Pumpkin Patch woes

Alright, I'm at my wits end with this spider. I have no idea what instar it is, and my best estimation for size (take this with a grain of salt) is about 1cm dls, maybe 1.5. Anyway, it molted about two to three weeks ago, and it has yet to eat anything, or do anything. Before this molt, he(?) was a savage eater, taking down crickets a touch larger than he was with no problem. In fact, he was one of my best eaters, even compared to a GBB or C. andersoni. Now, he won't even look at a cricket, even though he's actually bigger (or at least the same size as) them now. I've also tried offering fruit flies, with the same result.

This in of itself wouldn't worry me too much. My C. andersoni went on a two month fast directly after a molt one time. However, what is concerning would be the complete lack of activity. He just sits in his hide... that's all. I provided a cut straw as a temporary hide while he gets the burrow started, but rather than burrowing, he just sits in there. This is a stark difference to the activity I saw before the molt. When he actually does move, he endlessly circles the cage - not webbing, mind you, just walking around, usually near the top away from the substrate.

Here's how I'm caring for it, and constructive criticism is more than welcome:
2"x2" container, cross ventilation, 3" substrate that would allow for burrowing (same stuff I use for my C. darlingi and B. vagans sling), misting one side of the enclosure once per day (keep in mind that I live in the desert, so relative humidity is very low).

All of the species I've owned so far have reputations of being active - C. andersoni, P. irminia, GBB, P. murinus, C. darlingi, etc. That being said, perhaps this is completely normal. I don't worry about him 'starving' anytime soon; even with the molt, he still has a semi-plump abdomen. I'm just concerned I may be doing something wrong. Honestly, am I just blowing this out of proportion?

You live in a desert, but on your profile is says mid-west????

Daily misting, even in dry conditions is way over-doing it, even for a swamp dweller, which this is not. It could be too moist or not enough venting, or both. It could also just be taking extra long to harden up following its molt. Before they harden up, they sit motionless a LOT and in a lot of odd looking, seemingly uncomfortable positions.

Yeah, I've yet to update my profile lol In reality, I live in the Mojave Desert.

Okay, I'll take that to heart. Then, what, once per week? I've seen that recommendation multiple times, but I assumed since it dries out so quickly that I needed to crank that up.

I notice you say he has a temporary hide and hasn't been burrowing. Did you rehouse after the molt took place? You also mention a substrate that allows for burrowing. What do you mean by that? These are "soft" burrowers, I guess you could say. They kind of burrow just under the surface and create dirt webbing around and over that, like a Poec or Psalmo, but on the ground. If it has a hard substrate this could be deterring it.

EulersK said:

Yeah, I've yet to update my profile lol In reality, I live in the Mojave Desert.

Okay, I'll take that to heart. Then, what, once per week? I've seen that recommendation multiple times, but I assumed since it dries out so quickly that I needed to crank that up.

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A full water dish and run it over once a week will provide a more stable humidity than misting will. Misting dries up in a couple hours and does little more than aggravating your T

I have a mister, but in 14 years, I have yet to use it for a t or humidity...I use it for plants and living moss. Like skip said, its far from an ideal way to add moisture/humidity. I suggest getting a syringe or baster to wet the sub in an area or just over filling the dish from time to time. Weekly would be likely be fine. A syringe is nice because it allows for specific wetting, its even precise enough to leave drops on the sides of the enclosure or on the webbing, which are both good for providing drinking water for many species.

Belle Fury said:

I notice you say he has a temporary hide and hasn't been burrowing. Did you rehouse after the molt took place? You also mention a substrate that allows for burrowing. What do you mean by that? These are "soft" burrowers, I guess you could say. They kind of burrow just under the surface and create dirt webbing around and over that, like a Poec or Psalmo, but on the ground. If it has a hard substrate this could be deterring it.

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I have not rehoused, no. And the substrate is the exact same stuff I use for all my slings, and none of them have had a problem in the past. I was not aware of that shallow burrowing, though. He did do quite a bit of webbing around the hide today, but still no burrowing.

As for the advice on misting, I'll start using my syringe. I usually only use it to fill water dishes, but I'll wet the substrate with that instead. I really think that this T is too small for a water dish, though... I'm not even sure what I could use for that at this stage.

Just an update - he ate today! Aggressive takedowns, again. Thanks all for the advice.