tank up with a lot more sub. Moisten one side of the enclosure's substrate. Make sure to moisten the lower layers not just the top.

That enclosure should be alright even though it looks way too big for that size of terrestrial tarantula.

Tarantulas can sense vibrations not only in the immediate vicinity but also from other rooms in the home. Yours could just be overwhelmed by all the going-ons or it's nothing. Can speculate to the end of time but what matters is the husbandry of the enclosure and care of your tarantula.

Your chalcodes will not die from foot traffic about the room.

 

[Appreciate Creation]

I've had an A. chalcodes, male to be exact. I kept a waterdish full at all times. I also had the enclosure more than half full of substrate.

The sub in your chalcodes enclosure is the next step after bone-dry. I would fill that tank up with a lot more sub. Moisten one side of the enclosure's substrate. Make sure to moisten the lower layers not just the top.

That enclosure should be alright even though it looks way too big for that size of terrestrial tarantula.

Tarantulas can sense vibrations not only in the immediate vicinity but also from other rooms in the home. Yours could just be overwhelmed by all the going-ons or it's nothing. Can speculate to the end of time but what matters is the husbandry of the enclosure and care of your tarantula.

Your chalcodes will not die from foot traffic about the room.

Thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it! (I didn't realize her spidey sense were so keen that she could sense vibrations from other rooms. Very cool!) May I ask what the reasoning is for for adding substrate and for wetting half of it? I'm guessing that adding sub is cuz she is a terrestrial species and we're concerned about fall damage. Or am i mistaken? However, I'm concerned about the wetting idea. Since i live in her native habitat (she was rescued from my pool), a T vendor recommended I only wet the top layer of half of the sub when it rains here (we typically only get rain during the two "wet" seasons here in the Sonoran Desert, and even then it doesn't come everyday). Also it seems the soil here is prone to molding when left moise in an enclosure for too long.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it! (I didn't realize her spidey sense were so keen that she could sense vibrations from other rooms. Very cool!) May I ask what the reasoning is for for adding substrate and for wetting half of it? I'm guessing that adding sub is cuz she is a terrestrial species and we're concerned about fall damage. Or am i mistaken? However, I'm concerned about the wetting idea. Since i live in her native habitat (she was rescued from my pool), a T vendor recommended I only wet the top layer of half of the sub when it rains here (we typically only get rain during the two "wet" seasons here in the Sonoran Desert, and even then it doesn't come everyday). Also it seems the soil here is prone to molding when left moise in an enclosure for too long.

Ok so you have a wild caught chalcodes. It's behavior might differ from one that was kept in captivity.

Wild caught tarantulas might be more defensive but not always.

Two reasons for more substrate. One you already mentioned, in case of a fall. The other one is deeper substrate holds more moisture at deeper levels. The less amount of sub means moisture will evaporate faster.

I've been to the Phoenix area many times since 1996 in all weather seasons. Even though it's a desert environment tarantulas burrow to seek moisture. If they didn't they would not survive long living a life predominantly on the surface. Not just from lack of moisture but also from predators.

The fact you found it by your pool should indicate it was searching for water, possibly.

Aphonopelma chalcodes is a very hardy tarantula and is very forgiving of husbandry mistakes. You do not want to drench it's enclosure so it's like a swamp.

What I do with mine is make a tunnel in the substrate in the corners going straight down with tongs. I use a bottle with a nozzle as it shoots a stream of water which is better for targeting. I shoot water in the corners until the lower layers of sub has a good amount of moisture. The top layer will always dry out faster. The object here is not to overdo it and if the tarantula is seeking out more moisture it will burrow down to it.

 

[Ratmosphere]

The Arizona blonde's that I've dealt with do the exact same thing.