H gigas Enclosure

Tbone192

Arachnobaron
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Hi all,

I made this enclosure for my new H gigas and I put in a "swimming pool". I know she will enjoy it, I just have to find a way to maintain the water so nothing nasty appears. The deli cup reaches the bottom of the enclosure so no fear of her burrowing under it. The enclosure has about 5" substrate but I plan on lidding the cup and blocking the burrow then adding another inch or two of sub. Any thoughts or criticisms, I am eager to hear them. PXL_20240305_005832901.jpg
 

l4nsky

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I'd only add more sub if fall damage is a concern, can't really tell the height of the enclosure in the pics. They're bulldozers, so there will be plenty of burrow spoil thrown around as they dig. This means it'll be all but impossible to keep a clean water dish, so my suggestion will be to use two nested together. That way you can pull the inner one out to clean it, leaving the second one behind to save the shape.
 

Tbone192

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The opposite side of the enclosure has deeper sub and I expect she will excavate to accomodate for the rest of the height. I might block the water dish and entrance and add a bit more in select areas, namely to pad the exposed bark and add a bit to the back. PXL_20240306_042517319.jpg
 

Tbone192

Arachnobaron
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The enclosure is 12x8x8" housing a 4.5" T. I ended up adding a good bit of sub around the back. Just gotta wait for her to really make it her own.
 

Harrod96

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Honestly made an enclosure for this species with part pond where she could hunt fish pics are somewhere on here years ago and my female would actively grab fish and feed rarely almost if I just didn’t feed her to see if she would eat. Ended up scrapping the whole thing when the humidity became a problem.
 

Harrod96

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But honestly watching her maybe she will take to the water bowl my female would rarely jump in enough to grab a fish
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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Honestly made an enclosure for this species with part pond where she could hunt fish pics are somewhere on here years ago and my female would actively grab fish and feed rarely almost if I just didn’t feed her to see if she would eat. Ended up scrapping the whole thing when the humidity became a problem.
Dang that would’ve been a cool posting if you had made a thread on it . I take it they really didn’t fish much ? Humidity issues suck . I got one tank I gotta drill more holes in the lid.
 

Harrod96

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Dang that would’ve been a cool posting if you had made a thread on it . I take it they really didn’t fish much ? Humidity issues suck . I got one tank I gotta drill more holes in the lid.
I did make a thread but it was like 2010 been silent quite a few years
 

Harrod96

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She preferred to burrow and eat what came close back then it was just an experiment when I was also trying to keep Poecilotheria tigrinawesseli communal which didn’t pan out
 

Harrod96

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She did hunt but I made a pond so at that time it was probably too deep for what was needed. I just know they don’t prefer fish because tongs with insects gave a better feeding response than fish in my experience. Still one of my favorite bland tarantulas because of their personalities
 
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Harrod96

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Dang that would’ve been a cool posting if you had made a thread on it . I take it they really didn’t fish much ? Humidity issues suck . I got one tank I gotta drill more holes in the lid.
Oh I used full reptile screen on top with latches but she didn’t need a quarter pond enclosure inside she did way better with deep soil and deep water dish . She might hunt fish in her bowl but definitely not a preference to insects. Just something interesting I wanted to try out when I first got them.
 

Harrod96

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Let us know how it works for you if it does! Also I give my female’s a foot of substrate but they seem to burrow close to the water source. Never wanted to breed these I just enjoy how my girls interact with their environment.
 

Tbone192

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In an indeterminate amount of time, I will either pull out the pool or leave it in depending on how much she uses it, sooner if things start getting out of control. I will also add a bunch of substrate...once I get some more. Very cool species IMO regardless of swimming behaviour. Black to red back to black.
 
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