Aphonopelma chalcodes Advice?

[sp00dmama]

Hi everyone,
I’ve been doing a ton of research on these beautiful and loving Arizona blondies, but I’m always still paranoid. I want to know if anyone has any (gentle) suggestions? After I set up the new enclosure and showed the baby its new hide (the bottom has a hole and it’s already made a burrow!!), they explored and took a nice long drink from its water dish. So, according to its behavior, I’m assuming it’s comfortable and happy. I’ve seen the baby explore and dig around, before returning back to its hide. It’s actually so precious. 🥹 The substrate and moss are dry, as I know they live in the desert. I also put some broken up leaves and a piece of cork bark in there for texture. The T is about an inch and a half, the enclosure is about 3inches tall and 6.5 inches wide.

Here’s some pictures for reference )

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

What are your questions?

 

[sp00dmama]

What are your questions?

I just wanna know if the enclosure looks okay~ any kind of tips or tricks to these babies~ I also heard they’re communal? If anyone had any research about that, that would be amazing. )

 

[FatBadBay]

Communals are not worth the risk.

Also, I would suggest setting it's enclosure somewhere else. Having the edges hanging off like that is risky.

 

[viper69]

Hi everyone,
I’ve been doing a ton of research on these beautiful and loving Arizona blondies, but I’m always still paranoid. I want to know if anyone has any (gentle) suggestions? After I set up the new enclosure and showed the baby its new hide (the bottom has a hole and it’s already made a burrow!!), they explored and took a nice long drink from its water dish. So, according to its behavior, I’m assuming it’s comfortable and happy. I’ve seen the baby explore and dig around, before returning back to its hide. It’s actually so precious. 🥹 The substrate and moss are dry, as I know they live in the desert. I also put some broken up leaves and a piece of cork bark in there for texture. The T is about an inch and a half, the enclosure is about 3inches tall and 6.5 inches wide.

Here’s some pictures for reference )
View attachment 482347 View attachment 482348 View attachment 482346

OK I didn’t see a single question.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Communals are not worth the risk.

Also, I would suggest setting it's enclosure somewhere else. Having the edges hanging off like that is risky.

Yeah bad spot for a container imo it could. Fly right off if something is bumped into .

I just wanna know if the enclosure looks okay~ any kind of tips or tricks to these babies~ I also heard they’re communal? If anyone had any research about that, that would be amazing. )

No Ts I’d keep communal especially not this type .

Tarantula Information for Beginners (and More)

Below are some helpful resources. (Rather than having half a dozen or more pinned threads, which clutter the top of the board, we are pinning this index.) While the focus is on beginners, there are other threads on health and more advanced species that may be useful to more experienced keepers...

arachnoboards.com

 

[sp00dmama]

As for clarification for the communal part, I’m not necessarily going to keep them communal. When I was walking around an expo and talking to people, someone randomly told me that they’re communal as their son bred them. I was just curious what everyone’s thoughts and opinions were. I am planning to keep all my T’s solo.

Also the spot for enclosure atm is temporary, as I need to switch around some spider enclosures on my shelves~

As for having more specific questions; Is there anything I should add or take away from the substrate? It currently is a mix of dry substrate, leaves, and moss from thebiodude. The hide is an aquarium hide that has an entry hole and a bottom hole for burrowing, are the moss and leaves around the top of the hide enough to be considered safe if the T were to climb above the hide? (I haven’t seen it climb up the walls since I’ve moved it into a bigger enclosure, but just in case.) I know the key is to keep it simple, but I also want to make sure that I am doing everything I can. I know these babies are also super slow growing, so I want to make the best of their enclosures and make sure they are maintained well for the time they need.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

As for clarification for the communal part, I’m not necessarily going to keep them communal. When I was walking around an expo and talking to people, someone randomly told me that they’re communal as their son bred them. I was just curious what everyone’s thoughts and opinions were. I am planning to keep all my T’s solo.

Also the spot for enclosure atm is temporary, as I need to switch around some spider enclosures on my shelves~

As for having more specific questions; Is there anything I should add or take away from the substrate? It currently is a mix of dry substrate, leaves, and moss from thebiodude. The hide is an aquarium hide that has an entry hole and a bottom hole for burrowing, are the moss and leaves around the top of the hide enough to be considered safe if the T were to climb above the hide? (I haven’t seen it climb up the walls since I’ve moved it into a bigger enclosure, but just in case.) I know the key is to keep it simple, but I also want to make sure that I am doing everything I can. I know these babies are also super slow growing, so I want to make the best of their enclosures and make sure they are maintained well for the time they need.

There definitely not communal, some people got no clue what there doing and are stuck in misinformation. Pic of the container look fine.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

As for clarification for the communal part, I’m not necessarily going to keep them communal. When I was walking around an expo and talking to people, someone randomly told me that they’re communal as their son bred them. I was just curious what everyone’s thoughts and opinions were. I am planning to keep all my T’s solo.

All tarantulas will exhibit some kind of subsocial behavior as newly hatched spiderlings. As the baby spiders are vulnerable, they will group together with mom, feed, and live together. At some point the baby spiders will leave the protection of “home” and seek their own territory. That is about all you can expect as “communal.”

 

[Gevo]

Welcome! The pictures look good, but more importantly, just make sure that there isn't more than about 1.5 times the spider's leg span between the top and the substrate, and as for the hide being safe, the bigger consideration would be weight and making sure it's not so heavy that it could crush the spider if the spider burrows underneath. Don't overthink it--there's no set weight anyone can give you, but it's something to consider since you say it's an aquarium piece. Those can sometimes be heavy because they're made to sink and stay at the bottom of water-filled tank, not to be on soil that's going to get moved around by a spider.

Moss can also hold a lot of water if it gets wet, so keep that in mind since this is an arid species and be mindful of that as you're adding water to a corner and whatnot.

 

[Glorfindel]

some Tarantulas will tolerate others for a while, but prefer their own territory.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Welcome! I’d replace the aquarium hide with a cork bark hide and get rid of a lot of that moss. It will only serve as hiding places for feeders. Just my .02

 

[TheraMygale]

In the long term, there might be no need for all the “ground clutter”.
Feeders will hide. The vegetation will mold…

keep enclosure simple. The hide is angled nicely.

 

[Brewser]

I second the motion to insert cork

 

[TheraMygale]

I second the motion to insert cork

Its hard to be mature when reading this. You know what you did.

 

[0viWan]

All 4 of my A. Chalcodes slings like to dig long (and I mean loooong) tunnels. I think this is pretty much what they do in the desert so I would go for a enclosure with more depth and add considerably more substrate.

 

[sp00dmama]

Welcome! I’d replace the aquarium hide with a cork bark hide and get rid of a lot of that moss. It will only serve as hiding places for feeders. Just my .02

Here’s the thing that is tearing me now though, my baby seems super attached and looks to feel safe in the hide. This baby does like to dig, but seems to also really enjoy just sitting in the hide in general. I see them more often sitting in the hide than in it’s actual burrow. Do you think I could prop up the hide underneath just enough for the hide to never be able to sink down? If not, I will happily try to make a little cave out of cork bark for the best safety of the spood. )

Thank you everyone for the welcomes and supportive suggestions. )

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Here’s the thing that is tearing me now though, my baby seems super attached and looks to feel safe in the hide. This baby does like to dig, but seems to also really enjoy just sitting in the hide in general. I see them more often sitting in the hide than in it’s actual burrow. Do you think I could prop up the hide underneath just enough for the hide to never be able to sink down? If not, I will happily try to make a little cave out of cork bark for the best safety of the spood. )

Thank you everyone for the welcomes and supportive suggestions. )

I don’t think it would be the actual hide your T is attached to, but that it is a hide (and only one, right?) It might be fine, but if your T digs a lot, I’d be concerned. It’s not fossorial, so I wouldn’t expect it to dig extensive tunnels or anything.

 

[Gevo]

I don’t think it would be the actual hide your T is attached to, but that it is a hide (and only one, right?)

While I do think it's sensible to limit the number of changes we make to their environment and to recognize that any change may require another "settling in" period, I also imagine that in the wild, burrows are probably disrupted all the time by animals walking by, rainstorms and windstorms, human activity, other arachnids and insects, etc. They can't afford to be sentimental about a specific log or rock!

 

[sp00dmama]

I don’t think it would be the actual hide your T is attached to, but that it is a hide (and only one, right?) It might be fine, but if your T digs a lot, I’d be concerned. It’s not fossorial, so I wouldn’t expect it to dig extensive tunnels or anything.

I actually do have another piece of cork bark in there that also creates a cave~ Someone said their blondie slings tunnel, and mine started doing that today. buttt, I chose to stick two pieces of cork bark with extra dirt under the hide, around the hole, and it seems perfectly in place despite my T rearranging. It seems to have thrown a bunch of dirt in front of the entrance

Here’s some pictures of the redecoration


UPDATE: I just went ahead and changed out the hide while it was tunneling to disturb it the least I could 🥹