# What size tarantulas will fit in here? DIY enclosure.



## bryverine (Aug 17, 2015)

Good evening,

I was wondering if I could get some feedback on this enclosure I was making for my late Avic. :cry:

I would like some feedback on two things specifically (though open to any comments):

1. What size tarantulas would this enclosure comfortably accommodate?
2. Does the ventilation look sufficient? Those are 7/64 holes in case you were wondering.






The Gatorade lid will be epoxied in place for slightly easier access and feeding, but is loose currently. There bowl can always be removed and replaced with a regiment of syringe 'watering'.

As always thank you for your tarantula wisdom.

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## Chris LXXIX (Aug 18, 2015)

Ventilation seems ok.. i'm not into arboreals much but i think my juvenile _Psalmopoeus cambridgei_ would find that nice.
Sorry, i know there's pics, but can you tell me the size, please? However i think that for small, juvenile arboreals could work. 
Top opening, btw?


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## bryverine (Aug 18, 2015)

Yeah, sorry I forgot to write the dimensions.

 3.5 x 3.5 x 7.5 inside dimensions.

The bottom would stay in place as the top lifts off so as to avoid ripping up any webbing (assuming it is all up top of course). Is that a bad idea? If seen other people do it and I liked the idea, but thought I'd put in a large (Gatorade) size hole on the side too.


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## Karmaz (Aug 18, 2015)

Iridopelma seladonium is a small species of arboreal, with beautiful colors that would most likely fit happily in that enclosure for most, if not all of its life.


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## bryverine (Aug 18, 2015)

Karmaz said:


> Iridopelma seladonium is a small species of arboreal, with beautiful colors that would most likely fit happily in that enclosure for most, if not all of its life.


What about Avics, Psalmopoeus, or other slings? Would this be acceptable until they are 2 in? 3 in?

And BTW those are beautiful.


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## Karmaz (Aug 18, 2015)

bryverine said:


> What about Avics, Psalmopoeus, or other slings? Would this be acceptable until they are 2 in? 3 in?


Depends on how big of a sling you're starting with. For instance a 1/4" sling would get lost in there, but a 1.5-2" sling would find it roomy and spread its legs, while a 3" T may start feeling just a little crowded. But, yes any arboreal species should do just fine..  Depending on how long you'd want to keep the setup I'd opt for a slow growing species, a faster growing species will obviously out grow it quicker. But then again, it'd just give you an excuse to full it up with a new sling. 

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## Arachnomaniac19 (Aug 18, 2015)

It's too small for any arboreal that's common and in many people's price range, but an Avicularia minatrix could fit in there for a while.

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## viper69 (Aug 18, 2015)

Put holes on all four sides, AND the top. You will find that useful when you water from above esp after molting. They don't always travel Down below. Some do more than others.

Any Avic will do fine in there when they are young/ 2 or 2.75" DLS. Only
Minatrix will fit in there as an adult, and I'd go larger for an adult female.

I would add more holes towards the top too on all 4 sides.


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## bryverine (Aug 18, 2015)

viper69 said:


> Put holes on all four sides, AND the top. You will find that useful when you water from above esp after molting. They don't always travel Down below. Some do more than others.
> 
> Any Avic will do fine in there when they are young/ 2 or 2.75" DLS. Only
> Minatrix will fit in there as an adult, and I'd go larger for an adult female.
> ...


Will do, I wasn't sure if I should add holes close to the top if there would be webbing up there. I'll add more holes above the side hole and the fourth side as well when I get home from work.


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## leaveittoweaver (Aug 18, 2015)

How will the gatorade lid come off for easy feeding once it's epoxyed on?


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## tonypace2009 (Aug 18, 2015)

bryverine said:


> What about Avics, Psalmopoeus, or other slings? Would this be acceptable until they are 2 in? 3 in?
> 
> And BTW those are beautiful.


Psalompoeus irminia usually start of burrowing in the substrate so you would want to flip the enclosure over to add more substrate. I haven't experienced any other Psalompoeus species so you might want to research. Looks great for small Avics.


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## Storm76 (Aug 18, 2015)

Avicularia minatrix would fit in there easily. They only get 2.5" approximately. Noteworthy: They're very secretive and I wouldn't be surprised to find the top completely webbed up if you choose to house one in there 

Alternatives would include:

Psalmopoeus langenbucheri
Heterothele gabonensis / villosella

The latter are OW terrestrials, but I've tried it in the past with my AF villosella in a slightly bigger than that arboreal enclosure and she constructed a huge, awesome web-castle that she actually used! However, she did construct her hidey spot on the bottom, so probably not as good of an idea. Despite the fact that their awesome dwarfs!

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## viper69 (Aug 18, 2015)

bryverine said:


> Will do, I wasn't sure if I should add holes close to the top if there would be webbing up there. I'll add more holes above the side hole and the fourth side as well when I get home from work.


Ts are going to lay down a lot of silk no matter what, some more than others. My AF minatrix webbed right over her screen venting. It's not something you can prevent, nor should you worry about. You can't go wrong with MORE ventilation, only less!

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## cold blood (Aug 18, 2015)

I would have concentrated most of the venting in the top half, as that's where an avic will live.   Top holes for feeding and watering aren't a bad idea, just limit it to only a couple holes, you don't want too many.   That said, side venting on the top part will basically provide the same access as the top, especially if you are using a syringe.

I don't like the big hole with the Gatorade lid, especially held on by tape.  Epoxy it on, and how will it be giving access?  with the top lifting, you shouldn't need that access anyway.

Going by size, its similar to a 32oz deli cup, which is a little wider (1/2") and 1" shorter, so basically, I see them as compatible in terms of possible inhabitants.

I'd say just about any arboreal will be fine in there at 1"...and will be till close to 3"...2.5 is probably a better max size.  Now, because of the bottom opening(lift off) type enclosure, to me that rules out just about all other species of arboreal aside from avics...as avics will make their home up top, like would be needed....basically any other arboreal would spend too much time on, or under the ground (at the necessary sizes for this enclosure), making lifting it off not only sketchy in terms of escape, but you'd destroy their webbing every time, as it would be at ground level...at least much of it would.

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viper69 said:


> Ts are going to lay down a lot of silk no matter what, some more than others. My AF minatrix webbed right over her screen venting.


That's a good point and another thing to consider.   There have been several times where I have re-housed simply because too much of the ventilation was webbed up, so that's always something to keep an eye on.

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## bryverine (Aug 18, 2015)

leaveittoweaver said:


> How will the gatorade lid come off for easy feeding once it's epoxyed on?


Epoxying on the lid would present a problem, i wasn't very clear before.

Like this:



:laugh:

The paper is for the other holes I haven't drilled yet.


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## cold blood (Aug 18, 2015)

That actually looks pretty secure and actually pretty cool IMO....not sure about in this particular enclosure though.   That could make cleaning up bolus's nice and easy...with the bottom lifting off, you already have that easy access here.


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## Blueandbluer (Aug 18, 2015)

Someone earlier up the thread suggested holes in the top... I was led to understand that's a nono as you want a microclimate to form. Did I misunderstand?

I'm mostly asking because I'm about to embark on my own arboreal enclosure project...


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## cold blood (Aug 18, 2015)

A few won't hurt, but too much is certainly not a good thing.  Many do not use any at all with great success...Its often suggested to not, because its easy to overdo it and wreck the micro-climate.   I put a couple just as feeding and watering portals, but most are stacked, negating much of the effect except for the one on the top.

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## bryverine (Aug 18, 2015)

cold blood said:


> A few won't hurt, but too much is certainly not a good thing.  Many do not use any at all with great success...Its often suggested to not, because its easy to overdo it and wreck the micro-climate.   I put a couple just as feeding and watering portals, but most are stacked, negating much of the effect except for the one on the top.


OK so here is the finished product.



I'm going to make a short of dish so I can add more substrate if needed.

Top hole pattern:


Side hole pattern:


As far as maintaining micro climate, do I now have too many holes?


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## cold blood (Aug 18, 2015)

With that type of lifting enclosure, your not gonna be able to add more sub, Avics don't burrow, so its just fine for depth.

I wouldn't have put so many holes on the top.  The rest is fine.

Not sure where you'd put it without trimming the tree a bit, but a flat piece of wood leaned up against the side would be a good thing to consider.


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## bryverine (Aug 18, 2015)

cold blood said:


> With that type of lifting enclosure, your not gonna be able to add more sub, Avics don't burrow, so its just fine for depth.
> 
> I wouldn't have put so many holes on the top.  The rest is fine.
> 
> Not sure where you'd put it without trimming the tree a bit, but a flat piece of wood leaned up against the side would be a good thing to consider.


If I were to fill in six if those sixteen holes, do you think that would be enough or should I fill more in than that?
-Edit-
Turns out 7/64 is the drill size for tapping a 6-32 hole. I'll just tap all the holes and fill some of them with some stainless steel or nylon bolts and they can be easily removed for climate adjustability! Lucky me!


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## cold blood (Aug 18, 2015)

Id fill in 10-12 of them personally.


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## bryverine (Aug 19, 2015)

cold blood said:


> With that type of lifting enclosure, your not gonna be able to add more sub, Avics don't burrow, so its just fine for depth.
> 
> I wouldn't have put so many holes on the top.  The rest is fine.


Holes have been 'filled' with set screws.

If I were to make a tray like the one shown below, I could add about 2 inches of substrate. Do arboreal T's other than Avics require more than three inches of substrate when they're smaller than 3"?


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## Sam_Peanuts (Aug 19, 2015)

3 inches is plenty, they'll build themselves a dirt curtain if they need more height(they'll likely do that anyway).


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## cold blood (Aug 19, 2015)

bryverine said:


> If I were to make a tray like the one shown below, I could add about 2 inches of substrate. Do arboreal T's other than Avics require more than three inches of substrate when they're smaller than 3"?


I answered that a few posts ago (#20).    Avics don't burrow at any stage in their lives and do not require even 2 inches of substrate....an inch would be fine, just enough to act as a cushion.


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## Sam_Peanuts (Aug 19, 2015)

cold blood said:


> I answered that a few posts ago (#20).    Avics don't burrow at any stage in their lives and do not require even 2 inches of substrate....an inch would be fine, just enough to act as a cushion.


He asked about arboreals *other* than avics.

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## cold blood (Aug 19, 2015)

Sam_Peanuts said:


> He asked about arboreals *other* than avics.


He sure did:wall:


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## viper69 (Aug 20, 2015)

It looks good, the top is perfect. On top, I usually put in 3 holes per side and a couple inward to form an X. It's much easier to drop in water from the top than the sides if they from a flat canopy, and many times Avics will do that.

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## Chainsaw Reptiles (Aug 20, 2015)

Deeper Substrate And Maybe 4-5 H.incei Large Slings/


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## leaveittoweaver (Aug 20, 2015)

I love the gatorade lid idea I'm going to try to do that with one of my enclosures, because my avic will web the lid whether the container is upside down or not.


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## Storm76 (Aug 20, 2015)

viper69 said:


> It looks good, the top is perfect. On top, I usually put in 3 holes per side and a couple inward to form an X. It's much easier to drop in water from the top than the sides if they from a flat canopy, and many times Avics will do that.


Fully agree! It also helps with possible escapees, since some Avics are prone to hang right under the lid and get spooked the moment you open it - no matter how careful you are. One of the reasons why my sling enclosures for them use mesh on top (despite the "microclimate" thing I've made great experiences the way I raise them) and the ones for my juvied and adults get drilled holes in top, too. It's a) simple, b) useful and c) really not a big deal unless you totally overdo it.

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## bryverine (Aug 20, 2015)

leaveittoweaver said:


> I love the gatorade lid idea I'm going to try to do that with one of my enclosures, because my avic will web the lid whether the container is upside down or not.


Thanks, I actually got the idea from someone using a coke bottle top, but Gatorade bottles are more stiff and have a bigger opening for food, tweezers, and a syringe. 

I am ordering some acrylic to make the tray sleeve I showed above. I'll upload pics when I'm done, or maybe I should put it in the enclosure forum?


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## Arachnophobia4u (Oct 30, 2015)

Hello nice enclosure.  Do you have a video of the diy?  Was curious wouldn't it be more useful if you put the gatorade cap towards the top more?

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