DeeCeeJay
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2021
- Messages
- 11
Hallo forum!
I'm a newbie newb, wasn't even planning on getting into the tarantula hobby until one fell out of a bunch of bananas. I'm just getting into reptiles and praying mantis, so I was more than eager to look into tarantulas too, and now I think I'm hooked. I did as much research as I could before deciding if I was capable of keeping him, and I was surprised that their care is relatively simple!
That said, I'm struggling with enclosure sizes. I come from a background of fishkeeping where tank size is a fiercely debated topic, and an immediate point of consideration when it comes to what fish you keep. That may be why I'm struggling with tarantula enclosures; I'm used to tank size being given whenever I look up the basic care for a fish species, so now I feel like I'm a little in the weeds. I don't want to crowd my poor guy(s, in future), but I'm also concerned with having the space for these critters, so I don't want to get a, for example, 10 gallon tank when a smaller one will do/be more appropriate
To that end, this is the enclosure I'm currently keeping my hapolopus coloratus in. It's an Exo Terra Breeding Box, 30cm long by 20cm wide by 15cm tall. My little guy is roughly MAYBE 2cm legspan, and I'm not sure how old he is and if he's likely to continue growing. I don't see him much, but he's definitely made a little burrow under the piece of egg carton in the corner. I haven't seen him wandering around very much, but he has made webs here and there. He seems happy, in as far as I can tell.
I'm keeping him on coir with a handful of sand mixed in to maintain burrow integrity, keeping him humid, water dish, etc. I'm planning on getting some fake plants in there for him too. Not planning on handling him at all, so getting into the enclosure to do that isn't an issue. Care so far (feeding and water changing) has been really easy with the top hatch. I'm less concerned about seeing him all the time and more with making sure he's comfortable.
I'm just wondering if this is too large, in which case, what size would be more suitable? I can start smaller and work up to his 'forever enclosure' if needs be. If this is too big for him even long term, I guess I'll just have to rehome him and use this larger tank for another tarantula, sigh, woe is me.
Looking forward to any help or advice! Thank you kindly
I'm a newbie newb, wasn't even planning on getting into the tarantula hobby until one fell out of a bunch of bananas. I'm just getting into reptiles and praying mantis, so I was more than eager to look into tarantulas too, and now I think I'm hooked. I did as much research as I could before deciding if I was capable of keeping him, and I was surprised that their care is relatively simple!
That said, I'm struggling with enclosure sizes. I come from a background of fishkeeping where tank size is a fiercely debated topic, and an immediate point of consideration when it comes to what fish you keep. That may be why I'm struggling with tarantula enclosures; I'm used to tank size being given whenever I look up the basic care for a fish species, so now I feel like I'm a little in the weeds. I don't want to crowd my poor guy(s, in future), but I'm also concerned with having the space for these critters, so I don't want to get a, for example, 10 gallon tank when a smaller one will do/be more appropriate
To that end, this is the enclosure I'm currently keeping my hapolopus coloratus in. It's an Exo Terra Breeding Box, 30cm long by 20cm wide by 15cm tall. My little guy is roughly MAYBE 2cm legspan, and I'm not sure how old he is and if he's likely to continue growing. I don't see him much, but he's definitely made a little burrow under the piece of egg carton in the corner. I haven't seen him wandering around very much, but he has made webs here and there. He seems happy, in as far as I can tell.
I'm keeping him on coir with a handful of sand mixed in to maintain burrow integrity, keeping him humid, water dish, etc. I'm planning on getting some fake plants in there for him too. Not planning on handling him at all, so getting into the enclosure to do that isn't an issue. Care so far (feeding and water changing) has been really easy with the top hatch. I'm less concerned about seeing him all the time and more with making sure he's comfortable.
I'm just wondering if this is too large, in which case, what size would be more suitable? I can start smaller and work up to his 'forever enclosure' if needs be. If this is too big for him even long term, I guess I'll just have to rehome him and use this larger tank for another tarantula, sigh, woe is me.
Looking forward to any help or advice! Thank you kindly
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