Am i overthinking this?

[Robotbutterflies]

I got an Aphonopelma chalcodes this past weekend, so he hasn't been with me very long. Every time I see him he is always up on the side of the enclosure, or on top of the hide. He seems to travel around only on the sides. Could there be a problem with the substrate? I used a mix of Reptisoil and coco fiber. Maybe to moist? Maybe I'm overthinking it?

 

[m0lsx]

Without pictures, it's just a guess. But yes, the substrate is probably just a little too moist for them. They are a desert species & like very dry substrate. Slightly too moist substrate is something that happens with a fresh enclosure & it does dry & T's do settle down. So just give it time.

Even deserts have wet periods.

One of the common names for the Aphonopelma chalcodes is Arizona Blonde & a friend from Arizona assures me that they get plenty of rain at certain times of the year. Google says the Sonoran Desert gets between 3 & 20 inches per year. So potentially almost as much as I get here in the East of England, where we get an average of 20 to 24 inches per year.

So don't panic. Just allow the substrate to dry, which it will.

 

[Robotbutterflies]

Without pictures, it's just a guess. But yes, the substrate is probably just a little too moist for them. They are a desert species & like very dry substrate. Slightly too moist substrate is something that happens with a fresh enclosure & it does dry & T's do settle down. So just give it time.

Even deserts have wet periods.

One of the common names for the Aphonopelma chalcodes is Arizona Blonde & a friend from Arizona assures me that they get plenty of rain at certain times of the year. Google says the Sonoran Desert gets between 3 & 20 inches per year. So potentially almost as much as I get here in the East of England, where we get an average of 20 to 24 inches per year.

So don't panic. Just allow the substrate to dry, which it will.

Thank you so much. I'll try to not be so anxious over everything, but it's just kinda who I am as a person. I just got my first T. Despite trying to do a bunch of research, I'm still questioning everything.