H. lividum sling behavior

CreepyCrawly

Arachnoknight
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I know this is probably a question asked commonly, but for the life of me I can not get the search function to give me anything useful! I honestly spent 1 hour and 35 minutes working with it, and I never did find a single post that answered my questions.

I have an H. lividum sling, who I've had for a little under a month or so. It's right about 2" long now, and molted the day after I recieved it. It eats pretty well - it just ate three very small (but slightly larger than pinhead) crickets for me yesterday. My concern is this: it spends near no time at all on the floor of the substrate of the little critter keeper it is in. I have it on semi-moist eco-earth which is not bone dry, and is a little damp to the touch. It has about 3.5"-4" of bedding to burrow in if it wants and a starter hole on one side, and it's vial laid on it's side half buried as a hide if it chose to use that instead. It will on occasion hang out in the vial, and usually when it's in there it coveres the entrance with webbing. But it only goes down to the floor (that I ever see) like once every 4 or 5 days. It spends most of it's time up in a corner of the critter keeper, in a pokie pose (4 legs straight out in front of it, and 4 straight out behind it). It also has a small water dish in one corner with fresh water. Last night before I went to bed I put the three crickets in there - and they were gone this morning. I haven't left feeders in there that have gone uneaten for over 8 or 9 hours, then I take them back out if they haven't been eaten.

This doesn't seem normal to me, as in my searches I saw pictures of teeny tiny sling burrows - showing that they do burrow even when slings. I am starting to wonder if this is even an H. lividum sling I have here because of this bizarre behavior. It is sort of hard to get a picture, but I will try to take one of it in a bit. It is sort of a greyish brown, and has charcoal grey/black chevron striping on it's abdomen. No bluish coloration yet. What is going on with this little guy? Any help would be very much appreciated. This is my first sling, and I would hate to lose it due to some stupid mistake on my part.
 

TheDarkFinder

Arachnoangel
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really weird. Pokies will dig a hole too when they are young. Let us do a check list.
1.) Temperature 80-90
2.) Humidity seems good.
3.) Gets a calm, quite night.
4.) Container at least twice the leg span of the tarantula.
Give higher temperatures. Check closing for mitess. I have notice that Haplopelmas have a tendency to stress out really easy. They go from a rearing evil messes to total shut down really quickly. I would cover her up and leave her be in a warm dark place. A premade hole is really great idea. If she does not come around change the substrate.
thedarkfinder
 

CreepyCrawly

Arachnoknight
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The temperature stays right about 80 degress... day and night. I'll try warming it up a few degress. It's already in the quietest darkest, most undisturbed part of the house, but if it doesn't start some normal behavior I may wind up putting it in the closet for a while. I had been keeping it on the top of my desk, on a shelf which sits above the hanging lamp light fixture I have in the room. It's never been defensive, or displayed or anything at me (of course I haven't messed with it much and leave it alone mostly). It's eating pretty well, and everything, but for some reason it just crouches up in the corner during the day. At night I'm sure it comes down and is active as there are little webs around the vial and water dish that it isn't making during the day.

What kind of bedding would work better? Soil? Vermiculite?
 

Deschain

Arachnolord
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It's not at all uncommon for them to spend days/weeks/months hanging out every where but their burrow or hide. It really depends on the individual. I've been fortunate enough to have all of mine take immediately to their starter burrows. Why mine do I can't say...I don't do anything differently than you've done.

It's possible it might not be a lividum. It's also possible that the substrate is too damp.

When I start an enclosure, I use a 50/50 mix of peet and vermiculite and add just enough water to make the substrate "lightly clump", to allow for digging.

Unless of course it's an enclosure like the ones in this thread.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=1052&page=1

Then I use Volker/Martin's method.

Post pics if you can, and let us know how it progresses. Best of luck.
 
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CedrikG

Arachnoking
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well i've heard of lividum not burrowing for 5 months .. I guess it depend on how quick teh little guy will feel home in his new vivarium, I guess you could give her some time
 

CreepyCrawly

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Alright, well, I moved the cage down to the desktop for some pictures (it's too dark up on it's shelf to take pictures). Now she's back up on her shelf, and I've covered the cage with a towel, to help block out any light that might bothering her. She didn't move the whole time I was messing around with her cage... just sat up there... crouched. Sometimes she chooses a more vertical position, just like she is on the top, but vertically in a corner... reminds me of a pokie. The eco-earth appears really wet in the pictures, but it feels much dryer than it looks. It just barely clumps in your hand (I just did the clump test) and no water drips out. I dropped two little crix in there for her tonight... if she doesn't eat them by morning I'll take them out and offer again in a day or two (or three... she did have a rather big meal yesterday).

So here are the pictures I just took of her and her cage. The first one is her sitting up crouched in the lid of her cage. Then the next picture is her whole critter keeper. Then there is a top view of her cage through the little window lid. You can see her starter hole with a cricket head sticking out of it on the left side of the picture. Then there is a side view of the cage, so you can see into the vial/burrow and you can sort of see her webbing in here.

I know it's not THAT great of a picture of her, but it's sort of difficult given her position without taking the lid off and risking her testing out that lighting speed against me. You can see the striping on her abdomen, which I think is super cute! I think that she probably is an H. lividum, I can't see botar making a mistake like that, and she looks like she could be even though I've never seen a picture of an H. lividum sling before (and I have searched and searched). I hope this helps to identify a problem if there is one.

Thanks for all the responses, it at least looks like she's not the first lividum to resist burrow life at first. Maybe I'll have the world's first arboreal H. lividum! Maybe she'll be as sweet as a pussycat too... hahaha.
 

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TheDarkFinder

Arachnoangel
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Looks like a H. lividum. Let the substrate dry out a little.

Just clicked. You need to let her dig her own hole. You custom tube is blocked on the backside. You well need to open that up some how. It looks like she has tried to dig about three times. Two holes behind the custom hole, and one by the water dish. Assuming that you did not make those.

My H lividum takes about a week to accept her custom hole before she starts digging. She will start many preholes before going to the one I want her to start. The good news is that she seems not that scared or stressed. H lividum will web themselves in a corner when completely scared. Cover her with a towel and keep it quite it an you will have a pet hole in no time. You need knock the back out of the tube.
I love these blue wonders.
TheDarkFinder
 

taorchard1987

Arachnobaron
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i know what you are going through. I have a female lividum about 4-5" and ive had her for a little under 3 months she has not burrowed, she stays in the same position all day everyday and has not eaten since i have had her. all i know is she is very active at night as she has webbed every square inch of the tank, i have recentley changed the substrate from peat/vermicialite to normal potting soil to try and encourage burrowing, no luck yet.
 

Botar

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CreepyCrawly said:
I think that she probably is an H. lividum, I can't see botar making a mistake like that, and she looks like she could be even though I've never seen a picture of an H. lividum sling before (and I have searched and searched).
It is H. lividum. They were bred here so there isn't any chance of a mix up. Most H. lividum will burrow and remain in the burrow. I will occasionally see one that hangs out topside, but it is rare. You just may be one of the lucky ones. Then again, that could change at any time.

As for temps, I wouldn't be too concerned. My spider room has been in the low 70's all winter and will be in the upper 70's to low 80's in the summer months.

Botar
 

CreepyCrawly

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Okay, well, as of this morning I'm pretty sure she's in the tube. She's not in the test hole I dug for her, and I can't see anywhere else she could be (and I think I see some legs in there when I stand on my chair and lean over, but I don't want to move the cage or bug her - especially since she's where she's supposed to be (sorta).

As for those holes that you thought she'd dug, the two on either sides of the burrow were dug by her dinner last night of two crickets, I sat there and watched them myself going "How does this happen? The spider won't dig holes, but the crickets will... take some lessons from the crickets!" And the one by the water dish is the one I started for her.

I don't think that I can knock the back out of the vial... but I could probably construct a very elaborate and deep starter hole in that same spot. Of course today is probably one of her "off" days where she'll be normal, and in the morning she'll be back up to the lid. But I can cross my fingers and hope.

Yes, Botar, I was pretty sure you didn't mix it up, but from reading about how they are supposed to be pet holes, and getting this funky arboreal acting one I thought it was sort of strange. Even if you didn't breed them yourself there I still couldn't see you making a mistake like that! I'm pretty sure you've seen enough slings to be able to tell what they are (for the most part anyways).

I guess I am lucky so far to be allowed to see her this much and should stop worrying so badly? I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye on her though. Strange little bug! Thanks for all the help everyone! Now I'm not quite so concerned about her, although it is sort of strange. When she goes up to the top again (assuming she does) I'll try to make the world's best hand made burrow - not just a starter hole. Knowing my luck though, after starting this thread and everything she'll start acting normal and won't go back up there.
 

Darryl Albers

Arachnosquire
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i have had my juvenile h.lividum for 5 weeks now . the first thing he did was cover up the starter hole . now the entire viv is webbed up .... but no burrow .

this is my advice , dont worry about tarantulas , they take care of themselves , as long as the basic requirements are met .

fussing over them just creates more stress for them and you .

i am just enjoying observing this lividum , he is a weird one for sure . :D
 

MizM

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No need to worry. My adult female H. lividum didn't burrow for 5 months after I brought her home. (Maybe THAT'S where you heard it!:eek:) I woke up one day to find she had made a nice little burrow for herself... you will find that Ts will do things in THEIR own good time, not ours!
 

CreepyCrawly

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Oh yes, very true. I usually don't hold any expectations of my spiders, as my expectations never seem to go the way that I think they're supposed to. I had just started to worry as it hadn't been simply sitting out on the ground, but was up in the top corner... which seemed just too odd to me to just not worry about.
 

critterz

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These tiney slings worry us sick, don't they? :rolleyes:

When I have something like this happen, I try to picture a similair situation in the wild. Form what I have READ on burrowing T's (my small collection does not currently include any obligate burrowers), it is not uncommon for them to wait until they are a bit larger to actually construct a burrow in the wild. And those that decide to build one early in life would probably not construct another right away if they were forced from their home by some natural means. They would probably hide under rocks and behind bark on trees, actively hunting until they happened to come across the optimal place to dig. Atleast that's the way it seems to me. My sympathy on your sling paranoias :} !
 

Nerri1029

Chief Cook n Bottlewasher
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Botar said:
It is H. lividum. They were bred here so there isn't any chance of a mix up. Most H. lividum will burrow and remain in the burrow. I will occasionally see one that hangs out topside, but it is rare. You just may be one of the lucky ones. Then again, that could change at any time.

As for temps, I wouldn't be too concerned. My spider room has been in the low 70's all winter and will be in the upper 70's to low 80's in the summer months.

Botar

Mine is also kept at those temps Botar.. and she's doing great :)

However after adding some fresh substrate she hung out on the glass for a few days.. and is now digging another burrow..

It seems they stress easy and need calm and quiet .. Which is why mine do so well at my office.. :)

good luck and IF she stays topside count your blessings..

at least you get to see her more often
 

CreepyCrawly

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This is definitely a strange little guy... but all the better I guess. Yesterday it stayed in the vial all day. But it came out last night, and this morning when I got up it was making what looked like a funnel around the water dish (webs up from the edge of the water dish to the sides of the corner, and over the substrate around the other sides of the water dish) and then hung out up in a corner for probably 4 or 5 hours, and has since retreated into the vial. It also took another 2 little crickets last night (and left the remains in a cute little pile right next to the burrow). But it's sorta active (moreso than most of my adult Ts) and is eating well, and webbing quite a bit.

Maybe it just feels safe in the cage, and comfortable, and that's why it doesn't mind hanging out in the upper corners of the cage? Or maybe that's just me wishing.
 

Darwinsdad

Arachnobaron
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this is about all I have seen of my H. Lividium in months but I would say it was well worth the wait.
 
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