Tarantula moving his substrate?

[sarahbaggott]

Over the course of a couple of days I’ve noticed that my tarantula almost burrows. Like he creates an indent in his substrate underneath the branches. But it’s gotten to the point where a small area underneath the branches is completely cleared of substrate. I don’t know if it’s the heat and he’s trying to find the glass to keep him cool - although during this heatwave I’ve been misting his tank daily coz it dries so quickly. And today I noticed him with a handful of substrate that he’d collected under the branches and just moved it to the front of his tank. Is this normal?

 

[kingshockey]

all the moving of sub is your t trying to dig out a burrow. it cant cause your using the wrong type it looks like wood chips? use coco fiber or plain top soil free of any fertilizers etc so it can dig a proper burrow your gonna need alot of it to fill that glass tank up to eliminate fall risk. i would suggest using the search function t learn about how to properly provide what it needs to live.quit misting to use a full water dish better. hopefully others will provide more details of what you need to change i am to lazy to type it all out good luck.

 

[ChaniLB520]

Is it a curly hair? I just see the one leg tip in the picture so that’s my wild guess! If so you will want more substrate (3-4 inches at least and coco fiber or topsoil as @kingshockey suggested) because they do tend to like to burrow. A lot of terrestrial species do to some degree, and most of my terrestrial Ts are moving substrate around all the time! Might also be better to just make a corner of the substrate damp rather than mist. And yes, a water dish.

 

[Tarantulafeets]

It is trying to make a home for itself, but is restricted because of the shallow substrate. I would take out all those wood chips and give it 3-5 inches of substrate, you can use organic topsoil or coco fiber or something else with out fertalizer.

 

[cold blood]

more substrate (3-4 inches at least

give it 3-5 inches of substrate

well, to be fair, there is no set amount of sub it needs, in fact the enclosure used will entirely dictate the amount of substrate needed....if its an aquarium, 5 inches could be woefully inadequate....you will need to add sub until the distance from the sub to the top is of a safe level for the t, that will likely mean a lot of substrate.by the looks of the part of the enclosure we cn see.

 

[ChaniLB520]

well, to be fair, there is no set amount of sub it needs, in fact the enclosure used will entirely dictate the amount of substrate needed....if its an aquarium, 5 inches could be woefully inadequate....you will need to add sub until the distance from the sub to the top is of a safe level for the t, that will likely mean a lot of substrate.by the looks of the part of the enclosure we cn see.

That's true. I was just thinking of it from the perspective of giving the T enough room to burrow, but you're right a more thorough answer would include the (relative) amount to make sure that it would not be hurt from a fall.

 

[NMTs]

although during this heatwave I’ve been misting his tank daily coz it dries so quickly.

Spraying water into a hot enclosure increases humidity through rapid evaporation. Think how you would feel if every day someone turned your home/office/whatever into a sauna for 30 minutes and you had no choice but to sit there and wait it out. It would be uncomfortable to say the least, and for T's it can even be fatal. Providing an area of moist substrate and a water dish that can evaporate slowly and consistently is a much better solution, and allows the T the ability to drink whenever it's thirsty. You have to use substrate that can retain moisture for this to work, though, like the kind already suggested.

 

[viper69]

They do this.

 

[sarahbaggott]

Spraying water into a hot enclosure increases humidity through rapid evaporation. Think how you would feel if every day someone turned your home/office/whatever into a sauna for 30 minutes and you had no choice but to sit there and wait it out. It would be uncomfortable to say the least, and for T's it can even be fatal. Providing an area of moist substrate and a water dish that can evaporate slowly and consistently is a much better solution, and allows the T the ability to drink whenever it's thirsty. You have to use substrate that can retain moisture for this to work, though, like the kind already suggested.

Oh crap I thought I was doing something right I didn’t know I was making it worseI thought I was keeping him hydrated not making him sick. I’m gonna clean his tank out this weekend and I’m gonna replace the substrate so hopefully it helps. I was worried about a water dish coz he loves to just walk around his tank and I was worried about him falling into it for some reason that’s why I’ve been missing it. I completely forgot that it adds to the humidity - ty for letting me know!

 

[Chris73G]

although during this heatwave I’ve been misting his tank daily coz it dries so quickly.

High temperatures plus excessive misting in a kinda small "room" with limited ventilation like tarantula enclosures isn´t a good idea. A decently sized full water dish can easily (depending on ventilation) up the humidity by like 10% or so and if its already warm in the room, ambient humidty outside the enclosure could already be at like 60%.

My curly hair turned her enclosure into a molehill and i´ve given up interpreting when and why she´s sitting down in her basement or on the surface. Every time i came to an conclusion like "shes burrowing for moisture" or "shes burrowing because its colder" or "ah, thats probably premolt behavior" or "she came out again because shes hungry" she promptly proved me wrong by doing the exact opposite. I guess she just knows better how to be an tarantula than me...

 

[sarahbaggott]

High temperatures plus excessive misting in a kinda small "room" with limited ventilation like tarantula enclosures isn´t a good idea.

My curly hair turned her enclosure into a molehill and i´ve given up interpreting when and why she´s sitting down in her basement or on the surface. Every time i came to an conclusion like "shes burrowing for moisture" or "shes burrowing because its colder" or "ah, thats probably premolt behavior" she promptly proved me wrong by doing the exact opposite. I guess she just knows better how to be an tarantula than me...

That’s the thing I have no idea what hI’m a doing whether he’s uncomfortable or if this is normal. In the space of one night he’s covered his little hide in substrate - it’s almost completely submerged. I have a bag of orchids bark that one of the workers at the reptile shop recommended to him. Is that kind of substrate suitable for a tarantula or would it need to be something softer? It says the bark can be used wet or dry but if it doesn’t retain the moisture then I will need to buy something new.

Is it a curly hair? I just see the one leg tip in the picture so that’s my wild guess! If so you will want more substrate (3-4 inches at least and coco fiber or topsoil as @kingshockey suggested) because they do tend to like to burrow. A lot of terrestrial species do to some degree, and most of my terrestrial Ts are moving substrate around all the time! Might also be better to just make a corner of the substrate damp rather than mist. And yes, a water dish.

Yeah he’s a curly hairyeah I am gonna get some coco fiber or top soil. I was worried about a water dish coz I didn’t want him falling into it but if it’s okay to have a small dish in there then I’ll find something

 

[kingshockey]

That’s the thing I have no idea what hI’m a doing whether he’s uncomfortable or if this is normal. In the space of one night he’s covered his little hide in substrate - it’s almost completely submerged. I have a bag of orchids bark that one of the workers at the reptile shop recommended to him. Is that kind of substrate suitable for a tarantula or would it need to be something softer? It says the bark can be used wet or dry but if it doesn’t retain the moisture then I will need to buy something new.

use the search function to read/resarch care about your tarantula orchid bark is totaly unsuitable for use. it wont hold the shape for a tunnel or moisture you need coco fiber or plain top soil packed into that glass tank your using so its no more than 1.5 times leg span of t add a cork flat for it to use as a hide to burrow under t. like how mine is in pic its mportamt since you have wire screen lid if its foot gets caught the fall wont beto bad if it amputates a leg to get free good luck

 

[Frogdaddy]

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this picture shows many, many things wrong
Not enough substrate.
Possibly too big of an enclosure.
Misting, something you shouldn't do, and definitely not do in the midst of a heatwave.
Lack of research, if you did any you would know T. albos dig, plus all the above.

 

[ChaniLB520]

Yeah he’s a curly hairyeah I am gonna get some coco fiber or top soil. I was worried about a water dish coz I didn’t want him falling into it but if it’s okay to have a small dish in there then I’ll find something

Glad to hear it! Yeah they cannot drown in water dishes, that is just a myth. Unfortunately it seems like a lot of pet stores continue to perpetuate it. Definitely include a water dish.

 

[Matt Man]

and 'chip' substrate is bad for a T. T's need soil and yes they dig, move the stuff around all the time. Curly Hairs, like to burrow so give them some depth when you change out that soil

that chip stuff is used a lot in Big Box Stores and it is heart breaking

 

[sarahbaggott]

I

well, to be fair, there is no set amount of sub it needs, in fact the enclosure used will entirely dictate the amount of substrate needed....if its an aquarium, 5 inches could be woefully inadequate....you will need to add sub until the distance from the sub to the top is of a safe level for the t, that will likely mean a lot of substrate.by the looks of the part of the enclosure we cn see.

I would say that the tank is anywhere between 30-50cm tall - I haven’t measured it properly and that’s a wild guess. But I would say between 30-50cm - so how much substrate would be enough to minimise risk of him falling?

 

[cold blood]

I

I would say that the tank is anywhere between 30-50cm tall - I haven’t measured it properly and that’s a wild guess. But I would say between 30-50cm - so how much substrate would be enough to minimise risk of him falling?

you will need to fill it 2/3 of the way with sub

 

[sarahbaggott]

What is the reason for this?

I’ve noticed Gomez rearranging his substrate a lot lately. I know people say when they see the tank that I should have some substrate at a higher level - I did, he’s just moved it all back to burrow but now he can’t get into his hiding spotsis the reason for this purely to burrow or do they do it for any other reason? I’m curious as to why he does it. Also is there a way to find out how old tarantulas are? He’s only shed once in the two years I’ve had him so I don’t know if that was his last?

 

[Brewser]

I’ve noticed Gomez rearranging his substrate a lot lately. I know people say when they see the tank that I should have some substrate at a higher level - I did, he’s just moved it all back to burrow but now he can’t get into his hiding spotsis the reason for this purely to burrow or do they do it for any other reason? I’m curious as to why he does it. Also is there a way to find out how old tarantulas are? He’s only shed once in the two years I’ve had him so I don’t know if that was his last?

Maybe... Building a Wall to Keep Out Alien Lifeforms.

 

[Wolfram1]

looks like it put up privacy curtains, do not disturb until it opens an exit again

if it has a second exit it may also have decided to block this one

kind of like this: