Redid Enclosure, T seems umcomfortable

[thehotdogman93]

So I just picked up my first T, a female Brachypelma Hamorrii about half a week ago, and she's awesome! I went to a local pet store a couple of days ago and picked up a Eco Earth compact brick, and a hide for her. After adding water, the coco fiber grew, and I left it outside so it could dry out. The next day, I took her out, I shoveled the old dirt around and pulled out some of the webbing she had layed in the old dirt. Her enclosure now has a mixture of new semi moist coco fiber and old fiber it seems.

Ever since then, she's been crawling around the sides of her enclosure like she wants to escape. I don't know if she's looking for something like food or water, or if it's the new fiber that making her uncomfortable. This wasn't happening before I redid her enclosure.

I'll update with some pictures here soon. I even caught her stuck on the ceiling once.

 

[Enn49]

Brachypelmas don't like damp substrate which is why she's climbing the sides. If her container is well ventilated it will dry out quite quickly and she'll settle down. All she needs is a water bowl.

 

[thehotdogman93]

Brachypelmas don't like damp substrate which is why she's climbing the sides. If her container is well ventilated it will dry out quite quickly and she'll settle down. All she needs is a water bowl.

I knew she was an arid T. I was hoping that leaving the new Coco Fiber out in the sun all day would be enough to ring out all of the moisture, but you can still see the new fiber in her enclosure as a darker brown.

Here's some pictures of her enclosure. Is it enough ventilation is the question.

 

[Rs50matt]

It's enough ventilation for sure. I would suggest some more substrate thou as brachys do like to bulldoze it around and maybe half a plant pot or somewhere to hide. She's very exposed and Ts prefer dark and tight spaces.

 

[thehotdogman93]

It's enough ventilation for sure. I would suggest some more substrate thou as brachys do like to bulldoze it around and maybe half a plant pot or somewhere to hide. She's very exposed and Ts prefer dark and tight spaces.

Ah, yes. I've learned that the hard way since.

After watching her crawl around about the edge for a while, I had finally thought about the hide that I got for her, knowing it was made of dry sponge material, that would hopefully give her some relief from the new substrate. It seems that it wasn't the substrate that was bothering her though but rather the fact that she didn't have a place to hide in, though the weird thing is that she wasn't crawling around on edge when I just got her. Her enclosure looked exactly like in the first picture.

Here's some more pictures as a future update. She just loves to be propped on the side in her hide most of the time.

On that note, I'll fill up her enclosure to about halfway, maybe less to the top with substrate. We'll see how much she digs the coco fiber around. If it gets in her way more then she's willing to move it. I'll restore it to how it was before.

 

[MassExodus]

In my opinion, not enough ventilation. Otherwise it's fine.

 

[nedaK]

In my opinion, not enough ventilation. Otherwise it's fine.

Did you see the huge ventilation screen on the lid?

 

[MassExodus]

Did you see the huge ventilation screen on the lid?

Yes. But since we're talking about plastic, the cross ventilation could and should be improved. I'd drill at least double the holes, and at just above substrate levels, high enough to stop prey from escaping. While going overboard with moist spp is possible, as you're trying to contain at least some moisture, there's no sense in NOT giving a dry sp all the ventilation you can. Just my opinion. From years of being a tarantula masta, no biggy..

 

[Whitelightning777]

I don't get the EcoEarth in the bricks for that very reason. You need water to use the brick. What if you have a dry spider?

 

[mrsoul1974]

I don't get the EcoEarth in the bricks for that very reason. You need water to use the brick. What if you have a dry spider?

I was thinking the same thing... Guess you have to then let it dry out?? (seems like extra work to me...) I have a GBB that will need rehousing within a molt or 2 and I was thinking about buying a bag of the loose coco fiber just because of that reason, even though it's probably cheaper plus you get more with a brick. I don't need all that wet substrate for my dry T.

 

[menavodi]

I don't get the EcoEarth in the bricks for that very reason. You need water to use the brick. What if you have a dry spider?

If I use it, I fix it some days before I need it. It dries out pretty quick...

 

[DanGreaves]

I love the enclosure, did you buy this separately or is it from the pet shop

 

[thehotdogman93]

I love the enclosure, did you buy this separately or is it from the pet shop

It came with her. I forget the name of the place that sold her to me, since I picked her up from an expo.

 

[Arachnoclown]

Not enough ventilation for already moist substrate. Once the substrate dries out it should be fine. I use full ventilation tops for my Brachypelmas.
@Whitelightning777 I use the eco blocks. I make mine up weeks in advance...it stores well. Where they sell blocks they usually sell pre made bags that are ready to go for someone in a pinch...they're usually way more expensive though.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Ants can also get into the stuff forcing you to either throw it away or sterilize it.

 

[Jess S]

I've got dry species. What I did with the block to make sure it wasn't too damp right off the bat, was I stood it on its narrow end just under half way in water for 3-5 minutes. Then I crumbled it by hand. Inside you still have dry but slightly softened block, which when crumbled onto the wet stuff sucks up most of the moisture. If the dry stuff is too compact to crumble, just hold it under running water for a few seconds.

You could also just prepare 2/3 of your block the normal way then use that to bury the third that's left in it for a few hours. By then, you will find it is still dry as a bone but softened enough to crumble by hand.

It is quite a labour intensive method but it worked for me and I had mainly dry substrate from the get-go.

 

[thehotdogman93]

I've got dry species. What I did with the block to make sure it wasn't too damp right off the bat, was I stood it on its narrow end just under half way in water for 3-5 minutes. Then I crumbled it by hand. Inside you still have dry but slightly softened block, which when crumbled onto the wet stuff sucks up most of the moisture. If the dry stuff is too compact to crumble, just hold it under running water for a few seconds.

You could also just prepare 2/3 of your block the normal way then use that to bury the third that's left in it for a few hours. By then, you will find it is still dry as a bone but softened enough to crumble by hand.

It is quite a labour intensive method but it worked for me and I had mainly dry substrate from the get-go.

Wow, that sounds incredibly helpful. Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to try this in the future.

 

[Jess S]

Wow, that sounds incredibly helpful. Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to try this in the future.

No problem, glad you found it helpful