I've just bloody bought it, it cost me a BOMB £60.00 I paid I can't afford anymore enclosure I've spent enough of her as it is. I can't win with people the enclosure looks fine to me I have seen them in with other pet owners and people don't tell them to get a new enclosure?.
I've just bloody bought it, it cost me a BOMB £60.00 I paid I can't afford anymore enclosure I've spent enough of her as it is. I can't win with people the enclosure looks fine to me I have seen them in with other pet owners and people don't tell them to get a new enclosure?.@spookyvibes summed it up. Many of my terrestrials will climb every now and then, depends on their mood. A good rule to follow for height in a cage is the height from the ground to the top should not be more than 1.5x the length of your T. That enclosure would be great for an arboreal, but your terrestrial T is in a lot of danger in there. Especially when it likes to climb a lot. If you have the resources, you may want to think about rehousing it
You can certainly keep it if you want. I'm only trying to make sure your T doesn't hurt itself. It does stink that the expensive cage you bought for your T may not work. If you see other people keeping T's with that much height, I would warn them. The threat is real, and people here have actually had spiders fall and bust their abdomen and die. My G. pulchripes was in the exact same cage yours was in. It was my first, and one day I woke up to it having its one leg caught in the mesh, struggling to get down. I was lucky that my mom (I was young) saw the problem and got her down. It probably saved her life. So, just trying to make sure your tarantula is safe. Keep it if you want, but be aware of the consequences...
There's 3 types of tarantula, Terrestrial (yours), Arboreal and Fossorial. Each needs different enclosures. Terrestrials (yours) do not climb very much so require less height. Also they aren't as good climbers so having lots height means it could fall and injure itself. Exo Terra types also don't allow for much substrate which is necessary for terrestrials. They often like to burrow.
Thank You for you're advice, sorry if I seemed a bit aggressive I just don't want anythink wrong happening as I thought to myself when I bought this enclosure that it was going to be the perfect set up but now im getting told that its too big. the last enclosure I bought someone said it was too small.
Thank You for you're advice, sorry if I seemed a bit aggressive I just don't want anythink wrong happening as I thought to myself when I bought this enclosure that it was going to be the perfect set up but now im getting told that its too big. the last enclosure I bought someone said it was too small
No worries, I'm a new keeper too and know how worrying it can be trying to get the setup just right. If you need a cheap enclosure have a look at those clear plastic storage boxes. Can get them in loads of sizes in most homewares shops. There is a rule of thumb for the size but I keep forgetting exactly so if a more experienced keeper can correct me then please do!
A good few inches of sub and only 1.5x DLS between sub and lid is correct for a terrestrial- but 4x DLS total height is quite excessive for your average terrestrial- that’s 20 inches for a 5 inch T.
You meant length here right? Maybe more like 3x dls length then?
Ahhhh I had read your post on mobile, and it did away with the formatting. Now reading it here on a PC what you were saying makes much more sense.
I just want to back this up- I did this recently with an exo terra for my Avic and it is great!
Then get an aboreal for this tank and get to a cheap plastic storage box some are clear enough.
The bare minimum is 2x DLS length and width, the gap between the top of the sub and the top of the enclosure shouldn't exceed 1.5x DLS for terrestrials regardless of the species required substrate depth (you could put a 3" non-burrowing T in a 12" tall enclosure provided you fill it with at least 7.5" of sub, I use exo terra flat faunariums for non-burrowers as they'll be fine on as little as 3" of substrate).
If the doors are hinged with screws you could remove them and make a small wood door. Cut out the center and attach drilled plexiglass/lexan or screen. You can coat the door with Polyethlene and cure it in a warm oven (150 degrees F) to drive off all the volatiles out before using it and coat the inside with a thin coat of Vaseline//Petroleum jelly so the T cannot get a grip to reach the screen. Have like a 2 inch gap between enclosure sides and screen for ventilation. Vaseline is non toxic, I use it in my ant colony to keep the from climbing out, it has no lid. The ants try and climb it, but slide right off back into their enclosure. I caught a queen that had bred of those Ants that are red with a black abdomen here in OH. Started her in a test tube until she got a few workers going.
You should have done research, or more thorough research. However there is CHEAP solution for you below, you're welcome
This is not true, many people tell pet stores they are doing it wrong. Just because you have seen something, doesn't mean it's the proper way.
And neither do we, hence our advice. Less than perfect, but close if modded properly.
It's not too big, it's the wrong configuration.