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 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.
