Brachypelma smithi Enclosure Questions

[Georgia Theresa]

Hello I have also B.Smithi, 4 years old, that loves to climb on the side wall towards the light, She has a temperature in her terrarium around 23-25 C
Do you think it is ok for her? from time to time I turn the little heat lamp on and she loves it, I only have her ONE day, I got her from someone of the ad, the substrate in the terrarium he brought her in was totally wet, moist. So I dried it and put together with freshly bought potting soil of pet shop for TROPICAL animals (B.smithi on the picture of the pack.) I havent moist it at all, jut put a water dish, I hope she will become warmer, but on that old moist substrate, she seemed to avoid the ground so I assumed that she was cold and changed the old substrate for brand new dry one, now she seems to stay more down, although still on the top of her hide.

 

[Georgia Theresa]

T's naturally flock to heat sources, but don't need them to thrive. The lamp is unnecessary, and removing it will remedy the problem. They can handle FAR lower temps than 22.5C without any issue, but if you give them a way to be warmer, of course they'll climb to it. If you want to use a lamp for viewing, use a red one preferably or white that doesn't give off much heat, and elevate it away from the cage. They aren't really climbers but are very picky about the ground they walk on. They aren't all too fond of soft soil. I added a mixture of pebbles into my substrate to give it a sturdier feel, as they live on rocky soil in the wild. Of course your substrate level will have to be raised significantly to make falls less traumatic, cause they will climb when you first rehouse or change the terrain.

Here's a shot of the burrow entrance. She spends most of her time here. The rounded pebbles are only in the top layer so she could have easily moved them if she wanted to. As you can see, she opted to keep all of them. She recently came out for a stroll so I can get a good pic of the floor inside.

View attachment 124564

GREAT IDEA WITH THE PEBBLES, I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THEM NOT LIKING SOFTER, THANK YOU FOR TELLING.

 

[NYAN]

They need dry substrate. It was climbing probably because it wanted to get off of the moist substrate. The heat is unnecessary. If you absolutely need to heat the enclosure because the temperatures are seriously cold, you can use a space heater probably. I recommend coco fiber/ eco earth as substrate also. Also, B. Smithi has been reclassified as B. Hamorii, and B annitha is now Smithi. Unless you bought it from a reputable seller, it’s probably Hamorii.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Hello I have also B.Smithi, 4 years old, that loves to climb on the side wall towards the light, She has a temperature in her terrarium around 23-25 C
Do you think it is ok for her? from time to time I turn the little heat lamp on and she loves it, I only have her ONE day, I got her from someone of the ad, the substrate in the terrarium he brought her in was totally wet, moist. So I dried it and put together with freshly bought potting soil of pet shop for TROPICAL animals (B.smithi on the picture of the pack.) I havent moist it at all, jut put a water dish, I hope she will become warmer, but on that old moist substrate, she seemed to avoid the ground so I assumed that she was cold and changed the old substrate for brand new dry one, now she seems to stay more down, although still on the top of her hide. View attachment 273654 View attachment 273655 View attachment 273656

Get rid of the heat lamp, it will slowly fry/dehydrate your tarantula over time. They are drawn to the heat, much to their own detriment.

They do fine at room temp.

 

[Georgia Theresa]

thank you very much for your help, I will remove the lamp then, It was there from the old owner, also I did change the substrate too, and it is totally dry, she likes it a lot more and today she was in her hide too. In that case, It is B.Hamorii
thank you a lot

 

[Nightstalker47]

thank you very much for your help, I will remove the lamp then, It was there from the old owner, also I did change the substrate too, and it is totally dry, she likes it a lot more and today she was in her hide too. In that case, It is B.Hamorii
thank you a lot

Happy to help, enjoy your new friend!

 

[Thekla]

It's probably a stupid question and I'm also known for not seeing the obvious, but is there any ventilation at all in that enclosure?

Apart from that, I really like the shape of the enclosure. Not sure how practical it is, but it looks great. It's probably some kind of greenhouse, isn't it?

 

[Anoplogaster]

Is there a place for the spider to hide? She needs a dark place to hide in to feel secure.