AboutJenna Expertise I am a pet store employee that cares for a variety of tarantulas. These include Zebras, Rose-Hair, Pink Toe and Cobalt. I am also knowledgeable in other types and can advise on care, housing, feeding, and behavior.
Experience 2 years of reptile care with research and hands on experience feeding, handling and housing 20 tarantulas.
Question QUESTION: my tarantula has made something the size of 2 pokerchips covered with web . it also has secluded itself in a long narrow rectangular box with heavy webbing at both ends . this is my 3rd tarantula and i have had them a total of 20 yrs and have never seen anyhting like this . thanks for the help !
frank
ANSWER: What kind of tarantula is it? Tarantulas from temperate regions sometimes will plug up their burrows in the wintertime and go into a state of torpor. This seems to be a thing that is not quite understood according to The Tarantula Keeper's Guide:
"Some have referred to this torpid state as diapause, but this may be incorrect. Diapause requires a physiological preparation (e.g. deposition of fat), usually prepares an organism for a long period of unsuitable conditions, and is under hormonal control, meditated by temperature or photoperiod. The term is usually reserved to describe the suspension of growth or development in eggs, larval, or immature arthropods, seldom with adults. No one has yet examined torpid tarantulas to determine if the mechanism, or something else entirely. Neither do we know whether the state is different in immatures and adults, or if it is different with different species."
If doesn't say that it will kill the tarantula, so I would just wait and see what happens.
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QUESTION: thanks for the response . i beleive this is a mexican rose hair tarantula . the thing that is killing me is the disklike "thing" it made . i removed it ( carefully ) and could not see thru it . i suspected perhaps a stash of crickets were in there or perhaps a nest ? maybe it is hibernating of getting ready to have . . babies ? the spider has closed itself in with alot of webbing . i did not force it to leave the area . it is healthy and has been eating and growing well . i have seen molting before and it is not happening . i really would like to know what the hell it made ! like i said it the size of 2 poker chips and it is very well encased
thanks
Answer That could very well be an egg case. In that case, it should be left in with the tarantula. I know that my rose-hair at work will keep crickets in web cases, or eat on top of them so they can't get away. I found it odd, but as the pink-toe or true zebra tarantulas have never done it, I think it is a specific Rose hair thing.
Make sure the temperature stays from 78 to 83 degrees and humidity of 70% or more. You said that it has been eating and growing well, so I don't think that he (Or possibly she) is sick. According to the breeding sites I have looked at, the webbing into their hide and making a egg sac both fit with it being a her. They also say that they can hold onto the sperm for awhile to wait for a suitable time to make the sac. Leave her be and wait and see! :)
