Gorgyrella Inermis dead! What went wrong? Advice needed

[Stewart Macgregor]

Hi all,

I took the plunge and got my first spider from the BTS show yesterday after owning an Emperor Scorpion for a while. I decided to throw myself in at the deep end and get a Red Trapdoor Spider (Gorgyrella Inermis)

I came home from college today and there it was in classic dead spider pose (right way up, legs curled under body) It hadn't even attempted to burrow since I got it. To be sure it was dead I gave it a gentle poke on its back leg with some long tweezers and didn't get the same aggressive crazy reaction I got when I so much as leaned on the desk that the jar was placed on yesterday. There was no movement at all, so I figured it was dead (as I hear that trapdoors moult in their burrows and this one was the right way up, showing no signs of moulting and had been in the position since this morning. I was wondering could anyone give me their thoughts as to what went wrong? Why has my vicious little Inermis gone to spider heaven?

The setup I was using was as follows:

A large plastic sweets jar (same type as used by many to keep pokies)
A screw on lid with a central hole blocked with a round piece of sponge
An 8 inch deep substrate of peat/vermiculite mix (quite moist with some leaf litter on top)
A bottle cap with some water in to provide humidity and drinking water.
A 6x11 inch habistat heat mat (7 watts) attached to the side of the jar

All the substrates were insecticide free. I feel the most likely cause for its premature demise was the build up of moisture, as there was heavy condensation all over the bottle walls.

I am going to try with this species again, as I really find them fascinating (although it did set my heart racing when I had to transfer him to his new home from the little cricket tub I got him in...the little guy was lunging at my tweezers with full intent to kill hehe) I was disappointed I didn't get the chance to see this one in action.

I was thinking instead of a screw on lid I should fix some metal gauze or netting or something similar over the jar's mouth to allow much more air flow and reduce the build up of condensation on the walls of the jar.

Anyone who keeps/has kept trapdoors, especially this species, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and advice, and perhaps you could advise me of successful setups that you have used to keep them. Could anyone try and hazard a guess at why mine died?

Thanks,

Stewart

[Ian Foxon]

Could have been moisture but that usually takes a while to kill.
The spider could have been near the end of it's natural lifespan. My bet though is temperature.
A heat mat attached to the side of the jar may well have been too much. These things can radiate quite a bit, your spider probably roasted. They need to have a temperature gradient. Temperatures in the burrow are usually below the air temperature of their native climate.
Adults are less inclined to dig new burrows than younger spiders. So it probably didn't have a chance to escape the heat.
Next time you get one either provide a larger tank with the mat at one end with a thermostat or put the jar in a temperature controlled cabinet.
Also you can try making a small hole in the substrate to encourage the spider to dig.

Ian

[Stewart Macgregor]

Thanks for the advice, I'll bear the heat in mind with the new one. As for encouraging the burrowing, I made sure I poked a hole in the soil first. I'm going to try again, just annoyed that I lost out on a good pet first time around! As for my plan of having a mesh/netting lid over the jar mouth, would this be appropriate for maintaining humidity. I am also not entirely sure of how often to mist the enclosure, and how much water needs to be used to maintain adequate humidity. Any advice here would be very helpful

[Ian Foxon]

The mesh lid would probably be too open. Half a dozen small airholes in the standard lid with a couple on the jars shoulder would be better. You want to stop the air becoming stagnant whilst being able to keep up the humidity. I have read that a ten percent of lid area is ideal for ventilation, in my experience though that is a little too much.
I know these spiders are African but I have no idea what part of the continent they are from. If they are rainforest species the humidity will need to be fairly high. So a damp substrate (not so damp that it clumps together) and a small water dish would be ok. You can spray a fine mist every two or three days. You should be aiming to not allow the top layer of soil to dry out.
If they are from a more arid region then try using a sandier soil and keeping it a little dryer.

Ian