New H. vonwirthi not burrowing....

Hey guys, i picked up a MF H. vonwirthi, last weekend and she has yet to dig a burrow. i have her in a critter keeper with about 7 inches of substrate throughout (a 2:1 mix of eco earth and vermiculite) in 3 layers the bottom being the most moist with the top 1-2" nearly bone dry now. She's been huddled in the corner in a depression i started for her and webbed a tiny bit around it and her water bowl. I've looked this up on google and tried the search here but after 5 pages i gave up. I havent fed her yet either. Anyone have an idea why she isnt burrowing? Room temp is about 73-74F during day and drops to about 70 at night. Thanks!

You've only had it a week....

Is it CB or WC? If WC they generally take a lot more time to adjust.

It's not uncommon for then to take a month or so to start burrowing, just leave it in an undisturbed area and leave it be.

I wish i could tell you but i have no idea, i asked and the kid at the lps said "i dont know shes been here about a year." cool, thanks!

It's wild caught; they're still coming in. I give mine a cork slab, at an angle against the side. They'll hide there, and soon start digging a tunnel. Many tarantulas need a 'start' to get them burrowing.

Poec54 said:

It's wild caught; they're still coming in. I give mine a cork slab, at an angle against the side. They'll hide there, and soon start digging a tunnel. Many tarantulas need a 'start' to get them burrowing.

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Yeah it took a few days for my King baboon to burrow when I got it. I never see it ever now, that is to be expected though.

She needs time. My Megaphobema robustum only after a month decided to make a new burrow (i was forced to rehome her due to her previous owner bad care).
Lots of substrate, and cork bark "a go go" joking.. but one piece is always a must for obligate burrowers. And humidity, always moist.
She will be fine.

Looks like sheeva's getting a piece of cork bark tomorrow!!!!:} I just figured she didnt need a hide due to her Instincts. Thanks everyone!

has she burrowed yet?

I was going to say...

keep her dark for now,
warm too. and try not to disturb too much.

if its been there for a year, I suppose it ate okay without having a burrow and using a shelter?

I use a cereal container. One of those where you get it dept store, plastic tub to store cereals in so they dont go stale etc

fill that up with moist sphagnum moss, pack it tight, and dig a pre made burrow all the way down. for example if the container is 12'' tall, fill it up 9'' and dig a hole all the way down,
broom stick
flashlight handle
whatever you can think of to make a burrow, and the diameter of the burrow should be about the spider's size (eyeball it)

sometimes if the container width is big enough (for big Haplo's and P. muticus i use dog food storage container, tall and not so wide) i put the spider down near or top of the pre made burrow and i put a deli cup over the spider and the burrow. so overnight it will hover over the burrow and the roaming will be limited. Kinda forcing it to use the burrow as shelter
and that usually works for me.

again keep her dark and away from light until she burrows.

Thanks eded and she kinda has... I put a cork slab in there and shes webbed herself inside like she was at the lps... my "zoo room" has a window in it but not pointing directly at any inverts so they can tell night and day but her corner is always the darkest... I want to rehome her into a more suitable environment (like your idea but im thinking about a foot or a little more substrate... shes obviosusly Is still kind of stressed and ive only fed her three crickets since shes been with me... all at once and she ignored them but I came in after work and they were gone. Do you think a rehoming would be beneficial air do more harm than good?

I have bought a lividum many years ago from a pet store thinking the same as you with your new spider.
She also didnt burrow properly so used shelter/half burrow until she molted.

some WC imports will behave like this. Shell shocked maybe but as long as they eat, spin web I think she can be rehoused after she molts.

From my experience at least, whenever a spider molts it 'resets' itself?
Like Ive seen WC that wouldnt burrow start burrowing after molting
or I was able to rehouse such spider after molting and took on more 'natural' behavior in captivity.

If you think rehoming once more will cause stress to YOU and the spider then maybe just keep her that way?
She ate some so I think she will be okay with the new home

dont think I answered your question though ahah

Hahah well it wouldnt be stressful to me... but she deffinitely has an attitude that would be tough to match. I just made that mistake with my very first t: reading internet stuff and rehoming when I thought the spider wasnt happy. I soon realized as long as they have dirt and something to drink theyre probably fine
Thanks anyways I appreciate it! I am going to set up a deeper tank thouvh as well

Look at Spiderengineer's Haplopelma care guide on YouTube. It's about 45mins and should give you all the info you need.

She finally burrowed y'all!

alright!

great news