C. Huahini freaking out

[XeniaSmirnova]

Hi everybody,

So we've got this female chilobrachys huahini.
Usually, she's a very good eater, who attacks her prey without hesitating.
We keep her in an empty 30x30x30 terrarium, where she can web all she wants.
We've had her for quite a while and she was doing well.

Now since yesterday her behavior drastically changed:
When I throw her a cricket she runs backwards away from it, while throwing her front legs in the air (and probably showing her teeth, tough I don't remember seeing her doing that).
So she's clearly telling the cricket to back off.
And this is her reaction on everything.
If somebody stands near her terrarium and she hears it, she puts her legs up again and starts walking backwards.
So this tarantula is totally freaking out.
This hasn't happened before (since we have her).

Now my boyfriend has recently sprayed her terrarium with water (somebody told him it was good for the spider), and it kind of ruined her web.. It's all sticky and loose now.
This is the only explanation we have for this strange behavior.

Is this why she's acting this way?
If so, should we get her out and put her in an empty terrarium where she can start building a new web?
Or could it be because of something else?

All help appreciated!


Xenia

[Nicolas Charrière]

Hello Xenia.

Some questions to understand more fully:

- For the food: are you sure she just isn't hungry / she's preparing a molt? Such a reaction is normal if it is so.
- Chilobrachys need deep substrate to dig a burrow and feel secure. Is yours able to do that? Does she has a hiding place?
- Did your bf sprayed a lot of water? It could have stressed her, but I would be surprised. If the enclosure is too dry, it might be better to pour some water in one corner to increase RH (but not too much water!) than spray. And don't forget the waterdish.
- Is your appartment in a noisy place? Where is the enclosure?

My Chilobrachys are rather calm, because they can retreat underground when needed. If yours is having such a behaviour, it could be because husbandry is not adequat. But it's very reactive genus anyway.

EDIT: I've read that some C huahini have arboreal behavior when grown up. But it seems it's rather opportunistic than truly arboreal.

[XeniaSmirnova]

Hi Nicolas,

I don't know.. She might be near a molt, but it seems like a rather extreme reaction.
The other possible reasons you mentioned seem unlikely to me, since none of these things have recently changed.
But to be sure I'll follow your advice.
I'll put a higher substrate in her terrarium and a branch.
Do you have any idea how long it might take for her to molt (assuming she's about to molt)?

I'm also asking because I have a G. Rosea who suddenly stopped moving around.
And I noticed black bald spots on her knees (looked like abrasions).
She also wasn't eating.
I thought she was going to molt.
But I think this was about three weeks ago...
I read somewhere that G Roseas have this habit of not eating for a couple of months.
So she's probably not about to molt, is she?

[Nicolas Charrière]

Her reaction is not an extreme one if you consider that she's trying to defend her territory from invaders, because she's going to be helpless when the molt begins. In my opinion, her reaction is only about that: molt is coming. If you want to be sure, wait for at least one or two weeks, then maybe you could try feed her again with one cricket and see what happens. If it's not eaten after one or two hours, take it out.

For the rosea, the darkening of the legs means a coming molt. Same with not eating. Mature rosea can fast for more than one year before a molt (I think the record is around 2 years and a half!). A younger one can sometimes spend several months without eating before a molt. Leave them alone because they need calm and privacy and be delighted when they'll appear in their new "robes"!!!