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When should i be concerned

AllHailCobaltblue

New Member
Messages
14
Location
Denmark
Hello all :)

I have recently rehoused my c. lividum

I have mixed coconut fibre and potting soil for the earth and the spider has a lot. Since the rehouse i have covered the enclosure with some cloth, to make sure the spider gets darkness. I am just a little bit concerned since the spider hasn't digged its burrow yet. Last time i rehoused it, it didnt take that long time.

And i have just started to wonder, if I have done something wrong or I should just be more patient?

Hope you can help me with some of your experiences.
 

Tomoran

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
800
Location
Connecticut
Hello all :)

I have recently rehoused my c. lividum

I have mixed coconut fibre and potting soil for the earth and the spider has a lot. Since the rehouse i have covered the enclosure with some cloth, to make sure the spider gets darkness. I am just a little bit concerned since the spider hasn't digged its burrow yet. Last time i rehoused it, it didnt take that long time.

And i have just started to wonder, if I have done something wrong or I should just be more patient?

Hope you can help me with some of your experiences.
Hello! It can sometimes take them a while to settle in. Did you provide it with a hide and a starter burrow? I know that there are care guides out there that say you don't have to offer fossorial species burrows because they will make their own, but I've found that most will start digging much faster if offered a place to hide right off the bat. It offers them the security to settle in and to start digging. I will give them a piece of cork bark and dig a hide out underneath it to start them off.

I've also found for the moisture dependent species (like the C. lividus), if the top layer of soil is a little drier and the bottom layers are moist, they will dig to those. I will sometimes create a starter burrow and pour some water down the hole to make sure that it's nice an moist. This can entice some spiders into digging.

If you've already done all of this, it could just be a case of the spider not settling in yet. I've had fossorial species take several weeks to finally hunker down and dig.
 

VaporRyder

Member
Messages
77
Location
Bristol, England
Hi! Welcome!

How long has it been and why have you covered the enclosure with cloth?

My sub adult C. Vonwirthi, back in the day - which I believe is now considered a regional variant of C. minax - was an absolute machine and always began excavating within minutes to an hour of being in its new enclosure. IIRC. When I rehoused it, I just put it in an enclosure with deep substrate and nothing else, adding the water dish later - allowing it free reign to chose its digging spot.

I wonder whether covering the enclosure is making it feel less inclined to burrow. Maybe being in the light triggers burrowing, since I only ever saw mine after dark - catching it out and about when I flicked on the light switch in my bedroom, frozen like a rabbit in the headlights! Just a thought.
 

AllHailCobaltblue

New Member
Messages
14
Location
Denmark
Hello! It can sometimes take them a while to settle in. Did you provide it with a hide and a starter burrow? I know that there are care guides out there that say you don't have to offer fossorial species burrows because they will make their own, but I've found that most will start digging much faster if offered a place to hide right off the bat. It offers them the security to settle in and to start digging. I will give them a piece of cork bark and dig a hide out underneath it to start them off.

I've also found for the moisture dependent species (like the C. lividus), if the top layer of soil is a little drier and the bottom layers are moist, they will dig to those. I will sometimes create a starter burrow and pour some water down the hole to make sure that it's nice an moist. This can entice some spiders into digging.

If you've already done all of this, it could just be a case of the spider not settling in yet. I've had fossorial species take several weeks to finally hunker down and dig.
Hey Tomoran.

I have digged a starter burrow for it, because last time i made a hide with cork and dug a starter burrow underneath. My spider just dug a burrow behind what i have made for her. So after that i just thought a start hole would be enough for her (In her last enclosure she also just dug a burrow without a hide)

Maybe i just need to be a little more patient
 

AllHailCobaltblue

New Member
Messages
14
Location
Denmark
Hi! Welcome!

How long has it been and why have you covered the enclosure with cloth?

My sub adult C. Vonwirthi, back in the day - which I believe is now considered a regional variant of C. minax - was an absolute machine and always began excavating within minutes to an hour of being in its new enclosure. IIRC. When I rehoused it, I just put it in an enclosure with deep substrate and nothing else, adding the water dish later - allowing it free reign to chose its digging spot.

I wonder whether covering the enclosure is making it feel less inclined to burrow. Maybe being in the light triggers burrowing, since I only ever saw mine after dark - catching it out and about when I flicked on the light switch in my bedroom, frozen like a rabbit in the headlights! Just a thought.
Hi Vapor!

I guess around 3 weeks.. And I have covered her enclosure with a towel after i made the rehouse, for her to fall down and not being stressed.

I like your thought. I have tested that aswell. Last time i removed the towel, i found out in the morning after, that she has crawled up the side of the enclosure and was sitting in the top left corner of the enclosure. After that i thought that maybe that stressed her even more out, so i put it back on. But i could maybe do a test for more than a day
 

octanejunkie

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Tarantula Club Member
Messages
4,163
C. lividum is now Cyriopagopus lividus, and comes from Singapore/Myanmar. It's an obligate burrower that favors deep soil with a moisture gradient, drier at the top to more damp deeper down. It is best to compact the substrate to allow burrows to hold shape until the spider can reinforce with webbing.

It will also favor temperatures above 24° C on average and will dig to avoid heat, so don't heat below the enclosure.

If you give the spider some foliage or brush it will web the those areas while digging it's burrow, eventually making an inverse dirt funnel with multiple options for entrance and exit.

Here is something for you to to watch from our own @tomo

Give it time to settle in and always provide access to clean water.
 

TokeHound

Active Member
Messages
170
Location
USA
When I first got my T's, the lady at the place I got them, rehoused my B. hamorii for me and it started digging a burrow almost instantly. My A. avicularia and H. sp. Columbia Large took 6 weeks to start webbing or digging. Just give it some time :)
 

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