New Housing for a T. Blondi. GOOD??

[Spc.Fred]

This is my first build for a tarantula its all peat with 2 different kind of mosses, a heat pad (bottom) and getting heat light soon. I've never had own a Tarantula before so what do you guy think of my housing will it be okay for T. Blondi Bird Eater? Also I need help finding a tarantula don't really know where to get one online help me please?

 

[xjak3yx]

this looks good but if your a begginer i dont reccomend a t blondi

 

[robc]

This is my first build for a tarantula its all peat with 2 different kind of mosses, a heat pad (bottom) and getting heat light soon. I've never had own a Tarantula before so what do you guy think of my housing will it be okay for T. Blondi Bird Eater? Also I need help finding a tarantula don't really know where to get one online help me please?

nice set up for your first...I am concerned about (2) things. (1) I wouldnt reccommend using a heating pad in that small of a enclosure. (2) Since a T. Blondi has such a big abnomen I wouldnt have that water dish in the corners if it falls on that water dish it could rupture its abnomen. I would also have at leasr 6"-8" of substrate that is moist....I do like that moss is it live? that will help hold humidity. good job on the enclosure:clap:

 

[pearson340]

nope me neither a G.Rosea i have one easy to care docile and amazing color your tank is a bit big maybe you could fit two in there but put a piece in the middle so one dosent get eaten lol or a Mexican red knee something docile your looking for hope i can help if you want to chat more add me on msn nfl_mad_2k4@hotmail.com

 

[robc]

this looks good but if your a begginer i dont reccomend a t blondi

I agree with this...They are fast aggressive and if they get a hold of you.....its going to hurt (adults have 1"+ fangs)

 

[Rizzolo]

I also don't recommend a T blondi for a first tarantula. they can be nasty. however, they are very cool spiders.

as for the setup, there are a couple of concerns. T blondi is an opportunistic burrower, not really a digger, so you need to pretty much make its retreat for it. It will not be able to make a retreat in this setup. If you sink a cork tube into the deep section, to make a tunnel retreat, that will work. the big water bowl is good. however you will spend a lot of time cleaning it out. i prefer to use plastic deli cups, so that i can just swap them out quickly. then, i sanitize the dirty ones, or just toss them.

also, T blondi needs humidity, so your plan to use a heat pad and heat lamp will work against you. both of these heat sources will to dry out the habitat, especially the heat lamp. you will be better off heating a closet, a room, or enclosed shelves, so that you are not directly heating the substrate. T blondi also likes it warm. warm and humid is harder to achieve than you might think.

this habitat would work fine for a brachy - a big one.
good luck

 

[Spc.Fred]

OKAY if you guys think i shouldn't get a T. Blondi then which T's should i get for me as a beginner? I want one that can grow pretty big and quick and are creeping looking!

 

[Rizzolo]

Grammastola aureostriata. i loved my Chaco Golden Knee, but it was a male, so gave it away for mating. they grow fairly fast, they are big, not aggressive usually, eat well, and are very pretty.

 

[Frédérick]

OKAY if you guys think i shouldn't get a T. Blondi then which T's should i get for me as a beginner? I want one that can grow pretty big and quick and are creeping looking!

Either a Grammostola aureostriata or a Lasiodora parahybana (Salmon Pink Birdeater)...the Chaco grows slowly and is very docile, whereas the parahybana grows rapidly, eats a lot, not expensive and gets to a nice size like 9"-10" maybe even bigger...it would do fine in such a big enclosure! keep in mind they have nasty urticating hairs tho!

Fred

Oh and they're much more easier to care for than a blondi...

 

[Spc.Fred]

hey thx Frederick ill look it up sound interesting thx again

 

[PhormictopusMan]

My first T was an N. collortavalosum. Then a month later I got a T. blondi. I really don't go for the "not good for the beginner" philosophy. It absolutely depends on the person. If you take the time to do the research, and you are pretty level headed and in general competent about things, then a T. blondi will make a great first spider. It will go perfectly with that fantastic setup.

The only thing that concerns me there is the location of the waterdish. The blondi, if stressed will attempt to climb up by bracing itself against the corner. It will find its way up there and could possibly fall (Its prefferred method of coming back down) onto the dish.

Looks like a great setup.

--Chris

 

[Paramite]

My first T was an N. collortavalosum. Then a month later I got a T. blondi. I really don't go for the "not good for the beginner" philosophy. It absolutely depends on the person. If you take the time to do the research, and you are pretty level headed and in general competent about things, then a T. blondi will make a great first spider. It will go perfectly with that fantastic setup.

I agree. My first T was P. cambridgei. I got my first Pokie 6 months after that. I know quite a few people who had T. blondi as a first T. Just go for it!

 

[Moltar]

I reccomend G aureostriata too. L parahybana wouldn't be a bad choice either. Dry conditions needed for a t like G aureo or a brachypelma will cause the moss to die off over time.

Btw, you do realize don't you that any t big enough to actually make use of that large enclosure will be well north of $150?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

If you intend to immediately put your new pet in that enclosure, you're going to have to shell out the bucks for one that's already fully grown. The distance from dirt to ceiling should never be more than about the legspan of the spider, ESPECIALLY with T. blondi as they're supposedly bulkier than other terrestrials and even more prone to injury from falls.

 

[PhormictopusMan]

From the look of the setup, in order to get the legspan to the ceiling, you would only have to add a few inches for an adult blondi. They have an amazing stretch. The substrate that you are using will absorb some of the fall, but the water dish scares me there.

And mushroom is right about that setup being for an adult or a really big sub.

Get the spider you want.

--Chris

 

[fartkowski]

My first T was a rosea, then I branched out to a blondi and an H lividum bought at the same time.
I say as long as you do your research and are responsible any T is fine for a first. As long as you know the problems that could arise from having certain species, you shoud be ok.

 

[RottweilExpress]

As said by some posters already:

Get your blondi, you'll love it. You'll also pay for your noobie mistakes like, getting haired, but you'll learn.

1. Get a good lid for that tank, it should have lots and lots of ventilation.
2. Moist that substrate up good. Not wet, not soaking, but moist.
3. Move the dish out from the wall
4. Scrap the heatmat or put it on the side wall. The heatmat wont do much difference through all that substrate. It may just crack your glass instead.
5. Put some pebbles in the dish so your feeders don't drown

 

[Moltar]

As said by some posters already:

Get your blondi, you'll love it. You'll also pay for your noobie mistakes like, getting haired, but you'll learn.

1. Get a good lid for that tank, it should have lots and lots of ventilation.
2. Moist that substrate up good. Not wet, not soaking, but moist.
3. Move the dish out from the wall
4. Scrap the heatmat or put it on the side wall. The heatmat wont do much difference through all that substrate. It may just crack your glass instead.
5. Put some pebbles in the dish so your feeders don't drown

And add a few inches of substrate to the shallow end and make sure she has a hide premade.

 

[Flying]

I don't agree with the anti-blondi posts.

Well actually I do agree when one or all of these circumstances are met:

- You're very young (like 12 or 13..)
- You plan on just getting a T without reading anything prior to purchase

If this isn't the case then you can get damn well any tarantula that you like, as long as you know how to keep it. As said before, beware of the hairs. I can work around my parahybana without having any itch, but I am troubled when it comes to blondi or apophysis.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

(Didn't read all the posts, just absorbed the gist)

Wow, all riled up about it being a blondi? :?

I'd say they're fine, as T's they're just as fine as any other NW. It's their hairs that suck. That's all. So watch out for those, protect yourself at all times! Gloves, and in case of dusty work, get some goggles and breathing prot to be sure.

If you plan on feeding crickets then I can bet you that you'll be swearing to high heaven most of the time if you don't drop the crix half paralyzed right infront of the blondi. Because otherwise they'll hop out of there, right into the thickest moss and stay there until you're purple and steaming.

Good luck, have fun. Blondis are fast and hungry, but if you give them the space they deserve you'll be just fine! WAtch some of the T-vids so see what a fast T looks like.