Help? (webbed entrance)

[turgle]

My Arizona blonde has webbed up her the entrance to her hide and it’s been like that for a couple of months now. She recently opened it up but she’s closed it again. What does this mean? Is she hungry?

 

[DustyD]

This is natural. She wants her privacy and more than likely, but not always, it is because she is or will be molting.

My G. pulchripes spent a similar amount of time barricaded in her cave before coming out with a brand new fur coat.

Make sure there is water available that is super important.

Leaving food out is NOT recommended. After a molt it takes time for the T’s fangs harden and offering food could cause problems with the fangs. Also, some live food may see a molting T as a snack. At the very least movement may cause “stress” to the T as it is highly vulnerable while molting.

Also don’t go peeking/ disturbing the T. Although there can be complications from molting, tarantulas have been doing it for millions of years and they don’t need an audience.

But if you really have the urge to peek, try this instead.

Wait until a family member, loved one is taking a shower then run into the bathroom yelling and screaming. An air horn would work even better.
And if it more convenient, just wait until they are on the toilet and do the suggested actions above.

If you have pictures of your T before she went into seclusion, that may help determine whether it is molting.

 

[turgle]

This is natural. She wants her privacy and more than likely, but not always, it is because she is or will be molting.

My G. pulchripes spent a similar amount of time barricaded in her cave before coming out with a brand new fur coat.

Make sure there is water available that is super important.

Leaving food out is NOT recommended. After a molt it takes time for the T’s fangs harden and offering food could cause problems with the fangs. Also, some live food may see a molting T as a snack. At the very least movement may cause “stress” to the T as it is highly vulnerable while molting.

Also don’t go peeking/ disturbing the T. Although there can be complications from molting, tarantulas have been doing it for millions of years and they don’t need an audience.

But if you really have the urge to peek, try this instead.

Wait until a family member, loved one is taking a shower then run into the bathroom yelling and screaming. An air horn would work even better.
And if it more convenient, just wait until they are on the toilet and do the suggested actions above.

If you have pictures of your T before she went into seclusion, that may help determine whether it is molting.

It looks shes

This is natural. She wants her privacy and more than likely, but not always, it is because she is or will be molting.

My G. pulchripes spent a similar amount of time barricaded in her cave before coming out with a brand new fur coat.

Make sure there is water available that is super important.

Leaving food out is NOT recommended. After a molt it takes time for the T’s fangs harden and offering food could cause problems with the fangs. Also, some live food may see a molting T as a snack. At the very least movement may cause “stress” to the T as it is highly vulnerable while molting.

Also don’t go peeking/ disturbing the T. Although there can be complications from molting, tarantulas have been doing it for millions of years and they don’t need an audience.

But if you really have the urge to peek, try this instead.

Wait until a family member, loved one is taking a shower then run into the bathroom yelling and screaming. An air horn would work even better.
And if it more convenient, just wait until they are on the toilet and do the suggested actions above.

If you have pictures of your T before she went into seclusion, that may help determine whether it is molting.

Is it ok if I refill the water dish? It’ll evaporate really fast sometimes so I always keep it full sometimes even over filled. I feel like this stresses out my T so I always try to do it in the quietest manner possible but she always freaks out whenever I fill it.

 

[DustyD]

Could you post a picture of the enclosure from the top down? And tell us about conditions such as temperature, substrate? How fast does it evaporate?

 

[m0lsx]

As DustyD said, often when they do this they are molting.

Personally, if a T is webbed in, I do not feed. But it is important to keep the water available. A tarantula is very vulnerable when molting, so food like crickets are unwise, as they can harm a molting tarantula. Tarantulas are also unable to eat for at least a week following a molt as their fangs are soft. So putting food in when a T is webbed in, is best avoided.

But not every T that webs themselves in, is molting. But it is wise to behave as if they are. And they will make themselves known if they are hungry.