Ventilation for Theraposa Stirmi

[AngelDeVille]

I want to make sure I treat my T. Stirmi right.

I have her housed in a Jaimes juvenile terrestrial enclosure.

I have had her for 3 days, and I have been daily spraying in addition to filling the water dish.

I have a piece of cork, but she has shown no intention of using it.

I just added some moss to retain moisture.

Here is a pic shortly after housing her showing the cork. Yes it is dry.

For those not familiar with the Jaimies enclosure here are some pics of the current set up just after spraying, and with the added moss.

The question is, do I need to add more ventilation? Any other tips?

 

[Whitelightning777]

The most important thing is keeping the water dish full.

 

[AngelDeVille]

The most important thing is keeping the water dish full.

That I will do, with some overflow.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

I would add some cross ventilation if I were you.

 

[Whitelightning777]

With the Jamie's enclosures, you can just go around about 1 inch under the lid and burn holes with a soldering iron. 3 or 4 holes about 1 eighth of an inch is about right on each side or 2 opposite sides as needed.

There's already a screen so I doubt you need more then that.

Don't put the T back in until the fumes have all completely cleared out. They could be toxic.

 

[boina]

I recently wrote a long post about Theraphosa and humidity here: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/air-humidity-vs-dampness-of-substrate.307884/

So, to sum ist up: stop spraying, keep the substrate moist and add more cross ventilation.

 

[AngelDeVille]

I recently wrote a long post about Theraphosa and humidity here: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/air-humidity-vs-dampness-of-substrate.307884/

So, to sum ist up: stop spraying, keep the substrate moist and add more cross ventilation.

Awesome that was the information I was looking for.

I will add some more ventilation holes.

 

[AngelDeVille]

How’s that?

 

[Mirandarachnid]

Personally, I would add one or two more rows mid-level (I'd probably only do the additional rows on the three sides, leaving the front for viewing). But then again, that's just me. I go crazy on cross ventilation because I usually don't add vents in the top. My stirmi enclosure looks like Swiss cheese.

T. stirmi enclosure

• Mirandarachnid
• Apr 30, 2018
• 2
• burgundy goliath birdeater tarantula stirmi theraphosa theraphosa stirmi

Then again, this is my first Theraphosa, and I've never kept one as a sling. So maybe wait for someone a little more experienced to chime in before you go through the ordeal of adding more holes. But I don't think there's such a thing as too much ventilation.

 

[AngelDeVille]

The two rows are on all 4 sides, I was thinking of adding a third row.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

The two rows are on all 4 sides, I was thinking of adding a third row.

Oh yeah, I could tell

What I meant, was it might be good to have a couple rows of holes half-way between the substrate level and the top of the enclosure, and that if I were to do that I'd probably do the mid-level ventilation on three sides so that I still had a nice viewing space.

Again, that's just what I would do.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

How’s that?

The ventilation before you drilled holes in the sides was more than adequate for Theraphosa stirmi so you're good, no need to fuss over it anymore. All this repetitive talk about needing cross ventilation is kind of ridiculous in my opinion and waste of time for terrestrial species of tarantula from tropical regions of the world. The only purpose to having air holes on the sides of your tarantula enclosures is to provide ventilation if you stack your containers and prevent air flow from the top.

Also, as previously mentioned, don't mist or spray water in the enclosure. Your Theraphosa stirmi is going to stay hydrated by the water content in the substrate more so than the water dish. Use a small cup of water and slowly pour it in like you are watering a plant and make sure you don't add too much to completely saturate it. If you over do it, it will be fine, that screen ventilation will let that water evaporate fairly quickly. If your substrate is coco fiber than all the better. Coco fiber soaks up water like a sponge so you don't need to pour too much water into it. Theraphosa species can withstand a good flooding of its enclosure a lot better than it can tolerate it being dry.

 

[AngelDeVille]

The ventilation before you drilled holes in the sides was more than adequate for Theraphosa stirmi so you're good, no need to fuss over it anymore. All this repetitive talk about needing cross ventilation is kind of ridiculous in my opinion and waste of time for terrestrial species of tarantula from tropical regions of the world. The only purpose to having air holes on the sides of your tarantula enclosures is to provide ventilation if you stack your containers and prevent air flow from the top.

Also, as previously mentioned, don't mist or spray water in the enclosure. Your Theraphosa stirmi is going to stay hydrated by the water content in the substrate more so than the water dish. Use a small cup of water and slowly pour it in like you are watering a plant and make sure you don't add too much to completely saturate it. If you over do it, it will be fine, that screen ventilation will let that water evaporate fairly quickly. If your substrate is coco fiber than all the better. Coco fiber soaks up water like a sponge so you don't need to pour too much water into it. Theraphosa species can withstand a good flooding of its enclosure a lot better than it can tolerate it being dry.

I think I now have the knack for pouring water without saturation. On the advice of another member I also added another inch of substrate.

I did add another row of holes on 3 sides of the enclosure, I can stack it with another if it looks like it dries out too quickly.

She has been eating voraciously, and molted just a couple weeks ago.

With the changes I have put her through, she hasn’t flicked any ultracootie hairs.

I think she is off to a good start, thanks,tomyou all.