is a 20 gallon too big for a pink toe?

[bjaeger]

hi there guys,

i have a 20 gallon that i got today basically for free and i was wondering if it would be overkill for my pink toe. he/she is nearly an adult, if not already. right now i have he/she in a small critter keeper and she just molted the other week and is now a lot bigger.

would it do well in a big tank like that?

 

[EightLeggedFreaks]

Way too big! I think my 5.5 gallon is too big even for my A.Metallica MM the 5.5 gallon is to big! They would do fine in a 2.5 gallon.

 

[BobGrill]

Yes, much too big. I'd use anything from a 5.5 gal to a 10 gal at the largest.

 

[bjaeger]

are you certain about this? do they really do bad in a big environment? i wouldn't think so seeming how in the wild they have pretty much unlimited space. maybe i can just rig up a divider and stick my pink toe and brachy in.

 

[EightLeggedFreaks]

5.5 gallon with my MM A.Avic, as you can see its way overkill for him



5.5 gallon with my MM A.Metallica. Questionable



both have 4 inches of substrate.

We as humans give them way too much space. I would never give these a 5.5 gallon tank again. All my future A.Avics which will only be versicolors will all be getting 2.5 gallons.

---------- Post added 07-09-2013 at 07:30 PM ----------

are you certain about this? do they really do bad in a big environment? i wouldn't think so seeming how in the wild they have pretty much unlimited space. maybe i can just rig up a divider and stick my pink toe and brachy in.

It's more due to prey. They can't find it. And your Tarantula is only going to use up a small portion of the tank. My A.Metallica hasn't moved from that spot in months. He just matured so he will be venturing about soon. But if that was a female it would be a waste of space!

 

[BobGrill]

5.5 gallon with my MM A.Avic, as you can see its way overkill for him



5.5 gallon with my MM A.Metallica. Questionable



both have 4 inches of substrate.

We as humans give them way too much space. I would never give these a 5.5 gallon tank again. All my future A.Avics which will only be versicolors will all be getting 2.5 gallons.

---------- Post added 07-09-2013 at 07:30 PM ----------



It's more due to prey. They can't find it. And your Tarantula is only going to use up a small portion of the tank. My A.Metallica hasn't moved from that spot in months. He just matured so he will be venturing about soon. But if that was a female it would be a waste of space!

I agree 100 percent with this 2nd part. The reason for needing a smaller tank is mainly because otherwise they'll have trouble finding their prey and they feel more secure in a smaller tank.

 

[Stan Schultz]

hi there guys,

i have a 20 gallon that i got today basically for free and i was wondering if it would be overkill for my pink toe. he/she is nearly an adult, if not already. right now i have he/she in a small critter keeper and she just molted the other week and is now a lot bigger.

would it do well in a big tank like that?

It might be okay if you stand it on its end and use the cover as a front door. (Click or right-click the thumbnails to see larger images.)







The major problem is that pinktoes (probably Avicularia avicularia) are confirmed arboreals and won't like having to come that far to the bottom to find food. It will learn to do so eventually, but you need to be real careful not to stuff the floor up with a lot of decorations and furnishings where the crickets could hide. A single, large water dish with the obligatory rock is about all you should have down there. And, I'd keep the water dish in the middle so the tarantula could get at the crickets hiding behind it.

If that were my aquarium I'd try trading it for two smaller ones with some tropical fish fancier, or expand my interests into keeping a small snake, or a lizard or two instead. When you consider that an aquarium will last for many years if you're careful not to break it, one or two smaller ones aren't really all that expensive even if you had to buy a smaller one for your tarantula.


Best of luck. Hope this helps.



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[Poec54]

Save the 20 gallon for a Theraphosa.

 

[Scoolman]

Tank size really a personal choice. If you set it up correctly, and monitor the goings on, there will be no issues. With larger enclosures you have be much more vigilant.
I have a T stirmi in a 50gal, vivarium. Does she "need" that much space? No. But I wanted to create a display piece, replicating a small of the rain forest.

 

[bjaeger]

thanks for the replies, guys. i appreciate your input.

i can see how your tarantulas only utilizes a small portion of the tank. i have minimal decorations to work with at the moment, so i don't think i could pull off a decent setup. i'm sure if i had a bunch of plants and some sticks and such in there i could make it work for the tarantula.

as for standing the tank on the side, i cannot do that since i have a single sheet of glass that fits perfect over the top and leaves a small gap to allow some airflow while retaining a good amount of humidity. i cannot think of a way to fit the glass on and make it easy to take off and put on while sitting vertically.

and about putting a t. blondi in there... i wish i could afford one right now!! they are awesome. i love how big they get but i haven't totally got over my fear of tarantulas just yet and i've had one for a good 5-6 years now (curly hair MF). my biggest thing with tarantulas is moving them from their enclosure. i'm always worried they are going to get away and i won't be able to catch them, they will bite me, the hairs will get in my eyes again. i'm more of a scorpion person. i have a gravid LQ, male LQ, 7 bicolor and a red claw. i don't mind them at all lol. but moving tarantulas and the fear of getting haired/bitten scares me. love them but i can't seem to get over that. i don't know how some of you guys do it especially with pokies.

i've had a ball python for 4-5 years now but recently let my brother take care of him since he all of a sudden decided to bite my friend and i. i have no idea why but he just snapped one day outside of his tank and bit us. i let my 2 year old daughter hold him before. if he would have bit her i probably would have had his head on a chopping block.

i'm pretty confused what to do with this empty tank now. the lid is perfect for something requiring roughly 80-90% humidity. maybe when i get my hands on some money i'll throw a dozen or so bark scorpions in there so satisfy my desire for scorpions. i wish tarantulas were communal. nothing would be cooler than a tank full of them.

 

[Hersh77tess]

maybe i can just rig up a divider and stick my pink toe and brachy in.

This is Not a good idea unless you are 2570% sure that these Ts will not be able to get to each other. 98.7% of the time Tarantulas find a weakness in the divider and one kills the other. Also,, aquariums for Avics work better vertical. Aquariums for terrestrials don't work at all unless you put a ton of substrate in. All and all it would probably be more beneficial for both species to get separate tanks.

(I don't know your skill set level so I apologize if I laid things out lecture/like and this was repetitive.)

 

[Hobo]

i wish tarantulas were communal. nothing would be cooler than a tank full of them.

Look up Heterothele and Holothele species.

 

[Naga]

Yup... As Hobo said, there are several... Most commonly mentioned (in my experience), a few Holothele inceis can occupy that communally

Another thought, something else to consider in the pet world and over-sized housing... In the wild, an Avic (or any T, for that matter) is out in the open, with worlds of space. That's very true. Also true is that any creature of any kind can be found, roaming in and out of the general area that houses the T. So by example, on any given day/night, a wild Avic may have a thousand creatures of various shapes and sizes wandering within 5 feet of its web! And obviously, a few end up making it to the web. Flying, falling, crawling,... Something ends up there. In the smaller, human-housed T's lair, the same is obviously not said. We CONTROL many aspects of the environment, including sizes, shapes, and how often something has some level of relative chance of making itself known as food. And unlike the wild creature, which only has to wait for food to come to it, we have to make sure the food is found. Otherwise, it's a waste to us, and another day without food to them. So effectively, we HAVE to make it plausible for our little creatures, even the very stationary ones, to find it

And the same goes for humans, really. If one day, there were no food markets, grocery stores, no stores of any kind where food is sold, many of us, accustomed to going to only certain locales to find food, would suffer awhile before we grasp that we have to hunt it down, grasping at our wild roots. And by then, many would have starved

 

[bjaeger]

This is Not a good idea unless you are 2570% sure that these Ts will not be able to get to each other. 98.7% of the time Tarantulas find a weakness in the divider and one kills the other. Also,, aquariums for Avics work better vertical. Aquariums for terrestrials don't work at all unless you put a ton of substrate in. All and all it would probably be more beneficial for both species to get separate tanks.

(I don't know your skill set level so I apologize if I laid things out lecture/like and this was repetitive.)

that's alright. i still consider myself somewhat of a newbie when it comes to T's even though i've kept half a dozen in the past 6 years (down to 2 now). my main focus has always been on scorpions. i suppose after reading what you said, if i ever were to divide a tank, i would take every precaution and make an escape/fool proof divider. most likely with glass and aquarium silicone.

Look up Heterothele and Holothele species.

i will do that. thank you

Yup... As Hobo said, there are several... Most commonly mentioned (in my experience), a few Holothele inceis can occupy that communally

Another thought, something else to consider in the pet world and over-sized housing... In the wild, an Avic (or any T, for that matter) is out in the open, with worlds of space. That's very true. Also true is that any creature of any kind can be found, roaming in and out of the general area that houses the T. So by example, on any given day/night, a wild Avic may have a thousand creatures of various shapes and sizes wandering within 5 feet of its web! And obviously, a few end up making it to the web. Flying, falling, crawling,... Something ends up there. In the smaller, human-housed T's lair, the same is obviously not said. We CONTROL many aspects of the environment, including sizes, shapes, and how often something has some level of relative chance of making itself known as food. And unlike the wild creature, which only has to wait for food to come to it, we have to make sure the food is found. Otherwise, it's a waste to us, and another day without food to them. So effectively, we HAVE to make it plausible for our little creatures, even the very stationary ones, to find it

And the same goes for humans, really. If one day, there were no food markets, grocery stores, no stores of any kind where food is sold, many of us, accustomed to going to only certain locales to find food, would suffer awhile before we grasp that we have to hunt it down, grasping at our wild roots. And by then, many would have starved

i see where you're coming from. my crickets seem darn smart, too! they rarely every go towards another living creature in an enclosure if it's not another cricket. if i were to make an elaborate setup, i'd try my best in order to make sure the T has eaten. my avic usually grabs a cricket as soon as i toss it onto it's web. i tend to spoil them. they are going to love when my dubia colony is stable enough to start feeding out

 

[Zeph]

Try sectioning your tank off. I turned my tall 20 gallon into three enclosures for Avics. Escape-proofing this difficult, though! I spent a lot of time on this part.

 

[goodoldneon]

Is the Brazilian Rainforest too large an enclosure?

 

[bjaeger]

Try sectioning your tank off. I turned my tall 20 gallon into three enclosures for Avics. Escape-proofing this difficult, though! I spent a lot of time on this part.

definitely going to do that! i don't think that it will be that hard to make it escape-proof. i'm pretty resourceful and creative when it comes to building things. maybe i'll dismantle and cut up this 10 gallon that is sitting around collecting dust. hopefully it's big enough to use for a 20 high.

 

[JZC]

You should use that 10g for the avic.

 

[Scoolman]

Is the Brazilian Rainforest too large an enclosure?

Oh, much too big.

 

[Stan Schultz]

This is Not a good idea unless you are 2570% sure that these Ts will not be able to get to each other. 98.7% of the time Tarantulas find a weakness in the divider and one kills the other. Also,, aquariums for Avics work better vertical. Aquariums for terrestrials don't work at all unless you put a ton of substrate in. All and all it would probably be more beneficial for both species to get separate tanks.

(I don't know your skill set level so I apologize if I laid things out lecture/like and this was repetitive.)

The basic rule is that one always manages to climb over, squeeze around, sneak under, or teleport across said barriers. And, the cheap one always eats the expensive one!

C'mon! Cages aren't THAT expensive!


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