Worried about my B.Albopilosum

[Mandy Clinch]

Got her from the BTS show as a sling. She isn't tiny, mabe 1/4 to half an inch perhaps. For the first week she was fine, wandering around. But now she has made a massive and very deep burrow and NEVER comes out. She has only eaten once.

If she is in pre molt, that's fine, but surely she can't molt down there? I made her come out today with some gentle poking and she was very very skittish, whereas before she justambled around. She went right back down again. I popped a small cricket in there today but of course as she is right at the bottom, she doesn't even know it's there..... Also, possibly due to the humid weather, there is a lot of condensation in there. Not the whole enclosure, but where the substrate is. Can anyone advise me?

Sorry about all the questions!

[Christopher Smallman]

My "Spooks" used to vanish for 3-4 weeks in his flowerpot hide which he covered with substrate it alway lead to a moult.

I used to leave a pre killed cricket outside his den if it was uneaten I would remove and repete 5 days later.

Eventually the cricket would vanish to be replaced with his scruffy old moult

They know what they are doing better than we do we just worry they get on with it lol.

CJ.

[Mandy Clinch]

Thanks CJ. I know i am probably worrying about nothing! Hopefully she will do her own thing and be fine. Will take it out in a couple of hours and try again in a few days

Thanks again,
Mandy x

[John chambers]

Got her from the BTS show as a sling. She isn't tiny, mabe 1/4 to half an inch perhaps. For the first week she was fine, wandering around. But now she has made a massive and very deep burrow and NEVER comes out. She has only eaten once.

Sorry about all the questions!

Mandy my two slings hide and the 3cm juvi was doing the same till I put in a small hide ( part of egg box ) and now it's webbed most of the container it's in and has eaten twice.
And is active at night..
And with out questions how can we learn ...

regards.
John

[Peter Lacey]

B. albopilosum are well known for burrowing away as slings. I have about 30 at the moment and with a few exceptions they are all burrowed away. My previous rearing of this species (3) had the same situation but this is fairly common for many slings. B. albopilosum prefer a rather more moist substrate than many other Brachypelma species but you should make sure there's ventilation to reduce issues with mould.
As burrowing is the usual with these slings I suggest you leave it undisturbed, I found they soon had the confidence to sit in the open and their skittish behaviour ebbed away.
As someone once said in this forum a few years ago, if you're spiders are hiding away in their burrows they're doing the same as they would do in the wild.

[Christopher Smallman]

Was going to say I have a wee sling to replace "Spooks" and it has dug two holes down to the bottom of the container quite impressive for such a wee mite

Hope all goes well for your spid Mandy but they love to make us worry lol.

CJ.

[Mandy Clinch]

Well it seems she heard me! Went to take the cricket out last night and she was sitting there having a munch on it. She is back down there now so i think all is well. There are loads of ventilation holes and it's very aerated should be ok. I think it's just the warm wet weather doing it.

Thank you so much for the advice everyone. I'm so glad she has eaten at last!!

Mandy x

[Phil Rea]

Spiderlings even of arboreal species will often burrow. Because they are very vulnerable to predation when they are small, it is in their interests to keep out of the way. Often though if you have a quick look with a torch after the lights have been off for a while, you will see them out and about.

Burrows (even plugged ones) are not airtight and spiders respirate very slowly, particularly when they are not moving around, so they don't need very much air in any case. So I'm sure your spider will be fine