I have burrowing T's, but this is CRAZY! Young PinkZebraBeauty burrowing questions...

RugbyDave

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Hey everyone

back online. I was wondering if anyone else's PZB (E.campestratus) burrowed like hell? I mean, its getting to the point where i want to move my T into a new cage, since s/he is excavating the whole cage? In other words, s/he started burrowing down, then burrowed about half of the bottom of the cage, and then went up and made another burrow on the other side... i'm just seeing everything cave in on her/him while s/he's in one of the caves...

i have burrowing T's, but this is crazy, seriously! I've never seen a T do that! I just got all moved in so I don't have my dig cam/web cam out, but i do have a pic i took a couple weeks ago from the first burrow (which is crazy in itself).

anyone else have this happen with a really young PZB (mine can fit in a teaspoon).

Im def. going to have to change cages soon, since things will cave in on her...

thanks in advance,
pce,
dave
 

Beth-Tex

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Jan 26, 2003
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My little PZB ( 1/2" ) was doing that too when she/he was just barely 1/4" & the stuff started to cave.........I actually removed the tyke & set it up with just a damp paper towel which I do change often. This has worked well for me. I can see her/him & monitor it better what with eating n' stuff & it seems to be quite content.
When it gets a bit bigger (maybe next molt) I'll put it back into peat/vermic mix. I have the time to constantly change the piece of towel, so it is not a big deal to me.
 

rapunzel

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Jan 17, 2003
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I havent seen my Curly in....

I can't remember the last time I actually saw it. I just feed the 'dirt' and keep it from drying out. My curly excavated its entire vial, and crammed the dirt up to the very top of the lid...
I don't worry about it caving..I think it may, but I do not think it would trap or crush it. If part of its tunnel system were to collapse, I think it could dig itself out just fine...then again, it is not in a big tank with tons of substrate. It is in a vial. I can guess the size of it, but because I havent seen it in so long, I really do not know what size it is, but I will say that it is around an inch big.
 

kellygirl

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I have several tiny PZB spiderlings--my smallest is maybe 1/8"--that do this same home-decorating. It's a little nerve-wracking when I try to find them, even though they are in tiny little deli cups. Because they are so small, I have to be very careful when I mist the cups so the water doesn't gather where they are. Maybe I'm just being silly but I am afraid of drowning them in the mist run-off! Needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to when these spiderlings get bigger!

kellygirl
 

alidpayne

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Originally posted by kellygirl
Maybe I'm just being silly but I am afraid of drowning them in the mist run-off!
kellygirl

Kellygirl,

You are NOT being silly at all. We recently lost a sweet little curly sling to this very situation. I very very lightly misted his cup, and the droplets on the side ran down and formed a pool. I found him later lying in the tiny little puddle dead. Strange, especially since the puddle was no wider than he was, and quite shallow. I would have expected he could have simply walked half an inch to either side, but either he couldnt or just didn't for some reason.

A horrible thing, and of course I blamed myself. Now I am VERY careful, especially with the tiny little guys. When I mist the tiny guys I mist straight up in the air and let it "rain" lightly on their cups.

Ali
 

RugbyDave

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hey kellygirl (and alida) --

i fully agree with you also! i went in on a breeding half with a guy i know and the same thing happened to a COUPLE of his kids!!

It's not over-reacting at all!

At any rate, im almost to the box where the cameras are (i think) so i'll try to eventually snap some pics of her labrynth... this makes me think that not all T-burrows are as plain as is reported... I never find reports of burrows that have multiple tunnels and 'hiding' spots...my little T has 3 distinct chill-out spots...

man, i'm just waiting for this kid to molt! Its gonna be amazing!

thanks, and i wonder if any other small PZBs do this to this extent!

pce,
dave
 

RugbyDave

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oh yes, alida, sorry for your loss, but at least, on some wierd bright side, you've learned something from it, so it can't happen to any other T's right?

alright, thats me trying to be sympathetic after driving a thousand miles and trying to unpack half of boston in a new one-room apartment in minneapolis. I'll try this again later :)

pce
dave
 
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