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.

 

[siege]

We occasionally get ants in our place. I’ve taken to using a thick coating of vasoline on my shelving legs to ensure ants don’t ever get in with my T’s. I don’t know what type of set up you have for her, but just to be on the safe side and to prevent future attacks, try l leaving a thick line of vasoline along the bottom of the tank maybe? The ants sound like suger ants. They gravitate to water in warmer weather. Filthy basterds.

 

[spidershade]

Update: she’s been hunting around her enclosure a lot, which is abnormal compared to the years I’ve had her, and she climbed and got caught on the mesh top of her enclosure. It’s possible that she was hanging there from one leg for an hour or two. I was able to gently free her and I offered a cricket afterwards and she ate it. Is there any way I can make the mesh top safer? The enclosure is the perfect size and height. I’d like to keep it if possible - what can I do? I feel like this ant nightmare has totally changed the personality of my T.

 

[spidershade]

We occasionally get ants in our place. I’ve taken to using a thick coating of vasoline on my shelving legs to ensure ants don’t ever get in with my T’s. I don’t know what type of set up you have for her, but just to be on the safe side and to prevent future attacks, try l leaving a thick line of vasoline along the bottom of the tank maybe? The ants sound like suger ants. They gravitate to water in warmer weather. Filthy basterds.

Thank you for this suggestion! I have her on an end table that is not up against a wall. Ants hate Avon’s SkinSoSoft so I drenched the end table in that so they won’t come back. It’s oil based so it lasts awhile - I didn’t know about Vaseline, thank you!

 

[Mudring76]

Update: she’s been hunting around her enclosure a lot, which is abnormal compared to the years I’ve had her, and she climbed and got caught on the mesh top of her enclosure. It’s possible that she was hanging there from one leg for an hour or two. I was able to gently free her and I offered a cricket afterwards and she ate it. Is there any way I can make the mesh top safer? The enclosure is the perfect size and height. I’d like to keep it if possible - what can I do? I feel like this ant nightmare has totally changed the personality of my T.

Not that I'm aware of unless you cut it out and attach acrylic with holes drilled in acrylic. Depending on what type of enclosure you have some sell a acrylic lid versus the screen if you look online.

 

[siege]

Update: she’s been hunting around her enclosure a lot, which is abnormal compared to the years I’ve had her, and she climbed and got caught on the mesh top of her enclosure. It’s possible that she was hanging there from one leg for an hour or two. I was able to gently free her and I offered a cricket afterwards and she ate it. Is there any way I can make the mesh top safer? The enclosure is the perfect size and height. I’d like to keep it if possible - what can I do? I feel like this ant nightmare has totally changed the personality of my T.

They make conversion kits now for the T’s. They run from 20-35 dollars I think. But I know what you mean about liking the mesh top. Nancy, one of my brachys had a mesh top but she has never gotten stuck in it (knock on wood).