B. Smithi Enclosure opinions

kazzzj

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Oct 26, 2020
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So I originally wanted to post pictures of the enclosure to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong. While looking up the scientific name of a mexican red knee to properly identify, I found out that I needed to know whether I had a B. Smithi or B. Hamorii. From what I can tell (as an amateur and doing an hour of research), I think its Smithi, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
Anyway, it has been climbing the walls a lot more than it's been in its hide, so I drilled holes in its enclosure for cross ventilation, because I read that not enough air flow could be the problem and now I'm curious if it's set up well enough.

Just to clarify... the picture of it on my wife's hand is the day we brought it home from a local exotic pet store, hince the bald spot. It has since had a molt. The close up in its hide with bark removed, is recent and for reference on B. Smithi vs B. Hamorii and also T. size vs enclosure size and substrate depth.

Sorry if this is too long, I just wanted to be as informative as possible for any possible questions. Thanks in advance!
 

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Liquifin

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Enclosure looks fine to me, but the bark might mold if in contact with humidity or moisture. Also it appears to be a B. hamorii to me but I'm not an expert so other opinions might come in.
 

kazzzj

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Enclosure looks fine to me, but the bark might mold if in contact with humidity or moisture. Also it appears to be a B. hamorii to me but I'm not an expert so other opinions might come in.
What would you recommend as opposed to bark? I felt like the opening of it's hide was too exposed so I added the bark because I wanted it to feel safe. I don't mist because I thought humidity wasn't an issue, so I didn't think about mold.
 

Liquifin

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What would you recommend as opposed to bark? I felt like the opening of it's hide was too exposed so I added the bark because I wanted it to feel safe. I don't mist because I thought humidity wasn't an issue, so I didn't think about mold.
You don't need to mist or add moisture to the substrate, so you don't really have to worry about the bark or mold as I was just making a small pointer about it. If you plan on using bark in the future, I'd recommend cork bark as it doesn't mold which is highly used by the majority of tarantula keepers. The alternative is drift wood as it doesn't tend to get mold quite as easily as well.
 

The Grym Reaper

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I found out that I needed to know whether I had a B. Smithi or B. Hamorii. From what I can tell (as an amateur and doing an hour of research), I think its Smithi, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
It's hamorii.

Anyway, it has been climbing the walls a lot more than it's been in its hide, so I drilled holes in its enclosure for cross ventilation, because I read that not enough air flow could be the problem and now I'm curious if it's set up well enough.
Those enclosures already have more than adequate ventilation (if anything, they're too well ventilated).

To add to what's been mentioned already, you should pack the substrate down tightly (it looks loose in the side-on pic, you'll need to add more to get it to the same level), tarantulas don't really like to walk on loose substrate.
 

Kichimark

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Aug 8, 2020
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Enclosure is fine IMO. The top has enough ventilation but the holes will not hurt. This species (you have a B. hamorii) does like it dry and with your water dish that will be enough. My AF B. hamorii does not really stay too much in her hide either (cork bark round) but stays outside and will move around in the mid-late afternoon.
 

kazzzj

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Oct 26, 2020
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It's hamorii.



Those enclosures already have more than adequate ventilation (if anything, they're too well ventilated).

To add to what's been mentioned already, you should pack the substrate down tightly (it looks loose in the side-on pic, you'll need to add more to get it to the same level), tarantulas don't really like to walk on loose substrate.
Thanks for the advice, that must be why it was on the walls so much. I'll do that tonight.
 

Matt Man

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take enclosure photo 1 fill behind hide with substrate so there is a platform on top off the hide and leave the small piece of wood. Sparingly add some of the greenery and done. Save the other piece of wood until you build a bigger enclosure Screen Shot 2020-10-29 at 10.20.36 AM.png
 
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