Advice for Bioactive Poecilotheria Enclosure.

[TripCorvus]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum and was wondering what a good set up for a bioactive Poecilotheria enclosure would be. What plants would be best to mimic the T's natural environment and not be harmful to them? Should I do springtails and Isopods or just one or the other? What are your opinions on keeping a fountain or other type of circulating water in the enclosure? Best type of lighting to use? Are the "BioDude" kits worth it or would I be better off putting something together myself? I'd love some advice and/or recommendations.

 

[Tarantuland]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum and was wondering what a good set up for a bioactive Poecilotheria enclosure would be. What plants would be best to mimic the T's natural environment and not be harmful to them? Should I do springtails and Isopods or just one or the other? What are your opinions on keeping a fountain or other type of circulating water in the enclosure? Best type of lighting to use? Are the "BioDude" kits worth it or would I be better off putting something together myself? I'd love some advice and/or recommendations.

Most people here are gonna tell you not to go bioactive honestly. They're usually more trouble than they're worth, and better for dart frogs or crested geckos. Having said that, any plants you get should be from a hobbyist, or special care to make sure there's no fertilizers/pesticides applied to them. Tarantula's do not have light requirements, so you should look for plants with low light. I'm inclined to think isopods present a potential threat to your tarantula from what i've heard, but my P metallica enclosure doesn't have enough moisture to support springtails beside around the water dish.

Biodude is great, you might be able to price stuff together for cheaper, but I just bought some of his substrate and am getting ready to use it for the first time so I can't weigh in too much on that.

How well do you have husbandry of your spider down? Because keeping all the plants alive and well is gonna take more work than just taking care of a spider. Maybe someone with more experience than me will chime in, but with plants you gotta do a lot more work on an enclosure, and I wouldn't wanna be sticking my hands in a pokie enclosure (or catch cupping it) more than I have to.

I don't want to shoot down your dreams but unless you have a ton of experience with vivariums and old world arboreal T's, this is going to be a challenge.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[TripCorvus]

Most people here are gonna tell you not to go bioactive honestly. They're usually more trouble than they're worth, and better for dart frogs or crested geckos. Having said that, any plants you get should be from a hobbyist, or special care to make sure there's no fertilizers/pesticides applied to them. Tarantula's do not have light requirements, so you should look for plants with low light. I'm inclined to think isopods present a potential threat to your tarantula from what i've heard, but my P metallica enclosure doesn't have enough moisture to support springtails beside around the water dish.

Biodude is great, you might be able to price stuff together for cheaper, but I just bought some of his substrate and am getting ready to use it for the first time so I can't weigh in too much on that.

How well do you have husbandry of your spider down? Because keeping all the plants alive and well is gonna take more work than just taking care of a spider. Maybe someone with more experience than me will chime in, but with plants you gotta do a lot more work on an enclosure, and I wouldn't wanna be sticking my hands in a pokie enclosure (or catch cupping it) more than I have to.

I don't want to shoot down your dreams but unless you have a ton of experience with vivariums and old world arboreal T's, this is going to be a challenge.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do

I feel like I have the basic husbandry down pretty well, but I don't have a lot of experience with vivariums. The main reasons I'm considering going Bioactive is because I feel like it will make Her enclosure more comfortable, regulate the humidity more reliably and with the Springtails and Isopods mold and mites would be less of a concern. Granted I will most likely have to do a bit more work on the enclosure, but it may be worth it to have Her in a more comfortable and natural environment. I could totally be overthinking this though. I've attached a picture of her current setup for reference. 12"x12"x20"

 

[Tarantuland]

Welcome to Arachnoboards btw!

And everyone's gonna tell you to search the forums, but heres one thread I found that could be useful.

Poecilotheria regalis Bioactive Vivarium

This is my Poecilotheria regalis female's enclosure. Her background is completely hollow and allows for extensive hiding spots, while the visible parts of the enclosure are heavily planted and rarely disturbed. I quite like this enclosure, although I almost never see the spider besides feeding...

arachnoboards.com

 

[cold blood]

The main reasons I'm considering going Bioactive is because I feel like it will make Her enclosure more comfortable, regulate the humidity more reliably and with the Springtails and Isopods mold and mites would be less of a concern.

1. There is NO advantage to bioactive for the t...none....its for you and it will needlessly over complicate the simple task of raising a t.

2. Humidity is not something that needs to be regulated...humidity is basically irrelevant. Dont read care sheets that suggest otherwise.

3. Mold and mites are also of virtually no concern...mold can be picked out, mites are easily controlled by simply drying the enclosure out from time to time.

4. springtails and other clean up crews are nice, but theyre far from a necessity....in 20 plus years and thousands of ts ive kept, i have never used clean up crews...theyre just not a critical part of t keeping.

 

[Liquifin]

I feel like I have the basic husbandry down pretty well, but I don't have a lot of experience with vivariums. The main reasons I'm considering going Bioactive is because I feel like it will make Her enclosure more comfortable, regulate the humidity more reliably and with the Springtails and Isopods mold and mites would be less of a concern. Granted I will most likely have to do a bit more work on the enclosure, but it may be worth it to have Her in a more comfortable and natural environment. I could totally be overthinking this though. I've attached a picture of her current setup for reference. 12"x12"x20"
View attachment 368613

I'm not trying to nit-pick or do anything negative of the sort, but is there not a hide in that enclosure? There has to be at least one large leaning piece of wood to act as hide and I don't see any good or ideal hides in that enclosure.

 

[TripCorvus]

I'm not trying to nit-pick or do anything negative of the sort, but is there not a hide in that enclosure? There has to be at least one large leaning piece of wood to act as hide and I don't see any good or ideal hides in that enclosure.

In the picture there is a small cork bark round in the back of the enclosure in the corner, although it was a small temporary one (just put a new one in on Saturday). I accidentally broke the first cork bark round that was in there initially.

 

[moricollins]

1. There is NO advantage to bioactive for the t...none....its for you and it will needlessly over complicate the simple task of raising a t.

2. Humidity is not something that needs to be regulated...humidity is basically irrelevant. Dont read care sheets that suggest otherwise.

3. Mold and mites are also of virtually no concern...mold can be picked out, mites are easily controlled by simply drying the enclosure out from time to time.

4. springtails and other clean up crews are nice, but theyre far from a necessity....in 20 plus years and thousands of ts ive kept, i have never used clean up crews...theyre just not a critical part of t keeping.

Can I double or triple like this post?

 

[Matt Man]

How long have you been keeping Ts? BioActive enclosures are much more work, and can pose risks to your T. If you are fairly new to the hobby I'd suggest getting regular enclosures down first before attempting Bio Active. Last, a P Metallica is an expensive
test subject to do your first run, you'd be more frugal learning with an Avic. That way if it goes bad you aren't out a P Metallica. @cold blood summarized everything pretty well so I feel no need to add to it, except that Isopods can attack a molting spider and Poecilotheria commonly molt on the grown at the bottom of their cork hide so you can be exposing the T to a potential threat. Avics and Versis molt up in a hammock typically so coming across a potential threat is greatly reduced. So I would suggest taking that option over the Pokie.
The big threat with Avics and a BioActive enclosure is humidity can be so high it can kill them, so if you go this route be prepared.
and yes, your T is gonna need a slab of bar. More than any bioactive element, something representing the inside of a tree is far more important.
Versicolor in her house