A. chalcodes webbing over enclosure

[Poffypoffa]

I recently reworked setup in my A. chalcodes enclosure. She seems comfortable and has made a home in her cave for the first time, where she has been spending 90% of her time the past three days. She comes out to drink once per night. She recently ate 3 crickets, but did not go out hunting for them--she waited until they walked in front of her cave. I have not seen her kick out the boluses.

This morning I woke up and she had spread some fine webbing over the hole of her cave. It's very thin, but she doesn't have an obvious opening.

Anyone have a guess what's up? She could be in pre-moult, but then I wouldn't expect her to have eaten so well. Is this just everyday spider decor, and she'll make her way through? This is my first T (or invert of any kind) so I have no idea what to expect. Some online seem to have reported similar when their Ts were first settling in.

I had a very hard time with the photo. You can see a few web strands, but in person there are multiple strands of ultra-fine webbing criss-crossing across the front of the hole. All the dirt outside is from her excavating.

Should I prod through that dirt a bit to see if there might be a bolus in there? Or leave it all alone? It's a bone dry enclosure save the water dish.

 

[GarField000]

No no leave it alone.
It wants to be left alone.

Could be so it wants to recover a bit from all the fuzz from the new enclosure.
Or it needs to molt ... or just not wanting to eat .....
It will come out when it's ready. If you are lucky she motled ...

Also don't need to feed it until the door is open .

 

[DustyD]

The webbing on the ground may be a prelude to it covering up the entrance altogether for “me time” or molting. Some tarantulas have been reported to line the outside of their dens with webbing and put urticating hairs down as a defensive barrier.

Oh, and who knows, your tarantula may just be screwing with your mind for fun. They do that. Something like “ Let’s see if she can figure this one out.”
Keep us updated especially if you start to read words like “Terrific” or “ Some Pig” in the webbing.

(Some of you may not get this reference but you should.)

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

Tarantula is doing tarantula things. You provide the food and full water dish and it will to the rest. The best part of having a t is how low maintenance they are

 

[Poffypoffa]

The webbing on the ground may be a prelude to it covering up the entrance altogether for “me time” or molting. Some tarantulas have been reported to line the outside of their dens with webbing and put urticating hairs down as a defensive barrier.

Oh, and who knows, your tarantula may just be screwing with your mind for fun. They do that. Something like “ Let’s see if she can figure this one out.”
Keep us updated especially if you start to read words like “Terrific” or “ Some Pig” in the webbing.

(Some of you may not get this reference but you should.)

They really, really should. Unless they skipped childhood.

 

[GarField000]

(Some of you may not get this reference but you should.)

I might have missed something in my childhood than ... or it's because i'm european .... I have no clue what your talking about

 

[Poffypoffa]

I might have missed something in my childhood than ... or it's because i'm european .... I have no clue what your talking about

It’s from a children’s book—Charlotte’s Web.

 

[DustyD]

Sorry, probably should have excluded you Europeans and elsewhere for this one. It is an uplifting book. Although it is primarily for children it is a nice story at any age. Author is E. B. White.

 

[Poffypoffa]

I actually assumed the story was more geographically universal, such as C.S. Lewis and Ronald Dahl books are in the US. But it sounds like not! Try to find the cartoon from the 70s online--it's a classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon, with music by the guys who wrote most of the early Disney songs.