I could use a little advice.

[RachelP]

Hi everyone. I'm brand new here, and I'm brand new to owning a tarantula. Don't eat me alive. I realize tarantulas are NOT toys.

My boyfriend is super interested in tarantulas and always mentions wanting one for a pet. I decided to get him one for Christmas. Instant perfect gift revelation.

I did my research on care and species to an extent, called around, and finally found a place in LA that had fully grown T's! It was a hard find for me. With reading I knew I wanted to choose a zebra, female, already almost grown. They had 4 stripe knee/zebra tarantulas, female, 3 - 4 years old, pretty large. It was perfect. I chose mine.

****I have absolutely no idea if this is proper exotic/pet/reptile store procedure, but they had all of their T's in individual small enclosed clear plastic cylinder casing (like what one would use for to-go soup from a restaurant or something) with a bit of wood chips under. They said they were fine that way for a month or months until sold. I felt concerned immediately, and sad for them. But I really have no idea if this is fine for them until they are sold. The space they are in is as big as them.****

I got a pretty cool looking, good-sized cylinder terrarium (to present on Christmas as well) by "A-round Nature" and filled it with wood chip bedding 3 - 4 inches, with rocks, 2 small plants, a place to hide.

My tarantula is currently still in the small round plastic case I got her in.

They told me she was fine this way until Christmas. They said she was just fed. I'm currently keeping the temperature in my apartment around 78.

I haven't released her to the terrarium yet and am concerned for her. Is she okay in the small space until Christmas?

I wanted him to do the honor (after being surprised) of releasing his tarantula into the new environment, and I was going to find a way to wrap the terrarium itself before presenting the tarantula.

Is this okay? What are your thoughts?

 

[Dennis Nedry]

You picked he right tarantula as a Christmas present! They barely ever hide and eat like they've never been fed before.

I'd swap out the wood chips for soil or coco peat. Less likely to injure the tarantula if it climbs the side and falls and its easier for the spider to dig into. It might also decide to redecorate it's home and pull out those fake plants or bury them. You don't want the height from substrate to lid more than 1.5 times the height of the spider's legspan or it might fall and hurt itself. Make sure it has a waterdish full at all times, they have a bad habit of burying them so make sure you keep it filled up and clean out the dirt. A bottle cap makes a good cheap water dish. If the pet store tells you to put a sponge in the dish ignore them, they don't need a sponge to drink

I don't have experience with this species personally, but I've only heard good things about them, hopefully somebody with more knowledge will chime in

 

[miss moxie]

Yeah, get those wood chips out of there! They have sharp edges, splinters. Think of a tarantula abdomen like a balloon. You know what happens when something sharp hits a balloon.

I'd also give a little more substrate. Typically for terrestrial Ts you want no more than 1.5x their leg span. So if your T has a leg span of 3" then you don't want more than 4.5" of space between the roof and the substrate line.

 

[RachelP]

Yay! I'm glad to hear that, especially about the lack of/less hiding. And thanks for the advice regarding climbing. The plants are real by the way! They are to be watered with drops weekly and apparently create a bit of humidity.

But oh my god, I did have coco dirt in the beginning (it's actually under the wood chips now) and the young girl at the store made me buy wood chips instead! Grr.

Right now my main concern is the space she's in before I release her.

 

[Venom1080]

How rigid is that cacti looking thing? Ive had abdomen punctures from one similar.

That bedding won't hold water well and I doubt the spider will like walking on it. Eco earth, plain old topsoil(with a couple handfuls of vermiculite), peat moss are all much better.

Unfortunately for you, Aphonopelma seemani are burrowers, that cage set up is far from appropriate. They will need substrate at least their legspan in depth. They also appreciate some humidity. Generously overflow the water dish once a week to every other week.

I'd recommend getting an entire new cage. Sorry, I know it's a huge hassle, specially when you already bought it all...
A large or XL kritter keeper would work nicely. And are still pretty display cages.

I'm always nervous having rocks in fossorial cages, keep them small if you must, like carapace size. Maybe a little silly, but I don't like the thought of my pets making elaborate burrows under rocks.

Live plants are a pain. I'd keep them separate. Least till you have your husbandry down. The spider will cover them in dirt anyway.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

Oops, didn't read the post right. If the tarantula does decide to bulldoze the enclosure the plants might not last long. Also, even if they don't hide much you should still provide a retreat to hide in especially for when it has to moult, half-buried terracotta pots and pieces of cork bark make great hiding spots and they'll often sit on top of the hide

 

[sdsnybny]

1) That's not a "zebra female" (Aphonopelma seemanni) Its a (Brazilian white knee) Acanthoscurria geniculata quite a bit more aggressive (food orientated) than the Costa Rican Zebra would be.
2) The set up is beautiful with the exception of wood chips, depending on what species of tree can be toxic to invertebrates. I would ditch the wood chips and use coco coir (ground up coconut husk). The plants look pretty but the tarantula will most likely dig them up for fun.

 

[miss moxie]

Wait @Venom1080 @Dennis Nedry Now I'm very confused. I didn't read the Zebra part. A. seemani bulldoze but that's an A. geniculata pictured?

 

[ccTroi]

Welcome to the hobby! The cup she’s in will be fine until Christmas day. Tarantulas do not require much space.
I suggest you put a water dish (bottle cap, etc.) for the time being. After she gets transferred to her new home, always have a clean, full water dish.

Couple questions: Is this a picture of your T? Do you happen to know the scientific name of your T?

 

[miss moxie]

1) That's not a "zebra female" (Aphonopelma seemanni) Its a (Brazilian white knee) Acanthoscurria geniculata quite a bit more aggressive (food orientated) than the Costa Rican Zebra would be.
2) The set up is beautiful with the exception of wood chips, depending on what species of tree can be toxic to invertebrates. I would ditch the wood chips and use coco coir (ground up coconut husk). The plants look pretty but the tarantula will most likely dig them up for fun.

Beat me to it. Yes, that's a tropical NW that will grow faster and be more defensive. Still not a bad first tarantula, but you'll wanna read up on A. geniculata instead.

 

[RachelP]

Oops! Okay. Now I feel concerned. I'm thinking I will increase the substrate and change it back to the coco/soil I had originally and look at Amazon for reviews on good stuff. As for the plants, if she wants to dig them out, it's okay! I'm going to see how the T settles in and go from there.

I haven't taken her out of the small enclosure yet MYSELF to get a picture of her, I was going by what the employee told me (though she was young, and distracted). So that is a Google found image blindly searching the species.

Edit: there is also a little cave in there to hide but I may look into getting another hiding piece...

 

[RachelP]

THIS image is more accurate. Sorry

 

[RachelP]

But dang, there really are experts here.
Only slightly intimidating

 

[sdsnybny]

Oops! Okay. Now I feel concerned. I'm thinking I will increase the substrate and change it back to the coco/soil I had originally and look at Amazon for reviews on good stuff. As for the plants, if she wants to dig them out, it's okay! I'm going to see how the T settles in and go from there.

I haven't taken her out of the small enclosure yet MYSELF to get a picture of her, I was going by what the employee told me (though she was young, and distracted). So that is a Google found image blindly searching the breed.

OK just an FYI AB rules, don't allow you to post pics that you don't own the rights to or have permission from the owner. You can post links though. Tarantulas don't have breeds there are species within a genus. Please find out the scientific name of the actual T you have so we can give more detailed care info.

 

[boina]

How rigid is that cacti looking thing? Ive had abdomen punctures from one similar.

That bedding won't hold water well and I doubt the spider will like walking on it. Eco earth, plain old topsoil(with a couple handfuls of vermiculite), peat moss are all much better.

Unfortunately for you, Aphonopelma seemani are burrowers, that cage set up is far from appropriate. They will need substrate at least their legspan in depth. They also appreciate some humidity. Generously overflow the water dish once a week to every other week.

I'd recommend getting an entire new cage. Sorry, I know it's a huge hassle, specially when you already bought it all...
A large or XL kritter keeper would work nicely. And are still pretty display cages.

I'm always nervous having rocks in fossorial cages, keep them small if you must, like carapace size. Maybe a little silly, but I don't like the thought of my pets making elaborate burrows under rocks.

Live plants are a pain. I'd keep them separate. Least till you have your husbandry down. The spider will cover them in dirt anyway.

That's not a A. seemanni! Did you look at the pic? That's a A. geniculata! Common names are really confusing everything.

OK, @RachelP , I think there's some confusion here. If the pic you posted is a pic of the actual spider that's an Acanthoscurria geniculata. The most often used name is Brazilian striped knee, whereas a (Costa Rican) zebra is A. seemanni - very confusing, I know.

A. geniculata is not a burrower but will do fine in the enclosure you posted minus the wood chips. Coco fiber or top soil will do fine. Please, do not even attempt to ask in a pet store how to care for them, you'll get the most ridiculous "advice". The tarantula will be ok in the small enclosure for the few days until Christmas, they don't have a need to move around all the time.

Good choice, A. geniculata is a wonderful pet tarantula and one of my all time favorites. They never hide and always eat.

Edit: Argh, the second pic you posted is A. seemanni... Now I'm completely confused.

 

[RachelP]

OK just an FYI AB rules, don't allow you to post pics that you don't own the rights to or have permission from the owner. You can post links though. Tarantulas don't have breeds there are species within a genus. Please find out the scientific name of the actual T you have so we can give more detailed care info.

Aphonopelma seemanni

 

[miss moxie]

Aphonopelma seemanni

Also, now I'm thinking of it-- How big is the tarantula in question? You said small but how small?

 

[Michael Pintal]

View attachment 261275 View attachment 261276 Hi everyone. I'm brand new here, and I'm brand new to owning a tarantula. Don't eat me alive. I realize tarantulas are NOT toys.

My boyfriend is super interested in tarantulas and always mentions wanting one for a pet. I decided to get him one for Christmas. Instant perfect gift revelation.

I did my research on care and breeds to an extent, called around, and finally found a place in LA that had fully grown T's! It was a hard find for me. With reading I knew I wanted to choose a zebra, female, already almost grown. They had 4 stripe knee/zebra tarantulas, female, 3 - 4 years old, pretty large. It was perfect. I chose mine.

****I have absolutely no idea if this is proper exotic/pet/reptile store procedure, but they had all of their T's in individual small enclosed clear plastic cylinder casing (like what one would use for to-go soup from a restaurant or something) with a bit of wood chips under. They said they were fine that way for a month or months until sold. I felt concerned immediately, and sad for them. But I really have no idea if this is fine for them until they are sold. The space they are in is as big as them.****

I got a pretty cool looking, good-sized cylinder terrarium (to present on Christmas as well) by "A-round Nature" and filled it with wood chip bedding 3 - 4 inches, with rocks, 2 small plants, a place to hide.

My tarantula is currently still in the small round plastic case I got her in.

They told me she was fine this way until Christmas. They said she was just fed. I'm currently keeping the temperature in my apartment around 78.

I haven't released her to the terrarium yet and am concerned for her. Is she okay in the small space until Christmas?

I wanted him to do the honor (after being surprised) of releasing his tarantula into the new environment, and I was going to find a way to wrap the terrarium itself before presenting the tarantula.

Is this okay? What are your thoughts?

First of all she should be fine intil Christmas, 2nd of all that is not an Aphonopelma seemani AKA the costa rican zebra tarantula

View attachment 261275 View attachment 261276 Hi everyone. I'm brand new here, and I'm brand new to owning a tarantula. Don't eat me alive. I realize tarantulas are NOT toys.

My boyfriend is super interested in tarantulas and always mentions wanting one for a pet. I decided to get him one for Christmas. Instant perfect gift revelation.

I did my research on care and breeds to an extent, called around, and finally found a place in LA that had fully grown T's! It was a hard find for me. With reading I knew I wanted to choose a zebra, female, already almost grown. They had 4 stripe knee/zebra tarantulas, female, 3 - 4 years old, pretty large. It was perfect. I chose mine.

****I have absolutely no idea if this is proper exotic/pet/reptile store procedure, but they had all of their T's in individual small enclosed clear plastic cylinder casing (like what one would use for to-go soup from a restaurant or something) with a bit of wood chips under. They said they were fine that way for a month or months until sold. I felt concerned immediately, and sad for them. But I really have no idea if this is fine for them until they are sold. The space they are in is as big as them.****

I got a pretty cool looking, good-sized cylinder terrarium (to present on Christmas as well) by "A-round Nature" and filled it with wood chip bedding 3 - 4 inches, with rocks, 2 small plants, a place to hide.

My tarantula is currently still in the small round plastic case I got her in.

They told me she was fine this way until Christmas. They said she was just fed. I'm currently keeping the temperature in my apartment around 78.

I haven't released her to the terrarium yet and am concerned for her. Is she okay in the small space until Christmas?

I wanted him to do the honor (after being surprised) of releasing his tarantula into the new environment, and I was going to find a way to wrap the terrarium itself before presenting the tarantula.

Is this okay? What are your thoughts?

First of all she will be fine till Christmas, tarantulas don't need alot of space, rule of thumb is the enclosure should be 3x the leg span, 2nd of all that is not an Aphonopelma seemani AKA the costa rican zebra tarantula, which I own a 4.5" female and she's a sweetheart, what you were sold is an acanthoscurria geniculata AKA the Brazilian giant white knee tarantula and they get very large 7" to 8" and can be aggressive but are great eaters, I own a 7" male and I've held him bit wouldn't recommend it to your boyfriend to do.
I wouldn't use wood chips for substrate, get some cocofiber substrate and make it damp, not soaked and she'll be fine when you transfer, also check her temperament with a long very soft paintbrush, touch her back legs and she how she responds, if she whips around and grabs it ( which my usually does) DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS IN THERE) She's thinking food. Good luck

 

[RachelP]

@miss moxie the T is said to be almost fully grown / 3 - 4 years old.

 

[miss moxie]

@miss moxie the T is said to be almost fully grown / 3 - 4 years old.

That's not actually helpful, as growth rate can vary a lot and isn't dependent on age. The reason I'm asking is because if it were small like two inches that enclosure would be too big for them.