Best way to make a desert-y terrarium?

[Cydaea]

I'm going to be overhauling my rosea's terrarium, and I want it to look desert-y. What's the best way to do it? I know I can't use just sand as substrate, but I would like it to look more like their natural habitat than the standard cocopeat.

Can I mix sand into the cocopeat? Or can I put a small layer of sand over the cocopeat? My rosea isn't much of a burrower so I don't think she'll be digging it up much.

For decorations I have a skull, some fake cactus and maybe some dry wood.

Has anyone here attempted a desert-terrarium for their T's? If so, what materials/substrate did you use and does anyone have pictures for inspiration?

ETA: I have a bag of reptile sand lying around that I've had for ages, that's what I'd be using.

 

[philge]

Desert doesn't necessarily mean sand. Grammostola rosea hails from the Atacama Desert. Picture a dry rocky landscape rather than sandy dunes. I think this could be achieved by mixing coco husk with sand and rocks. If you scroll down this page a little bit, you'll see photos of the spider's natural habitat: http://people.ucalgary.ca/~schultz/roses.html

 

[Cydaea]

That looks like what I was envisioning I'd really like to get that greyish color in the substrate. The sand I have is orange but when I mix it with cocopeat iI think it will lose it's color. I should mix a test batch to see what it looks like.

 

[salmonstudio]

This is my old terrrium setup for my Brachypelma Smithi. as you can see half dessert theme, half normal/forest. in the dessert theme, i'm using rock, sand, and cactus.

 

[Kazaam]

The ground in its natural habitat looks like loam to me and it's possible to use that with tarantulas.
There are also enough succulents that thrive in loam.

 

[arachnidsrva]

that excavator stuff is pretty awesome, you add water and shape it to whatever you want

i use it for chalcodes and scorpions

 

[Miehrano]

I dont want to buy the Exo-terra excavator stuff, it looks to be a good product. but its pricey here.
I was thinking of digging up some regular clay from a newly constructed road, its clay from ca 4 meter down, im thinking its very good to shape while its soft, but will become harder when it dries, but i still think my roseas could dig in it if i create some cracks for it to begin with. (And its free!)

 

[josh_r]

I dont want to buy the Exo-terra excavator stuff, it looks to be a good product. but its pricey here.
I was thinking of digging up some regular clay from a newly constructed road, its clay from ca 4 meter down, im thinking its very good to shape while its soft, but will become harder when it dries, but i still think my roseas could dig in it if i create some cracks for it to begin with. (And its free!)

this is exactly what you should do. Then mix sand and peat into it to create a loamy soil. Your spider will do just fine in it.

 

[Miehrano]

good to hear, my tarantula is doing great on regular dry soil, but i wish to make it look more natural.