Housing Curly Haired Tarantula

[kayla3g]

We just bought our first Tarantula. Our son loves spiders and we thought he would enjoy one.
We are new to this. She is a female about 4 years old.
We bought the coco fiber brick and soaked it and let it dry in the sun for a few hours. We put her in her new enclosure and noticed she was climbing the walls. We read up a bit more and saw that we should have baked it or prepared it a few days prior.
We moved her back in the enclosure she originally came in and are now baking the coco fiber.
Will she be ok? I'm so nervous we have moved her around a bit too much. Any advice would be appreciated. We are new to this but super excited about this new adventure. If we can figure it all out we hope to get more spiders in the future.

 

[Ellenantula]

Congrats on new T!
Yeah, they don't like wet substrate -- drying it will help. Make it deep enough so there isn't too much distance from top of enclosure in case she climbs walls and falls.
It can be stressful to a T being moved a lot -- you're balancing that stress of being moved to that of avoiding damp.
How bad is the old enclosure? Unless it's atrocious she should be fine in it again for now.

[edited to add: I assume you have a Brachypelma albopilosum?]

 

[darkness975]

We just bought our first Tarantula. Our son loves spiders and we thought he would enjoy one.
We are new to this. She is a female about 4 years old.
We bought the coco fiber brick and soaked it and let it dry in the sun for a few hours. We put her in her new enclosure and noticed she was climbing the walls. We read up a bit more and saw that we should have baked it or prepared it a few days prior.
We moved her back in the enclosure she originally came in and are now baking the coco fiber.
Will she be ok? I'm so nervous we have moved her around a bit too much. Any advice would be appreciated. We are new to this but super excited about this new adventure. If we can figure it all out we hope to get more spiders in the future.

Post some images of the spider and enclosure, in the event anything needs to be corrected we will see it.

On the topic of eco earth, I use the dry bags of it. It's so much easier. No baking, I just dump it in.

 

[Ellenantula]

On the topic of eco earth, I use the dry bags of it. It's so much easier. No baking, I just dump it in.

Same here. Those bricks were a pain in the ....
If you plan ahead, I suppose they are a better deal but I still prefer the dry-bagged too.

 

[kayla3g]

Congrats on new T!
Yeah, they don't like wet substrate -- drying it will help. Make it deep enough so there isn't too much distance from top of enclosure in case she climbs walls and falls.
It can be stressful to a T being moved a lot -- you're balancing that stress of being moved to that of avoiding damp.
How bad is the old enclosure? Unless it's atrocious she should be fine in it again for now.

[edited to add: I assume you have a Brachypelma albopilosum?]

Yes it is a Brachypelma Albopilosum.
My hubby dumped all the old substrate out so there isn't any in the old enclosure right now. All that's in there is a piece of cork wood. Should I put some of the substrate in there with her for now? Maybe use some that's already baked and cooled off? Or should we wait until we are done getting the new enclosure ready with dryer substrate. We baked it for a good 30 min and ringing all the water out. The substrate is still a bit damp but not sopping like it was. Sorry we are so new at all of this.
This is her old enclosure but once again no substrate bc my hubby dumped it. We were just putting her in there until we fixed her new enclosure.

 

[kayla3g]

Post some images of the spider and enclosure, in the event anything needs to be corrected we will see it.

On the topic of eco earth, I use the dry bags of it. It's so much easier. No baking, I just dump it in.

We will definitely use the dry bags next time. This has been a pain. I feel most awful for the spider.

 

[Devin B]

I use the compressed bricks, but Ive learned to get it weeks ahead. That way I have it when I need it. Anyways your Tarantula will be stressed, but It'll be ok once you get your enclosure set up. You have a hardy T it'll be just fine

 

[darkness975]

We will definitely use the dry bags next time. This has been a pain. I feel most awful for the spider.

Substrate should not need to be changed unless it gets infested with mites or the spider grows and needs to be rehoused.

Post some pics so we can tweak anything with your enclosure that may need it.

Also , welcome to our addiction !

 

[Ellenantula]

Yes it is a Brachypelma Albopilosum.
My hubby dumped all the old substrate out so there isn't any in the old enclosure right now. All that's in there is a piece of cork wood. Should I put some of the substrate in there with her for now? Maybe use some that's already baked and cooled off? Or should we wait until we are done getting the new enclosure ready with dryer substrate. We baked it for a good 30 min and ringing all the water out. The substrate is still a bit damp but not sopping like it was. Sorry we are so new at all of this.
This is her old enclosure but once again no substrate bc my hubby dumped it. We were just putting her in there until we fixed her new enclosure.

Ah -- I thought you had her old enclosure still intact, as well as a new setup you had bought for her. So she's in there with no substrate at all. Ugh. Hope your substrate dries quickly!!!! Definitely not ideal but old enclosure doesn't seem to pose a fall risk.

The other pix wanted are of the new set up (permanent setup) but only after you have it filled and furnished with her in it.

 

[kayla3g]

Here is a picture of her in the new enclosure. The substrate is much drier. We baked it, squeezed out about a liter and a half of water out of it, and mixed the top layer with about 1/2 of a dry brick of substrate.

 

[Devin B]

There seems to be quite a bit of vertical space in that enclosure. The general rule of thumb is that there should be no more than 2 times the tarantulas diagonal legs span (DLS). This ensures you pet wont get injured from a fall as it is a terestrial creature.

Also I dont see a lid on your enclosure. You may have it off camera but if not your tarantula will likely escape.

 

[Crone Returns]

Hi, glad you're here. My first T was a Brachypelma albopilosum F. She's my favorite--she's got a crazy cool personality.
You need to go thru the agony of getting a big brick of substrate or get tons of the bagged.
She needs a whole lot more, not just for the dangerous falling--the way she is now, she could climb to the top, fall, and split her abdomen wide open. Dead spider, lots of crying. Yes use the corkbark. Also at her size she might still be a bulldozer. It's great fun watching them.
Need a lid.
P.S. I use plain old critter keepers to house my Ts.
Carry on.

 

[Anoplogaster]

Definitely agree. Need a lot more substrate in there. And honestly, a little moisture might make her a bit uncomfortable, but she'll work with it. It does rain occassionally in nature, after all. It'll dry in time. I wouldn't worry too much about it

 

[mconnachan]

Just a continuation of what the guys have already said, you'll need to put a lot more eco-earth into that enclosure 1.5 times the spiders leg span is the optimal distance between the substrate and the top of the enclosure, so if your T is 3" you should have 4.5" of space, hope that makes sense to you, a hide should be provided, the cork bark will be fine as the T will utilise this and use it as a retreat, as for feeding what are you planning on feeding this beautiful B. Albopilosum, if it's crickets then 1 per week will be a good start, add a water dish - not too deep, then your all set (assuming you've got a lid for the enclosure), enjoy your new found hobby, cause it won't stop at 1 believe me.

 

[Dylan Bruce]

I made a similar mistake when I first got my B. hamori. I didn't realise how long it actually took for the coco fibre to dry out completely and when I put it in the enclosure it was still a little damp but within a few days the top layer had dried out and the spider was perfectly happy. I'll also agree with the other guys here there is too much vertical space in that enclosure And I hope there is a lid to go with that tank. apart from that it looks great Good luck with the new T.

 

[JoshDM020]

I hope that spray bottle in the background isnt for the spider. Misting+tarantula= annoyed tarantula= risky business

 

[kayla3g]

Thank you guys for the advice! We will definitely go get the already bagged substrate and add that to avoid her falling. Yes we have a lid. Could we add top soil or should we keep with the coco fiber? Also the spray bottle is just in the background. We use that for my sons messy hair days.
When we add the extra substrate, should we remove her or maybe work around her. From reading your comments we need to double the substrate. I want to do it whatever way is less stressful for her.
She has been busy digging out her hide since she has been in there so I think she enjoys it. We are already looking into our next T. But waiting to get this one all settled first.

 

[kayla3g]

Just a continuation of what the guys have already said, you'll need to put a lot more eco-earth into that enclosure 1.5 times the spiders leg span is the optimal distance between the substrate and the top of the enclosure, so if your T is 3" you should have 4.5" of space, hope that makes sense to you, a hide should be provided, the cork bark will be fine as the T will utilise this and use it as a retreat, as for feeding what are you planning on feeding this beautiful B. Albopilosum, if it's crickets then 1 per week will be a good start, add a water dish - not too deep, then your all set (assuming you've got a lid for the enclosure), enjoy your new found hobby, cause it won't stop at 1 believe me.

We will be feeding her crickets. We have a water dish. It's the rock looking thing in the corner. Thank you for the specifics on height of the substrate.

 

[kayla3g]

Hi, glad you're here. My first T was a Brachypelma albopilosum F. She's my favorite--she's got a crazy cool personality.
You need to go thru the agony of getting a big brick of substrate or get tons of the bagged.
She needs a whole lot more, not just for the dangerous falling--the way she is now, she could climb to the top, fall, and split her abdomen wide open. Dead spider, lots of crying. Yes use the corkbark. Also at her size she might still be a bulldozer. It's great fun watching them.
Need a lid.
P.S. I use plain old critter keepers to house my Ts.
Carry on.

Ours is extremely docile. She hasn't flicked any hairs. She never darts. We haven't handled her at all because we are still nervous. I have heard it isn't good for them either. So I plan to do some research before deciding.
We are impressed with her behavior. She isn't intimidating for us newbies.

 

[mconnachan]

We will be feeding her crickets. We have a water dish. It's the rock looking thing in the corner. Thank you for the specifics on height of the substrate.

No problem, any questions just ask away, we're all for the good of the hobby so whoever answers your Q's you'll be well looked after.