P. Metallica enclosure too big?

[tyler1998]

Hi there. I'm getting a poecilotheria metallica sling soon and I'm really curious how big of an enclosure I can put him/her in (the sling will be ~1"). I already bought a pretty ginormous exo terra cage, 18"x18"x24", and I wasn't planning on moving it into the enclosure until it was at least an inch or two bigger. When my green bottle blue was a sling I kept her in a large enclosure and she seemed to do really well in it. she would find a spot she liked, web it up, and when it was time to eat I would just drop a cricket on her web. When she got bored of that spot she would just wander around and find another hide.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Yeah thats not gonna work.

 

[Theneil]

I would keep it in a 32oz deli (similar) until about 3". then i would put it in forever home. But that's just me.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Keep it simple, perch/hide and water dish. Should look something like this.

 

[boina]

It worked with your GBB - an active, unafraid spider. It will not work with a P. metallica. During the last year I've seen two or three of those setups and in every case the spider hunkered down in one corner, hardly moved and never ate. Died in at least on of those cases.

Get a smaller setup with proper sized hides.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

18"x18"x24"

Yeah, that won't work (even for an adult).

That'd be ridiculously oversized for even a Poecilotheria ornata/rufilata and they're the biggest arboreals you can get, P. metallica are one of the smallest members of the genus.

 

[Bigme213]

Yeah that cage is way big even when it’s full grown

 

[tyler1998]

Yeah, that won't work (even for an adult).

That'd be ridiculously oversized for even a Poecilotheria ornata/rufilata and they're the biggest arboreals you can get, P. metallica are one of the smallest members of the genus.

I feel as though a p Metallica will hide in the same spot of its enclosure regardless of how big it is. I understand that it’s “unnecessary” but I highly doubt having a large enclosure would actually jeapordize the health of the tarantula! And if so, how? In their natural habitat they aren’t refined to a tiny enclosure

 

[The Grym Reaper]

but I highly doubt having a large enclosure would actually jeapordize the health of the tarantula! And if so, how?

If they can't find their food/water (very plausible in an enclosure that's 3x leg span long/wide and 4x high at max size), it also makes maintaining optimal living conditions more difficult. Tarantulas don't need that much space. As @boina said, it'll probably hunker down in a corner and then probably die of starvation/dehydration.

In their natural habitat they aren’t refined to a tiny enclosure

Not a good argument, they're critically endangered in the wild.

 

[tyler1998]

It worked with your GBB - an active, unafraid spider. It will not work with a P. metallica. During the last year I've seen two or three of those setups and in every case the spider hunkered down in one corner, hardly moved and never ate. Died in at least on of those cases.

Get a smaller setup with proper sized hides.

What do you mean “it won’t work”? The tarantula will have multiple places to hide and feel safe. What do you mean it will just stay in the corner and hardly move? How is that different than their behavior in a small enclosure? Are you really suggesting that a tarantula will be overwhelmed by the space I’m giving it and starve it’s self? Or are you suggesting that it won’t be able to find its food? If you’re suggesting the latter, I take much time to make sure it can get it’s food (if it wants it) by using tongs to move it closer to the t.

If they can't find their food/water (very plausible in an enclosure that's 3x leg span long/wide and 4x high at max size), it also makes maintaining optimal living conditions more difficult. Tarantulas don't need that much space. As @boina said, it'll probably hunker down in a corner and then probably die of starvation/dehydration.



Not a good argument, they're critically endangered in the wild.

They’re critically endangered because their habitat is shrinking because of logging... they’re not at all endangered because they can’t survive in a habitat that’s too big for them haha

They’re critically endangered because their habitat is shrinking because of logging... they’re not at all endangered because they can’t survive in a habitat that’s too big for them haha

And do you really think a P. Metallica won’t travel any more than 3x it’s leg span to find water... that’s pretty far fetched. Tarantulas are more resilient than you give them credit for

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Are you really suggesting that a tarantula will be overwhelmed by the space I’m giving it and starve it’s self?

Yes because it's been repeatedly proven by breeders on this forum that they will do this.

@cold blood do you want to do the honours, bruv?

They’re critically endangered because their habitat is shrinking because of logging... they’re not at all endangered because they can’t survive in a habitat that’s too big for them haha

Survival rates of any tarantulas species in the wild are already shockingly bad before you even factor in stuff like human intervention, why do you think genera like Lasiodora pump out 1.5k eggs per sac?

 

[tyler1998]

Yes because it's been repeatedly proven by breeders on this forum that they will do this.

@cold blood do you want to do the honours, bruv?



Survival rates of any tarantulas species in the wild are already shockingly bad before you even factor in stuff like human intervention, why do you think genera like Lasiodora pump out 1.5k eggs per sac?

I’ve read that a tarantulas lifespan is far shorter in captivity than in their natural habitat

 

[boina]

What do you mean “it won’t work”? The tarantula will have multiple places to hide and feel safe. What do you mean it will just stay in the corner and hardly move? How is that different than their behavior in a small enclosure? Are you really suggesting that a tarantula will be overwhelmed by the space I’m giving it and starve it’s self? Or are you suggesting that it won’t be able to find its food? If you’re suggesting the latter, I take much time to make sure it can get it’s food (if it wants it) by using tongs to move it closer to the t.

In nature over 90% of slings die. They need to balance the need to hide and the need to feed. More nervous spiders will hide more and not hunt and grow properly. Too bold spiders will get eaten. Nature is never an optimal environment. In my living room I don't want natural selection, I want my spider to live and grow. Nature is also full of nooks and crannies where a sling can hide. So you will need to stuff your enclosure full - and I mean full - of stuff. Then you'll never find your sling again. Good luck feeding. Many slings will not feed from tongs either.

Just do what you want. Just remember to post when the sling is dead.

 

[tyler1998]

In nature over 90% of slings die. They need to balance the need to hide and the need to feed. More nervous spiders will hide more and not hunt and grow properly. Too bold spiders will get eaten. Nature is never an optimal environment. In my living room I don't want natural selection, I want my spider to live and grow. Nature is also full of nooks and crannies where a sling can hide. So you will need to stuff your enclosure full - and I mean full - of stuff. Then you'll never find your sling again. Good luck feeding. Many slings will not feed from tongs either.

Just do what you want. Just remember to post when the sling is dead.

I never said I would move it straight into the big enclosure, I said I would wait until it’s at least a few inches bigger. And yes I will keep you updated

 

[The Grym Reaper]

And do you really think a P. Metallica won’t travel any more than 3x it’s leg span to find water.

Tarantulas rarely move more than 1 square ft away from their burrows/hides over their entire lives unless they're mature males looking for a mate.

 

[boina]

I’ve read that a tarantulas lifespan is far shorter in captivity than in their natural habitat

Only if you provide an unsuitable enclosure. You really think every sling is going to survive in nature? And there are no studies about a tarantulas life span in the wild, but they live decades in captivity.

 

[tyler1998]

Then I will gladly move it’s water source closer to its hide

 

[boina]

And do you really think a P. Metallica won’t travel any more than 3x it’s leg span to find water... that’s pretty far fetched. Tarantulas are more resilient than you give them credit for

P. metallica will get rained on. It doesn't need to travel.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I’ve read that a tarantulas lifespan is far shorter in captivity than in their natural habitat

That's true, hands down. I'd love to introduce in my CB T's enclosure powerful, genetically modified, T's natural born predators on a regular basis.

I also have a little, DIY made, 'HAARP' pure nerdy device so I simulate earthquakes/tsunami and whatever on my enclosures: substrate all over the place, with the hides crushing the T's

 

[Bob Lee]

I’ve read that a tarantulas lifespan is far shorter in captivity than in their natural habitat

Oh yes definitely, with keepers like you the average just plummets.