Hi everyone,

I have had Jimmy (Brachypelma albopilosum) for a about a week. I made him a brilliant little enclosure with live plants, a tiny log and a little stone. It's very pretty, and the plants were carefully washed, the branch and stone were boiled for 15 minutes then dried in an oven for half an hour so all is safe.

He is eating like crazy (yay!), and I was really enjoying watching him chilling under his rock and noshing his occasional cricket. This weekend, however, he did some major (very impressive) earthworks and I can't see him at all! I am pretty sure he is happy in his tunnel network and a cricket I sent down there has not reappeared. Selfish though this is, I would like to see him, right now he is more boring than fish!

Can I remove some of the substrate (tarantula peat) so I can see him or should I just leave him be until he grows up a bit (he is about 3cm)? I was looking forward to getting him out occasionally to have a little walk on my hand and see how he is doing. I would appreciate some help from the experienced guys.

Thanks!

Just make sure the stone can't collapse on top of the spider if he digs under the stone.

This is something you need to get use to, your spider will become more active above ground when it becomes bigger.
but while they small like this they tend to be underground allot more.
another reason for this, Your spider could also be in pre-molt, so he has gone underground as it is safe and protected so he can molt out.

Welcome to the Forum.

As cascade said, it could be in premolt, so rather just leave it. When it stops accepting food, remove any uneaten feeder insects, as they may harm your spider while its molting.
Also you might injure your spider while trying to remove some substrate.

Hey pal,

I would recommend getting more T's maybe something a bit larger maybe 10cm or so that will come out more often . Slings can take a while to grow and you may loose interest in the slow progress. Look in the classifieds and see if there is something there you like and can afford. if you go this rout as the person selling if the T you are interested in is "beginner friendly" the people here will be honest with you unlike certain pet stores that just want to make a sale.

I tell you what - i got a fairly docile Grammostola rosea ,Chilean Rose its about 9 cm or so i can sell it to you for R500 including tank and so on. This guy is excellent for beginners, this particular guy is fairly active and seems to be pretty passive towards me, as a beginner I would highly recommended this guy or at least something similar. If you want you are more than welcome to come around and check it out.

All the best and happy T'ing

Thanks for all the help!

I really don't think he is in premolt, he just spent the last half an hour digging a new tunnel to the surface so I got a quick look at him, I might even be able to get a picture soon! Molting is actually my biggest concern with all these tunnels, I worry I might not be able to get a cricket out if my spider doesn't eat it! But so far he has eaten everything I have offered him and I think he might just be enjoying his new home.

All cage decorations are very securely wedged between the bottom and side of the tank so that there is no chance of them falling on my T. I will take pictures tomorrow, if not of the spider, then of its tank.

As a rule you needn't stress, as everyone said they do burrow when they're little and come out more and more as they git bigger. The crickets shouldn't be a problem either normally, T's lay done a silk bed and cover it in urticating hairs to keep visitors (like crickets away) when they are about to moult. So if possible, remove crickets if you expect your T too moult but it's not a disaster if you don't.