P. irminia help

sdsnybny

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I have a question for the members who have kept P. irminia.
On 6/3 I rehoused my 2-2.5 inch sling and it immediately webbed itself in to its cork bark tube.
It's been almost 2 weeks and the T has not come out. I know it was probably pre-molt, but at what time frame do you go in to see if if the T is OK?
I don't wan,t to disturb it, but not sure when its to long for this species to be without water.
There is always full water dish, good ventilation, and I mist the sidewall of enclosure once every 3-4 days.
Thanks Steve
 

ARACHNO-SMACK48

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Irminia are just a reclusive species. Ive got an H. sp. colombia large who's been webbed up in his/her burrow for like 6 months now and just now opened it up. Still alive and well though... I occasionally see her through the side of the container.
 

lalberts9310

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Get used to it, P. Irminia are extremely secretive, you'll even be lucky to see them come out at night.. both my MMs I currently own were very secretive before they matured, I would only see them once every couple of months.. I have a female as well that will roam her enclosure at night, but this might be due to her being gravid, I think that might all change after she laid her sac.. I'm lucky with the ones I own, they like making a tube web against the side of the enclosure so it was easy for me to check up on them.. what you can look for though is moved dirt, extra webbing/dirt on their tube webs etc.. hold off with the misting, keep the sub moist, provide a waterbowl and you'll be fine.. and don't drop feeders directly into the Ts tube web, and try feeding at night.. other than that you can only wait till it smells, or when it throws out a molt, or when you get lucky enough to see it.. feeding might also help you know whether it's fine or not, they'll usually throw the bolusses out when they finished eating.. the only time I'll probably dig up a T is if there has been no sign of it being alive for months (no bolusses, dead prey in the enclosure, no signs of new webbing/moved dirt etc)
 

cold blood

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I'd mist the webbing, not the sides. Eventually that's gonna lead to buildup, reducing your visibility.


I agree, you don't worry about it unless you are pretty sure its dead. These are generally really reclusive, but also a very hungry species....so when its ready, you WILL see its feet at the mouth of the web burrow when its ready.

I've been lucky, my female spends an inordinate amount of time in the open and visible, which is nice, because irminia are really a special kind of beautiful....if I don't see her, she's gonna molt. As a sling/juvie, however, she'd eat like a beast for 3 weeks or so, then go into hiding for 3-4 weeks, emerging bigger and ravenous.
 

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cold blood

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I'll add that when mine go into hiding, I don't even bother offering food, I just wait till I see it emerge....or at least its feet.;)
 

lalberts9310

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Yeah I forgot to mention the sexy legs poking out when they get hungry.. although my one male would never have poked his feet out, he would wait inside his tube web until he feels some sort of vibration against his webbing and then he'll bolt out and catch the cricket and run straight back into his tube web.. I think I saw his legs poking out once before he matured, which was probably odd, oh weeeell...
 

sdsnybny

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Thanks for all the advice. Before the rehousing nothing dropped in the enclosure lasted more than a couple minutes. I swear they are part wolf.
The T would catch the vibration of the lid opening and hunt it down immediately after it hit day or night. She (hopefully) has a full cork tube now with a top and bottom opening both are webbed completely closed, dirt included.
I use distilled water and so far have not seen any build up. The substrate is kept damp and a full water bowl.
There is one cricket inside death, row living on borrowed time, thought I could tempt her to no avail.
Hate the waiting game :sarcasm:
I,d settle for sexy feet any day
 

Storm76

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As everyone else has said already: Get used to it. Very reclusive species. Haven't seen one of my females for half a year nearly, although I'm pretty sure she was out occasionally, since prey vanished. She appeared maybe for 2 min overall during the last couple weeks, each time vanishing immediately when I entered the room. It's normal and really a treat if you see them for prolonged periods of time :)
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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As everyone else has said already: Get used to it. Very reclusive species. Haven't seen one of my females for half a year nearly, although I'm pretty sure she was out occasionally, since prey vanished. She appeared maybe for 2 min overall during the last couple weeks, each time vanishing immediately when I entered the room. It's normal and really a treat if you see them for prolonged periods of time :)
+1 mine lives in her tube web, and comes out at night and roams.
My second one like never hides and is always out in open rather odd, as well as might be a male.
 
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sdsnybny

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Cricket gone twice :) with bolus ejected, molt ejected, Still no damn sexy feet. Sneaky little..........love it anyway
 

lalberts9310

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I personally like secretive Ts, I usually go to the T room at night a few times everyday, you'll have a better chance seeing them roaming at night than you would at day. And when they do make an appearance, I'm blown away by their beautiful looks. It's just amazing. (although mine rarely made an appearance lol)

P. Irminia are very very reclusive, but will remain my all time favourite regardless. For me there's nothing better looking than a irminia. :D
 

Poec54

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In the wild, tarantulas that are out in the open are easier prey for predators.


When you open up the retreat of a fast-moving species, you can also get a jack-in-the-box effect and be chasing a panicked spider around the room. I keep a flashlight in my spider room so I can peer into their cages and retreats without opening cages.
 

Dave Marschang

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I'm with everyone else, its never coming back out. any psalmo or pokie I gave a cork bark tube to would immediately seal it with a dirt web. a few weeks to months later when its starving it will remove all or a portion of the seal, and hang close to the opening but, never actually leave it. my wife's adult female P. regalis will come out every night and sit on the outside of the cork waiting for food, but disappears at the slightest hint of light.
As a result in the future I will be careful about giving cork tubes to the species I actually want to see, like say the wifes P.metallica's
 

lalberts9310

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I,d rather give my Ts cork bark tubes and never see them, knowing they're happy and comfortable.. rather than not giving them any means of a hide to feel safe and secure and having a spider dashing around in the enclosure with no place to run to everytime I open the lid just because I want secretive Ts to be visible.
 

vespers

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As a result in the future I will be careful about giving cork tubes to the species I actually want to see, like say the wifes P.metallica's
Denying them their proper hide? That is for your convenience, at the sacrifice of the spiders comfort/security. Not cool.
 

Dave Marschang

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no no no. I never said I would deny them a hide, I said I would deny them a cork tube hide because I cant see them at all.
another hide option is ones that are open in the back or bottom so I can turn the tank and see the spider and what its doing anytime I want.
as far as denying them happiness I would put my enclosures up against any ones . any day.
that's right I just cyber slapped you in the face with a gauntlet.
throw down some pics and I will prove my spiders are happier than yours!
you ever heard your spiders whistle? no?! that's cuz only happy spiders whistle.
ALL of my spiders whistle, some even skip when they walk. that's how happy they are.
AND I am so cool I wear sunglasses to bed!

lol sometimes I play too much. seriously tho. calm yourself, ALL of my spiders have hides at all times but there are other kinds of hides besides cork tubes and in certain instances those are preferred is all.
 

Storm76

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Yeah, but don't try "ground hides" for terrestrials. It generally doesn't work - although Psalmopoeus -might- take to it if nothing else is available, it's still not something I'd opt for. As others have said before: I rather have a happy, comfy and somewhat relaxed T with a good hide, than one spazzing out the moment I look at it wrong without a proper hide! :)
 
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