A. geniculata display tank ideas.

[Moltar]

*sigh...*

Citizen-smithi, a t with a legspan large enough to span the vertical gap left by the door of a 12x12 exoterra (8") is already too large for a 12x12 tank. for that matter, a 5" or 6" is already pushing it for a 12x12. Those things are great for arboreals but totally inappropriate for terrestrials.

This bothers me. Not because you're keeping a t this way but becausing you're advising somebody else to do so. You know it's an inappropriate setup because we all told you when you posted this question a few months ago. Why are you now advising a new keeper to do something you were told again and again was a bad idea?

1- A five or ten gallon (or even 20 for a big-un) tank is a far better enclosure for a large terrestrial tarantula than an exo-terra. There should not be more than 1.5x the legspan of the T in clearance between the substrate and the ceiling. This CANNOT be accomplished with the front opening doors on an exoterra. Once the t is big enough to span that space it has become too big for the floorspace available.

2- Humidity sensors are practicaly USELESS. Stop using them, stop worrying about them. Research your T and keep the soil appropriately moist for that species. If you stop paying attention to your hygrometer and start paying attention to the T it will tell you if it's comfortable. Use the hygrometer to monitor the ambient humidity in the room, that's all.


It is irresponsible to advise new people to just do things the hard way out of the gate. Sure, you can MAKE an exoterra sort-of-work but at best it still won't be as good as a plain old glass terrarium with a plexiglass lid. They also cost less than half of what the exoterras do. Why set somebody up to fail by telling them how to modify the wrong enclosure to make it barely adequate when you could just say "Get a ten gallon tank"?

 

[TalonAWD]

I don't see how, with an exo terra, you're going to design it so you can either A) Have the proper amount of substrate to break a fall (Shouldn't be less than 1.5X the T's leg span between them and the substrate)
and B) Still be able to open the doors without the substrate falling out. (With it only being around that size.)

I think, given the size of the T, going with a 'normal', non arboreal tank would be better and you can still pimp it out.

Go to the thread I posted in the first post here. You will see a link. You will see my first design.
The enclosure will be "MADE". In other words the substrate design will be made out of Great stuff foam which hardens like a rock. I can mold it to any shape, cut out any designs. Than I would coat it with silicone and throw substrate on top of the silicone so that it looks like a land structure. I always make it a little beveled so that it can hold some substrate to have a "soft cushiony" feeling for the tarantula and so that it can move the dirt around. Even if I was to make the second story up to the doors I can still open them up and nothing would fall out. So far I have some idea on the structure. The top, just as in my first design, would be remade. I hate screens. I rather have lexan tops. If you look at the picture above with my GBB, you will see the lexan top with holes drilled in them. And I just don't dril random holes, I make patterns for Aesthetics. Looks is everything to me in a display. After all that is the purpose of a "display".
There are many of these "made" tanks in the enclosure thread.
When I started this thread, I was asking specifically in what the tarantula is like, its natural habitat and about its habits. This is so that the design can include this for a happy A. geniculata. Ideas help in making a variety of decisions so that they come together. The tarantula cant tell me what it likes so I have to try and figure that out. And the habits of many others(geniculata) can help pinpoint the variety of interest so that when the tarantula finally comes in contact with its new home, the portion that is most apealing to this particular tarantula will be provided.
My GBB is very happy with its home. I want the same for all my tarantulas. (3) Its like providing the best for your children. Not just average.

And with size, I had a L. parahybana 6-7 years ago that was a max of 10" before I sold her, I made a display tank for her and she only used a part of it. The part with the hide. It was 24 x 24 x 12. (or maybe the height was 18. Don't remember )

In the enclosure thread I see alot of tank/enclosure designs that are small yet the tarantula is big. I doubt the tarantula would want to walk around for some exercise. My boehmei just stays in a general location for weeks. Many will have opinions. but if some tarantulas can live in a burrow all its life, than this enclosure may be enough. My main reason for chosing this tank is because it goes perfectly in one of the furniture pieces I have in my living room. Its a cubical with a door in front of it which I can take off. (it has 16 cubicals) I use LED lights which are 1/4" thin (IKEA). Its just more practical.

 

[citizen_smithi]

etown - I am not advising anyone to do what I am doing, merely explaining how I have assessed the potential problems and how I have dealt with them, not once have said "go for it with exactly my ideas" I have merely shared my thoughts, and requested harmlessly to see the others' results if and when he goes ahead with it, which will remain totally up to that person and them alone.

Also, as I stated before, my seemani is in wexactly the same dimensions, has more than enough room as you can see here

Going on this picture of a T which is definately at least 5.5" if not nearer to 6", that looks like plenty of room to me, and I see her in there every day and night and she happily moves about wherever she feels with plenty of room to spare.

I have also already stated that I have done away with the risky lid form the exoterra, and constructed a safe replacement, getting rid of risk of stuck claws.

One more thing - this is the first I have heard of A genic reaching 10", I have in all my reading and fact finding (that's on forums btw not wikipedia or naff care sheets) that they reach a max of 8". Is this not correct?

I do respect your opinion, and if you see no need to adapt "unsafe" enclosures to respectable standards in favour of purchasing a more basic design then of course I see the sense in that, who wouldn't. But the fact is, I have an empty enclosure with a few obstacles built within it's design, and I am prepared to and enjoy the task/project of remedying these potential problems to make use of a previously less suitable enclosure. I see no problem with this if done correctly, and I intend to make sure it is done that way.

And yes I was advised against a few points regarding these enclosures by some folks on here, and whilst not ignoring the advice, I was also informed by many others, here and on other forums, experienced and otherwise (a couple of which were actually moderators) that they had used exoterras with no worries or incidents, and so after some consideration I went with that side of the argument. Yes, I admit this was somewhat due to being an excited newcomer to the hobby and being excited by a fancy display enclosure, and due to the problems faced by my Red Knee,I learned that a change was needed and acted - another point, I let it be known that problems had occurred therefore I was not advising people or hiding the fact that I had been wrong about a few things before.

Hence after those problems became apparent I am now finding ways to "renovate" the exoterra to be more suitable and safe for my animals requirements.

I don't mean to sound heated at all, and I do respect you and your experienced opinion etown, that goes for others as well of course. But as I do
not have the funds to A) Discard an expensive enclosure that can be easily adapted or B) spend money on a new one when I have said enclosure sitting empty - I see no problem in using it if it can be made suitable, which is what I am doing.

Hope that makes sense, and shows you I am not as slap dash or irresponsible as you may think me from previous posts.

 

[TalonAWD]

One more thing - this is the first I have heard of A genic reaching 10", I have in all my reading and fact finding (that's on forums btw not wikipedia or naff care sheets) that they reach a max of 8". Is this not correct?

EXACTLY! And I have read of only one stating that theirs reached 7".
And don't worry about the OPINIONS. Many will have them in all aspects of life. Theres a way to do everything and if you put your mind to it, you will find out how. My way is not new but rather an idea I got from another member of this forum. There are alot of closeminded individuals.
These tanks are ideal, once you get around the doors. I did so by making the structure rather than just putting dirt high enough.

Now if no one has anything about the idividual spider than we will just wait till I complete my tank.

 

[citizen_smithi]

Also - the hygrometers as I explained were purchased a while ago and now I don't really pay them much attention. And please do not assume I have not researched my Tarantulas -I spent 12 months researching as many species as I could before even acquiring my first. I also do practice substrate moistening when needed, along with water dish adjustments, and I keep a very very close eye on all my spiders, and feel a massive responsibility towards there care, which is why I have been making previously mentioned adjustments to an enclosure to make it safe, if I feel at any point this work has not been enough to ensure a safely kept animal, then it goes without saying that a spider will not live in it, and it will be saved for a more suited animal such as a Gecko, which I intend to start keeping some time soon after some research.

 

[citizen_smithi]

EXACTLY! And I have read of only one stating that theirs reached 7".
And don't worry about the OPINIONS. Many will have them in all aspects of life. Theres a way to do everything and if you put your mind to it, you will find out how. My way is not new but rather an idea I got from another member of this forum. There are alot of closeminded individuals.
These tanks are ideal, once you get around the doors. I did so by making the structure rather than just putting dirt high enough.

Yes that's what I have heard regarding their size.

I must hasten to add though, I do not consider Etown to be narrow minded or at all overly opinionated, like I say I respect the opinions and the experience behind them and hope that my explanations have sufficed- not that I feel the need to explain myself as such, more to give others peacve of mind if they concerned that by reading my posts they unclear as to whether or not a I am intending to go through with a project that may endanger an animal they admire and care about. I can see how that happens as I have misconstrued threads/posts before until they were worded in a bit more explanatory detail.

I like your pics btw, particularly the lid caught my eye - if I can't get a good fastening idea for my current design I will definitely be trying something along those lines.

 

[TalonAWD]

Ok I have officially started the enclosure. I bought the 12 x 12 x 12 enclosure and figured a plan to use most of the space. I got some driftwood that I will be using (Had an extension collection from my last tank (GBB) driftwood hunt.
First I removed the background that takes up a good 2" max away from available floor space and replaced it with a more realistic forest tile background from Zoo Med. It only measures 1/2" and looks like a big tree. Its made out of natural forest cork and supposidly is highly resistant to mold and mildew. It states that its perfect for high humidity environments. Though I'm not making a high humidity enclosure, it makes it easy to just spray the background to raise humidity if needed.
I had to cut to fit it because its made for the equivalent 12 x 12 x 12 7/8" (height) enclosure that Zoo Med makes. It looks like the Exo Terra but has ONE solid door instead of two like the Exo-Terra. I like the two doors and I want it to match my first tank so that was my decision maker.

For plants I'm contemplating weather I should use Tillandsia plants or fake plants. So far I notice that my A. geniculata like humid/moist. It sits on the wet spots I create for it in its little container. The Tillandsia would thrive nicely.

Driftwood I chose so far.

Background

 

[TalonAWD]

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What tha????

 

[TalonAWD]

Day 1. Started with the foam and with pieces in place. I had already put Black silicone on the sides. Made a water dish holder in the front using the original background. (cut it up) Under the dish provides more ground space.

I started to shape the small bridge in the back. Under bridge provides another small hide/ resting spot.

 

[TalonAWD]

Day 2.
Foam is dry. Started the shaping process. I used my finger nails for the most part of the shaping to give it a textured look. Made the cave. Also cut some pieces of original background to make rocks on the walls.

Coated the entire setup with silicone and put Spagnum peat moss over it.

Overhead view.

Heres a shot without the water dish

Now I wait about a week for it to fully dry then I will add decorations and peat moss substrate to shape the ground. I have also redid the top with plexi/lexan sheet. I might add more to it later on. Still in progress...

 

[opticle]

that looks awesome!! great job buddy...i wish i could make something this good!

 

[TalonAWD]

Ok worked on it some more. I added another driftwood piece (I had from my collection) and made it look like a small tree. I placed it to deter the tarantula from climbing the wall. Its still work in progress. Alot more things to do to it. I still have not added substrate or the moss. I want to get another plant or two and I'm using fake ones. So far it has 3 "custom made" floors. The bottom being the largest with two cave like structures. (The first a real cave and second one is under the water dish.)

You can see the rock walls I made and the tree.

This angle you can see the water dish floor and under the large log theres a retreat towards the back.

Top view. You can see that the large log is the third floor. I made a platform to extend the log into floor space to the back wall. The hole where you see white foam will be completely covered with substrate.

This angle you can see the first floor cave. No substrate yet. The substrate will raise the floor level by 2" since thats is the amount I will be using. Theres going to be a hill leading to the second floor. Kinda like a ramp.

Its not the same ol' boring Exo-terra tank anymore.

 

[TalonAWD]

DONE!! My 4" Genic will love it!

 

[TalonAWD]

I posted these pics in a dedicated thread on the finished product but wanted to add them here so people have a chance to find it.
First floor. Angled upward shot.

Second floor where the water dish is.

Third floor is angled from the height of the second floor which starts at the opposite side.

 

[Loudog760]

That's awesome! Gives me some great ideas!

 

[TalonAWD]

That's awesome! Gives me some great ideas!

Check out my thread when she moved in!
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=127708

 

[SkittishMe]

Hi Talon: please reply here with what the survival chance is for a tarantula of this species (A Geniculata) if it were to fall from a distance of 3 feet, and then please tell us all why Kris is absolutely correct with no exceptions. Thank You.

 

[TalonAWD]

Hi Talon: please reply here with what the survival chance is for a tarantula of this species (A Geniculata) if it were to fall from a distance of 3 feet, and then please tell us all why Kris is absolutely correct with no exceptions. Thank You.

The survival rate for a tarantula of this species (A Geniculata) if it were to fall from a distance of 3 feet is usually very slim. Dependent on the size of the specimen, the larger it is, the heavier it will be. This species is a large big bodied tarantula.

When housing tarantulas in general, you need to take into consideration the type of tarantula it is. For this species, its a terrestrial. Strictly terrestrial. It will not be found on a tree ever unless the tree was on the ground. So there should be no reason why you would want to have a tarantula live in environments that permit the possibility of it getting to heights over 6 inches.

Looking at all my Enclosure Creations, you will see that I make them all with levels, therefore eliminating the possibility of an accidental fall. Hope that helps.