First tarantula enclosure help?

[wildpiercy]

Hey, I'm planning on getting a juvenile/young adult tarantula once weather warms up (looking at beginner-friendly terrestrial species, leaning towards B. Smithi for coloring+ availability, but if not that, then one with similar care requirements.) and today I went to Petco to look for basic care stuff, mainly the enclosure itself.
They had some plastic kritter-keepers that seemed about the right size, but were all very shallow compared to the length across, and didn't know if that was a problem. (I wasn't worrying about height much on account of being able to just add more substrate to make it safe)
They had a lot more variety in aquariums, but I hear that lateral airflow is important, and I can't add air holes to the sides of an aquarium like I could a plastic cage.
Could anyone give me an idea of what dimensions are too big/too small, and if lateral air flow is super important or not, please? Or what their set up for that type of spider looks like for ideas?
Thank you in advance.

 

[antinous]

These are what all my enclosures look like once they grow out of the deli cup size. You can add however much cross ventilation you want, since the species you mention is an arid one you can add more ventilation in case you overflow the water dish too much/add in moist sub/etc.

This enclosure is 6"x7" roughly, once the T reaches 3.5" give or take, I'll bump it up the next one which is 8" x 13".

 

[cold blood]

m planning on getting a juvenile/young adult tarantula once weather warms up (looking at beginner-friendly terrestrial species, leaning towards B. Smithi for coloring+ availability, but if not that, then one with similar care requirements.)

Other great firsts are A. chalcodes, B. albopilosum and my favorite, G. pulchripes (biggest, fastest growing and best appetite).

today I went to Petco to look for basic care stuff, mainl

Never ever never never rely on a pet store for care "requirements". Care sheets are just as bad.

Truth is there are a very limited number of ways to keep ts....dry sub, some damp sub or occassional, or damp sub. No t has specific temp requirements, no t has humidity requirement...humidity isnt even a term a t keeper should use.

This is the place to get your info....welcome to the boards!

The t you want is now B. hamorii, its been reclassified not too long ago. That species, like virtually all good beginner species, simply requires dry sub, a hide and water dish. Temps just need to be mid 60's or better and that could mean 66, it could mean 88, the range is very wide.

They had some plastic kritter-keepers that seemed about the right size, but were all very shallow compared to the length across, and didn't know if that was a problem. (I

Kritter keepers are just fine, they just require less sub to be safe than a tank. Most of the best beginners, burrow very little, and dont require a ton of depth...its more of an enclosure concern than a t concern. KKs are pretty popular.

They had a lot more variety in aquariums, but I hear that lateral airflow is important, and I can't add air holes to the sides of an aquarium like I could a plastic cage.

For terrestrials kept mostly or completely dry, airflow is not as important....One on dry sub actually needs minimal ventilation. Go to the hardware store, get acrylic or plexi cut to fit and drill it out. I also have it cut so i dont need to remove the whole top.

I use a lot of sterilite, some tubs arent all that deep, but deep enough for such terrestrials....its cheap, and easy to drill out ventilation in any manner i need.

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• cold blood
• Apr 5, 2017

terrestrial set up

 

[BoyFromLA]

I use clear shoe display box for most of my juvies, provided with a hide, and water dish, and enough substrates.

 

[wildpiercy]

Never ever never never rely on a pet store for care "requirements". Care sheets are just as bad.

Oh no I didn't mean like that! I meant the physical enclosure, substrate, crickets, and stuff, I was scoping out what I could get locally because my town doesn't have a ton of stuff in it. I already did enough research to figure out the kind of sites that say to keep a porteri moist are total B.S.
Thank you for the advice though! (and the update on the spider name) That was very helpful

 

[Ungoliant]

Oh no I didn't mean like that! I meant the physical enclosure, substrate, crickets, and stuff, I was scoping out what I could get locally because my town doesn't have a ton of stuff in it. I already did enough research to figure out the kind of sites that say to keep a porteri moist are total B.S.

Horizontally, shoot for a good 2-3x the tarantula's diagonal leg span in any direction. Vertically, you want to limit the distance between the top of the substrate and the lid to no more than 1.5x the tarantula's diagonal leg span (in order to prevent fall injuries).

I like the small Exo Terra Breeding Box (8" x 8" x 5.5") for juveniles that don't need deep substrate.

 

[wildpiercy]

Horizontally, shoot for a good 2-3x the tarantula's diagonal leg span in any direction. Vertically, you want to limit the distance between the top of the substrate and the lid to no more than 1.5x the tarantula's diagonal leg span (in order to prevent fall injuries).

I like the small Exo Terra Breeding Box (8" x 8" x 5.5") for juveniles that don't need deep substrate.

Thank you, very helpful!

 

[StormyMyth729]

I use clear shoe display box for most of my juvies, provided with a hide, and water dish, and enough substrates.

View attachment 296775

Where do you find those for a decent price??

 

[The Seraph]

Where do you find those for a decent price??

Go to a container store or Wal-Mart. They might have some.

 

[StormyMyth729]

Go to a container store or Wal-Mart. They might have some.

Thanks. Unfortunately there's no container store around here but I'll take a look at walmart sometime. I like how those boxes are clear. I'll have to look at walmart sometime to see what they have , I have a long time to go before then but just thinking of the future (my slings are all 1" and under lol)