# What About Orchids?



## OBT1 (Feb 15, 2012)

I really really want some live plants...but in a T. blondi cage. Ive seen people do it before but is this something that only works for aficionados?

I know that a T. blondi is a very hard to keep spider and that its a 'swamp' spider but I just want to know.


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## Shrike (Feb 15, 2012)

In my opinion, you'll have a hard time getting orchids to thrive in a tarantula enclosure.  Orchids are a bit more challenging than your average house plant.  The conditions they need aren't the same as what tarantulas generally require.

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## OBT1 (Feb 16, 2012)

What about for a humid cage?


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## Shrike (Feb 16, 2012)

zonbonzovi brought up a good point in your Avic orchid thread.  You don't have to plant the orchid directly in the substrate, you can mount in on cork bark and provide it water through misting.  I think this method would probably provide you with better results.  I'm sure the orchid would love the extra humidity in a blondi enclosure.  Another consideration, however, is light.  Your tarantula probably won't like the level of light required to make orchids thrive.  You would have to provide opportunity for the tarantula to hide.


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## OBT1 (Feb 16, 2012)

I was thinking of a 50 gallon with moderate lighting, two of the most beautiful orchids money can buy, and a large wooden (15 by 17 by 12)
log.




                                                  WILL THE SPIDER LIKE IT BECAUSE IVE SEEN PEOPLE DO IT BEFORE.


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## Steven Valys (Feb 16, 2012)

OBT1 said:


> WILL THE SPIDER LIKE IT BECAUSE IVE SEEN PEOPLE DO IT BEFORE.


The spider doesn't care about the plant, won't be fond of "moderate" light.

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## OBT1 (Feb 17, 2012)

Thank you for the response I will thank you both ways.:1::1::2::3::3::2::clap::worship:


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## Tarac (Feb 18, 2012)

Actually most of the Orchidaceae as we typically think of it would enjoy a tarantula enclosure provided it's lighting needs are met and it is appropriately sized.  Orchids like circulated, humid air in equitable temperatures in general (the conventional species, orchids are the largest family on earth next to Coleoptera with some 25,000 species and growing occuring on all major bodies of land except Antarctica so there is an orchid for virtually every condition).  The flashy flowered types people cultivate in greenhouses and such that you are probably referring to are generally epiphytes, don't really like fertilizer or too much heat or cold.  There are cool and warm growing, big and small, bright to almost no light.  A terrestrial like Ludisia discolor can be in a fairly average sized enclosure and doesn't like much light.  Other "Jewel" orchids can also make nice terrestrial additions (Goodyera, etc.).

If you want something to grow on your cage furniture there are many Pleurothallids that are very low light and can also be extremely tiny, sometimes with the entire growth and inflorescence under an inch.  Masdevallia like it a little cooler, 70-75 or even lower depending on the species, and are diminutive and attractive.  Bulbophyllum are really interesting and unusual in flower form although some have a nasty death-like odor.  They're usually black and white/cream/yellow with deep red but there some other colors, it's really the oddly shaped and arranged flowers and the bulbous storage on the vegitative growths that people like.  They can be as small as your thumbnail or as big as your torso.  Many commonly available are really tiny and most don't like much light.  There are lots of suitable candidates, with the number of orchids out there it's almost useless trying to list them all.  Go to a local orchid show, there are standards that are always at the shows which you will never see in normal stores or even more boutique-y nurseries.  But they are always at orchid shows, just not known much outside of the hobby and scientific community.

Just for fun, check out Stanhopea and Gongora.  Both are wasp mimics, the flowers are very unusual and have a really nice fragrance.  Too big and light demanding for a T tank, but just to get your imagination going as far as how many kinds and shapes and sizes of orchids there are.  I have tons of orchids in my greenhouse, they're a lot easier than the reputation they have would suggest.  Most are growing directly on cork with bromeliads and epiphytic ferns and a few small tropical cactus species I keep.  I basically made tree-branch forms out of PVC and epoxied cork around them to simulate a more natural display and growth habit.  I anchor the plants with staples, nylon stocking strips and\or even hot glue if there is enough material and in no time they are wrapping roots around everything.  Has a nice look.

Leptotes, that's a good genus I forgot.  Really really tiny.  Other things in that tribe are good too.  Weird looking flower and habit of blooming underneath and pressed up again the leaves.

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