Aphonopelma chalcodes (Arizona Blonde) Questions.

[Twiggy1995]

So I have been looking for a cool exotic pet for quite some time, but one that is also relatively easy to take proper care of, and I think I finally found one in this form of the Arizona Blond.

From my understanding all this needs is 1) deep substrate for burrowing 2) a hide 3) a shallow water bowl 4) the occasional feeding.

I do have a currently unused 10 gallon (long) fish tank, would that suffice as enough space for one adult Arizona Blond? Because of the weird specific measurements of my tank, I will have to make my own custom lid out of wood, and probably line it with something like wax, or other moisture barrier, because the couple pre-made lids I bought won't fit it right, they are a little to big, and the clips for locking the lid down won't reach and therefore won't work.

To save money on substrate instead of buying some pre-made stuff by Zoomed, or ExoTerra, or Zilla, etc, could I make my own out of just top soil and something like pete moss?

I will do my best to feed it live food, mostly crickets, or very large worms, but if for some reason I am occasionally unable to feed it live food, could I maybe somehow trick it into eating dead and/or dried food?

 

[viper69]

They are wired for movement, some will eat dead prey some won’t
Top soil alone is all you need

There’s better exotic pets than Ts IMO like snakes.

 

[Twiggy1995]

I considered snakes, but where I live, I'd need things like heat lamps, and probably timers for the lights, and a whole bunch of other things, just to keep at proper safe temperatures, especially in winter.
T's seem like both a cool, and a low maintenance pet, if you get the right species.

 

[mack1855]

Despite what lots of people think,a Tarantula is not a set and forget “pet”.
They are actually fairly delicate,and unlike other living things,once they get ill or have health issues,it’s usually dying or dead.
And many people easily get bored with a Tarantula.They don’t do much for long periods of time,and I’m talking a long time.Then people take them out of the enclosure to “make them do something “,and end up with a dead animal.
Do a lot of reading here on AB,and see about Tarantula care before getting one,please.

 

[Neonblizzard]

Despite what lots of people think,a Tarantula is not a set and forget “pet”.
They are actually fairly delicate,and unlike other living things,once they get ill or have health issues,it’s usually dying or dead.
And many people easily get bored with a Tarantula.They don’t do much for long periods of time,and I’m talking a long time.Then people take them out of the enclosure to “make them do something “,and end up with a dead animal.
Do a lot of reading here on AB,and see about Tarantula care before getting one,please.

I second this, they are beautiful animals, but they really do very, very little. No pet is a novelty, but if you want a pet for its wow and interaction factor then you are better off with a snake because if you expect them to do anything other than sit motionless then you'll get bored very quick.

 

[greeneyedelle]

The enclosure you’re describing sound like it would get absolutely no airflow, which most people on here will say you really should have, especially if you’re trying to retain moisture(?) because that’s going to just end up being a breeding ground for mold. Bare minimum, you really should have a top with good airflow. Also being careful with height. Yes, that’s a pretty and relatively easy t, but there’s no guarantee it’s going to stay on the ground, and one fall could/will kill it. If you insist on using that, make sure the substrate is high enough to allow no more than 1.5 times the length of the spider from the substrate to the top of the enclosure.
People will correct me if I’m wrong on something there, but as always, that’s just from my experience
And as already said, really do your research. They’re hardy, but it’s a delicate balance of conditions that you don’t yet sound prepared for.

 

[Twiggy1995]

Thanks for the replies.

To clear something up, I will of course include lots of ventilation in my custom made lid, most of it will probably be steel mesh. As far as the moisture barrier goes, that's not to retain moisture inside the tank, but rather to protect the wood itself (plywood, osb, whatever) from rotting over time.

If all I really need as substrate is top soil, then I can of course make sure it goes up very high as needed.

And of course I'll do regular inspections to make sure things look good in the tank, but not disturb the Tarantula, especially during a molt.

I've already done a fair amount of research, but I will keep doing research as well. Thanks.

 

[JonnyTorch]

There’s better exotic pets than Ts IMO like snakes.

or a Panther Chameleon

 

[viper69]

or a Panther Chameleon

no doubt!!!!

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I would like to have a dog again if I had the proper backyard enclosure.

 

[JonnyTorch]

no doubt!!!!

This one was at the Super Show in Anaheim, I had to snap a pic!

 

[Arachnophobphile]

This one was at the Super Show in Anaheim, I had to snap a pic!

View attachment 404194

Whoa I want one.

 

[viper69]

This one was at the Super Show in Anaheim, I had to snap a pic!

View attachment 404194

Nice one. I haven't seen one with orange/blue in that manner before. Was Ed Kammer there? His and his family produce the best. I've been talking to him for many years. Each time I see him I'm ready to buy, then I see some new babies and adults...and I wait to see. He produces such great ones.

If you head over to their site, check out this Nosy Be color change

mithrandir

 

[JonnyTorch]

@viper69 Not sure I don't believe I know Ed Kammer. This specific one though I pictured is one of the parents to the babies they were selling there and each baby was $1k! Expensive.. But the ones who were selling them were from Don Nguyen owner of Highlighter Chameleons. They are on insta as well.

I'll check out the ones you said also!

(OP, sorry to shortly hijack your thread) @Twiggy1995, for my 2 cents:

would that suffice as enough space for one adult Arizona Blond?

Yes.

To save money on substrate instead of buying some pre-made stuff by Zoomed, or ExoTerra, or Zilla, etc, could I make my own out of just top soil and something like pete moss?

You can cheapy use coco-fiber that is dry. Petco sells large bags of it for $8 or you can get it in brick form and it expands in water (let it dry out before using though). You could also use topsoil, yes, but make sure there is no fertilizer or pesticides in it at all. TOPSOIL not potting soil. I've used coco-fiber for years for dry species like the one you're looking at buying with no issues, but I think I'm slowly switching to topsoil for more "moist species" but for Arizona Blonde you don't need to worry about moisture except a water dish that it can get its head down into.

if for some reason I am occasionally unable to feed it live food, could I maybe somehow trick it into eating dead and/or dried food?

Preferably not, it will most likely always prefer live food. The best way to make sure you have live food (especially when Petco or Petstores run out of crickets) is to buy superworms. They live for MONTHS, but crush their heads a bit before feeding them. They live on the shelf for up to like 7 months I think. That's what I did when the petco near me never had any crickets. That or mealworms (refrigerate mealworms though).

most of it will probably be steel mesh

It's advised not to do this. T's can (and will) bite through the mesh with their fangs, resulting in a hurt tarantula, a tarantulas leg being stuck or ripped off the mesh, or an escaped T, or a broken fang. I would use an acrylic top on a 10g tank, cut from a large sheet of plexiglass or acrylic, and make yours that way with airholes drilled into it by a drill bit.

 

[viper69]

1000 too much @JonnyTorch