Enclosure

[spidermom2024]

Does my enclosure look alright?

 

[Matt Man]

yes. 2 suggestions. 1) Pitch the light or move it to the far right side. 2) Rotate the hide 90 degrees, push the end close to the glass into the substrate so that it is at an angle and then dig a little pocket.

Wire Mesh lid or more open metal grid?

 

[spidermom2024]

Thank you! Will do! The top is a metal mesh. I don’t have the light on all the time but only when I want to look at him.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Thank you! Will do! The top is a metal mesh. I don’t have the light on all the time but only when I want to look at him.

How large is the t ? Looks like great soil depth that is good. Depends on the type of mesh could be bad.

 

[spidermom2024]

How large is the t ? Looks like great soil depth that is good. Depends on the type of mesh could be bad.

It’s about 2 inches. Here is a pic of the mesh.

 

[spidermom2024]

Here is a link to the one I bought:

Zoo Med Creatures Creature Den Low Profile Reptile Terrarium

Buy Zoo Med Creatures Creature Den Low Profile Reptile Terrarium at Petsmart

www.petsmart.com

 

[viper69]

It’s about 2 inches. Here is a pic of the mesh.

This is a screen lid- not safe at all!

2” DLS? Setup looks too low in sub, T could die.

Put your T in a small box it’s only 2”!

 

[cold blood]

its way way too big for a 2" t. Only house adults that are at least close to full grown in such large enclosures. Also, bury the hide most of the way...the less that is visible the less of a risk it is to fall on.....on top of that, a hide shouldn't be looked at as a home, but rather as the front door to the eventual home the t will make below it.

What species?

 

[goofyGoober99]

Definitely going to be too big for such a little guy. They can be very good at hiding and it can be harder to feed them in enclosures that are too big. That will be a great size for when he's fully grown but for now it would probably be better to get something that's closer to 2-3 times his leg span across.
The space between the top of the substrate and top of the enclosure should only be around 1.5x the tarantulas leg span so they don't hurt themselves if they fall.

It would probably be a good idea to replace the mesh lid on the large enclosure. If the tarantula climbs they can get stuck and get hurt. There are lots of different options ranging from perforated metal sheets to buying a piece of acrylic and drilling holes for ventilation. Some people have posted their solutions in this thread:

How to Replacing zilla screen lid or modify it ?

any guides or videos that show how to replace a screen lid with something else or a cheaper way to make it so a t can’t get legs stuck ? I got a few lids that aren’t plexiglass, But the zilla ones slide out , so replacing them is a challenge or near impossible I can’t just glue a plexi lid on...

arachnoboards.com

Best of luck with you new tarantula!

What species?

Based on their post history I think it's either a Brachypelma smithi or hamorii.

 

[spidermom2024]

It was sold to me as a brachypelma hamorii.

I knew I’d make at least one rookie mistake. I’ll go to the pet store tonight and find a smaller acrylic enclosure. Would something like this be okay?

Thrive Acrylic Terrarium

Buy Thrive Acrylic Terrarium at Petsmart

www.petsmart.com

 

[spidermom2024]

A local pet store also has exo terra enclosures of these sizes. I might go check them out too. The smallest size 8x8x12 I assume??

Edit: nevermind. I think these have mesh tops too.

 

[Matt Man]

It was sold to me as a brachypelma hamorii.

I knew I’d make at least one rookie mistake. I’ll go to the pet store tonight and find a smaller acrylic enclosure. Would something like this be okay?

Thrive Acrylic Terrarium

Buy Thrive Acrylic Terrarium at Petsmart

www.petsmart.com

That's for an arboreal T, your T is terrestrial. Save the existing cage as your T will grow into that and you can replace the wire mesh and get the dimensions on the cage, and lid.. The whole problem with little Ts in big cages is they may never find the feeder.

It will be fine in one of these right now, if PetSmart is your Local, and fill just over 1/2 the height with substrate,

Thrive Critter Reptile Tote

Buy Thrive Critter Reptile Tote at Petsmart

www.petsmart.com

 

[spidermom2024]

Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[Mustafa67]

Does my enclosure look alright?

No

 

[cold blood]

just go get a smaller kritter keeper

 

[TheraMygalo]

just go get a smaller kritter keeper

cheap and efficient. Your enclosure is too big at the moment and really a big risk for falls and tarsis getting stuck in lid.

get this until it gets bigger. Its what i use.

This enclosure houses my over 2” b emilia. My hamoriis are over an inch only.

i need to point out that emilias like to burrow. Which is why my enclosure looks the way it does. My two emilias have made beautiful burrows and are rarely seen wandering, aside from moving their excavation dirt and boluses out. When they do

they now have their dedicated dirt corners. Mostly, they are doing what Gypsy is doing, staying at the mouth of the burrow.

my hamoriis dont burrow yet. They did a bit, now they do nothing.