This morning I found my ~18 month old, curly hair tarantula at the bottom corner of his tunnel with all of his legs pulled back over his face and body. Frantic googling informed this this is not a death curl, but a sign of extreme stress.
I know he has been very stressed since the temperatures started dropping at night. He has been refusing food for about a month, and become lethargic, but I don't think he is preparing to molt as he has not shown the other signs that he displayed the first time, and also it feels to soon for him to molt. His most recent molt took place 7 months after I got him, and that was only 5 months ago. These changes correlated with the time it started getting cold at night. I have a Creatures brand heating pad against his tank and he spends 90% of his time in a dark pocket of his tunnel pressed against it. The humidity in his enclosure has been within the ideal range, but the temp hovers just above 70° even with the heater.
The hides we provided for his enclosure are a curved dry pine bark, and a long stick leaning diagonal across the enclosure. He dug a tunnel from under the pine bark that wraps around two sides of the enclosure
The long stick had made a small shelter against one of the corners, but he filled in this area with soil when he dug out his tunnel.
A few weeks before he stopped eating he dug a second entrance to the tunnel at the end furthers from the pine bark. I have never seen him use this, but several times prey have accidentally fallen in. They prey unable to get out walked up the tunnel and startled him.
I am suspecting the history of unexpected visitors in the tunnel is what has lead to him feeling unsafe, in combination with discomfort from the cold.
The enclosure he is currently in was designed vertically for climbing spiders, and only gives him 12"x12" to dig and walk around. (I have already purchased him a longer 10"x20" Creatures den and I intended to move him in by Thanksgiving.)
Can someone give insight if the reasons I suspect are likely the reasons he is feeling unsafe, or if there is something I am missing?
I read tarantulas should not be moved in this stressed pose. When he comes out of it, is there a time limit I should wait before moving him to his new enclosure?
I know he has been very stressed since the temperatures started dropping at night. He has been refusing food for about a month, and become lethargic, but I don't think he is preparing to molt as he has not shown the other signs that he displayed the first time, and also it feels to soon for him to molt. His most recent molt took place 7 months after I got him, and that was only 5 months ago. These changes correlated with the time it started getting cold at night. I have a Creatures brand heating pad against his tank and he spends 90% of his time in a dark pocket of his tunnel pressed against it. The humidity in his enclosure has been within the ideal range, but the temp hovers just above 70° even with the heater.
The hides we provided for his enclosure are a curved dry pine bark, and a long stick leaning diagonal across the enclosure. He dug a tunnel from under the pine bark that wraps around two sides of the enclosure
The long stick had made a small shelter against one of the corners, but he filled in this area with soil when he dug out his tunnel.
A few weeks before he stopped eating he dug a second entrance to the tunnel at the end furthers from the pine bark. I have never seen him use this, but several times prey have accidentally fallen in. They prey unable to get out walked up the tunnel and startled him.
I am suspecting the history of unexpected visitors in the tunnel is what has lead to him feeling unsafe, in combination with discomfort from the cold.
The enclosure he is currently in was designed vertically for climbing spiders, and only gives him 12"x12" to dig and walk around. (I have already purchased him a longer 10"x20" Creatures den and I intended to move him in by Thanksgiving.)
Can someone give insight if the reasons I suspect are likely the reasons he is feeling unsafe, or if there is something I am missing?
I read tarantulas should not be moved in this stressed pose. When he comes out of it, is there a time limit I should wait before moving him to his new enclosure?
. That has happend to me before.
