Feeding a buried OBT

gobey · Mar 29, 2015

So for months now my big adult female OBT has fortified her hide with a mound of dirt. I haven't seen her since about the beginning of winter.

I've still been putting in a cricket a week. A while back one cricket indeed disappeared. And a small hole appeared in my girl's fortress wall. Almost like a trap door. I assume she felt the vibration of the cricket and came out and got it.

Within a week she closed it off again.

And since has not opened it up. Every cricket I put in has died.

Now the last thing I'm going to do is dig her up and check on her.

Let sleeping OBTs lay right?

But I'm curious. I know I'm not the only one with a pet hole OBT.

Is it normal for one to go without eating sealed off from the world?

Molt imminent?

Thoughts?

Until otherwise notified I'll keep dropping in a cricket a week. The crickets sure won't find her.

Arachnomaniac19 · Mar 29, 2015

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]Unless she starts to be visibly skinny (when and if you see her) just let her be. How do you think people who keep Haplopelmas feel? She might be molting too.

BobGrill · Mar 29, 2015

I think it'd be good to post a picture of the enclosure. Mine has constructed a web/burrow on one side of the enclosure. If I search carefully enough with the help of a flashlight, I can usually find her.

cold blood · Mar 29, 2015

I see no point in even offering food to a t that's sealed its self off. My MF C. darlingi just emerged after 6 weeks of being blocked it. She opened a hole and proceeded to set up in hunting posture (freshly molted and beautiful), only then did I offer a cricket...which she promptly nailed. The 6 week period where she was blocked off had me checking regularly for signs of new construction, but I did not offer her a single prey item during that time and I never worried about it. A hungry t won't stay blocked in for very long.

gobey · Mar 29, 2015

Why wouldn't it load sideways?

Well she's in that cave. There's not even a trace of her visually. She's been like that for months.

She was never skinny. Even when I got her.

Stop wasting crickets until she comes back out?

cold blood · Mar 29, 2015

That's incredible that you got all that sub to stick to the side like that...amazing....hehe

If it were me, yeah, I'd stop wasting crickets and just wait till she emerges....or at least till its feet emerge.

KcFerry · Mar 29, 2015

On several occasions I've had burrowers seal themselves in for months at a time. If I don't see any signs of movement for over a month or more, I'll tear a small hole in the webbing at the burrow entrance...(When I do this I make sure there are no feeders hiding anywhere in the enclosure) Usually the T will web it shut again within a day or two and I'll know it's ok. If the T is in deep pre-molt, it may just ignore the hole and emerge freshly molted soon after. Generally I'll just leave them alone, but if the behavior is odd for a particular species, I'll do the small tear thing. In the winter my OBT's have stayed buried for months without molting, nor do they eat or drink for this period, and they always emerge at some point ready to start eating and making their usual nightly rounds. I gave up worrying or trying to figure out why they do what they a long time ago.
:

:

gobey · Mar 29, 2015

KcFerry said:
On several occasions I've had burrowers seal themselves in for months at a time. If I don't see any signs of movement for over a month or more, I'll tear a small hole in the webbing at the burrow entrance...(When I do this I make sure there are no feeders hiding anywhere in the enclosure) Usually the T will web it shut again within a day or two and I'll know it's ok. If the T is in deep pre-molt, it may just ignore the hole and emerge freshly molted soon after. Generally I'll just leave them alone, but if the behavior is odd for a particular species, I'll do the small tear thing. In the winter my OBT's have stayed buried for months without molting, nor do they eat or drink for this period, and they always emerge at some point ready to start eating and making their usual nightly rounds. I gave up worrying or trying to figure out why they do what they a long time ago.
::

Yeah she used to hang outside her hide a lot.

Then huddled in for winter I guess.

I figured the las thing I should do would be poking around her home. I'd bet all sorts of money she's alive in there.

pyro fiend · Mar 29, 2015

Personally.. Id offer.. Crickets r like what 10cents? Isnt it worth 40-50 cents a month to be sure your T has food available IF she is hungry? But be carefull you say they wont find her but thats not much sub at all.. One well fed bored cricket could find her im sure..

BobGrill · Mar 29, 2015

Actually the price of crickets have gone up. They're more like 12 to 14 cents at most chain stores now.

gobey · Mar 29, 2015

pyro fiend said:
Personally.. Id offer.. Crickets r like what 10cents? Isnt it worth 40-50 cents a month to be sure your T has food available IF she is hungry? But be carefull you say they wont find her but thats not much sub at all.. One well fed bored cricket could find her im sure..

Well that's what I've been doing.

Take cricket out afwr after 24 hours say?

There's like an inch high and around 2.5" substrate poking out of the hole of her hide at the highest... It's pretty impressive... The cricket would have to dig.

Not saying it's impossible.

I'm wondering how she'd find the cricket.

Keep feeding and remove food after a day sound good?

I have to get this cricket in here out now.

I'll give it to my grammy.

It'll keep her busy while I clean her cage..

pyro fiend · Mar 29, 2015

BobGrill said:
Actually the price of crickets have gone up. They're more like 12 to 14 cents at most chain stores now.

Realy? Thats y i said 50 tho is inflation lol..Thats actually a drop for here nothing like 15cent meds,woo! but if you go to mom n pop pet stores they r like 7cents pinheads 8 cent smalls 9 for med and 10 large and "xl"(usually fms i think) are 11. But they dont last long like 12hrs..

---------- Post added 03-29-2015 at 04:19 PM ----------

gobey said:
Well that's what I've been doing.

Take cricket out afwr after 24 hours say?

There's like an inch high and around 2.5" substrate poking out of the hole of her hide at the highest... It's pretty impressive... The cricket would have to dig.

Not saying it's impossible.

I'm wondering how she'd find the cricket.

Keep feeding and remove food after a day sound good?

I have to get this cricket in here out now.

I'll give it to my grammy.

It'll keep her busy while I clean her cage..

Honestly i would. But thats me.. Id be happier even waisting $1 to know IF she wanted to eat she can as apposed to me feeling like "if your hungry ill see you"

Thats not much of a burro tho.. My nhadu has 4"+ sub and dug all the way to bottom and shes over 4".. In a way yours has enough room to curl her legs in if she wanted to not much more unless there is no sub in that hole

Also what i do when a roach isnt eaten, i give it to either a garbage disposal T or .y gecko (whos a black whole) so if she wont eat wirst youd be doing is feeding a T a little more who may realy want it xD

gobey · Mar 29, 2015

pyro fiend said:
Realy? Thats y i said 50 tho is inflation lol..Thats actually a drop for here nothing like 15cent meds,woo! but if you go to mom n pop pet stores they r like 7cents pinheads 8 cent smalls 9 for med and 10 large and "xl"(usually fms i think) are 11. But they dont last long like 12hrs..

---------- Post added 03-29-2015 at 04:19 PM ----------

Honestly i would. But thats me.. Id be happier even waisting $1 to know IF she wanted to eat she can as apposed to me feeling like "if your hungry ill see you"

Thats not much of a burro tho.. My nhadu has 4"+ sub and dug all the way to bottom and shes over 4".. In a way yours has enough room to curl her legs in if she wanted to not much more unless there is no sub in that hole

Also what i do when a roach isnt eaten, i give it to either a garbage disposal T or .y gecko (whos a black whole) so if she wont eat wirst youd be doing is feeding a T a little more who may realy want it xD

Crickets are 10 cents at my locally owned petshop. Any size.

Idk maybe her burrow is small but that hide she built it on was dug out already too. Idk what she's done under it herself.

She's 4.5" maybe tops.

Sam_Peanuts · Mar 29, 2015

Personally, I'd be much more worried that a cricket could find its way to her while she's molting than her not having access to food for a couple of months.

They can last a very long time without eating and be perfectly fine, but it only need one cricket getting to her at the worst of time and she's done for.

If she gets too hungry, she'll stick her legs out and you'll know it's feeding time.

Poec54 · Mar 29, 2015

BobGrill said:
Actually the price of crickets have gone up. They're more like 12 to 14 cents at most chain stores now.

Geez, that's $120 to $140 a thousand. Nice markup. I get mine locally for 17.50/thousand.

BobGrill · Mar 29, 2015

Poec54 said:
Geez, that's $120 to $140 a thousand. Nice markup. I get mine locally for 17.50/thousand.

I'm starting to order in bulk. Much better that way. I only go to petsmart or petco when I just need a few.

gobey · Mar 29, 2015

So....

Feed her or not lol?

I figured they're hardy as heck and must be a T that can go periods without eating. I just wasn't aware they'd willingly do so.

If she's in pre molt/molt... It's been a while now.

Poec I see you're reading can you weigh in? You've cared for many different behaving OW species.

pyro fiend · Mar 29, 2015

Sam_Peanuts said:
Personally, I'd be much more worried that a cricket could find its way to her while she's molting than her not having access to food for a couple of months.

They can last a very long time without eating and be perfectly fine, but it only need one cricket getting to her at the worst of time and she's done for.

If she gets too hungry, she'll stick her legs out and you'll know it's feeding time.

valid point, shes probably molting out if shes only got that little bump of a hole and cant be seen.

OP wasnt it you who mated their obt? or am i confusing you with somone elese?

gobey · Mar 29, 2015

pyro fiend said:
valid point, shes probably molting out if shes only got that little bump of a hole and cant be seen.

OP wasnt it you who mated their obt? or am i confusing you with somone elese?

She'd have made a sac by now. Something didn't kick. Hence I thought molt.

That whole project was a dud. Probably a good thing really.

The male has since deceased

pyro fiend · Mar 30, 2015

gobey said:
She'd have made a sac by now. Something didn't kick. Hence I thought molt.

That whole project was a dud. Probably a good thing really.

The male has since deceased

thought so and i woudlnt say that.. some take longer to make them depending on temps.. but the fact that shes blocked in, id say your prob not getting one..then again i dont know anyone elese whod keep an obt with less then 4" of sub, nor in a KK so i suppose idk what im talkin about in this department..

Feeding a buried OBT

Arachnoknight

Arachnolord

Arachnoprince

Moderator

Arachnoknight

Attachments

Moderator

Arachnosquire

Arachnoknight

Arachnoprince

Arachnoprince

Arachnoknight

Arachnoprince

Arachnoknight

Arachnobaron

Arachnoemperor

Arachnoprince

Arachnoknight

Arachnoprince

Arachnoknight

Arachnoprince