Extremely Unhappy Spider, Don't Know Why

[Jackie]

I just got a new Mexican Red Knee recently, and she won't stop climbing the walls of her terrarium.
It's quite distressing.

She's only 3" and I already have her in a 10 gallon tank. (Is that too much space?)

Substrate is a tropical soil you can get from pet stores, I had this same substrate for my Goliath Bird Eater, and my Rose Hair. It may be a little moist for her, but I have an infrared lamp on during the day. I also have an UTH.

There are two places to hide, one being a skull, and the other being a piece of drift wood. There are also some fake leaves in there. The soil is very high, so that she doesn't hurt herself when she climbs all over the place. I have a thermometer for temperature but not for humidity. The temperature is always between 70-75 on the cold side and 75-80 on the warm side. Though, I do turn the light off at night.

Her abdomen was a little bald when I got her, but after moving her from a small 5"x8" plastic container to her new 10 gallon, it became even more bare. I was hoping that this had more to do with her molting than flicking hairs.

Can anyone give me some insight as to why Shiva keeps climbing all over her walls and ceiling?

 

[katiekatelyn]

Your Red Knee sounds very active. When I got mine, I realized she was extremely lazy and ONLY moves when absolutely necessary. I think that maybe a ten gallon tank might be a little large, especially for such an active T. I put my 3 inch salmon pink birdeater in a ten gallon but only because she is completely disinterested in climbing.
The bare bottom will have nothing to do with molting if she is being so active. Usually they grow lethargic for a few weeks, I thought my Ruby was in a coma a few times before she molted recently. She did start kicking hairs more, too, so her cute bum looks sad but I've noticed that with each molt, all of my slings started kicking more.
Really, don't worry about getting the humidity levels and temperature spot on. It's been said that being neurotic about your T is more harmful than good. None of my T's actually have a heat source (I have 13). I just have confidence that my apartment alone is good enough temperature-wise. Under the tank heat sources are especially frowned upon here, I'm sure a few people will mention that.
I can't tell you why your b.smithi is climbing when she should be burrowing but just keep an eye on her and if she doesn't settle down in her new home, put her in something smaller. A fall could still be harmful even with high substrate levels. She might just be exploring her territory, and kicking hairs all over it will make it hers. I hope I helped ease your mind a little!

 

[HungryGhost]

Sometimes moving them to a new enclosure stresses them out for a while. I could take a week or two for it to settle down.

 

[trailblazin02]

I would remove all heat sources and let the substrate dry out if it's moist and give it options for hiding also. As long as your comfortable in your home the T should be as well. I wouldn't worry about the humidity in the tank. Just needs access to a small water dish.

 

[torstrum]

I would remove all heat sources and let the substrate dry out if it's moist and give it options for hiding also. As long as your comfortable in your home the T should be as well. I wouldn't worry about the humidity in the tank. Just needs access to a small water dish.

I second this. They recommend against heaters because they tend to do more harm(namely drying the T) than good. If she has water she'll be fine as far as I know Brachypelma don't really like wet sub, my B Emilia actively avoids it.

 

[Sabeth]

Climbing the walls is just something they do sometimes. I've kept tarantulas for over a year and they all do it, even the terrestrials. Make sure the walls are not too high, a fall from a great height could severely injure the T.