Weird P. Metallica. Acts dead then fine later.

So I have to have a really odd P Metallica.
It's super small even tho I've had it 2 years (2 inch leg span) and it acts dead all the time! Most of its legs will curl in except a couple then will stay like that for days!! Then act totally normal later. No molt involved. Just acts dead then normal with no molt soon after. I feed it once a week have abdomen sized or slightly smaller crickets) this last time legs were really curled and it was laying on its side for three days so I got worried and touched a leg with tongs and it wiggled all its legs as if unable to bend them and didn't try to upright itself. I left it alone assuming it could be trying to molt which seems highly unlikely it would be on its side for three days waiting to molt and now after leaving it like this for 2 more days I come home, no molt, and it's upright and has a normal leg posture as if nothing happened. Wtf is going on??? Does any of this lathargic seem normal for being in between molts?? It does seem way more normal for a long time after a molt but I just don't see it acting so strange for months before a molt. It's the weirdest tarantula I've ever had. It acts nothing like any other tarantula I have. Any thoughts?

---------- Post added 09-04-2015 at 03:51 AM ----------

Guess I should mention it does act normal until it's about have way in to the time it is about to molt again then it molts, then it's totally fine, then it's acting dead again, then it molts again, then is fine, then acts dead all the time again. All in a cycle. It's molted about 3 times since I got it and it was a half inch sling when I purchased it. I have it nice and fattened up before a molt so it's not underfed. Abdomin will be slightly larger than its carapace right before it stops accepting meals and molts.

Weird. After two years, your P metallica should be bigger. And when they are not grown up, their abdomen could be quite fat, way larger than the prosoma. It happens that curled-leg position is related to dehydration. Do you have a full waterdish available in the enclosure?

About feeding, you could try give it a little bigger cricket, maybe twice a week.

If it's possible for you to send a picture of the enclosure and a picture of your T, it could help.

No water dish, I spray water in the enclosure once a week. Going to put a dish in there now just in case

If I feed it anymore than I do it will refuse meals for over a month like it did on the last
molt. I hate when they don't eat for a long time it raises their chances of dehydrating. This time it's refusing meals from 2 months ago. I know it's close to a molt but it shouldve
already molted by now judging by how long it's been since its eaten. And the size thing really puzzles me. It should be 3 times the size it is right now. I'm pretty sure it's a male. That means it's got only 2 more years to live and it's not even half its size it should be. So weird.

L4M4R said:

If I feed it anymore than I do it will refuse meals for over a month like it did on the last
molt. I hate when they don't eat for a long time it raises their chances of dehydrating.

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Only without a water dish.

Ya know, that would feel much more secure, and therefore more comfortable if you provided it some cover. That enclosure could use a few bunches of plastic plants for the t to work with. And what's at the bottom of the tank??? Looks like cotton balls....whatever it is isn't necessary....sub doesn't need any help to be good sub. Looks a bit dry for a poec. Instead of spritzing water (1990 called and wants their spray bottle back), just pour a little on the edge so you can watch its penetration, it will do a significantly better job than spritzing it down will.

I hope that's not a hygrometer on the side.

I mean it isn't out of the question for spiders to "play dead" either, but it does look rather exposed, maybe add like a fake vine with leaves on it?

You might have disturbed it while it was cleaning itself.

Do you have a pic of it "acting dead?" Very curious to see!

cold blood said:

I hope that's not a hygrometer on the side.

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Looks like it's just mesh vents to me.

scott308 said:

Looks like it's just mesh vents to me.

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So it is....

It has plenty of room to hide behind the tree bark which is where it usually is. There's a lot more room behind the bark than it looks like.

---------- Post added 09-08-2015 at 11:24 PM ----------

The acting dead thing isn't much of a concern I guess, does it all the time then acts normal later. Main concern is why it hasn't grown much at all since I got it. The temperature is kept around 75 degrees I have forgotten to mist a few times resulting in the humidity dropping way to dry. But does insufficient humidity really able to slow growth? I have a Togo star burst that doesn't seem to be growing very quickly either. It however has no odd behavior. No idea what's going on here unless humidity levels can stunt growth. I'm certain I'm feeding correctly.

---------- Post added 09-08-2015 at 11:32 PM ----------

MrsHaas said:

Do you have a pic of it "acting dead?" Very curious to see!

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no just has 3-5 legs curled and the rest normal. I've read the tarantulas don't sleep but it seems like that's what it is. If I disturb it, it will correct its legs or run to shelter.

L4M4R said:

The temperature is kept around 75 degrees I have forgotten to mist a few times resulting in the humidity dropping way to dry. But does insufficient humidity really able to slow growth? I have a Togo star burst that doesn't seem to be growing very quickly either. It however has no odd behavior. No idea what's going on here unless humidity levels can stunt growth. I'm certain I'm feeding correctly.

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H. macs just grow slowly, way slower than poecs. I also keep my H. mac much more on the dry side than I do with other OW arboreals. As for humidity, dribble water onto the sub instead of misting...the effects of misting are short lived and don't really do too much good in terms of keeping up humidity (a water dish does the best job)....plus t's don't much like to be spritzed, good way to get a jack in the box t (as poec54 would put it) or send urticating hairs into the air (for NW's). I never mist any t I've ever owned.

So what is your feeding schedule? For slings and juvies twice a week is a proper feeding schedule. I tend to keep my poecs on the drier side (although not totally) with a constantly filled water dish. I just use a syringe to sprinkle water on small areas of sub and rotate the damp spot as it dries. If fed well and kept at decent temps, they should grow fairly quickly regardless of humidity. A little spritz (I use the syringe) on the webbing every week or two is about it, and that's just for convenient drinking opportunities.

My P. vitatta female grew slow, much slower than my other poecs, fasting often, so there are definitely some individuals that just grow at a slower pace. She's a thick 6" now and a beast of an eater.....by about 3.5-4"" her growth pace picked up considerably, as did her appetite.

L4M4R said:

[/COLOR] no just has 3-5 legs curled and the rest normal. I've read the tarantulas don't sleep but it seems like that's what it is. If I disturb it, it will correct its legs or run to shelter.

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Oh lots of my Ts do this I'm not sure why either but I wouldn't worry especially if when u jostle the tank it moves again. For me I think my Ts may have been cleaning themselves and stop to take a break for a while.




--J.Haas

L4M4R said:

[/COLOR] no just has 3-5 legs curled and the rest normal. I've read the tarantulas don't sleep but it seems like that's what it is. If I disturb it, it will correct its legs or run to shelter.

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This is grooming behaviour. You'll be suprised what odd possitions some Ts can take on, especially when grooming. I think sometimes they may be too "lazy" to correct themselves and hold that grooming position for a while. I have seen my MMs do this numerous times when they are on the sides grooming.

Next time your T does this, don't disturb it, take a picture and post it here.. because I can almost assure you it's grooming

The container looks awfully small for her size, seems like the width is barely more than the size of her leg span and the height above the substrate isn't much more.

That's likely the reason why it's growing slowly, I noticed with some of my Ts that they'll gain less size in a smaller container than their siblings which are in bigger ones.

I agree that the tank is too small but I highly doubt it's limiting the growth.


+1 to adding more cover. Rehouse that spider and give it a more interesting enclosure.


Is that gravel/rock at the bottom? Looks like the stuff my grandparents used to use for drainage on plants. Who knows what that's coated with? May not be good for the T. You don't need to put gravel on the bottom of a T tank, if you still want to I would only suggest using aquarium gravel after it's thoroughly rinsed.