Tarantula care isnt hard.

[Venom1080]

Generally speaking. People overhype Theraphosa, Avicularia, Lampropelma, etc. Truth is, all of these genera can be easily maintained by a keeper with just the basics of husbandry down. There is no special range of humidity. All of these genera tolerate dry to damp conditions. In fact, drier conditions are your safest bet with husbandry. For anything. Theraphosa still thrive. Lampropelma do great. Avicularia do best. Drier conditions are achieved by simply not keeping all the substrate soaked. Or even damp. Stuffy conditions have killed more tarantulas than anything else.

Where a tarantula is really separated from beginner species to advanced is in its venom, defensiveness, and skittish behavior. Husbandry is barely something to be considered.

Will a beginner have the exact same success raising these genera as an experienced keeper? Doubtful. And I'd argue a big reason of that is the "experienced" keepers overcomplicating their care and saying it's the only way.

Fact is, majority of species can live on two inches of semi damp substrate and do just fine.


Don't think you're special because you can raise a certain species.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Bravo, bravo!

I think that you deserve a statue, like those Colombian (an helluva of silly uneducated Yankees still type/spell 'Columbia', btw) fellas that, after making tons of money with drugs, earned the title of 'Bienhechor de la Humanidad'

 

[KenNet]

Love your post! I think there's to much of generalisation going on in this hobby! And it sometimes scares people away. Is a 12 year old kid that never had a pet before the same as a 50 years old person that has kept, let's say, highly venomous snakes, for 40 years? Of course not! But you know who can handle a defensive tarantula the best? Experience? I think personality matter the most. Advise should be personal. It's no magic involved to keep OW T's. At least not to my knowledge. But I'm getting old, way passed 12...

... and I sometimes misunderstand and get ahead of my self and totally missplaced in my comments.

 

[Liquifin]

Tarantula care is never too complicated, just get rid of outdated care sheets roaming the internet and everyone should do much better.

The only Tarantula I would argue that is more complicated on care overall is the M. mesomelas, since they're not the usual tarantula like the rest that lives around warmer temps. But instead thrives on cooler temps with much more complication of breeding in captivity.

 

[FrDoc]

Hear, hear!!! Totally agree! My collection is not large, about forty T’s, five scorpions, and two other spiders. They run the gamut, fossorial to arboreal, desert to tropical species. I keep them all the same regarding the general parameters of husbandry. They are all on topsoil, except my S. thomisoides that lives in a box of sand, and some of the scorps with some sand. The fossorials get more sub, and the tropical species get their water bowls overfilled more often. Regarding the NW vs. OW banter, always use long tongs, catch cups, don’t let them crawl on you, or put your flipping fingers near any of them, and you don’t have to worry about venom potency. Yep, T keeping definitely does not require a biology degree. Nor do enclosures need to look like they were put together by an anal MIT student.

 

[Ellenantula]

My Ts certainly appear to have proper care and appropriate enclosures 5+ years in hobby.

I just fed and watered all mine tonight -- I was just smiling and feeling happy, thinking how simple and rewarding this hobby really is once you understand the ground rules. As adults/sub-adults, mine are all on a two week feeding cycle (except rosie who is on 4-6 week cycle but she accepted a feeder tonight).
All my Ts are currently each holding a B lat while on their tippy toes -- happy dance time. (Well, except my Euthalus parv, whose rump is obese in an embarrassing sort of way and has refused feeders for 8+ months -- she only received water tonight. I am becoming more and more convinced that she may never moult again -- lol).

Hopefully I properly closed all their lids -- otherwise I may have a humiliating new thread tomorrow! :wideyed:

Thank you again Arachnoboards -- you guys receive full credit for teaching me how to keep my Ts healthy!

 

[brahn]

Well, I generally keep mine at one of three "settings":
- Dry (with water dish)
- Overflow waterdish
- Moist (with springtails)
They even get a sticker on the side of the enclosure stating their setting (because I can't remember stuff like that).

All of mine seem perfectly happy with this arrangement.

 

[Venom1080]

Tarantula care is never too complicated, just get rid of outdated care sheets roaming the internet and everyone should do much better.

The only Tarantula I would argue that is more complicated on care overall is the M. mesomelas, since they're not the usual tarantula like the rest that lives around warmer temps. But instead thrives on cooler temps with much more complication of breeding in captivity.

Everyone I know whos kept mesomelas has not had issues with keeping them at normal temps.

Many, many species breed much more successfully with temperature changes. Brachypelma need temps in the 90s with damp substrate (gasp) to lay best. Some Ornithoctoninae prefer drops in temps to the mid fifties. Etc. As you can see, the simple beginner species even can be extremely difficult to breed. Yet easy to keep. Breeding conditions do make a species difficult.

 

[korg]

Don't think you're special because you can raise a certain species.

But... I'm running out of sources of self-esteem.

 

[Arthroverts]

Raising=no sweat. Breeding=a little more trouble.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Urzeitmensch]

I am still confused on the topic of soil moisture. Some time ago I asked "why not keep a Theraposa on dry substrate with a water dish?" and the consens seemed to be that - probably due to adaption to their natural habitat - they need the moisture in the ground.

Also from observing my own Ts some obviously seek out the moist part of the enclosute and press themselves against the ground, especially pre-mold.

My conclusion so far is to keep any species with a dry part and a moist part of substrate to variing degrees. My reasoning here is that this way they can choose whatever fits their needs best, even when they change e.g. due to a molt. And the air should not get stuffy this way, especially since I mainly use the well ventilated critter keepers. I only keep my T. Blondi on completely saturated substrate so far.

I am open and grateful for any advice from experienced keepers.

 

[Venom1080]

I am still confused on the topic of soil moisture. Some time ago I asked "why not keep a Theraposa on dry substrate with a water dish?" and the consens seemed to be that - probably due to adaption to their natural habitat - they need the moisture in the ground.

Also from observing my own Ts some obviously seek out the moist part of the enclosute and press themselves against the ground, especially pre-mold.

My conclusion so far is to keep any species with a dry part and a moist part of substrate to variing degrees. My reasoning here is that this way they can choose whatever fits their needs best, even when they change e.g. due to a molt. And the air should not get stuffy this way, especially since I mainly use the well ventilated critter keepers. I only keep my T. Blondi on completely saturated substrate so far.

I am open and grateful for any advice from experienced keepers.

You probably could keep Theraphosa alive like that. But they'd be hovering near the dish often. And I'd say thats just laziness on the keepers part, honestly. Theraphosa have adapted to a humid jungle environment, like many other species, so they lose water very quickly compared to arid species. Thus, they do better in damp cages.


But a damp cage and soaked cage are very different things. Stuffiness kills much more Theraphosa than dry cages.

You're doing well keeping some substrate damp, some moist, and a dish. It's a very relative set up that could mean different things to different people. But generally speaking, that'll work great.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

You probably could keep Theraphosa alive like that. But they'd be hovering near the dish often. And I'd say thats just laziness on the keepers part, honestly. Theraphosa have adapted to a humid jungle environment, like many other species, so they lose water very quickly compared to arid species. Thus, they do better in damp cages.


But a damp cage and soaked cage are very different things. Stuffiness kills much more Theraphosa than dry cages.

You're doing well keeping some substrate damp, some moist, and a dish. It's a very relative set up that could mean different things to different people. But generally speaking, that'll work great.

If you keep Theraphosa species dry they tend to start pacing, climbing, and pushing at the lid of their enclosure if they don't have a hide they utilize. If they have a hide, they tend to cram themselves as far back into it as they can and stay there. Stuffy enclosures do not kill Theraphosa species more than dryness. The opposite is true.

This whole "moisture dependent terrestrial tarantulas need a well ventilated cage" thing gets frustrating especially when it comes to Theraphosa spp. and other tropical species. One has to care for them essentially like plants. But unlike plants, they don't need airy, highly ventilated enclosures. If one has a problem with mites, something else is going on. Mold and fungus isn't really a problem unless it overtakes every part of the enclosure.

 

[Venom1080]

If you keep Theraphosa species dry they tend to start pacing, climbing, and pushing at the lid of their enclosure if they don't have a hide they utilize. If they have a hide, they tend to cram themselves as far back into it as they can and stay there. Stuffy enclosures do not kill Theraphosa species more than dryness. The opposite is true.

This whole "moisture dependent terrestrial tarantulas need a well ventilated cage" thing gets frustrating especially when it comes to Theraphosa spp. and other tropical species. One has to care for them essentially like plants. But unlike plants, they don't need airy, highly ventilated enclosures. If one has a problem with mites, something else is going on. Mold and fungus isn't really a problem unless it overtakes every part of the enclosure.

Well ventilated+ moisture = bad husbandry for Theraphosa?

I don't keep many Theraphosa. But I do have alot of moisture dependant species. And I keep all of them damp with good ventilation. Why shouldnt I?

 

[Asgiliath]

Generally speaking. People overhype Theraphosa, Avicularia, Lampropelma, etc. Truth is, all of these genera can be easily maintained by a keeper with just the basics of husbandry down. There is no special range of humidity. All of these genera tolerate dry to damp conditions. In fact, drier conditions are your safest bet with husbandry. For anything. Theraphosa still thrive. Lampropelma do great. Avicularia do best. Drier conditions are achieved by simply not keeping all the substrate soaked. Or even damp. Stuffy conditions have killed more tarantulas than anything else.

Where a tarantula is really separated from beginner species to advanced is in its venom, defensiveness, and skittish behavior. Husbandry is barely something to be considered.

Will a beginner have the exact same success raising these genera as an experienced keeper? Doubtful. And I'd argue a big reason of that is the "experienced" keepers overcomplicating their care and saying it's the only way.

Fact is, majority of species can live on two inches of semi damp substrate and do just fine.


Don't think you're special because you can raise a certain species.

I’m six months into the hobby and with enough research (and hail Satan for ya’ll here) I completely agree that anything is manageable if it’s within your comfort level: