Enclosure/size opinion needed

babykaiju

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Hi friends!

I am planning on rehousing two of my tarantulas in the next few days. One is a GBB ~1.5" DLS and the other is a c. versicolor about the same size. They're both currently in 5.5oz deli cups (what I received them in) and have grown large enough to exceed the 3x DLS guideline. However, I'm a bit worried the enclosures I've prepared may be too large or not properly or adequately decorated (for lack of a better term).

GBB potential enclosure is a medium slider from Tarantula Cribs (8x6x6).
Versicolor potential enclosure is the Tarantula Cribs coffin crib (10x5x5).

I've only been keeping tarantulas since September 2022 so I'm definitely a newbie and just looking for some opinions/advice from the lovely experts in this forum. Please let me know if there's anything I should change or add, or if I should opt for something smaller instead of the current options. I've included photos of the tarantulas and enclosures for reference. Thanks in advance!
PXL_20230515_185300724.jpg PXL_20230515_185449036.jpg PXL_20230506_020028130.NIGHT.jpg PXL_20230514_172528025.jpg
 

IntermittentSygnal

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My 2 Avics at 1.75" are both in 3.5*3.5*6 inverted Amac boxes with lots of leaves at the top, and will be good there for another molt. Your versi may have issues finding food in the 5*5*10. At 1.5", my GBB was in a 5*5*7 and never ventured down the length to the end (last couple of inches) until he was past 2". At 3", he is a rockstar in his 8*8*8, with lots of web connection points. Also, make sure there's no more than 1.5 *the DLS between the packed down substrate and the lid for your GBB. Great looking spiders!!
 

babykaiju

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My 2 Avics at 1.75" are both in 3.5*3.5*6 inverted Amac boxes with lots of leaves at the top, and will be good there for another molt. Your versi may have issues finding food in the 5*5*10. At 1.5", my GBB was in a 5*5*7 and never ventured down the length to the end (last couple of inches) until he was past 2". At 3", he is a rockstar in his 8*8*8, with lots of web connection points. Also, make sure there's no more than 1.5 *the DLS between the packed down substrate and the lid for your GBB. Great looking spiders!!
Thank you for your reply! I'll definitely add more substrate before I move the GBB over.
And my versicolor is not the best hunter or eater even in the deli cup, but I've figured out that they prefer pre-killed crickets placed gently directly next to them in their web, so I wasn't too worried about not finding prey. Maybe I'll hold off on the coffin crib and set up one of my small treehouses for them instead. Thanks!
 

IntermittentSygnal

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Not an expert, but those are my experiences. :-} My versi is an awful hunter as well, which is why he's not moving up until he molts again (likely next month or two). I believe it was @ladyratri that made a "cricket porthole" for hers and her versi now snags the crickets as soon as she puts them in the hole, lol. I'm definitely stealing this idea on my versi's next enclosure.
 

ladyratri

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Not an expert, but those are my experiences. :-} My versi is an awful hunter as well, which is why he's not moving up until he molts again (likely next month or two). I believe it was @ladyratri that made a "cricket porthole" for hers and her versi now snags the crickets as soon as she puts them in the hole, lol. I'm definitely stealing this idea on my versi's next enclosure.
Not me -- my versi is a fine hunter but the last rehouse I put it in a little too big an enclosure, given that it is terrified of everything that is not a cricket, and I provided a perfect tarantula crevice, so I haven't seen more than the front half of it in like 200+ days. It is exceedingly patient about waiting for crickets to wander into the kill zone.

I think it must have snuck out once or twice when I wasn't there because of dirt appearing in the water dish when there were no feeders present, but I literally have not witnessed it since the day it moved in.

So, perfect hidey hole yes, but I wouldn't put a cricket literally in its web tunnel.

From about 1.5" to 3" DLS I kept my versi in a 32oz deli cup with a slice of cork bark flat at an angle, and it was great. Never pre-killed anything, and it was happy to snag a pretty big cricket.

 

IntermittentSygnal

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Nooooo, not into his web tunnel, but a larger hole up higher on the side of the enclosure that the versi used to come up and pull the crickets through with gusto. Maybe it was @Charliemum?

I seem to have created a great hiding spot for my irminia, as I’ve only seen toes once in the past month. I’m glad I took a pic of her when I first housed her. Your post makes me wonder if I should rehouse her smaller, as I can’t monitor her at all.
 

Charliemum

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Nooooo, not into his web tunnel, but a larger hole up higher on the side of the enclosure that the versi used to come up and pull the crickets through with gusto. Maybe it was @Charliemum?

I seem to have created a great hiding spot for my irminia, as I’ve only seen toes once in the past month. I’m glad I took a pic of her when I first housed her. Your post makes me wonder if I should rehouse her smaller, as I can’t monitor her at all.
Yep it was me I bought a viv that was ment to be specifically for arboreal lucky reptile arboreal keeper they used to call it but now I have just looked they have renamed it fly keeper it has a plug at the top and side for feeding watering ect alot of ventilation in the middle n top and also opens in the middle so you don't disturb the web at the top they come in a few sizes too, itsy bitsy is still in his the biggest they do but due a rehouse soon as he's not long moulted I have raised my avicularia purpurea in one too they are OK but tbh I have gone back to large pots for my arboreal t's as I can put my own ventilation in and I did notice I have difficulty getting pictures because of the way they pour the plastic for the keepers they have alot of horizontal pour lines that disturbs the image. I did like the plug idea though I shouldn't imagine it would be hard to order small plastic plugs and make your own version 20230516_084122.jpg
This is the viv in question and before you ask the moss is because Itsy is special n likes to fling himself from the web so I layered moss on his sub so he had something soft to land in 🙄 t's.
 

Charliemum

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Can I also suggest to the op more hight for a gbb I know ppl are against it but I found it much easier to deal with my girl when her web wasn't broken everytime I fed her she's much calmer now and has built me a beautiful web castle 20230509_091544.jpg
As you can see she has used every bit to web up but left an inch at the top so i can open it without disturbing her and she never touches the sub even her web only touches the floor where there's moss she will not go on the sub never has n I have had her since 1cm big, yours may not behave the same as mine as all spiders are individuals but I have a feeling she will appreciate the extra hight to make her castle.
 

IntermittentSygnal

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Note to the OP though, as a terrestrial (heavy bodied) T, before that scaffolding is in, a fall from that height could cause serious injury to your T. Mine has 8*8*8 at 3” and plenty of anchor points both high and low.
B6BBD2EC-2E91-4DFA-9E57-1238DC2F903B.jpeg
 

Charliemum

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Not sure what mine is in inches it's 15x15x20 in cm but atm she is a juvinile and not so heavy bodied when she's bigger she will get a 30 cm cube like my other mid sized t's but I still believe giving them extra space to web so you don't rip the t's home everytime you open the viv is a good idea. I didn't mean he needed to get a different viv or anything just to remember to leave extra space for webbing just with op saying they were going to add more sub to the viv its already half full doesn't leave much room for web 🤷‍♀️ as I said every t is different though, op's t might burrow rather then web and may not get annoyed when the web is broken and think the floor is lava like my girl does.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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It’s been years since I had a gbb mine just mysteriously died , think it fell on the water dish but 100% of the cage was webbed so it was a real head scratcher. Thing almost never refused food. :sad:
they do have urticating hairs which I plan on avoiding but It’s really saddening.
 

IntermittentSygnal

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My GBB first webbed to the lid when he was rehoused, so I get what you’re saying there. He stayed there for 2 weeks before molting, but explored down below over the next couple of weeks after hardening up. He has now blanketed that mid to floor level completely in web. He hangs out on the wall, in the “tree” tunnel near the lid, and in his “cave” hide on the floor, too. The 30cm square you mentioned will be his next enclosure as well. I doubt he’ll outgrow that one, but I have a 45cm square if needed.
 

Charliemum

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It’s been years since I had a gbb mine just mysteriously died , think it fell on the water dish but 100% of the cage was webbed so it was a real head scratcher. Thing almost never refused food. :sad:
they do have urticating hairs which I plan on avoiding but It’s really saddening.
Such a shame I am sorry for your loss. I had a similar thing happen with my first t about a year n a half after I got her , I got up one day she was missing her leg n had bled out as it didn't seal, not sure how she did it as there was only a 8cm gap between the roof of her viv n her sub n she was 8 cm so fall damage shouldn't of been an issue and there was nothing in there for her to hurt herself on corkbark moss n plastic plants so I thought the water dish too but even that was partially sunk into her sub but it was the only solid thing in there so it's what I blamed. Don't mind saying I cried my eyes out for days and even nearly a year later I still try n work out what exactly happend . Think it happens to all of us as some point, we get that 1 t that passes away for seemingly no reason and we spend the next x amount of years trying to work out why.

My GBB first webbed to the lid when he was rehoused, so I get what you’re saying there. He stayed there for 2 weeks before molting, but explored down below over the next couple of weeks after hardening up. He has now blanketed that mid to floor level completely in web. He hangs out on the wall, in the “tree” tunnel near the lid, and in his “cave” hide on the floor, too. The 30cm square you mentioned will be his next enclosure as well. I doubt he’ll outgrow that one, but I have a 45cm square if needed.
My girl never touches the sub even if I drop food down there she ignores it I have tried different subs in her various vivs but she prefers to stay up high, as you can see she has webbed it all n even though you can't really see the web connecting to her front wall it does . I have tried setting her up terrestrialy in her previous viv sub to dig a burrow hide ect she never once went in it or even touched the floor as far as I know n I spend everyday at least 10 hours a day sat in with my t's n never ever seen her touch sub , tbh was starting to think she was broken lol 😆
 

cold blood

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Not me -- my versi is a fine hunter but the last rehouse I put it in a little too big an enclosure, given that it is terrified of everything that is not a cricket, and I provided a perfect tarantula crevice, so I haven't seen more than the front half of it in like 200+ days. It is exceedingly patient about waiting for crickets to wander into the kill zone.

I think it must have snuck out once or twice when I wasn't there because of dirt appearing in the water dish when there were no feeders present, but I literally have not witnessed it since the day it moved in.

So, perfect hidey hole yes, but I wouldn't put a cricket literally in its web tunnel.

From about 1.5" to 3" DLS I kept my versi in a 32oz deli cup with a slice of cork bark flat at an angle, and it was great. Never pre-killed anything, and it was happy to snag a pretty big cricket.

I normally mute any sound...but that was some super cute narration....loved it.
 

ladyratri

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I normally mute any sound...but that was some super cute narration....loved it.
Oh man I forgot my big kid did a full sportscaster commentary on that one 😂 that's my 10yo (9 at the time) whose bug phobia led to us getting our first tarantula (the A. purpurea.)

He came to the store with me and picked out Blue as our second one. 🥰

Your post makes me wonder if I should rehouse her smaller, as I can’t monitor her at all.
I forget how big she is -- my sling grew so fast from 1" to like 2.5" that all the monitoring it really needed was confirming that feeders disappeared and some sub was damp. I had it in a 16oz deli as a 1" sling and it still made a super hidey mini-fortress behind the little nugget of cork bark. YMMV but I think yours will grow into the enclosure pretty quickly.
 

Charliemum

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Oh man I forgot my big kid did a full sportscaster commentary on that one 😂 that's my 10yo (9 at the time) whose bug phobia led to us getting our first tarantula (the A. purpurea.)

He came to the store with me and picked out Blue as our second one. 🥰
That's a brilliant way to get into Inverts 🥰 I love that story 💗 My son was also scared of spiders (not why I got into them though) but now has 5 t's of his own and is already angling for another. ( He has recently discovered the Grammostola genus 😆) I love hearing about other mums n dad's that share their passion with their kids 😊 it warms my heart and makes me smile 🙂

Such a little cutie, I do love this sp, it wasn't one that I was really interested in tbh they freaked me out a bit like a franking Stine (sorry really bad spelling lol) spider but my SO convinced me to get one said once I had one I would understand why they were such a popular sp n he was 100% right (don't tell him though 😆) they are the perfect mix of beauty and food aggressiveness and I adore them now and couldn't be without my Bauble (she was an Xmas gift hence the Xmas name) 20230426_201647.jpg
This is a better pic of Bauble after her most recent moult it's not the best pic but it's difficult to get pics of her due to the amount of webbing in her viv.
 

IntermittentSygnal

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Oh man I forgot my big kid did a full sportscaster commentary on that one
I was grinning through the whole commentary, too. Such a cutie.

I forget how big she is -- my sling grew so fast from 1" to like 2.5" that all the monitoring it really needed was confirming that feeders disappeared and some sub was damp. I had it in a 16oz deli as a 1" sling and it still made a super hidey mini-fortress behind the little nugget of cork bark. YMMV but I think yours will grow into the enclosure pretty quickly.
Neither of her water dishes have shown signs of her visiting in weeks and her last weekly feeder offer (prekilled) was untouched. I’m hoping she’s just in premolt or postmolt, but I’m totally understanding the folks who post about their spider being buried for months. I would Not dig her up, but I understand the anxiety. I’ve always been able to see into the burrows of my other hiders, but I’m completely blind on this one. I’ve been making sure back area sub is always moist so she can still drink from the sub.


they are the perfect mix of beauty and food aggressiveness and I adore them now and couldn't be without my Bauble
She is a beauty!
Their changes from sling to adult are beautiful to watch, too. Unfortunately on my sequence there, I glanced over to his neighbor for a second when he made the grab and only saw the pull back up to the webcastle.
 

Charliemum

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She is a beauty!
Their changes from sling to adult are beautiful to watch, too. Unfortunately on my sequence there, I glanced over to his neighbor for a second when he made the grab and only saw the pull back up to the webcastle.
It is an amazing change i agree, tbh thats what swug getting one for me my SO said it was one of the best to watch grow next to versi because of the changes they go through. Really glad i have one now, and was lucky enough that my 1cm sling turned out to be female 😊
 
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