# Poecilotheria enclosure: To plant or not to plant



## Oroborus (Apr 17, 2016)

I just purchased a lovely adult female P. vittata.  I typically use a vertical 10 gal tank set up with a cork bark tube, sphagum moss and an eco earth/ soil mix substrate.  Lately, I have been watching Youtube (I know, I know) and have seen some great set-ups with cork bark tank backing, and beautifully planted.  My question is, is there any tangible benefit to planting an enclosure other than decorative?  What about the grow light requirements?  I generally keep my invert room dark with ambient day light being the only light source to disturb my tarantulas.  Opinions?


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## Chris LXXIX (Apr 17, 2016)

That's a recurring question (in general... i'm not talking about you or genus _Poecilotheria_) and my opinion is: 
why complicate things?

I think that the less (save for the water dish, a piece of cork bark for hide, or another type of hide, fake leaves & anchor points for hardcore web lovers) in a _Theraphosidae_ enclosure, the better. Better for maintenance, cleaning etc

Don't know about (hypothetical) possible benefits, if there's. IMO i think cons % would been more than pros. 

Probably there's people that tried something like that, no doubts.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 4


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## Flexzone (Apr 18, 2016)

Agreeing with Chris, Yeah live-plants are cool in setups but I don't see any big advantages other then decor of planting with live plants then fake plants route. If you have to use plants for ex. extra cover points for arboreal's opt for fake, Keep it easy to upkeep and save on the complications.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Iska (Apr 18, 2016)

Personally I'm an extremely big fan of planted set-ups. However the area that my T's (and other reptiles) are in get a lot of natural light so it is very easy to maintain. In all honesty I think the planted enclosures keep themselves much cleaner than any enclosure I've had with fake plants.

I would suggest setting up an enclosure with live plants that , planted/natural background, take good care of it and see how it goes for a month or so before introducing a T to it that fits the humidity/temperature/moisture your enclosure has acclimated itself to.


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## louise f (Apr 18, 2016)

Plastic plants are my friends, they dont need nothing. Easy and simple

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## BorisTheSpider (Apr 18, 2016)

louise f said:


> Plastic plants are my friends, they dont need nothing. Easy and simple


Agreed .

Reactions: Like 1


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## Poec54 (Apr 18, 2016)

With someone relatively new to tarantulas, they're still learning the spider's needs, and in simultaneously trying to meet the plants needs neither may thrive.  Plants often need more light than a spider cage normally gets, and that may mean a fluorescent light on top of the cage, and those quickly run into money.  There's also a balance between the soil moisture the spider prefers vs the plant's preference. 

I think the best approach is to spend some time getting spider care down, and then look at plants that can fit in with that.  Or, if you already have some experience with terrariums, look for species of tarantulas that are compatible with that.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 5


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## MikeC (Apr 18, 2016)

I don't want this to discount anything Poec said above. It's great information. 

Buuuuuuuut... If you want to take the easy route, try Pothos or select varieties of Philodendron.

Pothos in particular can thrive in a variety of environments, provided you don't mind trimming a forest's worth of it out of the cage every few months.
It's tendrils send out their own roots, so spot watering becomes really easy. I've usually placed small cuttings in a tiny pot buried in the substrate, water that directly and go from there. 
It's decently happy in low, ambient light conditions.

Granted, I'd usually limit it's use to arboreal species, and terrestrials that aren't prone to rampant bulldozing. It'll get dug up awful quick. 
I also wouldn't use them for extreme arid species, as any amount of moisture sends them up the walls. (Literally.) You'd be better off with succulents.


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## Poec54 (Apr 18, 2016)

PTX said:


> You'd be better off with succulents.


 
Succulents tend to have high light requirements, and many are spiny.


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## mistertim (Apr 18, 2016)

Some of the terrariums with real plants that I have seen are beautiful, but I just don't think I could handle the upkeep, and like Poec said you'd have to be able to balance the needs of the tarantula with the needs of the plants. As someone who is still something of a novice I'll stick with getting my T husbandry down as much as possible first. Fake plants are easy and the T doesn't know the difference...its just a place to anchor a web or to hide out.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Dovey (Jun 14, 2016)

ok, the important thing to remember is that some people are gardeners and some are not. if you are a gardener, NO AMOUNT OF TROUBLE is too much to achieve the desired effect in a terrarium, which is really just an indoor garden plot. "why complicate things?" is like asking " why go to Paris?" to a gardener! my concern is for the temperament of the spider. I wouldn't want my hand in a poecilotheria's living room any more than necessary, and all terrariums require a lot of attention and upkeep. also, choosing the right plants to match your spider's moisture needs would be crucial.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Dovey (Jun 14, 2016)

my chilean rose shares a great planted terrarium with bronze ice plant and varigated jade plants, along with cholla branches, an old license plate and a rusty tin can I found in the desert for her hide...it's all very "Raising Arizona" in there, but these are low water plants that do well under medium light - perfect for a desert species that doesn't web much and isn't aggressive.

my very best advice if you DO design a planted habitat for any species is to invest in LED Growlight fixtures. great light, no heat.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Dovey (Jun 14, 2016)

we have the indoor pot growers to thank for that technology and the wealth of choices available in fixture design!


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## RMJ (Jun 14, 2016)

My first T was a A. Versi and I put her in a planted viv with the above mentioned light set up and its doing very well, heres a pic before I took delivery.




some moss to retain moisture and a bromeliad for aesthetics and great webbing anchor points.

Maintenance wise it is very straight, weekly light misting and water bowl top up, thats it!.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Dovey (Jun 14, 2016)

what's that lovely tall grass? is that lemon grass?

Reactions: Like 1


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## RMJ (Jun 14, 2016)

Dovey said:


> what's that lovely tall grass? is that lemon grass?


Good spot  it is indeed!


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## Dovey (Jun 14, 2016)

Here's my Chilean rose on the busy side of her desert habitat in her tin can hide with ice plant and cholla branch in the background. My growlight spot throws purple light because red and blue spectrum affect plants best. I use warm white LEDs for general foreground lighting.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Dovey (Jun 14, 2016)

Simple side has a branch cave and bare soil for burrowing with varigated jade plant in background, where I can reach it to trim or water.


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## RMJ (Jun 14, 2016)

Thats a great looking viv! I have live planted vivs for all my reptiles too  think they look better than artificial setups and for some reason part of me feels more content knowing that its  living environment for the occupant!.

I do agree that if you are a beginner with something and haven't had a live viv to care for before its best to start with a simple and artificial arrangement until your husbandry skills are up.


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## Dovey (Jun 14, 2016)

i'm with you there, too. walk before you run so that you know whats feasable.


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## Sana (Jun 14, 2016)

I have thought for a long time about doing a planted setup or two.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your opinion) I have increased my collection so rapidly and added such a variety of species that my focus has been on husbandry and practicing working with the tarantulas themselves.  I think this last year has gotten my tarantula skills to a point where I may be able to combine my love of gardening and tarantulas.  At this point I'm looking at setting up a planted viv without a tarantula.  Once I feel confident in my ability to maintain the enclosure properly and with minimal fuss I'll look at a tarantula for it.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Trenor (Jun 14, 2016)

I have seen some awesome looking enclosures both real and fake plants. So you have a lot of options regardless of which route you go. I wouldn't use live plants with slings as you have enough things to worry about keeping them alive without adding to the mix. I get a bit more elaborate as the reach juvie size but really only go to laying out a really nice looking enclosure when they are sub-adult/adult.  I only have a few sub-adult/adult tarantulas so right now would be a good time to try one. However, the ease of a well laid out fake plant enclosure is too compelling for me. All the plants stay green year around. Placing the plants are easy, if something is too big you can prune it up, cut off what you need, or hot glue stuff like it's going out of style. After doing some or even all of these things my fake plants still look good. I don't have to use grow lights so my tarantula selection for the enclosure isn't as limited. 

I like to grow things and I like keeping tarantulas. I'm just not sure I'd like mixing the two.


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## TomKemp (Jun 15, 2016)

I used to keep live plants in some of my set ups because I enjoy keeping plants and it looks great of course, But 10 out of 10 times my T's could care less about that stuff. They either dig them up or literally web them to death. I'm all about fake plants at this point.

Reactions: Funny 1


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