Worried

Tavyn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
39
So I got my new B. vagans on Friday. Put it in the new enclosure and it dug into its half log hide and piled some dirt up in the entryway. Its one of those corner cut log hideaways so I can kinda see my T if I crane my head around the corner and look. Hard to see cause its dark in there and lighter out here. Been using a flashlight to check on it. There has been a cricket in there since friday night but I am not worried about the cricket being in there for this long cause the cricket cant get to the T cause the Ts buried himself. So when do I worry about the T not coming out? The pet store said they get fed two crickets on every wed and sun. Well sunday came and went and my T didnt eat. Could he be stressed out by the move? Hes sitting on my computer desk right now. Could the typing or the subtle vibrations from the computer fans and hard drive running be bothering it? Should I dig out the opening? Maybe the T is confused by the light coming in from the back of the hide thats up against the glass and thinks it can get out that way when it cant?

Sorry if I am being paranoid but I got my T and I understand that sometimes they burrow when little. I do want him to grow so I can eventually see him out. Right now hes really dull. I have a tank filled with some moss, a plant, a water dish, and a cricket. Not terribly exciting.
 

Windchaser

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Messages
2,996
First, remove the cricket. It is never a good idea to leave an uneaten cricket in an enclosure for more than 24 hours. Crickets will and have snacked on tarantulas. This is certainly very possible if the tarantula starts to molt. Crickets can get through some very tight spots, so you can't be certain that it can't get to your tarantula.

Secondly, tarantulas can go an amazingly long time without eating. They will also seal themselves in for no reason. More often than not, they do this when they are about to molt. However, they will do it just to be left alone as well. This is normal behavior and you really don't need to worry about it.

For a feeding schedule, twice a week is a bit much. I feed my tarantulas once every week or two. They really don't need much. For most tarantulas, a diet of 6 to 8 appropriately sized crickets is a sufficient diet.

As far as their being boring, it depends on what you are looking for. Tarantulas for the most part are not very active critters. Most of the time they will remain very still or hidden. As you keep them longer, you will get a chance to observe some incredible behaviors. However, they aren't normally going to be running around the enclosure doing tricks. If that is what you were looking for, you may have gotten the wrong pet.
 
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Tavyn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
39
I am not exactly expecting it to do tricks, but I was hoping it would at least be out walking around its tank. Exploring and just doing that crazy spider walk. The slow one where the legs are like picked up and held in the air for long periods before slowly being placed very deliberately before the next step is taken. I was hoping that I could drop a cricket in there and the T would pounce on it and eat it up, so I could watch. I really love organisms and totally respect them, I have had an insatiable curiousity about "critters" (thats a very scientific term by the way :) ) since I was a very small child. My main purpose behind getting a T was the learning and observation that I was looking forward to. So far I am very disappointed. No observations, its buried itself and I can barely see it, if I try hard and look with a flashlight. Was hoping to examine it a bit more than just one part of a hairy leg that I can sorta see through the glass at the back of the tank.
 

Potatoemoe

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 22, 2005
Messages
116
I agree with Windchaser if you are looking for a something that is going to be moving around alot then a T isn't for you, and yes you will be disappointed. It sounds like you should have done more reseacrh before you bought it, and if you want to get rid of it there are plenty of people on the board that would pay for you to ship it to them. That aside Windchaser summed it up, T's can go a year or more without food, though not normal. My P. lugardi I got about a month ago has been webbed up in the corner of the tank to where I can only see only the end of a leg if I'm lucky, but he finally came out to attack me when I was messing in the partition next to his. It times like this that make T's worth having seeing a full threat display and the amzing speed which they can move. I was in no danger of course but quite impressive, but now he is back in his hide and can barely be seen again, I only hope to see him next month. By the way I he has only eaten one medium sized cricket in that time. For one thing how big is the T? If it is small they tend to hide more and can be easily frightened by crickets that are nearly as big as they are. Also you have only had it for a few days from what it sounds like I would take the cricket out and try again in a week or 2. There is a reason the most of us have several different T's its so the one of them is gerenrally doing something at any given time.
 

Windchaser

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Messages
2,996
If you keep them long enough, you will get to see some interesting behavior. You have to understand though that it doesn't occur on a daily. basis. That is why you get your collection up to tons of tarantulas, then odds are you will get to see something on a regular basis. :D {D :D
 

Wadew

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Messages
417
:rolleyes: Maybe your "T" knew wilma was on her way and batten down the hatches! Have patience you will be soon fascinated !and if you are lucky satisfied with only one......
 

Sibeleen

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
78
to be quite honest, i shared the same feeling at first...
When i got my A. Urticans, at first all it did was just hang around on the side of the tank, not moving, sometimes cleaning the pedipalps (i think it did something like that)...anyways...after a while, when it started to explore a lil, it started to web the place up, and thats where it all started,
i say patience my friend...
But if u want more...id say get an arboreal species if u like to see web construction, preferably avicularia...I've had mine a month or so and im very happy with him :D
but i wont lie, i also got a chaco because i wanted to observe the terrestrial species just like you.
just hang on to it, and eventually ull grow to it and possibly will get yourself an arboreal species aswell :p
Good luck on you observation ventures my friend.

*edit*
about the vibrations...
I have experienced the following...
At first when the tank was on my desk, yes, the vibrations would influence the T. It would walk around the tank to try n find a hiding spot...but now that i made a shelf which is only in contact with my wall they seem to be very calmer and at ease. When i occasionally touch the shelf by mistake, they felt it too and reacted. But within a month, they have gotten used to the occasional vibration i make when i pic stuff up off the shelf and replace them. They barely budge.
Hope this helps buddy

SiB
 
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Darwinsdad

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 23, 2004
Messages
338
Tavyn said:
I am not exactly expecting it to do tricks, but I was hoping it would at least be out walking around its tank. Exploring and just doing that crazy spider walk. The slow one where the legs are like picked up and held in the air for long periods before slowly being placed very deliberately before the next step is taken. I was hoping that I could drop a cricket in there and the T would pounce on it and eat it up, so I could watch. I really love organisms and totally respect them, I have had an insatiable curiousity about "critters" (thats a very scientific term by the way :) ) since I was a very small child. My main purpose behind getting a T was the learning and observation that I was looking forward to. So far I am very disappointed. No observations, its buried itself and I can barely see it, if I try hard and look with a flashlight. Was hoping to examine it a bit more than just one part of a hairy leg that I can sorta see through the glass at the back of the tank.
Well, interestingly enough, you are "observing" the natural activity of a tarantula. What yours is doing and what it will do in the future are its traits and habits. No two are exactly the same and even though they may seem so this slight difference is what you want to observe and what makes them unique. Give it some time and sit back, enjoy the show. Wait till you see it after its first molt in your care or better yet wait till you catch it in the act, you will be surprised that those groceries you were headed after dont seem important because you are not hungry anymore. Dont be disapointed that you spider is just hideing, it is normal for some but hey without haveing it there you would not have observed this aspect of thier behavior right, you still have learned something.
 
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