Best conditions to keep a poecilotheria regalis?

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ShaunMot

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Hi everyone. just wondering if anyone has any info, like humidity, how dry to keep the substrate, heat levels. if anyone has a reliable care sheet, that'd be awesome :D
 

Venom1080

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care sheets off the internet kill tarantulas.

temps 70-80 (no artificial heat except for space heater)
humidity: medium (humidity gauges suck)
substrate: same as all tarantulas, eco earth or peat moss.
this is a advanced species, if its your first you should pick a different spider.
 

EulersK

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Depends very much on what size of tarantula we're talking about. You're going to get varying answers, but here's my two cents.

Adults:
Don't worry about temperature so long as you stay above ~65F. Ideally, keep it above 70F. Many spiders have no issues at all with temperatures below 60F, but given the locality of this species, you'll want to keep it a bit warmer. Remember, no heat pads or lamps! For humidity, don't really worry about it. Overfill the water dish every so often and forget about it. Adults are pretty humidity resistant. They appreciate the humidity, but they don't absolutely need it. You'll learn to read your spider. If it's constantly roaming, it's too humid. If it's spending a lot of time near the water dish, it's too dry. With species like this, I like to keep a very large water dish to help with the humidity.

Slings:
Same temperatures as adults, but I'd advise against dropping below 70F. For humidity, I wouldn't let it dry out completely until around 3" dls (diagonal leg span). If the enclosure is too small for a water dish (it probably will be), then you can occasionally spray/drop some water onto their webbing for drinking. Above all, feed, feed, feed! When they're slings, it's not your job to choose when they've had enough. It's theirs. I feed my slings daily until they reach the juvie stage.
 

ShaunMot

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So completely dry substrate is recommended? For my brachypelma albopilosum I keep the substrate rather moist and mist quite often.
 

Venom1080

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So completely dry substrate is recommended? For my brachypelma albopilosum I keep the substrate rather moist and mist quite often.
um, no? dry is not recommended for any Poecilotheria. Brachys should be kept bone dry with a water dish. dont bother misting a brachy.
 

EulersK

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So completely dry substrate is recommended? For my brachypelma albopilosum I keep the substrate rather moist and mist quite often.
humidity: medium (humidity gauges suck)
For humidity, don't really worry about it. Overfill the water dish every so often and forget about it. Adults are pretty humidity resistant. They appreciate the humidity, but they don't absolutely need it.
o_O
 

REEFSPIDER

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I have raised a regalis from 2i to fully mature male and he spent his entire life in varying ambient temps of anywhere from 55-115f not saying it is ideal but he made it into adulthood just fine. My room has horrible insulation so the temps are not easily governed even with heaters. As for humidity i just over fill his bowl once a week.
 

EulersK

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I have raised a regalis from 2i to fully mature male and he spent his entire life in varying ambient temps of anywhere from 55-115f not saying it is ideal but he made it into adulthood just fine. My room has horrible insulation so the temps are not easily governed even with heaters. As for humidity i just over fill his bowl once a week.
115F?! If that's not a typo, you're lucky your spider didn't roast...
 

mistertim

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I keep my P. regalis sling (and all my other tarantulas) in room temps or slightly above (around 73-75 usually). For humidity you generally want to keep Pokies (especially slings) pretty well hydrated. I keep my P. regalis substrate (mix of eco earth and peat) somewhat moist and keep some sphagnum moss in there as well to wet every once in a while. There's also a water bottle cap water dish. Tarantulas are incredibly adaptable in general so specific heat and humidity numbers you see in care sheets are generally just nonsense that gets repeated. It's the arachnid keeping equivalent of "bro science" you get in gyms.
 

Whitelightning777

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I keep my pokie at about 82 degrees, heating around the cage with the heat lamps at least 8" away, which makes them act more like a space heater. I thoroughly checked for any localized hot spots that might cause injury.

Any area warmer then 82 just moves her elsewhere, no additional benefit beyond that.

Still, you do NOT have to add heat and if you do, less is more plus a voltage regulator should be considered mandatory.

They do grow faster and if they're reluctant to eat, just turn it off for 8-12 hours and then on again, bye bye cricket.

In my opinion, the sling stage is a danger stage.

By far the most important thing is a full water dish, checked twice a day religiously.
 

miss moxie

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I keep my pokie at about 82 degrees, heating around the cage with the heat lamps at least 8" away, which makes them act more like a space heater. I thoroughly checked for any localized hot spots that might cause injury.

Any area warmer then 82 just moves her elsewhere, no additional benefit beyond that.

Still, you do NOT have to add heat and if you do, less is more plus a voltage regulator should be considered mandatory.

They do grow faster and if they're reluctant to eat, just turn it off for 8-12 hours and then on again, bye bye cricket.

In my opinion, the sling stage is a danger stage.

By far the most important thing is a full water dish, checked twice a day religiously.
For. The. Last. Time. Stop telling people to use heat lamps. It does NOT act like a space heater, at all. A space heater increases the ambient temperature of a room, it doesn't focus heat in one area. Secondly? Stop reviving old threads that have been answered to recommend heat lamps. You've done this before.
 

Whitelightning777

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For. The. Last. Time. Stop telling people to use heat lamps. It does NOT act like a space heater, at all. A space heater increases the ambient temperature of a room, it doesn't focus heat in one area. Secondly? Stop reviving old threads that have been answered to recommend heat lamps. You've done this before.

Of course, space heaters unless specified by the manufacturer, shouldn't be used without a person who is awake and physically present. When they short out, they can burn down your entire house. Assuming they cut out before that, the fumes are highly noxious, probably not good for inverts.

The fact is that using these heaters and walking away from them, day after day after day, is a recipe for disaster. Again, read the directions.

Oh, & what's that odd smell that they generate when new when you first turn them on? Is that whatever chemical toxic to inverts like Teflon is to certain birds? DKS? Maybe yes maybe no... no one knows.

Oh, & yes many breeders and keepers carefully monitor temperature and humidity even if nothing is done to change them. In particular, B smithi and G pulcher are found to breed much better when natural conditions are re-created artificially. Look it up.

Digital gauges are quite accurate and HVAC professional installers use them everyday.

https://jamiestarantulas.com/zoo-med-humidity-indicator/

I doubt anything I set up can burn down an entire building!! Aquarists have used small heaters for enclosures for the past 70 years?? Maybe more.

Besides, I never said it was mandatory, just that additional gains in growth performance could be realized. Can and must aren't the same.

Seriously, those portable heaters are dangerous. I don't think risking your entire home is worth another 5 or 6 degrees.
 

FrDoc

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For. The. Last. Time. Stop telling people to use heat lamps. It does NOT act like a space heater, at all. A space heater increases the ambient temperature of a room, it doesn't focus heat in one area. Secondly? Stop reviving old threads that have been answered to recommend heat lamps. You've done this before.
In other words, "Throw down, boy!"
 

miss moxie

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Of course, space heaters unless specified by the manufacturer, shouldn't be used without a person who is awake and physically present. When they short out, they can burn down your entire house. Assuming they cut out before that, the fumes are highly noxious, probably not good for inverts.

The fact is that using these heaters and walking away from them, day after day after day, is a recipe for disaster. Again, read the directions.

Oh, & what's that odd smell that they generate when new when you first turn them on? Is that whatever chemical toxic to inverts like Teflon is to certain birds? DKS? Maybe yes maybe no... no one knows.

Oh, & yes many breeders and keepers carefully monitor temperature and humidity even if nothing is done to change them. In particular, B smithi and G pulcher are found to breed much better when natural conditions are re-created artificially. Look it up.

Digital gauges are quite accurate and HVAC professional installers use them everyday.

https://jamiestarantulas.com/zoo-med-humidity-indicator/

I doubt anything I set up can burn down an entire building!! Aquarists have used small heaters for enclosures for the past 70 years?? Maybe more.

Besides, I never said it was mandatory, just that additional gains in growth performance could be realized. Can and must aren't the same.

Seriously, those portable heaters are dangerous. I don't think risking your entire home is worth another 5 or 6 degrees.
And once more you type up a bunch of nonsense that has nothing to do with using heat lamps. Just more off-topic excuses to justify using something that has been known to burn and kill tarantulas. You want some links?

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/heat-lamp-for-my-tarantula.285938/

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/heat-source-for-my-tarantula.196026/#post-1778592 Here is what has been suggested to you in the past. Then you say "Oh I don't have the space for that!" So if you don't have any space...why are you still acquiring tarantulas? What are you going to do when your Ts are full grown? Inter-species communal?

https://tomsbigspiders.com/2015/01/19/humidity-temperature-and-tarantulas/


http://arachnoboards.com/threads/rose-hair-heat-lamp-necessary.225169/

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/heat-lamps-vs-heating-pads.264449/

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4RUKCr9m4XI/maxresdefault.jpg
 

Whitelightning777

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Messages
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For. The. Last. Time. Stop telling people to use heat lamps. It does NOT act like a space heater, at all. A space heater increases the ambient temperature of a room, it doesn't focus heat in one area. Secondly? Stop reviving old threads that have been answered to recommend heat lamps. You've done this before.

Of course, space heaters unless specified by the manufacturer, shouldn't be used without a person who is awake present. When they short out, they can burn down your entire house
 

Whitelightning777

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Messages
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These individuals didn't test their setup prior to introducing the tarantula. They didn't test for hotspots. They didn't physically touch and feel all areas that the animal could gain access to.

That is why they failed. The heat sources were to close to the animals in question.

http://www.wfmz.com/news/lehigh-valley/space-heater-to-blame-for-fatal-schwenksville-fire/673106146

http://www.witn.com/content/news/Fa...eminder-of-space-heater-safety-457592223.html


This one is really sad. What a great way to care for your pets!!

http://www.koin.com/news/deputy-multiple-people-dead-in-oregon-house-fire/870112570

For. The. Last. Time. Stop telling people to use heat lamps. It does NOT act like a space heater, at all. A space heater increases the ambient temperature of a room, it doesn't focus heat in one area. Secondly? Stop reviving old threads that have been answered to recommend heat lamps. You've done this before.

Of course, space heaters unless specified by the manufacturer, shouldn't be used without a person who is awake present. When they short out, they can burn down your entire house

For the last time, stop telling people to create fire hazards within their home. Space heaters are banned by many HOAs and rental properties as well as most college dorms with good reason.

Learn to properly control temperature within an enclosure.

See here's the double standard, Miss Moxie can propose doing something that places human life at risk but I can't discuss how I succeeded with zero fatalities or injuries of any kind, that's right, zero.

BTW: did it ever occur to anyone that I already researched failures such as these links listed BEFORE setting mine up?

Hint hint.

There will be no double standards.

Oh, & by the way. The DEA and other LEOs look for locations higher then normal in temperature because that's how the bad guys grow weed.

If I were to heat up a room in my condo in Baltimore, I'd be the most secure guy in the city. There would be a sea of unmarked cars and black sunglasses even in the rain.

It's a bad idea and a waste of energy to heat up an entire room to keep 6 enclosures warm.
 
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miss moxie

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For the last time, stop telling people to create fire hazards within their home. Space heaters are banned by many HOAs and rental properties as well as most college dorms with good reason.

Learn to properly control temperature within an enclosure.

See here's the double standard, Miss Moxie can propose doing something that places human life at risk but I can't discuss how I succeeded with zero fatalities or injuries of any kind, that's right, zero.

BTW: did it ever occur to anyone that I already researched failures such as these links listed BEFORE setting mine up?

Hint hint.

There will be no double standards.
You are SO right. I am telling you, specifically, to buy a space heater because I know without a doubt that when your space heater catches on fire-- you will no longer come to this board to spread misinformation. And here I just thought you weren't the sharpest broken bottle in the dumpster. ;)

Saying that space heaters are the devil because sometimes they cause fires is the same ignorant thought process as people who try to decry this hobby: "Well I've seen people get bitten by tarantulas, so they should be illegal to keep as pets! Think of the CHILDREN who could get bitten if this tarantula is unsupervised!" What about the cases where someone survives a car accident only because they WEREN'T wearing their seatbelt? Seatbelt laws are clearly the government's way of population control by your skewed logic.

There will be no double standards.
 
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