Abnormal Behavior / Pre-molt?

[Spatula]

Hello,

I was hoping to find some insight into the typical pre-molt behaviors of tarantulas. My GF and I bought a rose hair from a local Petco about 2 months ago and up until 2 days ago, his / her (Ned for now, since we're still not sure) behavior has been what I would consider typical based on what I've read online. Two days ago we noticed that Ned seemed a little less lively than usual and adopted an upright stance (abdomen upward, positioned high off of the substrate - ballooning?) and he would start waving his legs vertically in the air, one or two at time as if he was stretching or something. Up until a couple of days ago, Ned's been eating regularly - about 3 crickets a week or so but hasn't eaten in over a week and seems much more passive than usual, remaining stationary for almost 24 hours with slight movements or changes in direction.

Aside from the change in behavior, we're also concerned because this happened to coincide with the introduction of a plant in his terrarium that we bought from Walmart. We didn't think anything of it at the time, but on the second day of observing his recent behavior it dawned on me that commercially sold plants are most likely treated with pesticides. We've since removed the plant, completely replaced his substrate and washed his dish and log cave thingamajig.

I should also mention that we've been handling him pretty much daily, I usually tap his back leg once or twice to let him know that I'm there (which usually prompts a quick response, but he's a little slower to react now), and then gradually scoop him up into my hand. In retrospect, I'm now wondering if this is a bad idea due to the fact that their eyesight is limited and they mainly rely on other senses (touch, air displacement, etc.) to identify prey. Now I can't help but wonder if Ned is reluctant to attack crickets because he might interpret the vibrations as one of us wanting to handle him.

Anyway, just looking for some feedback from the community. His movements aren't what I would describe as "twitchy", and based on the videos that I've watched it wouldn't appear to be DKS, but again we love the little guy and if his behavior is in any way indicative of some sort of illness then we'd like to know as soon as possible. His abdomen is far from what I would consider shriveled, so I don't think he's dehydrated, but still... if there's anyone out there that has observed something similar, I'd definitely appreciate the feedback. BTW, that's a coconut based substrate and his humidity is at 75 with an ambient temp of 77F degrees.

Thanks in advance guys... check out the attached pic / video link for a better idea of what I'm describing.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zps0a4bmrjiulhk/ned_stretch.mov?dl=0

 

[Entity]

couple things here in my experience, First quite holding him so much. better yet not at all. it just stresses them out. second the humidity is too high. the substrate should be dry and the only humidity should be from a water dish. they are desert species. if the substrate is too wet that will make him rise up like that. also, a week without eating is nothing, rose hairs are known for going long periods of time without eating. ive heard the record for one is 2 years. but always offer him food every week until he eats. dont leave food items in there more than overnight though.

 

[Chubbs]

I agree with everything above. If you want something you can handle, get a rodent or a bearded Dragon or similar reptile.

 

[Spatula]

couple things here in my experience, First quite holding him so much. better yet not at all. it just stresses them out. second the humidity is too high. the substrate should be dry and the only humidity should be from a water dish. they are desert species. if the substrate is too wet that will make him rise up like that. also, a week without eating is nothing, rose hairs are known for going long periods of time without eating. ive heard the record for one is 2 years. but always offer him food every week until he eats. dont leave food items in there more than overnight though.

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, since the post we've actually cut back on the amount of time that he spends outside of his terrarium. As far as the humidity is concerned, that may be more difficult. I live in Nashville and in the summer it's pretty damn humid here. We don't spray the cage and I've only overflowed his water dish maybe two or three times. It's possible that the gauge is malfunctioning, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's close to the humidity in my home, particularly after it's been raining outside. He still hasn't eaten anything, but other than that his behavior seems to have returned to normal so I'm not too worried at this point.

Thanks again for the advice...

 

[Spatula]

I agree with everything above. If you want something you can handle, get a rodent or a bearded Dragon or similar reptile.

I owned a bearded dragon for 8 years or so, and would definitely agree that they make great pets. The main reason we bought a tarantula was because they seemed like an interesting, low maintenance pet - not necessarily because we wanted something that would be fun to play with (We have two dogs for that purpose, well... one and a pug anyway. The pug is probably closer to owning a pig than a dog). It's difficult to say whether it's stressing him out or not because his behavior inside and outside his terrarium seems fairly consistent and incredibly passive, but I am a little concerned that his eating habits seem to have changed so just to err on the side of caution, we mostly just let him do his spider thing and hang out on top of his log now.

 

[Chubbs]

It's a rose hair lol they don't have very good appetites to begin with.

 

[Spatula]

It's a rose hair lol they don't have very good appetites to begin with.

LoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoL. Hilarious indeed. He's eaten three crickets every week for the first four months that we've had him and now it's been close to three weeks since he's eaten. His lack of appetite was one of the reasons I was questioning whether he could be in some sort of pre-molt stage since it seems inconsistent with past behavior. The fact that this also started at exactly the same time that we put a plant which was most likely treated with pesticides in his enclosure seems extremely coincidental and has me a little concerned.

 

[Chubbs]

LoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoLLoL. Hilarious indeed. He's eaten three crickets every week for the first four months that we've had him and now it's been close to three weeks since he's eaten. His lack of appetite was one of the reasons I was questioning whether he could be in some sort of pre-molt stage since it seems inconsistent with past behavior. The fact that this also started at exactly the same time that we put a plant which was most likely treated with pesticides in his enclosure seems extremely coincidental and has me a little concerned.

Well the species itself is sort of known for not having the best appetite and/or fasting a lot. Just ask any of the other keepers here.

 

[Fuzzball79]

When I first got my Rosea, she would eat like a horse and I thought "I don't know what all the fuss is about?", lol. Over a year later and we have gone through plenty of looong fasting periods. All of them spent with me hoping, that she would finally molt.
She eventually did molt (a couple of weeks ago), but before that she didn't eat for nearly 5 months. Now she's back to piggin' out .
I guess, what I'm trying to say is, with a Rosea you need to be prepared for behavioural changes from one extreme to the other. Sometimes they just do certain things because they can and who knows what goes on inside their brain, lol?
I keep my fingers crossed for you though, that yours actually is in premolt. It might be a long wait, but worth it!

 

[Spatula]

When I first got my Rosea, she would eat like a horse and I thought "I don't know what all the fuss is about?", lol. Over a year later and we have gone through plenty of looong fasting periods. All of them spent with me hoping, that she would finally molt.
She eventually did molt (a couple of weeks ago), but before that she didn't eat for nearly 5 months. Now she's back to piggin' out .
I guess, what I'm trying to say is, with a Rosea you need to be prepared for behavioural changes from one extreme to the other. Sometimes they just do certain things because they can and who knows what goes on inside their brain, lol?
I keep my fingers crossed for you though, that yours actually is in premolt. It might be a long wait, but worth it!

Appreciate the reply, and the reassurance. I am still a little concerned about possible exposure to pesticides, but it's good to know that this sort of behavior isn't considered abnormal in any way. We've only had him / her for about four months, but we've both become accustomed to having him around and really like the little guy. I'm sure it's obvious that this is the first time we've owned one, and have a lot to learn as far as differentiating between normal behavioral characteristics and those that would be indicative of illness or something that would warrant intervention on our part. I'm still kind of curious about the weird "stretching" movements. He's not doing it anymore, so I guess that's a good sign.

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to post. As tarantula noobs, we definitely appreciate the advice...