Why is my T climbing?

Lost_Tarantula

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From what I understand, my tarantula is terrestrial. Yet he seems to like to climb to the top of the cage, often to fall...
I would have sworn he was mature male....yet he is showing some signs of an impending molt. Anyway, here is pic of him. If you know what it is, let me know. Looks like a Texas Tan or Texas brown to me. I live in Plano TX (right next to Dallas) if that helps.

By the way, his name is Terry.
 

galeogirl

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If he frequently climbs and falls, you should build up the substrate so that he can't do it anymore. An adult t should only have a few inches between the substrate and the lid of the enclosure so that it can't fall and split its abdomen or otherwise injure itself.
 

MrT

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Hey L.T,

Did you say where you got the T, Is it wild caught? How long have you had it? If its new to its container, It will check out its new digs for a day or two, then it will settle in. Like galeogirl said, build up the substrate so the spider can almost reach the top. Within a couple inches anyway. Falling can be deadly for your T.

Ernie
 

Bjorgly

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Thats an Aphonopelma Chalcodes (Desert Blonde) from what i can tell, good luck with him/her! My redknee thinks shes aboreal at times as well, sometimes its just a phase i guess. Like said before, if it worries you raise the substrate or get a shorter tank.

Mark
 

schlinkey

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Didn't you say it was a mature male? if so, it's probably lookin' for a female :)
 

Lost_Tarantula

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Originally posted by Bjorgly
Thats an Aphonopelma Chalcodes (Desert Blonde) from what i can tell, good luck with him/her! My redknee thinks shes aboreal at times as well, sometimes its just a phase i guess. Like said before, if it worries you raise the substrate or get a shorter tank.

Mark
Desert Blonde? Wasn't expecting that. Are they running around Dallas too?
 

MrDeranged

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Looks more like a Texas Tan (Aphonopelma anax) to me. Could you get a better pic of the pedipalps? From the angle of that picture, I can't really tell if it's a male or not....

Scott
 

Wade

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That looks like a typical mature male US Aphonopelma to me (Lost Tarantula's pic, not Scott's ;) ). If so, he's probably doing exactly as Schlinkey suggested. He's in a ramblin' mood!

If you found him walking around in the open, that's annother indicator that he's probably a male, although occasionally females will wander as well (usually because they've been driven from their burrow).

Here's a picture of my Texas tan (A. anax) female, photo (as always) by Art Evans.

Wade
 

Bjorgly

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I just compared the photo you provided with the one in the gallery of this site and came to my conclusion. I could be wrong of course but it looks alot like it to me!

Mark
 

Wade

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These Aphonopelma males tend to look very simmilar. The one shown does indeed look very much like an A. chalcodes male, and like many other males one might find in the US. This is part of the reason the genus Aphonopelmais so confused!

Wade
 

VI6SIX

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the species from the dfw area is Aphonopelma clarki(another part of the hentzi complex) does he have hooks and embolus on his pedipalps then if he does its a mature male and as been said before males like to wander in search of females if its not mature pic it up and rub its belly females will have a pronounced bump(aphonopelma atleast) between the first set of book lungs this is the epigastric furrow or the equilant of T coochie:D
 

VI6SIX

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the species from the dfw area is Aphonopelma clarki(another part of the hentzi complex) does he have hooks and embolus on his pedipalps then if he does its a mature male and as been said before males like to wander in search of females if its not mature pic it up and rub its belly females will have a pronounced bump(aphonopelma atleast) between the first set of book lungs this is the epigastric furrow or the equilant of T coochie:D
 

VI6SIX

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the species from the dfw area is Aphonopelma clarki(another part of the hentzi complex) does he have hooks and embolus on his pedipalps then if he does its a mature male and as been said before males like to wander in search of females if its not mature pic it up and rub its belly females will have a pronounced bump(aphonopelma atleast) between the first set of book lungs this is the epigastric furrow or the equilant of T coochie:D
 

Lost_Tarantula

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Yeah I did catch him wild. Well, in my garage, that is. We also have scorpions and snakes (big ones) in our neighborhood. Just lucky, I guess. I'm sure this guy's a mature male, because of the mating hooks on his front legs. That and he has those "boxing-glove" shaped structures on his pedipalps. Do these things come after the final molt, or are there more after. Terry won't eat his crickets, and he looks like his abdomen has lighter skin in patches (maybe his real skin showing through the seperating skin?). This guy goes nuts when a gust gets in his cage. I was looking into his cage from the top for the cricket, and when I let out a moderate breath he bolted. Maybe I just need to brush my teeth. :)


I think the picture may be misleading, as the flash seems to lighten his color. Let's see if he'll let me do a photo shoot on his pedipalps, but I can't right now. Soon, though.
 

conipto

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I'm new at this but..

I thought wood chips were bad substrate for T's?
Could that have anything to do with it?

Bill
 

chaset

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heh

It would be nice to find large spiders in my garage, nothing in there, but a couple Aggro House spiders and the occasional wolf spider
 

VI6SIX

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Re: I'm new at this but..

Originally posted by conipto
I thought wood chips were bad substrate for T's?
Could that have anything to do with it?

Bill
wood chips are not a good substrate I try to stick to either vermiculite or a vermiculite/peat/potting soil mix/lost tarantula your male is definately mature but its not impossible for him to go through a post ultimate molt though he'll lose both of his pedipalps and probaly the legs the spurs are on aswell
 
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