tarantula question

[GarterGirl]

I know this is a garter snake forum, but somebody here must know about tarantulas!
WHAT is my tarantula doing?
WHY did she spin this web?
Is she going to molt?
She completely locked herself in!
We tried to give her crickets, but they couldn't get in! So we don't think its for catching food!

Image of marieke - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Image of marieke - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[adamanteus]

Hi Mikhaila, Yes, it would appear she is going into shed. Disturb her as little as possible and keep the humidity pretty high. Remove any crickets you can, as your spider is quite vulnerable to attack at this time.

Tarantulas don't spin any kind of "snare"...ever.

[drache]

Thanks James
we figured
and did take the crickets back out
okay
more misting then
how exciting
I'll have to read up on this again

[GarterGirl]

Thanks!
Drache misted last night and I'll mist her this morning!

[GarterGuy]

She's a pink-toe tarantula right? Avicularia sp? Mine also spins a web. Unlike other tarantulas, pink-toes a arboreal (tree living) spiders and they do spin webs....not so much to trap prey, but to actually create a home for themselves in the trees and such that they live in. This also isn't neccesarily a sign that she's going to molt. Mine has a web in her tank all the time. This is completely natural for her to do......and I see she's done it inside a cardboard tube as well. She's pretty much making that her home. One thing you do want to watch is that pink-toes are not desert tarantulas and do need a higher realative humidity then say rosehair tarantulas and such. I keep mine in a tank with verticle cork bark slabs and silk plants....looks very jungle like. I also have a large water dish (it's over 4in. in diameter, but very shallow and has large gravel in it so the crickets don't drown) and mist her daily. Even though they like it humid, they also like good ventilation...so don't want the air to get stagnant. Hope this helps out some.
Roy

[drache]

that helps a lot
we've figured out that she's not molting, because she came out of her hide and is doing some more spinning
it did seem more of a making herself at home sort of thing
we do mist every day and our ambient humidity is creeping up anyway (today 81%)
actually - I probably won't have to mist that often in summer
can I see a pic of your tank, Roy?
we keep ours in a small critter keeper and I keep stuff around it, so she doesn't feel exposed
she seems fine - just hangs out, eats when offered food, never moves much otherwise
when we take her out, she seeks to get either on people's backs of heads
how does she know?
I suppose some people would say she doesn't, but she's very consistent in this

[GarterGuy]

Originally Posted by drache

can I see a pic of your tank, Roy?
when we take her out, she seeks to get either on people's backs of heads
how does she know?
I suppose some people would say she doesn't, but she's very consistent in this

Sure, I'll take a pic of it tomorrow sometime and post it here. Yeh, they usually will try to climb to the highest point when you work with them. Guess it's because they're arboreal by nature...so want to climb right to the top.
Roy

[GarterGuy]

Sorry this took so long....still trying to get my Fla. pics all sorted out. Anyways, I keep her in a 12X12X12 ExoTerra tank that has bark on the bottom, a piece of cork bark leaned up against the back corner and a silk ficus drapped over the cork bark. Her water bowl is just a 4in. flower basin. Hope this helps with your set up.
Roy



In this pic you can see her web she built behind the cork bark.