Chilean Rose Hair acting suspicious

[spidershade]

Hi there,
I’ve had my female Chilean Rose Hair, Tilly, for 13 years. I’ve always called her my “pet rock” because she is super chill - she only ever climbs when something is wrong with her habitat and will normally relax in or around her hide.

A few weeks ago, the unthinkable happened: ants attacked my house and unfortunately also attacked her habitat. Luckily, I noticed within a few hours of this happening (at 2am, I noticed she was abnormally clinging to the side of her house, being mindful to not touch the substrate) and immediately got her out of there and totally cleaned everything in her habitat and replaced her substrate. Since this incident, though, she’s been acting strange. Yesterday, she stood next to her water dish with her abdomen propped up on the side of it for hours and when she finally moved she was laid flat with her legs stretched (like T’s do post-molt, but she hasn’t molted) near her water dish. Now, she has reassumed the abdomen-on-water dish position and will probably stay there for hours again. I feed her two large crickets a week, which she happily eats, and keep her water dish full.
The ants did attack mainly near and underneath her water dish (the substrate was moist there) so maybe she’s guarding that area? I’m unsure. I just want to be sure that she’s okay and that I’m caring for her properly.

Also, does her abdomen look alright from the photo I’ve provided? To me, it looks really flat from that angle.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[spidershade]

I would also like to mention that I’ve seen her on/near her water dish way more frequently since the ant invasion but the current position is new.

 

[Mudring76]

Hi there,
I’ve had my female Chilean Rose Hair, Tilly, for 13 years. I’ve always called her my “pet rock” because she is super chill - she only ever climbs when something is wrong with her habitat and will normally relax in or around her hide.

A few weeks ago, the unthinkable happened: ants attacked my house and unfortunately also attacked her habitat. Luckily, I noticed within a few hours of this happening (at 2am, I noticed she was abnormally clinging to the side of her house, being mindful to not touch the substrate) and immediately got her out of there and totally cleaned everything in her habitat and replaced her substrate. Since this incident, though, she’s been acting strange. Yesterday, she stood next to her water dish with her abdomen propped up on the side of it for hours and when she finally moved she was laid flat with her legs stretched (like T’s do post-molt, but she hasn’t molted) near her water dish. Now, she has reassumed the abdomen-on-water dish position and will probably stay there for hours again. I feed her two large crickets a week, which she happily eats, and keep her water dish full.
The ants did attack mainly near and underneath her water dish (the substrate was moist there) so maybe she’s guarding that area? I’m unsure. I just want to be sure that she’s okay and that I’m caring for her properly.

Also, does her abdomen look alright from the photo I’ve provided? To me, it looks really flat from that angle.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

What type of ants?

 

[spidershade]

What type of ants?

Black ants, not sure the exact species. From what I could tell, they were not crawling on her.
As I’m typing this she is now trying to climb her enclosure. I’m worried because this is not typical behavior. Nothing is out of the ordinary besides her water dish not being 100% filled.. I’ll try refilling and see if that helps.

 

[Mudring76]

Black ants, not sure the exact species. From what I could tell, they were not crawling on her.
As I’m typing this she is now trying to climb her enclosure. I’m worried because this is not typical behavior. Nothing is out of the ordinary besides her water dish not being 100% filled.. I’ll try refilling and see if that helps.

 

[Mudring76]

Okay I didn't know where you were from there's certain types of ants that sting and some spray like an acid from their abdomen.

 

[Mudring76]

Do you take her out of her enclosure often or is this the first time when the ants got in there?

 

[spidershade]

Do you take her out of her enclosure often or is this the first time when the ants got in there?

No, I let her do her thing. In the last 13 years I’ve only held her twice and have taken her out of her enclosure maybe 5 times for cleaning purposes. When I removed her due to the ants, I gently scooted her into a large container and never touched/held her.

 

[spidershade]

No, I let her do her thing. In the last 13 years I’ve only held her twice and have taken her out of her enclosure maybe 5 times for cleaning purposes. When I removed her due to the ants, I gently scooted her into a large container and never touched/held her.

I rinsed out her water dish and refilled it and overflowed a bit in case humidity is the issue.

 

[Mudring76]

No, I let her do her thing. In the last 13 years I’ve only held her twice and have taken her out of her enclosure maybe 5 times for cleaning purposes. When I removed her due to the ants, I gently scooted her into a large container and never touched/held her.

 

[Mudring76]

I was going to say if she's been in there for a really long time without a disturbance and then all of a sudden you take her out and maybe like a tarantula with a new enclosure take some time for the get used to it again. She's eating still so that's a good sign.