Vivarium size

[Lee Cooper]

Hi

I am considering keeping tarantulas and am currently reading/watching as much as I can to gain more knowledge.

One question I have relates to the size of their enclosure. I see that generally, the enclosure size seems to be proportionate to the size of spider, meaning that throughout its life, it will need to be re-homed many times.

What is wrong with putting a sling in a very large enclosure? If it was living in its natural habitat, it would roam free and there would be no plastic walls to contain it. So, what's wrong with a very small spider in a very large enclosure?

Thanks.

 

[antinous]

You can give a sling, or tarantula of any size, an enclosure of any size, just understand that a bigger enclosure means it’s more difficult for the tarantula to find/reach the food. Even in the wild tarantulas rarely stray more than a couple inches than their burrow, even when they’re hungry.

Smaller enclosures are given so it’s easier to feed the tarantula and because the tarantula isn’t going to utilize a large space.

 

[Lee Cooper]

You can give a sling, or tarantula of any size, an enclosure of any size, just understand that a bigger enclosure means it’s more difficult for the tarantula to find/reach the food. Even in the wild tarantulas rarely stray more than a couple inches than their burrow, even when they’re hungry.

Smaller enclosures are given so it’s easier to feed the tarantula and because the tarantula isn’t going to utilize a large space.

Makes sense! Thanks for the info.

 

[weibkreux]

Its also hard to track a sling's growth when using a large enclosure, especially burrowers.

 

[Greasylake]

If you put a small sling in a large enclosure it'll make a burrow and you'll never see it again. If you put it in a small container it'll be out more, be easier to monitor, eat better, and as a result grow faster. I'm not sure how small of a sling you were considering but you can put anything under 1 inch in a 2oz deli cup and they'll actually adopt the whole container as their burrow, making it a lot easier to raise them.

 

[Dovey]

This is an aspect of tarantula care that was hard for me to grasp initially, feeling as I did that more room was always beneficial. We can't say what spiders feel, if they feel anything at all, but tarantulas seem to act as though they feel insecure if given too much space. They certainly don't utilize it. Now my giant crab spiders, Olio giganteus, do utilize a little bit more room, but I don't give them anywhere near the habitat I would, for example, to a pet snake, another creature that can be overwhelmed by too large a habitat.

 

[rushchaser]

This is an aspect of tarantula care that was hard for me to grasp initially, feeling as I did that more room was always beneficial. We can't say what spiders feel, if they feel anything at all, but tarantulas seem to act as though they feel insecure if given too much space. They certainly don't utilize it. Now my giant crab spiders, Olio giganteus, do utilize a little bit more room, but I don't give them anywhere near the habitat I would, for example, to a pet snake, another creature that can be overwhelmed by too large a habitat.

Thanks for simplifying this, I feel that I have the same problem and have to get used to them liking to be , what I think as, slightly cramped.

 

[Dovey]

Thanks for simplifying this, I feel that I have the same problem and have to get used to them liking to be , what I think as, slightly cramped.

My mother, who is a lovely woman, is constantly insisting that I am condemning spiders to a life of solitary confinement in a tiny cell. I believe her comment is aimed at the entire idea of keeping spiders in captivity, but she cannot let go of the idea that a half quart canning jar is anything but torturous to my tiny little slings, who probably get lost in all of that space when they are first introduced. And of course, the idea that the entire space becomes their burrow as they grow is just completely unfamiliar to her concept of animal husbandry, which is based entirely upon warm-blooded creatures. She is challenged even by the idea of my snakes as ambush predators, satisfied to wait in place for prey to fall into their clutches rather than going out and hunting actively.

I feel like a lot of people have these instincts when they first come into the hobby and really have to make a transition to properly house and care for cold-blooded creatures.

 

[FrmDaLeftCoast]

I'm a newbie and trust me...i thought the same thing..."no harm with a bigger enclosure." Yet I can honestly say I was wrong. Not only did I have a few slings go M.I.A., but it's extremely difficult to locate them in a larger than required enclosure. Depending on the size of the sling, the info I've read indicates you'll probably need to rehouse a T from sling to adult around 3 times. Which to me at least...doesn't seem like too many. Good Luck!

 

[aphono]

March 2017. Two 1/2" G. pulchripes slings bought at around the same time.

One was in and stayed in condiment cup, other came with an AMAC setup with nice deep substrate.

Fast forward to now: former is about three times the size of latter. It's because the latter burrowed and made a nice deep den... and sealed off its burrow for 2, 3 weeks at a time. Finally open up a burrow, eat one or two crickets then seal off again for 2-3 weeks. Repeat. So it got to eat far less often than condiment cup. Both are perfectly healthy though.

For a newbie/first timer making a nice big set up with deep substrate it can 'backfire' and become greatly concerned about their invisible sling. Asking if they should dig it up, is it dead, should they rescue it etc(the answer to that is always NO btw).

There are some exceptions, usually the heavy webbing species. GBB and the like. The main thing is their web acts as prey sensor. Drop prey on the web and they will know about it immediately. Other pluses are not having them web up to the lid so much, especially with the bolty, skittish species- again GBB are a good example. Giving these more space actually makes them more 'manageable'. Plus with their fast growth, rehousings don't have to be done as frequently if they have more space to begin with.

 

[Dorifto]

I'm happy with the results of my vivarium. Now I can see the natural behaviour of my pulchra and geniculata. For example my pulchra is digging new hides and tunels to interconect diferent parts, and is more visible than before. The geniculata, is a geniculata, always visible hahahaha.

I would wait a little bit until it get a proper size, 3 inches is good size. With that size is much easier to find them to feed.

Regarding to feeding, If you are going to left any prey, be sure that it can't bury itself like mealworms or small dubias. It's a pain in the ass to find them again. You can left a grasshooper or a runner in the tank, but if the tarantula refuses to eat them, remove it the next day.