Am I the only one who thinks T's need some space?

[EightLeggedFrea]

Sorry if I insult anyone, and I'm not going to point anyone out

but seriously I have a problem with a lot of T keepers putting T's in such small enclosures. it just bothers me how many people have T's with like no room to move around.

It really seems like people care more about having the T's they want than having a nice home for them. Oooo thats a good price for that spider eh I'll just put it in a 6 inch pretzel container even though the T is 4 inches big.

or I see someone buys a sling and won't rehouse it until they can't close the lid on it anymore. just because the T is alive doesn't mean its happy

All my T's have at least a gallon of space per inch in legspan

doesw anyone out there agree with me?

Well I wouldn't put a 4" spider in a 6" cage, but I also wouldn't leave them with too much space. I keep most of my adults 6" and under in 5-gallon KKs and they all do fine.

The thing to remember is that most Ts are very sedentary by nature, especially once they settle into a new enclosure and, as many have probably already said, would be overwhelmed in a large, overly-spacious cage unless there were numerous hiding places.

 

[Terry D]

All, The following might seem as a blow to my personal belief that tarantulas don't need much room. On the few occasions I've found small A hentzi afield, they have been under objects without much more than a shallow depression of earth surrounding them. This might suggest they're more mobile, possibly covering more ground at a young age. However, I think it's more likely that this has something to do with the dispersal mechanism, or that those indivs had yet to find a secure territory. Once put into an enclosure and fed well the need for this is imop, gone.

Terry

 

[GPulchra]

What I think is, although Ts adapt to nature where there is tons of prey everywhere, we give them a smaller enclosure to do them a favor. It's much easier to catch prey. Although, I think an enclosure that is too tight is ridiculous. To the OP of this topic, 1" legspan=1 gallon, as Penn & Teller would say on Showtime, is Bull$#!%. I keep my sling (which is around 1.50" legspan) in a thick, 32 oz. cup. Not 1 1/2 gallons.

 

[Xian]

Though I am late to the party, I have an opinion on this subject.(Imagine that!)

We like to give our Ts lots of room, not because we think they need it, but because we as their owners feel like WE need to..............

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[evicton]

For me its entirely based on species, and even in that I think are some errors in judgment, for me my pokies seem to waste a ton of room but I still give it to them. I keep two, 2 and 1/2 inch gbb in a 12x12x12 exo terra, one has webbed up one side and its webbing is slowly growing to the other side. The other one has a fake skull that is webbed up but it hasn't webbed the outside of the skull at all. Even though it dwarfs them both of these guys go to one specific area when they are in ready to eat mode, which makes feeding easy.

However I will say one thing there has been times I've moved a spider into a smaller enclosure because of feeding issues.

 

[Falk]

The size of a fully grown medium sized spider, G. rosea, Brachypelma smithi will do fine in a 12x12x12 terrarium. Imo a very thick layer of peat is more imortand that a big enclosure. A tarantula live in or very near their borrow or nest their whole life so to say that they a huge space in the wild is somewhat wrong.
They will only leave if the nest or burrow get destryed or flooded.


I had my Brachypelma albopilosum in a big terrarium at first but she was very stressed a skittish until i put her in a 12x12x12.

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

This thread is very interesting. Do tarantulas need space to thrive? No. Do they need it to be 'happy'? No. If giving them more space gives their keepers more enjoyment; is that important? Yes. As long as that space is not an endangerment to the tarantula's safety, as in a huge, tall tank with one inch of substrate for a heavy bodied terrestrial, complete with sharp jagged rocks and other multiple hazards.
I tend to observe my tarantulas over time, and that observation leads to what kind of adult, or permanent, enclosure they will have. If i have observed that they will utilize that space, I give it. If I observe that they will swiftly retreat to a corner of the enclosure and never leave it, I give less. I recently gave a four inch P. irminia a small exoterra. I have my mature female P. murinus in a plastic shoebox. I always provide a hide, a water dish depending on the individual, and feed once a week, or in some cases, every other week! And in other cases, once a month! But this is due to my individual observation, and a luxury that comes with only maintaining sixteen spiders. Though I wish for a few more!

 

[Sp1d3r8888]

Sorry if I insult anyone, and I'm not going to point anyone out

but seriously I have a problem with a lot of T keepers putting T's in such small enclosures. it just bothers me how many people have T's with like no room to move around.

It really seems like people care more about having the T's they want than having a nice home for them. Oooo thats a good price for that spider eh I'll just put it in a 6 inch pretzel container even though the T is 4 inches big.

or I see someone buys a sling and won't rehouse it until they can't close the lid on it anymore. just because the T is alive doesn't mean its happy

All my T's have at least a gallon of space per inch in legspan

doesw anyone out there agree with me?

Thats the whole idea of being a hobbyist is to collect tarantulas and other arachnids, you need space your tarantula dont. These creatures thrive in a space 4 times the size 0f them a tarantulas metabolism is very slow they stay still most of time they dont need to walk about. The only reason they leave the burrow in the wild (male tarantula )is to find a mate the female dont leave her burrow she might venture just outside but she wont go far from her burrow, at the end of the day they are spiders and spiders do what spiders do and that's it and wait for prey . All spiders are happy in they small space if they wasn't you would know they would be frantic, a calm spider is a happy spider

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Thats the whole idea of being a hobbyist is to collect tarantulas and other arachnids, you need space your tarantula dont. These creatures thrive in a space 4 times the size 0f them a tarantulas metabolism is very slow they stay still most of time they dont need to walk about. The only reason they leave the burrow in the wild (male tarantula )is to find a mate the female dont leave her burrow she might venture just outside but she wont go far from her burrow, at the end of the day they are spiders and spiders do what spiders do and that's it and wait for prey . All spiders are happy in they small space if they wasn't you would know they would be frantic, a calm spider is a happy spider

Just FYI, you replied to a member from their post from 2010. You may never get an answer.

 

[Sp1d3r8888]

Just FYI, you replied to a member from their post from 2010. You may never get an answer.

Pmsl thanks guess im 14 year too late omg! Im dull ,, cheers mate

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Pmsl thanks guess im 14 year too late omg! Im dull ,, cheers mate

Don't feel bad I've done it multiple times in the past