B. emilia won’t touch substrate! Help!!

slmn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
7
Help!! Im new to the hobby and I got a 2” Brachypelma emilia. I happen to have a 8x8x8 exo terra enclosure so I decided to use it for my T. However she wont ever touch the substrate. I used coco fiber brick. I notice it took so long to dry so I put it in the oven then used it on my enclosure. Its almost 2 weeks now and my t doesn’t go to the substrate. It just keeps climbing on the sides or on the top. Do you guys think that I should just change my enclosure? or can you guys please suggest some other substrate that I could use for these species? Thank you so much!
 

Spaceman

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 16, 2019
Messages
201
Can you send a picture of the enclosure ? I’ve never read about anything like this but perhaps you should change the substrate if she really won’t touch it
 

slmn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
7
Can you send a picture of the enclosure ? I’ve never read about anything like this but perhaps you should change the substrate if she really won’t touch it
Yeah I might just put her in a different enclosure too. Something smaller. Im scared that she might fall and die from always climbing. Can you suggest any other substrate that I could use?
 

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Spaceman

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 16, 2019
Messages
201
I’ve read on here about people getting nervous with those types of enclosures because T’s CAN GET STUCK on the ventilation
 

Poonjab

Arachnoking
Active Member
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Nov 4, 2019
Messages
2,755
There are a lot the things wrong here. But how much you wanna bet that the substrate is too loose and not tamped down enough. T’s hate loose substrate. I know you have good intentions so I’m not harping on you, but it’s best if you do a whole new setup that is better suited for a terrestrial species. Minus a screen top too.
 

slmn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
7
There are a lot the things wrong here. But how much you wanna bet that the substrate is too loose and not tamped down enough. T’s hate loose substrate. I know you have good intentions so I’m not harping on you, but it’s best if you do a whole new setup that is better suited for a terrestrial species. Minus a screen top too.
Hi. I am new to this hobby and making a new setup is what I am willing to do for my T. Also, you said there are a lot of things wrong here. So can I ask you to please point out those mistakes so I could make the changes that I need? Thank you! That will be greatly appreciated.
 

Tfisher

Arachno-Geek
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
251
I usually mix top soil with moss and coco fiber .. sometimes I’ll add sand depending on the species.
 

Tfisher

Arachno-Geek
Joined
Sep 28, 2014
Messages
251
Also the enclosure is to tall for your T. Downsize to something around 5 gal size. Or a kritter keeper.
 

Poonjab

Arachnoking
Active Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
Messages
2,755
Hi. I am new to this hobby and making a new setup is what I am willing to do for my T. Also, you said there are a lot of things wrong here. So can I ask you to please point out those mistakes so I could make the changes that I need? Thank you! That will be greatly appreciated.
if I were to make changes, first thing is change out the enclosure. While it’s a nice enclosure, it’s not suited for your T. If you want to go cheap, a large kritter keeper will work. Tamp down the substrate so it has a firm footing. You also need to greatly reduce the the height. Best height to reduce fall risk is 1.5 times the leg span of your T. Shrink hide a bit so it can feel more secure. Also make sure if you get a new enclosure that has a mesh top, replace it with a drilled piece of acrylic. This will prevent T from getting tarsal claw caught and losing a leg.
 
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slmn

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 27, 2020
Messages
7
if I were to make changes, first thing is change out the enclosure. While it’s a nice enclosure, it’s not suited for your T. If you want to go cheap, a large kritter keeper with work. Tamp down the substrate so it has a firm footing. You also need to greatly reduce the the height. Best height to reduce fall risk is 1.5 times the leg span of your T. Shrink hide a bit so it can feel more secure. Also make sure if you get a new enclosure that has a mesh top, replace it with a drilled piece of acrylic. This will prevent T from getting tarsal claw caught and losing a leg.
Okay! Thank you so much for these helpful informations! Happy keeping!
 

The Grym Reaper

Arachnoreaper
Joined
Jul 19, 2016
Messages
4,835
i just checked and my T isn’t stuck because the mesh are too small for the legs to go through.
It's not that they put their legs through the gaps in the mesh, it's that they can get their tarsal claws stuck where the wires overlap.
 
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