avic. versicolor tunnels

[jason holland]

ok, was going to do this sooner, but been busy. nothing to worry abuot wotsoever, but i was just wondering if any of you lot's T's (this species in particular) does the same thing...

now its prob nothing, and it probably is what i think it isnt lol... but...

basically, since its been making tunnels, a day or 2 later, all of a sudden, the lower half of the tunnels, have been covered in substrate, now i cant see how, but if its walked around on the floor, the substrate has stuck to him/her, and its basically been messy and walked mud into the house!!!!! tut tut... or wether its actually trying to ... oh i duno.. decorate or slay down a harder floor to walk on or something.

[Phil Rea]

Probably trying to block light out by sticking substrate to the web

[jason holland]

ahh.... the substrate is on the light side as well... hmmm

[Phil Rea]

You can stick some black card or even black binbag on the outside of the tank at the rear of the tube web. If the spider is feeing insecure, then that can help

[jason holland]

well the tank is in the corner of the room... so the only place i could block, woudl be the front.. and i wouldnt be able to see anything then lol..

[Phil Rea]

You don't need to block an entire side, just immediately behind the tube web. If it's objecting to the light getting in, then the spider will just cover the web with crud itself anyway

[michaelmckinney]

hey Jason,

I've never had an avic that practices this crazy building LOL. All my Psalmopoeus sp. do it, and whats strange they are covered to keep light out?? It's really cool watching them build it though, they carry lumps of substrate in their fangs and palps, then mine drop it in a heap, then web over it. Then they lift it, or spread it out, webbing more and patting it with their palps LOL. I think they might just be camouflaging their nests, just another element of suprise for the attacks on unsuspecting prey!!! LOL. They are so damn cool!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!

Michael..

[James Box]

you may be able to block off the light with something removable, a tea towel for instance, taped up on the top like a curtain...i've seen this done with great success and at least one happy T.

[jason holland]

yeah. ill have to look into doing something im sure theres something i can do

[Nicola Dolby]

All avics build sock webs, in the wild they tend to be against tree trunks or branches. The corner of your tank makes an ideal anchor for a web, as for the bits of moss (I think that's what it is) that will just be part of the structure. Baby Poecilotherias build their dens in captivity at the base of bark slabs and such like and often cover them in soil, as Phil says this is probably to do with darkness, or it may be a camoflage measure for protection. Here's a picture of my A. purpurea's web, to give you an idea

[jason holland]

cheers, i knew they built those type of webs, but i never knew the young ones built at the base, that might explain why mine started from the bottom and worked up..

[Phil Rea]

Many arboreal spiderlings will actually burrow when they're young.

[jason holland]

really? didnt know that... suppose it makes sense with natual predators etc.

[Alexander Ramsey]

Not a clue mate, bin bags?, tea towels?, what about a lower wattage light? LOL.
Or if you want to be really ott you could create a rotating 24hr light block of varying degrees to imitate sun rise and fall then you could intigrate a second device to prolong or delay the light exposure to imitate the seasons and combine all this to a timed heat mat for the extra sense of the suns warmth?
Or it could just be that you were right in the first place and it's nothing to worry about?
Who knows?
But what would the forum be if no one asked?

All the best mate,

(the voices are quiet now!)

[jason holland]

lol. i think the only way to test all these therory's would be to make light apear somewhere else, to see if it blocks up the new lighter part.. suppose i could do... see what happens