Adult Aphonopelma chalcodes wandering

[Gizalba]

Hi,

This is Nymphadora The Explorer, I got her a week ago and she is a sexed female. She is VERY active compared to my other Ts! Hopefully this is normal behaviour too, but I just wanted to check if her enclosure is okay. She does lots of circuits of the enclosure, and if I take the lid off she always wants to come out. I did hold her on the first day she arrived - I know you're not meant to/it's very dangerous for them. I don't plan to again but since she was so eager to come out I wanted that experience of holding a tarantula as a one-off.

My other Ts have reassured me by seeming to make the place their own; putting webbing up and settling into the hide for a while. I saw Nymphadora test out the hide once then she quickly came out again. You can't see very well but the main hide is the cork bark under the flowers, which although it is covered up goes all the way to the side of the enclosure she is standing on. The hole I made under there isn't that big but I thought that would give her the option of extending it under the bark to as large as she wants. I have since then worried what if she needs a really small space as a hide, so I have added the coconut dome as a second option, but I have not seen her try it yet.

If she is wanting to come out of the enclosure, I wondered if that means she needs a bigger place to explore? But I have also read that sometimes tarantulas pace if the space is too big and they haven't found 'home' yet? Then I wondered whether she is actually a male looking for a mate lol, as I have heard they wander a lot too at that stage. So I wondered if anyone can tell me from the underneath pic whether she defo seems female?

I fed her a few days after she arrived - she ate a few crickets and a locust. I have since tried another cricket wondering whether she was wandering looking for food, but she didn't eat it overnight to I took it out.

Any advice/ideas welcome!

 

[m0lsx]

My chalcodes is one of only 2 or 3 that I have named. I call her Hohokam, after the ancient Senoran Desert people who dug irrigation ditches & made amazing stone arrow heads. When the mood takes her, Hohokam can move enough substrate to irrigate a desert. She has a character like no other T that I have. Once when doing something in her enclosure, my hand accidentally brushed against her. She turned & whacked hell out of a plant.

When Hohokam is in a wandering mode, putting my hand at the top edge of her enclosure is just something else to climb. When she is not in that mood, she occasionally gets frustrated by my hand & hits it with her front legs.. "Get out of my way."

A couple of crickets & a locust a week ago, means it is probably simply not hungry this week. T's take a while to settle into new environments, so just enjoy her, she sounds like she has as much character as mine.

 

[ilovebrachys]

Did you get her from TSS? If so she's one of the WC imports they have received recently - we have some new aphonopelma additions too that have been doing exactly the same thing - we have found them to be quite hungry and keen to feed so offer her something more to eat and I'm sure she will settle in but like mulsx has said they are quite little characters and ours always seem quite active when they are not trashing the hell out of there enclosures lol enjoy your new addition

 

[Oursapoil]

This is ours, Blondie.
We had her as a big sling and she is a very mellow/chill T. She is as you can see “big bottomed”, never in a bad mood (never flicked hair or give us a threat posture) but with quite a different behavior as she rarely climb or wander around and never dig, not once. She goes from time to time under her cork bark but is mostly out in the open. I wonder if the behavior differences are due to the individual character of each spider or if it could be between WC and CB.

 

[Gizalba]

My chalcodes is one of only 2 or 3 that I have named. I call her Hohokam, after the ancient Senoran Desert people who dug irrigation ditches & made amazing stone arrow heads. When the mood takes her, Hohokam can move enough substrate to irrigate a desert. She has a character like no other T that I have. Once when doing something in her enclosure, my hand accidentally brushed against her. She turned & whacked hell out of a plant.

When Hohokam is in a wandering mode, putting my hand at the top edge of her enclosure is just something else to climb. When she is not in that mood, she occasionally gets frustrated by my hand & hits it with her front legs.. "Get out of my way."

A couple of crickets & a locust a week ago, means it is probably simply not hungry this week. T's take a while to settle into new environments, so just enjoy her, she sounds like she has as much character as mine.

Hohokam is an awesome and fitting name Thanks for sharing your experience with this species, as long as Nymphadora is happy indeed the personality is lovely

 

[Gizalba]

Did you get her from TSS? If so she's one of the WC imports they have received recently - we have some new aphonopelma additions too that have been doing exactly the same thing - we have found them to be quite hungry and keen to feed so offer her something more to eat and I'm sure she will settle in but like mulsx has said they are quite little characters and ours always seem quite active when they are not trashing the hell out of there enclosures lol enjoy your new addition

Yes she is from TSS last week, so that may explain it, thanks! I did think she is on the skinny side so will try another meal. She hasn't done any trashing yet

 

[Gizalba]

This is ours, Blondie.
We had her as a big sling and she is a very mellow/chill T. She is as you can see “big bottomed”, never in a bad mood (never flicked hair or give us a threat posture) but with quite a different behavior as she rarely climb or wander around and never dig, not once. She goes from time to time under her cork bark but is mostly out in the open. I wonder if the behavior differences are due to the individual character of each spider or if it could be between WC and CB.

View attachment 52103

Beautiful pics Thanks for that info!

 

[AdamG]

Did you get her from TSS? If so she's one of the WC imports they have received recently - we have some new aphonopelma additions too that have been doing exactly the same thing - we have found them to be quite hungry and keen to feed so offer her something more to eat and I'm sure she will settle in but like mulsx has said they are quite little characters and ours always seem quite active when they are not trashing the hell out of there enclosures lol enjoy your new addition

I got an adult female Aphonopelma Chalcodes in the same batch and the behaviour was very similar to what's described in this thread.

After a few good meals she's now very chilled and used to surroundings.

 

[AdamG]

My browser behaved a little bit tetchy and posted before I'd finished.

Initially she was very skittish but was still very happy to hunt and eat. After a week or so and a couple of feedings her attitude totally changed. Still inquisitive but with a totally different body language. Even wandered right out onto my hand as gentle as can be while I was changing her water dish.

Her abdomen is now looking a little bit thicker but honestly, the behavioural change has been huge and she has her cosy favourite spots she is always chilling in. I would expect yours will he the same when she settles a little.

 

[Gizalba]

My browser behaved a little bit tetchy and posted before I'd finished.

Initially she was very skittish but was still very happy to hunt and eat. After a week or so and a couple of feedings her attitude totally changed. Still inquisitive but with a totally different body language. Even wandered right out onto my hand as gentle as can be while I was changing her water dish.

Her abdomen is now looking a little bit thicker but honestly, the behavioural change has been huge and she has her cosy favourite spots she is always chilling in. I would expect yours will he the same when she settles a little.

Thanks for that info! Yes mine seems much more settled now too She no longer tries to get out of the enclosure when I open it, so I hope she sees it as home. I have also seen her use the hide to eat in. Here she is with a meal

 

[Arachnoclown]

Shes acclimating...