Will a tarantula come out of her hide if she's hungry?

[Uial]

Hey there,
My G. pulchripes closed half of her hide with a small hill of substrate. She has not come out for a month, and I don't want to invade her hide to put food in there, because I will not be able to take it out if she doesn't eat it. Is she fasting? Will she come out if she's ready to eat?

Or will she starve in there because she is too lazy to climb over that hill again?^^ Does she realize that food will not walk into her hide and dance around in front of her?

I can see one of her legs and it is not curled so based that I know that she is still alive at least.

 

[Thekla]

How big is she? Could you post pictures of the spider and the enclosure?

Without really knowing the right infos, I say she's just fine. Most terrestrial Ts burrow at some point - either to moult or just... because - and will emerge when they're hungry or fancy a walk.
If you're worried you could always leave a prekilled feeder in front of her hide, but make sure you'll take it out the next day if it's not eaten.

 

[Uial]

OMG. Just as I was making pictures of her enclosure I saw a leg.

There is a leg!



I ran and brought her a superworm, she muched it.




It's a Christmas miracle. Thekla is magic, spread the word!

I get now why people have more then one tarantula. If you have 70, chances are, a few of them will be out, and you will not die of anxiety because one of them is in hiding for a month. Anyway, thank you for helping

 

[Nightstalker47]

OMG. Just as I was making pictures of her enclosure I saw a leg.

There is a leg!

View attachment 295669

I ran and brought her a superworm, she muched it.


View attachment 295670

It's a Christmas miracle. Thekla is magic, spread the word!

I get now why people have more then one tarantula. If you have 70, chances are, a few of them will be out, and you will not die of anxiety because one of them is in hiding for a month. Anyway, thank you for helping

Dont forget to add a water dish into that enclosure.

 

[Uial]

There is one in there, it's just hidden by the wood pannel thingy in the front.

 

[Nightstalker47]

There is one in there, it's just hidden by the wood pannel thingy in the front.


View attachment 295672

Awesome.

 

[Uial]

Thank you though, for remarking that. I just met a person that kept their T's without a water dish and I didn't think people still did that

 

[AnObeseHippo]

Generaly, yes. It’s pretty anti-instinctual for a healthy animal to hide until it starves to death.

If there is an animal that acts this way while not ill, I’m very curious to learn of it.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Generaly, yes. It’s pretty anti-instinctual for a healthy animal to hide until it starves to death.

If there is an animal that acts this way while not ill, I’m very curious to learn of it.

Its rare, but there have been instances where P.muticus would seal themselves off for no apparent reason, only to never emerge...the keeper would assume pre molt and they would eventually find a dead tarantula. This is why some of us started keeping them with less sub.

 

[SonsofArachne]

I get now why people have more then one tarantula. If you have 70, chances are, a few of them will be out, and you will not die of anxiety because one of them is in hiding for a month.

That, and the fact that they have different behaviors, appearances, housing requirements, etc. And then there's OW's

 

[Uial]

That, and the fact that they have different behaviors, appearances, housing requirements, etc. And then there's OW's

Yeah, I think about getting a dwarf OW, and I'm already terrified. It's awfully pretty and makes a nice net, but I'm all for the pet rock type of spider^^

 

[SonsofArachne]

Yeah, I think about getting a dwarf OW, and I'm already terrified. It's awfully pretty and makes a nice net, but I'm all for the pet rock type of spider^^

What species exactly? And if getting a OW scares you maybe you should hold off. Get one of the more 'feisty' NW's instead.

 

[Uial]

What species exactly? And if getting a OW scares you maybe you should hold off. Get one of the more 'feisty' NW's instead.

N. incei. Problem is, I would like a spider that webs a lot but I really don't like the GBB color scheme. So people suggested the N. incei. It is super pretty, and I don't ever plan on handling so I'm hoping that I will put it into the enclosure (with minimal bolting if possible), and from then on drop one feeder a week in there, and never open the enclosure otherwise, so it will have no chance to esacpe or do any funny business. And thats my plan^^

 

[SonsofArachne]

N. incei. Problem is, I would like a spider that webs a lot but I really don't like the GBB color scheme. So people suggested the N. incei. It is super pretty, and I don't ever plan on handling so I'm hoping that I will put it into the enclosure (with minimal bolting if possible), and from then on drop one feeder a week in there, and never open the enclosure otherwise, so it will have no chance to esacpe or do any funny business. And thats my plan^^

Well the good news is N. incei is a New World not a Old World, so you'll be fine. I don't own one, but I've heard they're super fast so just be careful when housing it.

 

[Uial]

Well the good news is N. incei is a New World not a Old World, so you'll be fine. I don't own one, but I've heard they're super fast so just be careful when housing it.

Well thank you. Someone wrote it was OW, I should have double checked, though. Yeah, I'm gonna get an enclosure that opens from the top and put it on the floor before I open it. Hopefully that minimizes escape risk, and if it escapes, at least it can not fall.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Well thank you. Someone wrote it was OW, I should have double checked, though. Yeah, I'm gonna get an enclosure that opens from the top and put it on the floor before I open it. Hopefully that minimizes escape risk, and if it escapes, at least it can not fall.

If you have access to a bathtub you can do the housing it in there. if it bolts it will just run laps around the bottom of the tub until it gets tired, just make sure to plug the drain.
Otherwise you can use a large plastic storage container with olive oil around the inside top edge. The olive oil won't hurt it but will stop it from crossing over to the outside. A layer of o. oil a couple of inches wide will do the trick.

 

[Uial]

If you have access to a bathtub you can do the housing it in there. if it bolts it will just run laps around the bottom of the tub until it gets tired, just make sure to plug the drain.
Otherwise, you can use a large plastic storage container with olive oil around the inside top edge. The olive oil won't hurt it but will stop it from crossing over to the outside. A layer of o. oil a couple of inches wide will do the trick.

Thank you so much. I would have flat out forgotten the bathtub thing. Although I must admit I only moved 2 months ago, and the new apartment indeed does have a bathtub. But I am also hella forgetful. For example, I wondered why my eyes were red and thought I had an allergy to some plant (that blooms somehow in winter). And completely forgot to wash my hands after doing something in my NW enclosure. Those hairs are a b****.

 

[SonsofArachne]

Ouch! be careful with that, those hairs can be more than annoying in your eyes if you get a lot. I've heard of people being completely blinded, although I think the T kicked the hairs directly into their eyes.

 

[Uial]

Luckily, that will probably not happen. For one, my G pulchripes is very shy, she's out like once a week normally, and I could probably poke her in the eye without her kicking hairs. She believes she's an OW and rather threw a threat pose and strike at me then kick hairs^^

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Its rare, but there have been instances where P.muticus would seal themselves off for no apparent reason, only to never emerge...the keeper would assume pre molt and they would eventually find a dead tarantula. This is why some of us started keeping them with less sub.

Yes, but this happened (assuming the good health of the specimen) because the 'deeper layers' of the substrate weren't moist but more on the dry side. That's why I always suggest/suggested the use of a bit of vermiculite when preparing the set up... that stuff works perfectly, mantains the moistness well in the medium/long term

I do understand that with less substrate the care is easy, but with the help of a syringe to pour room temperature water in those substrate layers is easy as well, the rest is up to the vermiculite, that absorb and 'mantain' that water.