Bioactive enclosure advice

[Pmurinushmacla]

I'm going to set up a bioactive enclosure for my p. Metallica sling, who is 1.25 inches atm, so I'll have a good amount of time for the plants to grow in. I'm planning on adding a drainage layer, a mix of peat coco and a little sphagnum, some moss, springtails, and a pothos or some other plant. Any advice/tips/warnings with the enclosure or the moss? Plant ideas are welcome as pothos, while very hardy, are a bit bare and vine like. Also will I need to buy lights for the moss or will a window with sunlight+ room light be enough?

 

[vancwa]

Add Spring Tails and Pill Bugs. This enclosure will be difficult to maintain but can be done. Good luck.

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

Add Spring Tails and Pill Bugs. This enclosure will be difficult to maintain but can be done. Good luck.

Are you sure isopods are a good idea? I have springtails and they work but I've heard isopods are semi carnivorous, and can harm your t in a molt

 

[Frogdaddy]

Leave the moss out.
Check out Scindapsus sp. for a nicer pothos alternative.

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

Leave the moss out.
Check out Scindapsus sp. for a nicer pothos alternative.

I appreciate the warning but I'm going to respectfully ignore it. Thanks for the plant species tho that looks much nicer

 

[moricollins]

Your Poecilotheria metallica will HATE the amount of light you need to grow moss. Poecilotheria tend to be Very light sensitive.

 

[Frogdaddy]

I appreciate the warning but I'm going to respectfully ignore it. Thanks for the plant species tho that looks much nicer

What species of moss will you be using?

Your Poecilotheria metallica will HATE the amount of light you need to grow moss. Poecilotheria tend to be Very light sensitive.

Not to mention the humidity and moisture requirements of most mosses.

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

Your Poecilotheria metallica will HATE the amount of light you need to grow moss. Poecilotheria tend to be Very light sensitive.

I know, which is why I'm going to either have to provide a lot more hiding spots than normal or find a good type of moss to grow in lower light conditions.

What species of moss will you be using?

Not to mention the humidity and moisture requirements of most mosses.

I'm open to suggestions, I prefer the looks of carpet mosses but I'm going to have to prioritize the tarantulas needs before the aesthetics

 

[Polenth]

Are you sure isopods are a good idea? I have springtails and they work but I've heard isopods are semi carnivorous, and can harm your t in a molt

They can be predators and will go after easy targets. This isn't always going to be an issue with aboreals if the tarantula stays up high and you use dwarf whites (Trichorhina tomentosa). The dwarf whites will stay in the soil and aren't quite as snacky for protein. Seems more trouble than it's worth though, because the spider won't produce enough food for them, so you'd have to feed them as well.

Never use Porcellio species or similar. They'll rip each other apart still alive, so really have no qualms about eating anything else that can't run fast enough. It'll basically be down to whether the tarantula eats them first or not.

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

They can be predators and will go after easy targets. This isn't always going to be an issue with aboreals if the tarantula stays up high and you use dwarf whites (Trichorhina tomentosa). The dwarf whites will stay in the soil and aren't quite as snacky for protein. Seems more trouble than it's worth though, because the spider won't produce enough food for them, so you'd have to feed them as well.

Never use Porcellio species or similar. They'll rip each other apart still alive, so really have no qualms about eating anything else that can't run fast enough. It'll basically be down to whether the tarantula eats them first or not.

Sounds like more to worry about than I already have to lol, thanks

 

[viper69]

I'm going to set up a bioactive enclosure for my p. Metallica sling, who is 1.25 inches atm, so I'll have a good amount of time for the plants to grow in. I'm planning on adding a drainage layer, a mix of peat coco and a little sphagnum, some moss, springtails, and a pothos or some other plant. Any advice/tips/warnings with the enclosure or the moss? Plant ideas are welcome as pothos, while very hardy, are a bit bare and vine like. Also will I need to buy lights for the moss or will a window with sunlight+ room light be enough?

Moss isn’t easy to grow from what I’ve read and in my own experience with amphibious animals.

Stick plants and good luck doing this

 

[moricollins]

I'm open to suggestions, I prefer the looks of carpet mosses but I'm going to have to prioritize the tarantulas needs before the aesthetics

If you were prioritizing the tarantula's needs then you would have listened when people told you to ditch the moss, instead of saying:

I appreciate the warning but I'm going to respectfully ignore it.

An enclosure that grows most types of moss is going to be far too damp and brightly lit for your tarantula. The way I imagine your setup is going to end up is with your tarantula hiding all day long, every day.

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Hi
I agree with the tarantula needs comes first part and humidity coment but light does not need to be on all day 6 hours photoperiod will be enough to keep plants and mosses growing.It doesn't have to be that high intensity either as mosses have quite low light compensation point.Light compensation point is the minimum light intensity needed for photosynthesis to occur.
My other hobby is aquascaping and I have grown many emersed aquarium plants and mosses(they grow and propagate faster out of water due to unlimited CO2 access) for my tanks in propagators with moist soil and a 5w led spot light over it.Also plants dont care what light source are you using(there is no such thing as plant growing light) any white light will do as long as you choose low light(compensation point) plants that doesn't require high light intensity.I have grown plants under 2 pound pl-l lamp and under £500 fully customisable top of the range high output LED with same success.
The lower the light intensity the slower the growth thats all.
Regards Konstantin

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

If you were prioritizing the tarantula's needs then you would have listened when people told you to ditch the moss, instead of saying:


An enclosure that grows most types of moss is going to be far too damp and brightly lit for your tarantula. The way I imagine your setup is going to end up is with your tarantula hiding all day long, every day.

You're awfully hostile. You know different mosses have different needs, correct?

 

[moricollins]

You're awfully hostile. You know different mosses have different needs, correct?

Correct. You know that your tarantula has no need nor desire for moss in its enclosure, correct?

You also know that putting your enclosure in/in front of a window to get light into it for plants to grow can cook your tarantula, correct?

 

[Frogdaddy]

Correct. You know that your tarantula has no need nor desire for moss in its enclosure, correct?

You also know that putting your enclosure in/in front of a window to get light into it for plants to grow can cook your tarantula, correct?

Mori, he knows everything. The OP really isn't looking for advice or tips, they are just looking for affirmation on what they already plan on doing despite the advice given.. Otherwise why say "I'm going to ignore your advice." Any dissenting advice is to be brushed aside until they get the answer they want to get.

 

[Dandrobates]

Moss grows slow and needs to be kept bright and moist. Poecilotheria grow fast, prefer the dark and don’t require high moisture. Am I missing something? Or have I been building planted vivariums all wrong for the past 25 years???

 

[Schiem]

One thing to keep in mind is that even shaded areas outside are incredibly bright compared to what we get from lightbulbs. So even though many mosses appear to grow well in the shade, they'll require incredibly bright tank lights. You can find threads on it in various forums, but people have reported needing around 60 - 75 watts (using LEDs) to get good growth in a 30 gallon tank.

If you have to have moss, the way to do it for the health of the T would probably be to grow it somewhere else and occasionally replace it as it dies. I would imagine replacing some moss every 2 or so months would be less stressful for the T than having that much light.

I would look into Pilea depressa, which has pretty low light requirements and can form a carpet.

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

Mori, he knows everything. The OP really isn't looking for advice or tips, they are just looking for affirmation on what they already plan on doing despite the advice given.. Otherwise why say "I'm going to ignore your advice." Any dissenting advice is to be brushed aside until they get the answer they want to get.

No not really. I know some types of mosses grow well in low light conditions but I dont know which species they are or exactly how much light and humidity they would need. Thank you for assuming by me disregarding a statement about why I shouldn't put moss in my enclosure I am only looking for reaffirmation. I am not looking for reasons not to, as the information of the conditions needed to grow most moss is not limited to you guys. I'm looking for possible ways to make it work. If you have none then move on

 

[Pmurinushmacla]

Correct. You know that your tarantula has no need nor desire for moss in its enclosure, correct?

You also know that putting your enclosure in/in front of a window to get light into it for plants to grow can cook your tarantula, correct?

I know of the possibility yes and ofc I know moss is not necessary. No plants of any kind are, yet people still choose to use them.