Burrowing A. chalcodes

Hello, I have a small Aphonopelma chalcodes, which is about one inch long. It lately(for the past couple months) hides in its burrow, and does nothing else. She's about 3.5 years old, and usually eats a small super worm every couple weeks or so, and that's it. Now, to get her to even see the worm, I have to dig her out of the burrow. After it's gone, she digs again, and hides in the covered burrow endlessly, even when I mist her cage. She hasn't molted since about 3 months ago, but her abdomen is always nice and plump. Is this constant burrowing and hiding normal behavior?


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Super worms are known for hiding in substrate and resurfacing weeks or months later and chewing holes in molting tarantulas. Dig it all up and see if you still have a spider. Dump the substrate and start over fresh, and DO NOT let superworms roam a cage again.

Poec54 said:

Super worms are known for hiding in substrate and resurfacing weeks or months later and chewing holes in molting tarantulas. Dig it all up and see if you still have a spider. Dump the substrate and start over fresh, and DO NOT let superworms roam a cage again.

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+1 Also don't dig up the t to feed it. Feed it when it comes out on its own. Burrowing and hiding are perfectly normal t behaviors....as is sealing themselves in and not eating for extended periods of time. Patience is a must if you keep t's...these behaviors are but some of the reasons many of us have a roomful of t's.

Poec54 said:

Super worms are known for hiding in substrate and resurfacing weeks or months later and chewing holes in molting tarantulas. Dig it all up and see if you still have a spider. Dump the substrate and start over fresh, and DO NOT let superworms roam a cage again.

Click to expand...

I don't let them roam. I put one in, and watch until she goes for it. If not within minutes, I remove it. She is still in there, of course, I can see her.


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---------- Post added 02-07-2015 at 11:45 PM ----------

Thank you though. All I really wanted to know was if it was standard for them to hide in burrows for months at a time when they are not molting.


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