Help with Psalmopoeus enclosure

[Sykomp]

Hello! I'm getting into arboreals, and trying to create a nice setup for a P. cambridgei female.
(I considered an avic for the first, but sadly I am very allergic to the urticating hairs, so I took this as a chance to just leap a bit further towards OWs - after a good amount of research and not being panicky or scared of dealing with teleporting spiders, I should know what I'm getting into, no worries on that front.)

My question is: I've read on many fronts that psalmos are kind of semi-arboreal - is this kind of arboreal setup okay? Should I tilt the cork bark more, or even crack it open, add more substrate, add even more plants..?
I crafted this one to be very arboreal, but I'm unsure would this work nicely with a P. cambridgei too. There's also substrate inside the bark - it's not full of it though - and I suppose it could craft dirt-curtains nicely with it... But I thought it's better ask so I can possibly change everything if more experienced keepers say this won't work.

Plants are fake and hot glued on the bark, the water bowl is in the bottom near the front doors, and the substrate is a mix of peat and some jungle earth -mixture. There's some vermicullite mixed in the bottom-layer (I know some think these substrate things are useless but just let me have my fun with it, I've had very good success so far), and on the top that "earthy" look is created with just some coconut fibers and dry moss bits.
The ventilation should be ok.

Oh, and I'm gonna replace that mesh-lid eventually with some acrylic with holes. It'll just take some time to get a suitable piece, so mesh it is until then.

(Also; that's an Exoterra and this setup is for the adult size, which is probably a bit big for the large juvenile I ordered - but I won't know for sure until I actually see the size of the spider. I'd rather not do many rehouses so I'm hoping I don't need to put it in a smaller container first, but I'll see do I have to when the spider actually gets here and I can properly gauge it's size. Anyway, that's besides the point.)

Edit:// And ofc I made a typo in the tittle first. Psalmopoeus, not -eous.......

 

[boina]

That's a really nice Avic enclosure - not so much for a Psalmopoeus.

Psalmopoeus will create their webs on the ground. Therefore they need ground cover -> put the plants on the ground. They also like to incorporate the substrate into their webs and some even dig -> needs more substrate, at least 2 or 3 inches. If you angle the bark more the spider can actually get under there and make a kind of shallow burrow with web extensions, like Psalmopoeus prefer. It will make do with the bark like it is but it's not optimal.

 

[scott99]

For my P.cam I use a medium size critter keeper.

p.s Psalmopoeus are a good choice, their more exciting than most NWs but don't have medically significant venom like the OWs.

 

[Sykomp]

That's a really nice Avic enclosure - not so much for a Psalmopoeus.

Psalmopoeus will create their webs on the ground. Therefore they need ground cover -> put the plants on the ground. They also like to incorporate the substrate into their webs and some even dig -> needs more substrate, at least 2 or 3 inches. If you angle the bark more the spider can actually get under there and make a kind of shallow burrow with web extensions, like Psalmopoeus prefer. It will make do with the bark like it is but it's not optimal.

Thanks! That's very helpful and confirms what I suspected. I'll just fix it like you suggested. I really enjoy making these setups so it's not a problem at all.

 

[AnimalNewbie]

Aren’t they New worlds???

 

[Nightstalker47]

They also like to incorporate the substrate into their webs and some even dig -> needs more substrate, at least 2 or 3 inches. If you angle the bark more the spider can actually get under there and make a kind of shallow burrow with web extensions, like Psalmopoeus prefer. It will make do with the bark like it is but it's not optimal.

Ill echo this statement, other then that the setup looks great.

We had a thread just the other day on housing cams, check it out.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/ideal-enclosure-for-p-cambridgei.306690/

Aren’t they New worlds???

Yes.

 

[KezyGLA]

It looks good to me. Just double up the substrate to give it room to dig a little.

 

[Sykomp]

We had a thread just the other day on housing cams, check it out.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/ideal-enclosure-for-p-cambridgei.306690/

Oh, wow. I wonder how did I miss that thread, I lurk around here all the time and even tried using the search function before this... I guess I really have to check my spelling better. Anyway thank you for pointing it out!

For my P.cam I use a medium size critter keeper.

p.s Psalmopoeus are a good choice, their more exciting than most NWs but don't have medically significant venom like the OWs.

That's a cool enclosure! I might try something similar, if I enjoy this one and end up getting P. irminia, too. There's usually small P. irminia juvies available here after all... I like how the psalmos look but I have to try how it is to keep one too, first.

And yes, I'm trying to "cross the bridge" to OWs, I really enjoy the feistier the T's are, and urticating hairs are truly a big issue. I don't know will I ever actually go and get an OW though, since I have other pets and I am even more at risk for the venom because I have terrible health... but I would be lying if I claimed I didn't have dreams of pokies, lol. Maybe one day, who knows.

 

[Nightstalker47]

but I would be lying if I claimed I didn't have dreams of pokies, lol. Maybe one day, who knows.

If you do well with the cam and irminia you can certainly get a poec in the future. Behavior wise they are quite similar, the main difference lies in venom potency.

Smart move taking things slow and working with NW arboreals first though, you'll be well prepared when the time comes.

 

[Sykomp]

Alright, I added substrate and tilted the bark, as much as the size of the terrarium allowed. I think it'll be good enough now, that's the only way the bark fits tilted without cutting pieces of it anyway. There's a nice gap now and she can fit under the bark without issues, and a lot more substrate to mess around, I'll just try how this works and do more fixes if the need arises.
The light is there just for taking pictures.

I picked her up from the post office earlier this morning, and she seems to have survived the travel in a good shape. I considered her to be large enough for the adult setup (she was sold to me as 8,5 cm or around 3½ inches in leg span, and that seems to be about right), and just rehoused her there without a problem.
She didn't even throw a threat pose, even though I poked her butt a tiny bit with the tweezers to get her out of the paper stuffing, what a polite little girl! I think I'll name her Beatrice, haha.

Again, thanks for helping this psalmo-beginner out!