T wont leave hidey

[warwizerd_30]

Hey,
I have a 30 gallon tank with a secured screen on it.
I put the T in there on thursday Sep 4th.
It spend the night on the side of the glass near the top.
the next day i fed it, then after eating entered the hidey i put in there for it, started digging and closed off half the entrance.
I havent seen it since, i did put in more crickets at feeding time and they seem to all be gone.
I'd love to be able to see the spider once and a while.
Any input>?
Thank you for your time,
WAR

 

[7mary3]

Ummm.... I don't really see a problem except for the fact that I can gurantee your tank is too big. That doesn't have anything to do with the T hiding though.

What species is it?

Basically if you want a T that you get to look at all of the time, you probably should've gotten an arboreal, or perhaps an L. Parahybana or something of that nature.

 

[HcUnderoath]

what kind of T do you have?

in the day they will hide the entire time if you keep it dark he might come out some

 

[warwizerd_30]

Curly hair

Hey,
Sorry, its a B. Albopilosum.
If the tank is too big in the fact that i over spent on the tank and there is no negative effect on the spider then thats no problem.

 

[7mary3]

"I have a 30 Gallon tank and the spider is apparently about the size of a quarter."

Are you talking about the B. Abopilosum that you mentioned in the quote above? If so, then you may never see this T again, considering how small it is and how large the tank is. I do believe you were told in a previous thread that your T needed a substantially smaller enclosure. If you've failed to follow advice given by many members of AB, then I don't know what you would like us to do. You've also stated that you've done "some beginner reading". You need to do more of it.

No matter what, your tank is too big. As for being visible, B. Ablopilosum will be relatively visible when it gets larger, but slings in general don't tend to be out and about a whole whee of a lot. Sorry.

Link to previous post by OP regarding tank size etc: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=133378

 

[HcUnderoath]

this is what you can do.. give it deep substrate and take out its hide but give it something that will keep it dark in atleast half the cage if the substrate is deep enough he will dig to make a hide, you will probly be able to see him alot more

edit: if its the size of a quarter you will need a smaller cage

 

[Moltar]

How big is your b albo? Older B albopilosums do spend a lot of time out in the open but slings/juvies pretty much hide all the time. FYI, a too-large-tank can in fact be a dangerous condition for a tarantula. They can suffer potentially fatal injuries from a fall and thus a rule of thumb is used for tank height. Distance from substrate to ceiling should not exceed 1.5 times then legspan of the spider. Also large spaces can create problems with the T finding it's prey, plus all the wasted space and money from going with a 30gal instead of a 5 or 10gal which would be sufficient.

Congrats on the curly though, they're one of my personal favorites and IMO one of the very best starter species.

Edit: Oh, size of a quarter, lol. Put that lil sucker in a deli cup or smallish tupperware for now. Save the 30gal for a bearded dragon or something.

 

[warwizerd_30]

I got a much larger T than that one that i was talking about there, which i why i stayed with the larger aquarium. Ill get a picture of the aquarium tonight.
Is there an issue with me lifting the hide to take a picture of it so you's may make a more educated opinion? I would have to guess its about 2 inches long

 

[Moltar]

I got a much larger T than that one that i was talking about there, which i why i stayed with the larger aquarium. Ill get a picture of the aquarium tonight.
Is there an issue with me lifting the hide to take a picture of it so you's may make a more educated opinion? I would have to guess its about 2 inches long

Go ahead and take the pic, it may upset the T but he'll get over it. Just to be clear, a 30gal tank is about 3x bigger than you need for even a large adult (5") B albopilosum. A 2" T should be in something about 6"x8" give or take. Think 2.5gal aquarium or something shoebox sized.

 

[HcUnderoath]

2'' is still much to small, you could keep him in a deli cup with holes punched in it

get a bearded dragon and put him in the 30

 

[warwizerd_30]

The reason i stuck with the 30 is because i made it very cosmetically appealing for me to look at.
lol.
Ill see what i can find locally and work with something smaller then it should come out more im assuming

 

[Moltar]

Dude, it's still gonna hide all the time for at least 6 more months no matter what you have it in. 2" t's are just too edible for them to come out of their holes unless absolutely necessary. This is true for very nearly every species. Tiny=edible=hiding. Of course there are a few exceptions (like C cyaneopubescens) but generally baby t's hide most of the time.

 

[warwizerd_30]

So if its not going to come out, then i dont have to worry about it falling. So there isn't any downside to keeping the tank the way it is. Unless i misunderstood.
I appreciate your time,
War

 

[gvfarns]

Well one downside is that the largeness of the tank probably contributes to the T choosing to hide. They don't like large spaces. If it were in a small container it might consider the entire container to be its hide and then just sit around visibly.

It may also be difficult for it and prey to find each other in a tank of that size.

But no, a large tank will not kill a T barring falls (which aren't really a problem for slings anyway).

 

[7mary3]

So if its not going to come out, then i dont have to worry about it falling. So there isn't any downside to keeping the tank the way it is. Unless i misunderstood.
I appreciate your time,
War

I do believe you were told in a previous thread that your T needed a substantially smaller enclosure. If you've failed to follow advice given by many members of AB, then I don't know what you would like us to do. You've also stated that you've done "some beginner reading". You need to do more of it.

No matter what, your tank is too big. As for being visible, B. Ablopilosum will be relatively visible when it gets larger, but slings in general don't tend to be out and about a whole whee of a lot. Sorry.

Link to previous post by OP regarding tank size etc: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=133378


Did I just post the same thing twice in one thread? Yes I did. Why? Because you've already been told numerous times that the tank you have is too large for anything other than a HUGE Blondi or Parahybana. The answers to the questions you're asking now are covered in your other thread that I posted a link to. If you didn't like the answers then, don't expect them to change just because you waited two or three weeks.

 

[Aurelia]

If you're putting the visual aesthetics over the well-being of your pet, you shouldn't own it. Everyone else already told you that the tank is way too big. The reason we keep them in smaller enclosures is so that they can find their food easier. Do you want your little friend to starve so that you can have a big fancy cage with almost nothing in it?

 

[DreadLobster]

Oh come on. I agree that a 30 gallon tank is definitely excessive for a 2" spider. But it probably won't climb up the side and commit suicide (even then, just add more substrate, problem solved). And it definitely won't starve. Tarantulas are hunters. They find food in the wild, they can find food in an aquarium. In fact, if it gets hungry, it'll probably even come out of the hide to look for food, thus helping with the visibility issue. I realize that some people have 100+ T's and don't have time to watch every single T eat, but for those of us that only have a few (or one in this guy's case), we're gonna notice if its not eating.

My point is, its his tarantula, and if he thinks the 30 gallon looks nice, its not gonna hurt the T, and it'll save him from having to go buy a new tank. His question was about the T hiding and its been answered. The tank size is a matter of personal preference.

 

[Corranthe]

The tank size is a matter of personal preference.

Right up until you don't find a couple of crickets hiding in there and they go after your T while it is molting. Tanks that are size appropriate are not just a matter of preference, but a matter of creating proper environmental controls so that the animal can live the best life possible.

 

[warwizerd_30]

I do believe you were told in a previous thread that your T needed a substantially smaller enclosure. If you've failed to follow advice given by many members of AB, then I don't know what you would like us to do. You've also stated that you've done "some beginner reading". You need to do more of it.

No matter what, your tank is too big. As for being visible, B. Ablopilosum will be relatively visible when it gets larger, but slings in general don't tend to be out and about a whole whee of a lot. Sorry.

Link to previous post by OP regarding tank size etc: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=133378


Did I just post the same thing twice in one thread? Yes I did. Why? Because you've already been told numerous times that the tank you have is too large for anything other than a HUGE Blondi or Parahybana. The answers to the questions you're asking now are covered in your other thread that I posted a link to. If you didn't like the answers then, don't expect them to change just because you waited two or three weeks.

Very sorry about your need to repeat, but I wasn't understanding the issue at hand, and some of what i have read elsewhere, i was receiving information that at first appeared to contradict each other so i was trying to clarify.
I didn't understand why the tank was too big, i did place about 3 inches of sub so the walls weren't too high. I didn't understand why the T couldn't find food because whenever i throw the Crix in there they all became eaten within 3 days. Also my original post was about a quarter sized T and i was under the impression that since this one is about 4 times the size i didn't believe it was relevant.

Later someone explained that the crickets that are hiding could attack the t while molting, and thank you that makes a lot of sence.

My aplologies,
War

 

[crpy]

Live and learn man its all good, we all are learning through positive or negative situations all the time.

I just learned I get to play Halo3 and drink beer tonight, see I did know that earlier.