Hi,
I was really happy after 2 weeks when I started seeing my grammastola pulchra sling first eat a miniworm, then ignore miniworms but eat crickets, then start to burrow herself in the substrate, below a bit of bark. However, her initial efforts were so laborious that she seemed to seal herself in accidentally. Or so I thought.
After several days, I worried she simply ran out of air and decided to brush her gently out and into a smaller tub, while I pre-dug the beginning of a hide for her, and slid a stone below the bark to form a narrow mouth she could slid into. When I transferred her back in, she explored the area, identified the hide, explored some more and decided this evidently was the best spot.
Again, she proceeded to dig further, but once more, the entrance was just a mound of earth after a few days, and she once again seemed trapped for several days. We have played this game about 3 times now, and I filmed her for several minutes to look at her building pattern. There's definitely method to her madness!
When I've freed the entrance, she won't venture out completely, but happily preys crouched into the mouth, and as soon as she's caught food, she's back in. Fair play. But the next day, she's sealed the entrance with more earth again, until the next feed.
Should I just wait for her to venture out of her own? Is she trying to moult? If so, why is she hunting and eating when given the chance?
Thanks,
Cedric
I was really happy after 2 weeks when I started seeing my grammastola pulchra sling first eat a miniworm, then ignore miniworms but eat crickets, then start to burrow herself in the substrate, below a bit of bark. However, her initial efforts were so laborious that she seemed to seal herself in accidentally. Or so I thought.
After several days, I worried she simply ran out of air and decided to brush her gently out and into a smaller tub, while I pre-dug the beginning of a hide for her, and slid a stone below the bark to form a narrow mouth she could slid into. When I transferred her back in, she explored the area, identified the hide, explored some more and decided this evidently was the best spot.
Again, she proceeded to dig further, but once more, the entrance was just a mound of earth after a few days, and she once again seemed trapped for several days. We have played this game about 3 times now, and I filmed her for several minutes to look at her building pattern. There's definitely method to her madness!
When I've freed the entrance, she won't venture out completely, but happily preys crouched into the mouth, and as soon as she's caught food, she's back in. Fair play. But the next day, she's sealed the entrance with more earth again, until the next feed.
Should I just wait for her to venture out of her own? Is she trying to moult? If so, why is she hunting and eating when given the chance?
Thanks,
Cedric
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