Burger King Wifi
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2024
- Messages
- 3
Hi folks;
I would like to request some advice on a couple aspects of my enclosure that I'm uncertain about the okay-ness of.
For reference, this is my first tarantula. The enclosure has been set up since september, and houses what I assume is a b. hamorii (it was sold as b. annitha, which is...annoying, but if it is what it was sold as I think that would make it a b.smithi; not that it matters in this context). The spider is roughly 3 inches in legspan (i haven't measured), for reference (see attached picture) when the t is climbing on the side of the enclosure (which it almost never does, so I don't have any examples) it covers the majority of the height even where the substrate is the most shallow. The enclosure is 6 inches tall without substrate.
I have 2 concerns:
1. You'll notice a spindly peice of spiderwood on the right side of the enclosure; I didn't think twice about it when I first set up, but as I've read more about t's I'm concerned this may cross the line into a "dangerously sharp object". But I'm not sure; the spider seems a bit too small for that to be a realistic possibilty, but if more experienced people tell me that peice of wood is a bad idea I'll replace it with something else.
2. I'm concerned there may be insufficient substrate on the right half of the enclosure (to be clear, the places where it recesses REALY low are the t's doing, not mine) . The reason I'm ambivilent is because I don't think it poses a fall risk given the height of the enclosure relative to the size of the spider (please correct me if I'm wrong). I am concerned that the spider might need more opportunities to burrow? The deeper left side does allow burrowing, and the spider hasn't burrowed there. The brown object in the front-centre of the enclosure is the entrance to an aquarium-safe ceramic tube (for young plecos etc.) that is buried partially under the substrate and extends to just short of the left edge of the enclosure. The t does use that as a hide (and did molt inside of it last month). So I think given that there is a substantial hide and sufficient substrate to burrow in that hasn't been burrowed in, the tarantula isn't looking to burrow. But I have no experience in this and I don't realy know, so please tell me if you think there should be more substrate.
As for the rest of the enclosure, it's eco-earth substrate (the green stuff is some dry moss that was in a big clump; the spider has since spread it around. The leaves are fake). I keep the enclosure pretty dry, very slightly overflowing the waterdish once a week so the substrate immediately touching the waterdish is slightly damp. The room the enclosure is in stays between 70-75 degrees.. I've had no issues keeping this t since I bought it (I made a couple mistakes in month 1 of having the spider, but they didn't lead to anything bad happening).
Thanks for your help folks! This forum has been a great resource since I got this animal.
Tarantula is not in image because it is in the ceramic tube.
I would like to request some advice on a couple aspects of my enclosure that I'm uncertain about the okay-ness of.
For reference, this is my first tarantula. The enclosure has been set up since september, and houses what I assume is a b. hamorii (it was sold as b. annitha, which is...annoying, but if it is what it was sold as I think that would make it a b.smithi; not that it matters in this context). The spider is roughly 3 inches in legspan (i haven't measured), for reference (see attached picture) when the t is climbing on the side of the enclosure (which it almost never does, so I don't have any examples) it covers the majority of the height even where the substrate is the most shallow. The enclosure is 6 inches tall without substrate.
I have 2 concerns:
1. You'll notice a spindly peice of spiderwood on the right side of the enclosure; I didn't think twice about it when I first set up, but as I've read more about t's I'm concerned this may cross the line into a "dangerously sharp object". But I'm not sure; the spider seems a bit too small for that to be a realistic possibilty, but if more experienced people tell me that peice of wood is a bad idea I'll replace it with something else.
2. I'm concerned there may be insufficient substrate on the right half of the enclosure (to be clear, the places where it recesses REALY low are the t's doing, not mine) . The reason I'm ambivilent is because I don't think it poses a fall risk given the height of the enclosure relative to the size of the spider (please correct me if I'm wrong). I am concerned that the spider might need more opportunities to burrow? The deeper left side does allow burrowing, and the spider hasn't burrowed there. The brown object in the front-centre of the enclosure is the entrance to an aquarium-safe ceramic tube (for young plecos etc.) that is buried partially under the substrate and extends to just short of the left edge of the enclosure. The t does use that as a hide (and did molt inside of it last month). So I think given that there is a substantial hide and sufficient substrate to burrow in that hasn't been burrowed in, the tarantula isn't looking to burrow. But I have no experience in this and I don't realy know, so please tell me if you think there should be more substrate.
As for the rest of the enclosure, it's eco-earth substrate (the green stuff is some dry moss that was in a big clump; the spider has since spread it around. The leaves are fake). I keep the enclosure pretty dry, very slightly overflowing the waterdish once a week so the substrate immediately touching the waterdish is slightly damp. The room the enclosure is in stays between 70-75 degrees.. I've had no issues keeping this t since I bought it (I made a couple mistakes in month 1 of having the spider, but they didn't lead to anything bad happening).
Thanks for your help folks! This forum has been a great resource since I got this animal.
Tarantula is not in image because it is in the ceramic tube.
Thanks folks; I'll replace the spider wood and fill up the right side.
