about Curly hair tarantulas.

Anonymity82

Arachnoprince
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
1,579
Tarantulas can go months without water, this shouldn't be a problem.
This statement is a bit broad.

If the tarantula is of a species who appreciates a higher humidity, it may not last months without water. If the tarantula is poorly fed or refusing food and the abdomen is on the small side the risk dehydration is higher.

Generally, I just try to get a good look at the abdomen. Nice and plump, I can be lazy and refill/spray on a later date. On the smaller side or wrinkly, definitely want to get some water in that cage.
 

Kazaam

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 6, 2012
Messages
591
This statement is a bit broad.

If the tarantula is of a species who appreciates a higher humidity, it may not last months without water. If the tarantula is poorly fed or refusing food and the abdomen is on the small side the risk dehydration is higher.

Generally, I just try to get a good look at the abdomen. Nice and plump, I can be lazy and refill/spray on a later date. On the smaller side or wrinkly, definitely want to get some water in that cage.
It's a bit wide, but a well keeped tarantula won't have much problems with it, even humidity loving species will survive a while without water.
 

ragnarokxg

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 27, 2012
Messages
116
I was just trying to help.
I am fairly new to this hobby, only a few months, and I got about half way through before I knew you were leading a lot of people down the wrong path. And as was said earlier, the worse thing you can do is provide misinformation. You went the wrong way with it and copy and pasted info that is very misleading. And that is just as bad as the people who wrote the information about it in the first place. I don't want to sound mean but maybe you should have consulted with others via PM's before posting on here this ridiculousness that could easily get other newbies confused and may lead to some otherwise avoidable deaths.
 
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Hobo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Staff member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
2,208
Mod note

Despite the "facts", I find that through the correction of the misinformation so far has proven useful for the OP, and for others who may find this thread one day.
What doesn't help are stupid spammy one liner posts/images that contribute absolutely nothing to any topic. This isn't an imageboard. Consider this a formal warning for all of you who wish to post such things here, as any more spam will result in infractions.

[HR][/HR]

Friendttyy,

Perhaps it would be useful for you to actually have some experience with this species (and tarantulas in general) before trying to create a care sheet. Regurgitating info found on the net isn't very helpful, as the info is seldom reliable and very easily found by those who really want to find it. With all the false info so far, all you've managed to do is confuse potential new hobbiest who may stumble into this thread.
 

Blinx

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 26, 2015
Messages
8
Ok, my turn. From my memory real quick. I will have to correct it most likely. If it is wrong in anyway please go ahead and mention it. This forum is like a classroom for me. I am just trying to learn. I have searched the net for days and found conflicting info. I am not teaching, I am asking. A HUGE POST.

The Honduran Curly hair is a CITES listed tarantula. What that means to us who are only keeping it as a display pet, is that the tarantula cannot be imported or exported without permit. The Brachypelma Albo. lives in areas with cloud forests and mountainous forests, so it's humidity should be kept high at around eighty percent. Terrestrial spiders such as the Brachpelma Albo. require substrate in which to burrow as well as to maintain hydration. The tarantula will drink water from the substrate. Providing a shallow water dish without the aide of a sponge is encouraged by hobbyists and is required by the tarantula. The habitat should have length but not be too large for the spider. An enclosure that is too large will prevent the spider from being able to find it's food as a young spiderling as well as pose difficulty for an adult. The habitat should be at least twice the length of the entire spider. Several inches of substrate, three to five, should be adequate. Providing a heat source is not always encouraged as the sources for heat are not marketed for tarantulas and many if not all reptile and amphibian heat source products should be avoided. Products for hermit crabs, the under the tank heaters have registered as having a temperature of 100 degrees f itself and are marketed for kritter keeper plastic habitats, while they have not melted plastic, that I am aware of, the warnings indicate the heaters are to be used on glass. On glass the temperature rises to 96.9 degrees f which could be higher on depending on glass thickness and is used above the substrate line to provide air temperature that can range as high in the mid eighties on very cold days with varying factors. These heaters do pose a risk. While not encouraged or necessarily thwarted, it is a zoo med product that I personally have used with great success with tarantulas. It is preferable to heat the whole room the tarantula is in however not everyone is tolerable of an increase in temperature and willing or able to do that either due to personal medical reasons or financial ones. Nothing hotter than about 88 degrees f for this tarantula?

Honduran Curly Hair Tarantula females are long lived to an age averaged to be about twenty years. Males only live a few years until they reach maturity. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Central America are the locations where Honduran Curly Hair tarantulas have been found to be native. The cleared areas of rain forest or tropical scrub land are the places the tarantulas are found because of and due to habitat loss.

So basically here is where I am getting confused. The area where it says cloud forest, then conflicting (?) information of tropical scrubland and mountainous forest. I don't need to really know anything other than what kind of rock or type of rock would be nice for the spider to have in it's habitat? I have read up far enough to know that Nicaragua is one of the places that the tarantula cannot legally come from I think without a permit, or even with one. I don't need all this info. I am not a collector of wild anything. Here is my situation. The habitat is like the biggest aesthetically noticeable thing about the hobby because the spider is going to burrow and basically be out of sight. I got griped at bad on another forum for caring about aesthetics and nearly made into a monster for wanting something that looked nice and was also good for the spider. I read candy dishes can be used with a lid and/or cookie jars, just that the ventilation is the issue. There is just a lot of information and a lot can be
found online but it can leave one without an ounce of common sense left about what it is they are trying to convey as a point exactly.

We learn origins, ok great, so that tells us what exactly? Does that give us any idea about whether we should use peat or coconut? nope. Is there any special just for tarantula dirt that can be used? nope. We look at climate. Ok lots of rain, rainy seasons, temps fluctuate from 70's to 80's f from those areas listed. So, we mist. WHy do we do this to ourselves? Why do we read all this great fun information then get stuck with the notion that as a hobbyist it is kind of useless and an aggravating annoyance to those who are already in the know and up to their eyeballs in permits, know how, experience, teaching and told you so's who are taking the precious moments out of their day's and nights to correct our ignorance.. Well, it's my curly hair, and I want it to have an amazing life in it's habitat and want the time it shares with us to be nice. I just don't wanna bore or aggravate people and I'd like to keep a tarantula in a huge antique looking cookie jar. Oh no... here it comes.. The post after post about ventilation and the conflicting posts about humidity. I am not a scientist, zoologist, invertebrate vet, microbiologist, or even a college graduate. I am a stay at home housewife and mom and don't ask for much but have gotten blunt after blunt of wrath by annoyed geniuses on the tarantula topic. I don't expect this forum to be nice.

WHAT exactly do I need to know as a simple pet owner?
All of the above? None of the above?
Can I EVEN HAVE a curly hair tarantula with it having a CITES listing?
Can any tarantula live in a cookie jar?

Dang. I never though keeping a spider would be so complex and full of so much information.
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
Ok, my turn. From my memory real quick. I will have to correct it most likely. If it is wrong in anyway please go ahead and mention it. This forum is like a classroom for me. I am just trying to learn. I have searched the net for days and found conflicting info. I am not teaching, I am asking. A HUGE POST.

The Honduran Curly hair is a CITES listed tarantula. What that means to us who are only keeping it as a display pet, is that the tarantula cannot be imported or exported without permit. The Brachypelma Albo. lives in areas with cloud forests and mountainous forests, so it's humidity should be kept high at around eighty percent. Terrestrial spiders such as the Brachpelma Albo. require substrate in which to burrow as well as to maintain hydration. The tarantula will drink water from the substrate. Providing a shallow water dish without the aide of a sponge is encouraged by hobbyists and is required by the tarantula. The habitat should have length but not be too large for the spider. An enclosure that is too large will prevent the spider from being able to find it's food as a young spiderling as well as pose difficulty for an adult. The habitat should be at least twice the length of the entire spider. Several inches of substrate, three to five, should be adequate. Providing a heat source is not always encouraged as the sources for heat are not marketed for tarantulas and many if not all reptile and amphibian heat source products should be avoided. Products for hermit crabs, the under the tank heaters have registered as having a temperature of 100 degrees f itself and are marketed for kritter keeper plastic habitats, while they have not melted plastic, that I am aware of, the warnings indicate the heaters are to be used on glass. On glass the temperature rises to 96.9 degrees f which could be higher on depending on glass thickness and is used above the substrate line to provide air temperature that can range as high in the mid eighties on very cold days with varying factors. These heaters do pose a risk. While not encouraged or necessarily thwarted, it is a zoo med product that I personally have used with great success with tarantulas. It is preferable to heat the whole room the tarantula is in however not everyone is tolerable of an increase in temperature and willing or able to do that either due to personal medical reasons or financial ones. Nothing hotter than about 88 degrees f for this tarantula?

Honduran Curly Hair Tarantula females are long lived to an age averaged to be about twenty years. Males only live a few years until they reach maturity. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Central America are the locations where Honduran Curly Hair tarantulas have been found to be native. The cleared areas of rain forest or tropical scrub land are the places the tarantulas are found because of and due to habitat loss.

So basically here is where I am getting confused. The area where it says cloud forest, then conflicting (?) information of tropical scrubland and mountainous forest. I don't need to really know anything other than what kind of rock or type of rock would be nice for the spider to have in it's habitat? I have read up far enough to know that Nicaragua is one of the places that the tarantula cannot legally come from I think without a permit, or even with one. I don't need all this info. I am not a collector of wild anything. Here is my situation. The habitat is like the biggest aesthetically noticeable thing about the hobby because the spider is going to burrow and basically be out of sight. I got griped at bad on another forum for caring about aesthetics and nearly made into a monster for wanting something that looked nice and was also good for the spider. I read candy dishes can be used with a lid and/or cookie jars, just that the ventilation is the issue. There is just a lot of information and a lot can be
found online but it can leave one without an ounce of common sense left about what it is they are trying to convey as a point exactly.

We learn origins, ok great, so that tells us what exactly? Does that give us any idea about whether we should use peat or coconut? nope. Is there any special just for tarantula dirt that can be used? nope. We look at climate. Ok lots of rain, rainy seasons, temps fluctuate from 70's to 80's f from those areas listed. So, we mist. WHy do we do this to ourselves? Why do we read all this great fun information then get stuck with the notion that as a hobbyist it is kind of useless and an aggravating annoyance to those who are already in the know and up to their eyeballs in permits, know how, experience, teaching and told you so's who are taking the precious moments out of their day's and nights to correct our ignorance.. Well, it's my curly hair, and I want it to have an amazing life in it's habitat and want the time it shares with us to be nice. I just don't wanna bore or aggravate people and I'd like to keep a tarantula in a huge antique looking cookie jar. Oh no... here it comes.. The post after post about ventilation and the conflicting posts about humidity. I am not a scientist, zoologist, invertebrate vet, microbiologist, or even a college graduate. I am a stay at home housewife and mom and don't ask for much but have gotten blunt after blunt of wrath by annoyed geniuses on the tarantula topic. I don't expect this forum to be nice.

WHAT exactly do I need to know as a simple pet owner?
All of the above? None of the above?
Can I EVEN HAVE a curly hair tarantula with it having a CITES listing?
Can any tarantula live in a cookie jar?

Dang. I never though keeping a spider would be so complex and full of so much information.
This is pretty much all you need to know about keeping a B. albopilosum:

  • A few inches of substrate. Cocofiber is fine. Organic top soil is fine. The T really won't care either way.
  • A water dish is fine. The T may or may not use it. I skip a dish entirely and just mist once a week.
  • They will probably burrow as slings. They don't burrow much as an adult, but will appreciate and use a hide.
  • Tarantulas don't care if they are put in a top-of-the-line premanufactured terrarium or a recycled tub of nuts so long as they get fed on a regular basis and aren't harassed by people/other pets or cooked by a heat lamp or heat pad. They don't care if the hide is a Kleenex box cut in half, or an expensive hut from Petco. Whatever decorations you put in is primarily for your benefit, not the T's.
  • Many of us keep a lot of tarantulas. When you have 36 (like I currently do) or 100 (like I did last year) or 400 (like my friends), you don't go for pretty, you go for functional. The tarantulas don't care so long as those crickets keep coming.
  • Curly hairs are dang near impossible to accidentally kill. Odds of them dehydrating, starving, or freezing are slim to none so long as the previous advice is followed.
 

MrsHaas

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
875
  • Many of us keep a lot of tarantulas. When you have 36 (like I currently do) or 100 (like I did last year) or 400 (like my friends), you don't go for pretty, you go for functional.
Omg could someone plz tell my husband this?? We have 40 and every enclosure is a grand masterpiece worth well over 2-3 (sometime 10!)x the price of the spider in it! Lol o_O
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
Blinx, don't read care sheets. In fact, forget EVERYTHING you have EVER read on a care-sheet and start with a clean slate, you've found your new source here at AB. Problem solved.

And don't mist, they're not plants.
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
Omg could someone plz tell my husband this?? We have 40 and every enclosure is a grand masterpiece worth well over 2-3 (sometime 10!)x the price of the spider in it! Lol o_O
That'd be my husband if this were his hobby too... He paints models so he'd be all "IT HAS TO LOOK GOOD" and I'd be all "THE TARANTULA DOESN'T NEED YOU TO BUILD IT A TANK, IT -IS- A TANK."

I don't think I've ever spent more than $20 on an enclosure. That includes dirt lol
 
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MrsHaas

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 1, 2012
Messages
875
That'd be my husband if this were his hobby too... He paints models so he'd be all "IT HAS TO LOOK GOOD" and I'd be all "THE TARANTULA DOESN'T NEED YOU TO BUILD IT A TANK, IT -IS- A TANK."

I don't think I've ever spent more than $20 on an enclose. That includes dirt lol
Oh goodness..... Haha! My hubby has gone so far as to buy special furniture for the damn things! But at least when they are all hiding away in their perfectly positioned cork rounds for 23hours and 59 mins A day there's always a pretty tank to stare at! :playful:
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
I don't think I've ever spent more than $20 on an enclose. That includes dirt lol
That's about my tops as well, and frankly most are less than $10, probably closer to $5....sterilite and topsoil keep costs of large collections way down, leaving more $ for the most important things, like spiders.
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
That's about my tops as well, and frankly most are less than $10, probably closer to $5....sterilite and topsoil keep costs of large collections way down, leaving more $ for the most important things, like spiders.
Sterilite is the T-keepers saving grace. And Mainstay, from Wal-Mart. Can't beat a clear one-gallon for an arboreal for $3.
 

JustSomeDude

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 31, 2015
Messages
42
Those one gallon jugs from Walmart are sweet! Def gonna start using them I am quickly running out of space with my tanks in my t room
 

Leila

Arachnobaron
Joined
Feb 7, 2017
Messages
525
You guys....I wanna know why THIS thread is one of the First that popped up in my search for "B. albo sling care." :drunk::drunk::drunk::dead:
 
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