Poffypoffa
Arachnosquire
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2023
- Messages
- 103
Wanted to share a shot of my desert enclosure for my first tarantula, an A. chalcodes. I wanted it to look more like the Arizona desert than a typical topsoil-based setup. The store where I bought the tarantula (a specialty reptile store, and they do sell quite a few) recommended a thin layer of reptilite (rounded calcium sand), but my research (and her behavior) quickly indicated that was probably not great advice. So I redid the entire enclosure with a mix of around 60% coco fiber, 25-30% reptilite and 10-15% excavating clay. I also went a lot thicker--it's 2.5 inches in the front, sloped to 5-6 inches in back, and packed down. A couple plastic plants, cholla wood, and sphagnum moss to replicate the lichens/moss in the desert. Her daytime spot is behind the plant in the back left (you can kind of see her reflection). The light is just on for the photos. No regular ambient/room light during the day, red light for viewing at night. She becomes active right at 5pm and tends to explore until 11--then hides until the next day at 5. That's probably a settling in thing. TMI I'm sure but there you go! Excited to expand my T family (and maybe pick up a black velvet to boot). Here's a photo of the redone enclosure, and a photo of Aragog (with the old substrate).