Digging behavior started two days ago and now one of the little guys has a little cave right up against the glass. Oh my, he's fun to watch! But since I assume he is digging down for privacy, should I tape a piece of paper over the glass? He's a busy little miner right now. The room is in dim daylight at the moment (sort of dusk) and I'm afraid if I turn on the lights as usual the brightness might freak him out since he's technically "under ground", lol.Cover the glass over their caves for darkness?
Cover the glass over their caves for darkness?
Two and half weeks into this crabbing thing. Digging behavior started two days ago and now one of the little guys has a little cave right up against the glass. Oh my, he's fun to watch! But since I assume he is digging down for privacy, should I tape a piece of paper over the glass? He's a busy little miner right now. The room is in dim daylight at the moment (sort of dusk) and I'm afraid if I turn on the lights as usual the brightness might freak him out since he's technically "under ground", lol.
Digging behavior started two days ago and now one of the little guys has a little cave right up against the glass. Oh my, he's fun to watch! But since I assume he is digging down for privacy, should I tape a piece of paper over the glass? He's a busy little miner right now. The room is in dim daylight at the moment (sort of dusk) and I'm afraid if I turn on the lights as usual the brightness might freak him out since he's technically "under ground", lol.-
marandashermies
- Posts: 481
- Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2015 11:14 am
- Location: Minnesota
Re: Cover the glass over their caves for darkness?
If he keeps the window open and you see him in the molting process, yes I would cover it with black construction paper! Often times, they are just digging and tunneling around for fun and open windows and minutes later close them. But if you do see any signs that its a molt, cover that baby up! 
He closed this after like 2 minutes. Clearly he wasn't molting though, as he is close to the surface. He traveled all around the tank opening and shutting little windows.
He closed this after like 2 minutes. Clearly he wasn't molting though, as he is close to the surface. He traveled all around the tank opening and shutting little windows.
{125g~56g~55g} {30 PPs~ 10 Straws~ 5 Ruggies~ 2 E's~ 4 Viola's~ 2 Cavipes~ 2 Indo's}
2 Handsome Kitties {Rolan & Luka}
http://s628.photobucket.com/user/marand ... t=3&page=1
2 Handsome Kitties {Rolan & Luka}
http://s628.photobucket.com/user/marand ... t=3&page=1
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landlubber
- Posts: 672
- Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:53 pm
- Location: Akron Oh
Re: Cover the glass over their caves for darkness?
Windows are great! I wish I had a window on several of my molters right now who are taking longer than I'd like. 
6 PPs, 4 Straws, 3 Es * 1 Teeny, 6 Smalls, 4 Mediums, 1 large and 1 Jumbo in a 70 gallon
1 Boxer puppy, 1 Yorchie mutt, 1 cat, 1 ball python, 1 boa
1 Boxer puppy, 1 Yorchie mutt, 1 cat, 1 ball python, 1 boa
Re: Cover the glass over their caves for darkness?
So how would I know if they're digging down to molt, so I know to cover the glass? Other than catching the pre-molt signs. Would they dig into a hole, stop moving and stay put? That'd be my guess.
Herminy climbed out of the hole almost right after I posted this thread. The real surprise was the next day, he was digging in the same area and on closer inspection I saw evidence that he had dug a trail against the glass all the way from the surface of the front corner down to the bottom of the back corner! Then, moving my gauge-on-a-stick, it unexpectedly sank easily into the sub in different areas, which tells me they've been traveling underground. Which I find so very cool.
I did have to do a little filling in yesterday, when it looked like the half-log hide was falling into a sinkhole (a sight we're familiar with in Central Florida)!
Herminy climbed out of the hole almost right after I posted this thread. The real surprise was the next day, he was digging in the same area and on closer inspection I saw evidence that he had dug a trail against the glass all the way from the surface of the front corner down to the bottom of the back corner! Then, moving my gauge-on-a-stick, it unexpectedly sank easily into the sub in different areas, which tells me they've been traveling underground. Which I find so very cool.
I did have to do a little filling in yesterday, when it looked like the half-log hide was falling into a sinkhole (a sight we're familiar with in Central Florida)!
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landlubber
- Posts: 672
- Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2015 2:53 pm
- Location: Akron Oh
Re: Cover the glass over their caves for darkness?
Yeah, they would dig down to the bottom to molt and just stay down there (once they found the right spot). The tunneling and digging is pretty cool, it's amazing how things can get churned up in the substrate just by their digging.
6 PPs, 4 Straws, 3 Es * 1 Teeny, 6 Smalls, 4 Mediums, 1 large and 1 Jumbo in a 70 gallon
1 Boxer puppy, 1 Yorchie mutt, 1 cat, 1 ball python, 1 boa
1 Boxer puppy, 1 Yorchie mutt, 1 cat, 1 ball python, 1 boa
Re: Cover the glass over their caves for darkness?
It has been my experience that they'll rarely leave a "window" open if they're going to molt. They close them up or move on to another location. I mostly see "windows" when they first dig down or when they're on their way up. I don't bother over them.